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Tuesday, June 28th, 2022

Pinups: Al Moore 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…

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…)

Stephen Worth
Director
Animation Resources

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"

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 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.

MILO KINN

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?

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…

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.

Stephen Worth
Director
Animation Resources

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

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Wednesday, May 18th, 2022

Illustration: Wartime Colliers Magazine

Thanks to Animation Resources supporters Kent Butterworth and Mike Fontanelli, our database includes many great examples of classic illustration from the pages of the "Rolls Royce" of weekly publications, Colliers magazine.

Today, we turn our attention to a very interesting time in American history, WWII. The war effort permeated everyday life throughout the nation, from the richest person all the way down to the poorest. This magazine reflects that, with feature stories, illustrations and ads that all reflect wartime themes.

At the time this issue was published, circulation for Colliers was nearing 2.5 million readers. By the mid 50s, circulation would rise to 4 million copies, but it wasn’t enough to save the magazine. Competition for ad revenues with television spelled doom for many of the big magazines, and Colliers was forced to go biweekly in 1953, ceasing publication altogether in 1957.

At Colliers, the illustrator was king, and many great artists filled its pages over the years, from Charles Dana Gibson, Maxfield Parrish, Arthur Szyk and F.X. Leyendecker.

If you are interested in classic magazine illustration, see our articles 1930s and 40s Colliers Illustrations and Wash Painting: In Praise of Happy Accidents. Also make sure to check out the modern illustration section of our online exhibit dealing with illustration for our articles on Coronet magazine, Lawson Wood, Arthur Szyk and Earl Oliver Hurst.