1977: QUINCY Comic Book Part Two

 

This is the second part of a look at the complete rare 1977 QUINCY comic book. The first part is here. 

 

OK, the blog title is "1977: QUINCY Comic Book Part Two," but "What Have They Done to HENRY?!?!?!!" was a close second. And a third would be "Who in the World is 'Little Guy and Professor Noodle?" But I digress. 

This QUINCY book has HENRY as a backup feature. The HENRY comic strip by Carl Anderson was, like Otto Soglow's THE LITTLE KING, a pantomime strip. HENRY, a hairless boy with a receding mouth, did not speak. This all changed when the comic strip HENRY became the comic book HENRY. In Dell Comics' CARL ANDERSON'S HENRY, the title character spoke like anyone else. So much for the feature staying "on model." It sure sounds like a wrong-headed idea to take away a comic strip character's gimmick, but the transformation worked. The Dell Comic was around from 1946 to 1961. Every issue drawn by Carl Anderson's successor, John Liney. This King Comic continues the tradition of HENRY speaking. 

 

Above is one of the educational pages, with the pretty blonde floating head of "Ms. Anne" (Dr. Anne Mueser) asking you to work out some subject/verb agreements using QUINCY as her muse. 

 

Another educational page, this time with Richard Guttenberg "Mr. G." And now we have a 6 page feature: "Little Guy in 'The Big Swap' with Professor Noodle." It's signed by John Liney. This story features much making fun of being small, being fat and features a kid who talks to strangers about trading comics. But it's all in fun, and the QUINCY comic itself makes a cameo which is very exciting. 

 

Today's lesson: five 'Klunks' equal one 'Quincy.' 

Above: the answers to all those educational questions posed by the floating heads. An inspirational page filler telling you that if you want to get ahead in life the follow directions. And thus completes the complete scan of QUINCY "R-05," copyright King Features 1977.

 

-- This has been an edited version of a blog entry that originally ran on April 20, 2011.

1977: QUINCY Comic Book by Ted Shearer Part One

 

 

QUINCY was a newspaper comic strip by Ted Shearer. The King Features strip, which ran from 1970 to 1986, was in the tradition of SKIPPY and LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE - a scrappy kid who is pushing to better himself; sometimes falling on his face, but always philosophically optimistic. QUINCY chronicled a group of multi-cultural kids in a New York City neighborhood. 

Shearer was a cartoonist I admire, and I've previously showcased QUINCY (part one, part two). He's a cartoonist that deserves to be remembered. This giveaway comic book (there is no cover price) is numbered "R-05" and is copyright King Features 1977. I bought it last week and it was advertised as a "rare King Comics' test market comic book" that was never circulated. In the indicia, on page 3, you can see that this was part of the "Supplementary Reading Program developed and editor by Richard Guttenberg, Dr. Anne Mueser and Sherman H. Saiger." So, it may have been distributed as art of a school program. 

There are a couple of QUINCY comic books, and a TIM TYLER'S LUCK book in the series, which all seem to feature King Features properties. Each comic book also has a featured co-star, in their own, separate story. With the QUINCY books, you have HENRY and Hamlet (!), HAGAR's son. TIM TYLER's LUCK gives us a FELIX THE CAT back up. All of the art is uncredited. The stories appear to be cobbled together from Shearer's QUINCY dailies. 

I think that the "Ms. Annie" and the "Mr. G." in the All-Star Cast are in fact two of the Supplementary Reading Program editors, Dr. Anne Mueser and Richard Guttenberg. 

 

Next time: part two, in which co-star HENRY is re-imagined -- and I don't mean in a good way. Edit: part two is here.

 

-- Edited from an April 19, 2011 blog entry.

QUINCY by Ted Shearer Part Two

 
Here are some more of Ted Shearer's gorgeous QUINCY comic strips. Part one is here.



Above: a 4 panel gag sequence with an opening establishing angle of the interior of Quincy's home, a close up of angry granny, a medium close shot of Quincy's reaction with Granny in the background, and a final panel emphasizing Quincy's expression in a medium close up. Shearer gives you a real sense of place and character.



Quincy is one of the few comic strip characters to consistently address the reader directly. In the first 3 panels, we have the set up; and three different angles, as Quincy says his prayers. And, in the final panel, we are looking straight on at Quincy, and he meets our gaze, as he shares his realization with us.



