The Saint Daily 05-04-1950

Mike Roy The Saint Daily Comic Strip Original Art dated 5-4-50 (New York Herald- Tribune, 1950). Leslie Charteris' famous exercise in ruthless heroism introduces a plot to compromise the virtue of a daughter of royalty. The cigar-chomping villain, Lord Bullfish, radiates evil, suave but slovenly, in a beautifully composed environmental/profile scene (Panel 1). Simon Templar, alias the Saint, sits this one out, off-camera. Roy, the author's preferred comics-version artist, is in peak form, his touch recalling the fluid brush-line of Milton Caniff. And yes, Charteris himself wrote the strip during this early period -- he had pursued a comics-plotting sideline since the 1930s, starting with a hitch on Secret Agent X-9. Ink over graphite on Bristol board. Image area, 21" x 5.75". Slight adhesive residue and marginal staining. Very Good condition. The byline box (lower right) is a stained paste-up. Heritage Aucions