Rip Kirby Dailies 1997

John Prentice: Rip Kirby Daily Comic Strip Original Art Group (King Features Syndicate, 1997). Sequence of four dailies dated 12-15, 12-16, 12-17, and 12-18, all drawn in ink over graphite on Bristol board, with an average image size of 13" x 3.5".

John Prentice (17 October 1920 – 23 May 1999) was born in Whitney, Texas. From 1940-1946 he served in the United States Navy. After briefly attending the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, he moved to New York City and worked in a variety of illustrator jobs before being tapped to replace Alex Raymond. In 1956, Rip Kirby comic strip creator Alex Raymond died suddenly following a car accident. Prentice joined King Features Syndicate as Raymond’s replacement while the strip continued to be written by Fred Dickenson. In the 1980s, Prentice took over writing duties for Rip Kirby as well, continuing the strip until its conclusion in the late 1990s. Prentice drew the strip for 43 years.

Provenance: Heritage Auction 2015