"Mary Perkins, On Stage" by Leonard Starr

My recent acquisition is this daily comic Mary Perkins, On Stage by Leonard Starr from 1979.

Leonard Starr (1925 – 2015) was an American cartoonist, comic book artist, and advertising artist, best known for creating the newspaper comic strip, On Stage and reviving Little Orphan Annie.

In 1957, Starr created the comic strip On Stage, later titled Mary Perkins, On Stage for the Chicago-Tribune-New York News Syndicate. Characterized by a mix of soap opera, adventure and humor, the strip featured tight, realistic graphics and, from the beginning, strong layouts, design and storytelling. He continued producing Mary Perkins, On Stage until 1979. Starr would later cite the work of Alex Raymond and

Milton Caniff as influences on the strip's artwork.

Poster for "Flyod Collins" Musical at LTC

My artwork for Floyd Collins, a new musical at Lincoln Center Theater.

The poster design and art are directed by Nicky Lindeman at Spotco. Since the play is based on an event that happened in 1925, the art director wanted the poster to have the look of the posters from that time.

Floyd Collins had its world premiere at the American Music Theater Festival in Philadelphia in 1994. It was followed by the off-Broadway debut at Playwrights Horizons in 1996 where it won the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical. Due to its enduring cast recording, the musical has achieved a devoted following over the years.  This Lincoln Center Theater production will mark the long-awaited Broadway debut of this modern-day classic.

Floyd Collins is based on the true story of a cave explorer in Kentucky, 1925. While chasing a dream of fame and fortune by turning Sand Cave into a tourist attraction, Floyd Collins himself becomes the attraction when he gets trapped 200 feet underground. Alone but for sporadic contact with the outside world, including his brother Homer, Floyd fights for his sanity – and, ultimately, his life – as the rescue effort above explodes into the first genuine media circus. Reporters and gawkers from across the country descend on the property, fueling the hysteria and manipulating the nation into holding its collective breath. Floyd Collins, featuring a haunting exploration of the American dream by Tina Landau and a glorious folk and bluegrass-inspired score by Adam Guettel, tells the transcendent tale of a true American dreamer.

You can see more of my theatre posters here.

"Garth" by Frank Bellamy

My recent acquisition, two originals of the comic Garth by Frank Bellamy. Two continuing episodes of the story were published in the Daily Mirror newspaper on June 11th and 12th, 1975.

"Cazador y presa" by Arturo Del Castillo

My latest acquisition—an original page from the comic Cazador y presa by Arturo Del Castillo. It's the last page of this comic.  

I already have two pages from his comic El Cobra in my collection. You can see the pages here and here.

 

"Up Anchor!" comic by Kreigh Collins

My recent acquisition is this quite large page of Up Anchor! comic by Kreigh Collins from 1970.

Kreigh Taylor Collins (1908 – 1974), born in Davenport, Iowa, was an American cartoonistbest known for the comic strip Kevin the Bold. In 1968, Collins began working on the comic strip Up Anchor!, a story in modern setting about sailing, loosely based on his own experiences of sailing. Up Anchor! was published as a Sunday comic strip until 1972.  

Here you can read and see more comics by Kreigh Collins.  

 This is not my first page of Kreigh Collins's comics. I already have a page of his comic Kevin the Bold, which you can see here. 

The last image shows how the comic looks in print.

 

 

"Where the Wild Lines Are"

I just received the catalogue for the exhibition Where the Wild Lines Are – Books and Illustrations for Children at Die Neue Sammlung (The Design Museum) in Munich.

This exhibition comprises illustrated children’s books from Die Neue Sammlung’s collection and is curated by Caroline Fuchs. The exhibition will be on display until January 26, 2025.

I am quite pleased to see that several children’s books I donated to the museum are included in both the exhibition and the catalogue, and I even received credit for them.

 

The PRINT Award for Milton Glaser: POP Book

On October 30th, I received an unexpected Fedex package. It was quite heavy.

When I started to open it, each step became more and more mysterious. The black wraparound, the golden box and when I opened the box, I found a heavy piece of marble nestled in silk cushioning, on top of which was a note on how to maintain it and a cleaning cloth. It turned out to be the PRINT Award for my book design of Milton Glaser: POP. In my long career, I've never received such a physically substantial award before.

The award weighs 6.8 pounds (2.9 kg) and measures 5 x 7.2 x 2 inches (13 x 18 x 5 cm).

Since I received it the day before Halloween and it was black, my first thought was that I could use it as a tombstone. But I am a positive guy and I thought, if I get a few more, maybe they could be the foundation of the Mirkokhamun pyramid or my new house.

Thank you PRINT Magazine for opening up the possibility of my future endeavours.

You can see the award-winning Milton Glaser: POP book design here.