Every character is in motion. Granny is moving a pot, and even Quincy, seated at the table, looks around while he complains. I like the painterly use of the grey tone, especially on the middle panel, as it's "splashed" haphazardly on Granny and the background.



Pragmatic Quincy may want to conspicuously consume, but he understands the bottom line better than his pals.



Above: another one of those kid conversations where lofty philosophising meets grounded economic concerns.

Above: a strip from 1971. Money, or the lack of it, is a constant theme. Here is Quincy, working part-time in a store, chatting with his white friend Nickles. I like the bits of the store that Shearer draws in the background. Note that there is rarely an inanimate object that is horizontal. The counter, the cash register; all are at a slight angle to make the picture a bit more dynamic.



Above: a deceptively simple strip. Look at that first panel. The whole set up is there. Shearer juxtaposes the rickety, home made "Soul Express" with the bikes, seen behind the glass window. The kids have to lean a little bit up just to see these objects of desire, emphasizing visually how out of reach they are. Like in the previous strip with the car, the items are shiny and new; the antithesis of the dark, jaggedy lines of the slums.


There is a lot of life in Quincy. Even when he's talking or eating, his body is usually moving.


This is the second time that I've showcased Ted Shearer. More QUINCY strips by Ted Shearer are here, along with biographical information and more links.



The cartoons reproduced here are from the softcover collection QUINCY, copyright 1970, 1971 and 1972 by King Features.

 

-- Edited from a blog entry that originally appeared on February 27, 2009. 

QUINCY by Ted Shearer Part One

 
Ted Shearer's comic strip QUINCY ran from 1970 until he retired the strip, 16 years later. Ted was a cartoonist with a wonderfully grounded knowledge of illustration. QUINCY deserves more than a quick look, it deserves to be remembered.

The cartoons reproduced here are from the softcover collection QUINCY, copyright 1970, 1971 and 1972 by King Features.


Quincy was, in the tradition of the 1930s strip SKIPPY, a scrappin' philosopher. It was kid-friendly, and a beautiful thing to look at.




Jamaican-born Ted Shearer (1921-1996) grew up in Harlem. He sold his first cartoon at the age of 16 to the New York Amsterdam News. He studied at Pratt, in Brooklyn, NY. He served in the army in WWII, in the 92nd Division, achieving the rank of Sergeant. He was a regular Stars and Stripes contributor.


Since 1937, Ted had been drawing features for the Black newspaper press. After the war, you could see Mr. Shearer's cartoons in leading magazines. He began working full-time for the the prestigious BBD and O advertising firm in the 1950s, becoming an art director there.



But he left his career for QUINCY. One of a group of new, different post-war kid strips (along with WEE PALS, TIGER and MISS PEACH, to name a few). The difference here was the look and the tone of the feature.


One source says that he achieved those painterly swooshes of dots by using some kind of Benday (or "Ben Day") paper; a specially treated art paper, popular among editorial cartoonists, that you could brush a clear fluid onto it and then dots or lines (depending on the kind of paper and the type of fluid) would appear. It's still available, but I have been told that it's (a) expensive and (b) all those chemicals are not good for you.


Above: this is what I like about the strip. Here's a conversation that has nothing to do with running down a Harlem street and shooting some hoops; but it does no harm to show that. It's also just like kids: they talk and talk, throughout the day, no matter what they're doing. I like the kids' point of view; a low angle -- in the first panel. That bit of fence on the right, in the second panel, is just enough to let us know that they're on a playground in the city. The swooping grey Benday clouds give us the sense that this is a gloomy and/or dirty place.


The reason I wanted to show these strips is because of Ted Shearer's mastery of place and composition. By looking at the above 4 panels, we can see 4 different views that show us who these characters are and where they live. The third panel, with the city angling over Quincy and his friend Sneeze, is gorgeous.



The juxtaposition of light and dark, and the different shapes -- the jagged lines of the grass, the rectangles of the strips, the jagged stones of the fence -- all combine to give a personal, even a painterly, depiction of the park.


Mr. Shearer enjoyed painting and was in many gallery shows. He also created the BILLY JO JIVE series of books with his son.

The drawing of Quincy, Viola and Sneeze, walking away in the final panel, is an example of good cartooning. Here we are, looking at the backs of 3 cartoon characters, and we can see they are alive; each walking in a different angle, their bodies at slight pitches. And that lone hydrant next to them -- it's Ted Shearer reminding us these are city kids.



-- Edited from an August 28, 2008 blog entry.