Here's the first story from the final (Don't let that 'Next issue' plug fool you) issue f JUDY CANOVA in 1950. GCD calls it pure Wood but I'd go with Joe Orlando in there somewhere on either pencils or inks as his signature appears on the cover. Interesting to note the obvious Al Capp influence in the art, presumably due to the fact that Judy was a hillbilly character. Judy Canova became popular on radio in her hillbilly persona nearly two decades before her comic book series and continued to appear as a character actress/comedienne right up until close to her death in 1983. She lived long enough to see her tall, gorgeous daughter Diana become a popular TV star in the seventies on shows such as SOAP. If Diana had been blonde, she would have looked exactly like a typical Wood woman!
Alan Kupperberg writes:
ReplyDeleteI see no evidence of Woody, except perhaps in the lettering, in this
job. It looks like pure (bored) Joe Orlando, aping Al Capp, as you
said. The pay must've been next to nothing, because this is the most
"hacked out" work I've ever seen come out of Joe even considering his
youth at the time. But an interesting post, to be sure.
Best,
Alan K
Booksteve: Judy Canova! Wow, did I have a crush on her during her Soap years. Thanks for bringing that back to mind. Man. What a crush I had.
ReplyDeleteI don't see Wood at all in this, for what that's worth. "aping" Capp, for sure. I think possibly a downright satire on Lil' Abner. I mean, those facial expressions are identical.