On eBay Now...Vtg WWII 4/20 1939 Original Hal Forrest Tailspin Tommy Comic Art Daily Newspaper For Sale
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Vtg WWII 4/20 1939 Original Hal Forrest Tailspin Tommy Comic Art Daily Newspaper:
$225.00
Up for sale, from the estate of advanced collector Maj. Charles Thomas Laws, comes this original April 20, 1939 8" x 30" hand draw, using black india ink, four panel art layout for the comic Tailspin Tommy, with title sequence "Tommy Uses Diplomacy", #3420. This item is in excellent condition with the paste over Bell Syndicate Inc. portion coming unglued and flipping up.I've attached some newspaper clipping for provenance showing the comic used on the actual date in a handful of newspapers in Long Beach, CA, Fresno, CA, New York, North Carolina and Virginia for history and provenance only but these digital clippings are not part of the listing, just the original four cell hand drawn comic strip only.This four panel art layout would look great matted and framed.
Shipping to run $12.95 in the USA and and $45.00 to Europe or Japan. The art will be shipped securely in a tube.
Good luck and God Bless.
Some History:
- The Piece: An authentic, hand-inked 4-panel original daily production art board for the historic aviation comic strip Tailspin Tommy.
- The Narrative: Features main characters Tommy and Skeets investigating a mysterious parachute flare dropping onto their airfield, discovering a hidden message container. It includes the penciled editorial plot title, "Tommy Uses Diplomacy."
- The 1939 Copyright Twist: While the sequential numbering (3420) matches the original 1933 storyline, the board features a 1939 Bell Syndicate copyright stamp. This confirms it is a rare production relic that was physically updated and re-issued by the syndicate to capitalize on the massive pre-WWII aviation craze.
- Pioneering Creator: Harry Paul "Hal" Forrest was an American cartoonist who created Tailspin Tommy—the first major aviation adventure strip in comic history [Tailspin Tommy].
- Real-World Experience: During World War I, Forrest served at Kelly Field drawing cartoons for military camp papers. His time in the U.S. Army and the Air Corps Reserve gave him firsthand mechanical knowledge of airplanes, making his comic illustrations remarkably accurate.
- The Flight Craze: Capitalizing on the public’s obsession with flight after Charles Lindbergh’s 1927 transatlantic crossing, Forrest launched Tailspin Tommy on May 21, 1928 [Tailspin Tommy]. It became a massive hit, syndicating in over 250 national newspapers.
- Hollywood History: The strip's popularity made it the first comic strip ever adapted into a movie serial, leading to multiple Universal Studios films throughout the 1930s.
- Solo Run: Forrest took over both the writing and drawing duties completely in 1933 (the precise year your strip was originally drawn) and kept the strip flying until its conclusion in 1942.
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