Martin, Jim :: Comic Strip Art Sunday and Dailies

Tailspin Tommy Feb 20, 1938

Artist: Hal Forrest (All)

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Artwork Details

Title:	Tailspin Tommy Feb 20, 1938
Artist:	Hal Forrest (All)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Comic Strip
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views:	409
Likes on CAF:	0 1
Comments:	3
Added to Site:	4/7/2022
Comic Art Archive:

Description

Back in the golden and even silver age the height of sequential art was the newspaper strips. Almost all comic book artists aspiration was to have a newspaper strip. That was the money and the glamour life.

Recently I started noticing Tailspin Tommy and 4 Aces appearing in different spots and was lucky enough to snag a page for myself. The size of the art is 23 1/4 " x 30". The page itself shows wear on the edges but is in remarkable shape for a 84 year old page of art. It is essentially two Sunday strips attached.

Some background stolen from Wiki

Tailspin Tommy was an air adventure comic strip about a youthful pilot, "Tailspin" Tommy Tomkins (sometimes spelled Tompkins). Originally illustrated by Hal Forrest and initially distributed by John Neville Wheeler's Bell Syndicate and then by United Feature Syndicate, the strip had a 14-year run from May 21, 1928 to March 15, 1942.

In the wake of Charles Lindbergh's 1927 flight across the Atlantic, the public's fascination with aviation escalated. Tailspin Tommy was the first aviation-based comic strip to appear as a result of this heightened interest. The strip's 1928 launch was followed by others, notably Skyroads (1929-1942), Scorchy Smith (1930-1961), The Adventures of Smilin' Jack (1933-1973) and Flyin' Jenny (1939-1946).

Scripted by Glenn Chaffin, a newspaper journalist and press agent, Tailspin Tommy began its run in four newspapers on May 21, 1928. By 1931, it was published in more than 250 newspapers across the country. After buying out Chaffin's interest, Forrest took over the scripting; his first credited Sunday strip ran on January 7, 1934, and his first Sunday appeared on January 22. Forrest wrote and drew the strip solo for the next three years.

In 1936, Forrest took on an assistant, Reynold Brown, who inked (uncredited) over Forrest's pencils. Tailspin Tommy is held by some to have improved with Brown's contribution.[2]

The Sunday page had several topper strips over the course of the run: Progress of Flight (1930-1933), Four Aces (1934-1941), How to Fly (1935), War Plane Insignia (1935) and Tailspin Tommy Flying Club (1935-1941).[1]

Living in Littleville, Colorado, young Tommy Tomkins had such an obsession with flying that he was given the nickname Tailspin Tommy before he ever actually went inside a plane. Although Tommy took an aero-engineering correspondence course, his real introduction to aviation happened when mail pilot Milt Howe made an emergency landing in a field near Tommy's neighborhood. Tommy watched the downward spiral of Milt's plane and ran to help. Howe rewarded Tommy with a greasemonkey job in Texas at the Three Point Airlines, where he soon became a pilot along with his girlfriend, Betty Lou Barnes, and his best buddy, Peter "Skeeter" Milligan. The trio eventually became part owners in Three Point and took off for many airborne adventures.

By 1940, Tailspin Tommy began to lose papers. A change in syndicates from Bell to United Features did little to help, and the strip ended on March 15, 1942.

Tailspin Tommy flew into movie theaters throughout the 1930s. He was portrayed by Maurice Murphy in the 12-episode 1934 movie serial Tailspin Tommy. Another 12-chapter serial, Tailspin Tommy in the Great Air Mystery (1935), starred Clark Williams in the title role. John Trent portrayed Tommy in a series of hour-long features, including Mystery Plane, Stunt Pilot, Sky Patrol and Danger Flight. All were released in 1939.

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	Jim Martin ( 5 ) Premium Gallery Owner
Joined:	April 2018
Last Login:	September 2025
Country:	UNITED STATES
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Marcus Wai
Member Since 2005

1 - Posted on 4/7/2022

The work by Forrest is legendary! It is a work of history as the subject represents the passions of the nation during that era. The artistry itself presented the planes and vehichles in all it's illustrated glory and the fantasy adventure style of the times.

Jim Martin
Member Since 2018

1 - Posted on 4/8/2022

Marcus Wai wrote:

The work by Forrest is legendary!� It is a work of history as the subject�represents the passions of the nation during that era.� The artistry itself presented the planes and vehichles in all it's illustrated glory and the fantasy adventure style of the times.�

It really is both a great piece of art and a snapshot of the times it is from

Steve Kro
Member Since 2007

1 - Posted on 4/8/2022

Great top tier. Love the lightning strike!

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