Let's continue with our exploration of Jingle Jangle Comics No. 14, April 1945. Today's story, "The Polka-Dot King and the Cranberry-Plated Crown," is by the great George Carlson. Carlson's layouts were supernaturally fine. Page after page of the following prove that genius, from any era, always has a way of looking modern.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZUAVxu6OCArs5L0VEIqak9GkN4TF8aR9YJ8XJuHLY7eKYyKXaaK4abtmMRsENkfQPV2lxYOEPwb4FCbRxnCTFnNhzLF8skpOaS2qmsblmyuNI5lrXAFDRhOYAoNmnBZnD-9VfXTX1ZRw/s400/JingleJangleTales001.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCxiIXQM_2TN9ZioWRr_aGR6neNfzmtqqikl4pLeeDyA8GfgEZAe1BZ94JMi2F9h_X_p7XJqwkLzwAd1RFTKQtAXywfYgAQtMXP6-JhH1D3qKYHu9DREjbHicWsRsjiCIa1RLzfiN7N3U/s400/JingleJangleTales002.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYH3PBzZ013nA24QuVq_xT3g3y_lSgUz9jOXQpP8ZdVTg9rlucfXhc59QEpkRDd-rqSkxiKMM3wRoMiprD_4gcWHKS-NI5kgAACJNTDlFvxHaduKLHjvWArFreGIAN6bnWeWLTgufdFsg/s400/JingleJangleTales003.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh5JBv5HxzpsRiioXZNyU6Jc4jVzX4ltswgxKqaIfdboW1d_XJvnnmOBuotAvpmS_aZTxNE542GAbqDLQkmzV_CHKALwMTFvhwYCi-qioyeBJHAoRi4_hoe51kUt2El5wzPAoKYpR4ZpM/s400/JingleJangleTales004.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuPL5_l_4Y4vkdNluzCdAeYMTqRhblGC83YxgYjWAhNEcYTd0qP7YmBLqcl2k-Rjm1cLGmZswr4VcnznvIHbbgjtPhzwRO_qZVtBXcPXYtv5FZKRJxbKMAfz8VNMCHCzuFMsUy28x-npI/s400/JingleJangleTales005.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVEb37iSb2j7aau3lU8_TzgO625J0mNd-9a_E2niigZh8WHKD_F2KBDYlFm9pbL2ReHxYp-lafkbU2Gb8anqyVFJdRmruJJFV1ocryhWCBv2qbUrAZ3Pjk-W5et0ujZWt-mNlfOOV7AhU/s400/JingleJangleTales006.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioapJ45zCqulMkk6FUlFrz_8vROf6ybN-t4NLrE_VyLPgmLAQjY-M9DYH7MnurDjYQYAfmRe8RiNOljAgV3VvQIcnPVA_lVYyrF7a90kewWxtXLBCXkFLCxFcSiNMUPQ6kb4QEmriF4og/s400/JingleJangleTales007.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqCuAo_U77-jp-k40DUcpmRNhYIs9BALzirK__MPBvLN5LHc8CgKGRySLkhRJ0rqcU1pndl2CeQxVz816UjjSlYt9u9odH8bmB4tdq6GDF031aavEsU9bK7ezCvVgcMa97tZpyHHjwnwM/s400/JingleJangleTales008.jpg)
Here is a one-page puzzle from the same issue, drawn by Carlson. Here, too: perfect balance.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1MjxbtSZ1RRCwkFEPPKmyKugTTE1XTctcqV3k3bE-3kYHtMXJyQz079Ji8fibSw-SF4pcESXbqI3kCpgspezN4kculZaD6x8RHEvASCM9YpVLEJAFq_MEsPA9yHLdtETKQBunyQncG9U/s400/zzCarlsonpuzzle001.jpg)
Coming next: More George Carlson featuring the artist's best known creation - The Pie-Face Prince of Old Pretzelburg!
This one really moves~! So much forward motion. The layouts are amazing. Using different shaped panels doesn't always work~ but it does here. That maze feels like my brain after too much paper wasted on my own drawings~!
ReplyDeleteTruly gorgeous stuff!
ReplyDeleteLysdexicuss: I've never seen any better layouts!
ReplyDeleteJeff: Everytime I look at Carlson's work, it seems fresh and new!
his should be a household name... amazing!
ReplyDeleteKarswell: I couldn't agree more. His work is so perfectly beautiful yet, at the same time, really out there. Carlson's universe is so full of mind-twisting touches: ice cream cones growing like flowers, folks dashing in exits, pipe smoking cacti, etc.
ReplyDeleteEvery page is a piece of art.
Carlson only appeared on my radar about 8 years ago, but I recognized his work immediately as that of a kindred spirit. Thanks for posting this!
ReplyDeleteCraig: More Carlson on the way next post!
ReplyDeleteA very cool story and terrific design. Thanks for featuring this, Mykal. Maybe it was the forerunning to Little Dot?
ReplyDeleteGary: Great to hear from you! About Dot - Hey, you never know.
ReplyDeleteBravo! It feels like old Sunday morning newspaper comics.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post. Have to say I miss the Gold Key Comics blog but The Big Blog works for me, being a fan of sher cartooning.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure, but I think Harlan Ellison wrote an essay about Jingle Jangle Comics in the classic book "All In Color For A Dime".
Anyhow, beautiful work.
Yes, Harlan Ellison wrote about Carlson in the last chapter of All in Color For a Dime. He later said in an interview (in Starlog) that prices of back issues of Jingle Jangle had gone up after that essay was published. BTW, All in Color for a Dime had eleven chapters/essays, including Ted White on DC, Richard Lupoff on Captain Marvel, Don Thompson on Timely/Marvel Comics, and Roy Thomas on Fawcett Comics (besides the Marvel Family). The essays were originally published as articles in a fanzine.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip about All In Color For A Dime!
ReplyDelete