When I was a kid, the then
Buffalo Evening News did not publish a Sunday edition, and so published a color comics section on Saturday afternoon instead. On Sundays, we picked up a copy of the
Courier-Express, and so we got a second weekend dose of color comics. Of course the two competing papers had completely different line-up
s, and part of my memory is of the respective layouts of the two sections.
Blondie was always the lead strip on Saturday, and
Bringing Up Father had the top of the page on Sunday; we got
Terry & the Pirates and
Superman on Saturday,
Steve Canyon and
The Phantom on Sunday;
They'll Do It Every Time on Saturday,
There Ought to Be Law on Sunday-- you get the idea. The reason why I mention all this is because, try as I might, I can not remember which section hosted Otto Soglow's
The Little King. I find it a sure sign of its singular quality that it stands alone in my memory that way.
Since it was mostly a pantomime (the King himself never talked), I recall that this was an early favorite since I didn't require anyone to read it to me. Soglow's little vignettes were easy to follow and understand, and their whimsical nature still entertains me.
I later learned that the character of the Little King started out in panel cartoons for the
New Yorker, and I can see a connection between Soglow's work and that of someone like James Thurber, at least in the incredible economy of their artistic style. There's also something highly modernistic about much of Soglow's work, which is related to his simple, one might say stream-lined, compositions.
One doesn't often see Soglow listed in conjunction with George Herriman (
Krazy Kat), Cliff Sterrett (
Polly and Her Pals) or Charles Schulz (
Peanuts); but if he's not quite in that top tier of comic strip creators, he's certainly not very far behind.
When I was a kid, the then Buffalo Evening News did not publish a Sunday edition, and so published a color comics section on Saturday afternoon instead. On Sundays, we picked up a copy of the Courier-Express, and so we got a second weekend dose of color comics. Of course the two competing papers had completely different line-ups, and part of my memory is of the respective layouts of the two sections. Blondie was always the lead strip on Saturday, and Bringing Up Father had the top of the page on Sunday; we got Terry & the Pirates and Superman on Saturday, Steve Canyon and The Phantom on Sunday; They'll Do It Every Time on Saturday, There Ought to Be Law on Sunday-- you get the idea. The reason why I mention all this is because, try as I might, I can not remember which section hosted Otto Soglow's The Little King. I find it a sure sign of its singular quality that it stands alone in my memory that way.
Since it was mostly a pantomime (the King himself never talked), I recall that this was an early favorite since I didn't require anyone to read it to me. Soglow's little vignettes were easy to follow and understand, and their whimsical nature still entertains me.
I later learned that the character of the Little King started out in panel cartoons for the New Yorker, and I can see a connection between Soglow's work and that of someone like James Thurber, at least in the incredible economy of their artistic style. There's also something highly modernistic about much of Soglow's work, which is related to his simple, one might say stream-lined, compositions.
One doesn't often see Soglow listed in conjunction with George Herriman (Krazy Kat), Cliff Sterrett (Polly and Her Pals) or Charles Schulz (Peanuts); but if he's not quite in that top tier of comic strip creators, he's certainly not very far behind.
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