Best of 2025 :: Published/Unpublished Strip Art

Johnny Reb by Frank Giacoia

Owner: John Stuart
Artists: Frank Giacoia (Penciller) , Frank Giacoia (Penciller)

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Artwork Details

Title:	Johnny Reb by Frank Giacoia
Artist:	Frank Giacoia (Penciller)
Artist:	Frank Giacoia (Penciller)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Comic Strip
Views:	173
Likes on CAF:	2 3
Added to Site:	5/27/2025

Description

I’ve been looking to acquire a decent Johnny Reb – Billy Yank strip to my collection for several years. This fine example came from the collection of the outstanding artist – Jackson (Butch) Guice.
Johnny Reb strips are not scarce, but finding one without condition issues can be quite the challenge. The strip tells the tales of the Civil War experiences of a Confederate and a Union soldier. It was run solely as an oversized Sunday strip from November 1956 to May 1959, which means only approximately 128 were ever produced.
In this strip, Johnny and Yancy visit a saloon on a quest to find John Wilkes Booth, only to be distracted by some sweet, sassy saloon girls. Keep your minds on your mission, boys!
At some point during the strip's life, Billy Yank was dropped, and the strip continued as Johnny Reb.
Johnny Reb was drawn by the veteran artist Frank Giacoia, with assistance from a handful of other artists. Namely, Joe Kubert, Mike Sekowsky and Jack Kirby. If anyone can see the hand of these artists in my strip, please let me know! Some sources claim that Kirby provided the majority of the pencils for his friend Frank to ink.
This example, published on March 8th, 1959, is from the second to last story arc – John Wilkes Booth.
The challenge with Johnny Reb strips is that most suffer from terrible condition issues. For some strange reason, about fifty percent of the strips have typed text boxes glued to the artwork. These text boxes have become discoloured and now appear as dark brown stripes on the art.
So, you’re probably wondering why a Canadian collector would have any interest in an American Civil War newspaper strip? Well, I discovered Johnny Reb – Billy Yank when I was researching my alternative history series, REBEL EMPIRE. The four books, Gettysburg Redux, Rebels and Desperados, For the Good of the Confederacy and Confederate Knights are available exclusively at Amazon.

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About the Owner

	John Stuart
Joined:	October 2005
Last Login:	January 2026
Website:	http://www3.sympatico.ca/jrstuart/
Country:	CANADA
On CAF:	John's Want List Artworks Commented On Liked Art Site Activity on CAF

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