Archive for the ‘pinups’ Category

Tuesday, June 28th, 2022

Pinups: Al Moore Girls From Esquire

Al Moore Calendar Girls from Esquire

Esquire magazine was one of the top publications of its time. It was to the first half of the 20th century what Playboy was to the last half. The pinups of George Petty and Alberto Varga made the magazine famous. Al Moore painted the Esquire girls and the annual calendar in the late 40s and early 50s. I’m sorry to say, I don’t know much about him. His fame has been eclipsed by his predecessors. But his wide eyed blondes have a lot of charm. Here are a couple of fold-outs from the pages of Esquire and the 1950 Esquire calendar…

Al Moore Calendar Girls from Esquire
Al Moore Calendar Girls from Esquire
Al Moore Calendar Girls from Esquire
Al Moore Calendar Girls from Esquire
Al Moore Calendar Girls from Esquire
Al Moore Calendar Girls from Esquire
Al Moore Calendar Girls from Esquire
Al Moore Calendar Girls from Esquire
Al Moore Calendar Girls from Esquire
Al Moore Calendar Girls from Esquire
Al Moore Calendar Girls from Esquire
Al Moore Calendar Girls from Esquire
Al Moore Calendar Girls from Esquire

And here as an added bonus is the 1946 Esquire Pocket Calendar by Alberto Varga (Before he got the "s" at the end of his name…)

Al Moore Calendar Girls from Esquire

Stephen Worth
Director
Animation Resources

Magazine CartoonsMagazine Cartoons

This posting is part of the online Encyclopedia of Cartooning under the subject heading, Magazine Cartoons.

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Monday, June 27th, 2022

Pinups: Girl Cartoons From "Booby Traps" and "Nuggets"

Bill Wenzel and Stanley Rayon Girlie Comics

Sometimes I think I must have the best job in the world…

Today some nice folks who had Googled up this website stopped by to offer us some material to digitize that they had rescued from a relative’s garage. They had a laundry basket full of 1940s magazines and a big stack of original inks from a 1947 girlie cartoon magazine, colorfully titled Booby Traps and Nuggets. My jaw hit the floor when I started going through the artwork. Here is a part of cartooning history that has been largely overlooked- especially by me. But not any more!

The artwork is quickly executed and sometimes a bit funky… and for good reason. On the back of each ink is the amount the cartoonist was paid for his work. The prices range from $3 to $5. You would have to work pretty doggone fast to make a living at that rate! I have to admit, I don’t know much about these artists. So I’m going to present them a couple at a time with the little I do know and see if any of you readers out there can help fill in the blanks about their careers.

JACK O’BRIEN

Jack o'Brien and Milo Kinn Girlie Comics

Jack O’Brien lived in Los Angeles, and this photograph shows him with his daughter, Suzanne. In the 1960s, O’Brien drew the Sad Sack comic books, he came up with a beatnik character named "Cool Cat", and he created the G.I. Juniors line of comics for Harvey. If you know anything else about O’Brien, please post to the comments below.

Jack o'Brien and Milo Kinn Girlie Comics
Jack o'Brien and Milo Kinn Girlie Comics
Jack o'Brien and Milo Kinn Girlie Comics
Jack o'Brien and Milo Kinn Girlie Comics
Jack o'Brien and Milo Kinn Girlie Comics
Jack o'Brien and Milo Kinn Girlie Comics
Jack o'Brien and Milo Kinn Girlie Comics
Jack o'Brien and Milo Kinn Girlie Comics
Jack o'Brien and Milo Kinn Girlie Comics
Jack o'Brien and Milo Kinn Girlie Comics

MILO KINN

Jack o'Brien and Milo Kinn Girlie Comics

All I know about Milo Kinn is that he lived in Seattle, Washington. I’m guessing he was married, (based on the pretty dingle ball curtains!) and it’s clear that he didn’t mind drawing the exact same pretty girl profile over and over. In fact, he seems to have a lot more fun with the "broads" than he does with the "babes". Anyone have any more details on him?

