STWALLSKULL

Amusements, diversions, whirligigs, geegaws, humbugs and comics, comics, comics.

INTERESTING LINKS: The National Digital Newspaper Program : February 13th, 2009

Posted on February 13, 2009 by STWALLSKULL

Happy Friday the 13th!

TODAY’S FEATURED LINK:

I’m excited to call your attention to The National Digital Newspaper Program, the first online newspaper site I’ve seen where the comics appear to be in reasonably good resolution (you could actually print these and have it look decent)… and it’s free! Thank you, gubbmint, for doing something worthwhile for once! Unfortunately, no color, but still fantastic. Check out the great comics sections from The Salt Lake Herald, for a good example. Those of you out there participating in the previously mentioned BIG FUNNY project will want to check this out for sure!

Also, here’s an index of online newspaper digitization projects.

Below: An example of Gus Mager’s Rhymo the Monk from The Salt Lake Herald, courtesy of the National Digital Newspaper Program. A WHOLE LOT more at the link.

Crumbling Paper: Hawkshaw the Detective

Posted on February 5, 2008 by STWALLSKULL

Here’s a wonderfully animated example I scanned of Gus Mager’s Hawkshaw the Detective. See previous entries I’ve made about Mager here. Notice how much the art looks like a Rudolph Dirks’ Katzenjammer Kids strip? That’s because Mager was Dirks’ assistant.

Can anyone out there name all the characters in the footer bar?

Note that this strip contains offensive racial depictions, as was typical of the comic strips of the era… if you are deeply offended by that sort of thing, you may not want to view it.

Click the image to view the full strip.

See examples of Mager’s Hawkshaw the Detective on Barnacle Press here.

See examples of Mager’s Monks on Barnacle Press here.

Crumbling Paper: Mager’s Monks in And Then Papa Came

Posted on January 31, 2008 by STWALLSKULL

Here’s an early (September 1904) example of rarely-reprinted but excellent cartoonist, Gus Mager. He was best known for his strips Sherlocko the Monk and Hawkshaw the Detective, and was also an assistant to Rudolph Dirks on the Captain and the Kids. His “o” ending names for his monkey characters (Sherlocko, Watso, Groucho, etc.) inspired the Marx Brothers names.

See more of Mager’s Monks on Barnacle Press here.

Click the image to view the full strip.

See examples of Mager’s Hawkshaw the Detective here.

Crumbling Paper: The Katzenjammer Kids in Der Katzenjammer Princes Rescue the Captain (strip #13)

Posted on January 30, 2008 by STWALLSKULL

Here’s a Rudolph Dirks Katzenjammer Kids strip I scanned from May 6th, 1906 (with a delightful header by Sherlocko the Monk cartoonist Gus Mager). Watch as the Kids bravely rescue the Captain from certain doom so they will still have him around to torture.

Please note that this strip contains offensive racial depictions, common to strips of the era. If this sort of thing offends you, you may not want to view it.

Go here to see more Katzenjammer Kids strips on this site.

Click the image to view the full strip.

Here’s what Don Markstein’s Toonopedia has to say about the Katzenjammers.

Click here to go to the Barnacle Press collection of Katzenjammer Kids strips.

Read about the Katzenjammer Kids on Wikipedia.

Click here to the Toonopedia entry on the Katzenjammer Kids.

Click here to read about Rudolph Dirks at lambiek.net.

Crumbling Paper: And Her Name Was Maud (1906) by Frederick Opper (strip #11)

Posted on July 31, 2007 by STWALLSKULL

Although he is best known today for Happy Hooligan (which we’ve been reprinting examples of recently) Frederick Opper was responsible for a number of popular strips in the early 20th century. Here’s an example of Frederick Opper’s strip And Her Name Was Maud from September 30, 1906. This one has a header by Gus Mager of Sherlocko the Monk and Hawkshaw the Detective fame. Warning: this strip contains the sort of offensive racial stereotypes that were typical of the era… if such things offend you I suggest you avoid viewing this. Click the image to read the strip.

Here are some other Opper strips from Coconino Classics.

Here are some other Opper strips at Barnacle Press.

Crumbling Paper: The Love of Lulu and Leander (1904) by F.M. Howarth (strip #24)

Posted on June 26, 2007 by STWALLSKULL

Here’s another example of F.M. Howarth’s strip The Love of Lulu and Leander from September 11, 1904. Click the image to read the strip. It’s a full page strip with a header by Gus Mager of Sherlocko the Monk fame.

You can see more examples of this strip (and many other classic comics) at Barnacle Press.