Jack o'Brien and Milo Kinn Girlie Comics
Jack o'Brien and Milo Kinn Girlie Comics
Jack o'Brien and Milo Kinn Girlie Comics
Jack o'Brien and Milo Kinn Girlie Comics

BILL WENZEL

Bill Wenzel is the best known artist in this batch, working here under the pseudonym, "Candace". Fantagraphics recently published a collection of his work, and GoofButton.com posted scans from a late sixties collection of his cartoons, titled Tender Loving Care. Here, we get a rare chance to see Wenzel’s rough alongside the finished ink…

Bill Wenzel and Stanley Rayon Girlie Comics
Bill Wenzel and Stanley Rayon Girlie Comics
Bill Wenzel and Stanley Rayon Girlie Comics
Bill Wenzel and Stanley Rayon Girlie Comics
Bill Wenzel and Stanley Rayon Girlie Comics
Bill Wenzel and Stanley Rayon Girlie Comics
Bill Wenzel and Stanley Rayon Girlie Comics
Bill Wenzel and Stanley Rayon Girlie Comics
Bill Wenzel and Stanley Rayon Girlie Comics

STANLEY RAYON

All I know about Stanley Rayon was that he lived and worked in New Orleans. Does anyone have any more info on him? Although his drawings are pretty primitive, they do have that spark of fun that makes post-War girlie cartoons so appealing.

Bill Wenzel and Stanley Rayon Girlie Comics
Bill Wenzel and Stanley Rayon Girlie Comics
Bill Wenzel and Stanley Rayon Girlie Comics
Bill Wenzel and Stanley Rayon Girlie Comics
Bill Wenzel and Stanley Rayon Girlie Comics

Stephen Worth
Director
Animation Resources

Magazine CartoonsMagazine Cartoons

This posting is part of the online Encyclopedia of Cartooning under the subject heading, Magazine Cartoons.

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Friday, January 21st, 2022

Inbetweens: Jean Gabriel Domergue- Granddaddy of All Pinup Artists

Jean Gabriel Domergue

I love it when I discover a new artist!

The other day, my friend Tony “Superslice” Mora sent me a Facebook message asking me if I had ever heard of Jean-Gabriel Domergue. I hadn’t, but I did some Googling and quickly came up with a new name for my list of favorite “girl artists”. Here is the granddaddy of all pinup painters!

Jean Gabriel Domergue

The interesting thing about Domergue is that his girls aren’t the best thing about his art. They’re sometimes rather loosely constructed with long ostrich necks, and the eyes and mouth are the same formulas used over and over again… No, the best thing about Domergue is his color and brushstrokes. Notice the incredibly bold use of primary colors, some of which appear to be straight out of the tube. Usually, this results in flat, blown out color harmonies, but Domergue is able to adjust the colors around the primary to make it work. His brushstrokes are beautiful and spontaneous. They’re abstract at the same time as perfectly defining the texture and folds of the fabric. Wow!

Thanks to Tony Mora for turning us on to this great painter. Here’s a gallery of images to browse…

Jean Gabriel Domergue
Jean Gabriel Domergue
Jean Gabriel Domergue
Jean Gabriel Domergue
Jean Gabriel Domergue
Jean Gabriel Domergue
Jean Gabriel Domergue
Jean Gabriel Domergue
Jean Gabriel Domergue
Jean Gabriel Domergue
Jean Gabriel Domergue
Jean Gabriel Domergue
Jean Gabriel Domergue
Jean Gabriel Domergue
Jean Gabriel Domergue
Jean Gabriel Domergue
Jean Gabriel Domergue
Jean Gabriel Domergue
Jean Gabriel Domergue
Jean Gabriel Domergue
Jean Gabriel Domergue
Jean Gabriel Domergue
Jean Gabriel Domergue

Stephen Worth
Director
Animation Resources

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