The Duke and the Dope ala Ken Hultgren!

Good afternoon, Kids! So nice to visit with you all again!

Ken Hultgren had a very successful and varied career in the arts, working at a very high-level wherever he hung his shingle.

He began, like so many illustrators before him, in animation. In the early 1940s, he became one of the great “animal artists” at Disney. By the late 40s, Mr. Hultgren had branched out into comics, working for Sangor Studios (Ha Ha and Giggle Comics). He famously illustrated such titles as The Duke and the Dope (enjoyed below) and Robespierre.

Throughout the 1950s and thereafter, he did a little of everything, working in comics, animation, and newspaper strip work.

His beautiful artwork is on good display here in this tale from the halls of injustice, featuring the pair of friends, the Duke (ever scheming) and the Dope (ever innocent). This story comes from Giggle Comics No. 20 (June, 1945)

Coming up next, the work of Bob Wickersham (Bob Wick)!

I will see you all again very soon. Until then, I hope you are all warm, safe, and happy!

--Your friend, Mykal

Ken Hultgren in Issue #45, Ha Ha Comics!

Let's continue the exploration of the complete issue No. 45 of Ha Ha Comics from 1947 - all done to exemplify the extraordinary artwork that was standard fare in kids' comics during the Golden Age. Indeed, as my friend, Pappy (from Pappy's Golden Age Comic Blogzine), has so rightly called it, "A Golden Age within the Golden Age."

Today we have a story with art from the prolific Ken Hultrgren, whose smooth work was all over the place during the 1940s. Oh, and stick around for a moment after the story to appreciate the cool ad for a complete camera kit!

From the Pages of Giggle Comics - 1949

Today let’s enjoy a couple of stalwarts from the golden age of kids’ comics, Dan Gordon and Ken Hultgren. These two were oft contributors to the pages of kids’ comics in the postwar period, both artists forging an immediately recognizable style. Gordon is a particular favorite of mine.  His work is so lively. Mr. Gordon does both the cover and the first Superkatt story.  Mr. Hultgren’s work is on display in the Duke and the Dope story. Both stories are from the pages of Giggle Comics No. 64, April 1949.

 

More from Coo Coo Comics No. 54!

Let's love two more stories from Coo Coo Comics No. 54, December 1950. Our first Butch and Buttercup story, "Plane Crazy," is unsigned, but I believe it's the work of Ken Hultgren. Of course, alternative opinions are welcome. As for the second story, I have no doubt: "Way Out West," featuring Cuffy the Cat, is the work of Ellis Holly Chambers (who often signed his work "EC"). In a genre and era of forgotten comic art masters, Chambers (of whom little is known) is one of the more severely and sadly forgotten.

Oh, and don't forget to soak up that ad at the end of the post from the same issue, which warns young men and women aganst being too skinny. Times, tastes, and fashions sure change, don't they?

Dan Gordon & Ken Hultgren - Giggle Comics

Very few cartoonists from any era had better brushwork than Dan Gordon. This first story is from Giggle Comics No. 71, May-June 1950. Gordon animated everything from Popeye for the Fleischer Studios to Huckleberry Hound for Hanna-Barbera. Most of his comic book work was for ACG (American Comics Group), where his funny animals (and funny humans) bounce around in a three-dimensional, rubbery world.

Next comes a Duke and the Dope story from ever-reliable Ken Hultgren - although it looks like someone else had a hand in this one. That giant gorilla is drawn a bit more loose and dynamic than is typical for the artist. Ken Hultgren was one of the Disney artists that animated the monster in the great sci-fi film, Forbidden Planet! Isn't that cool?

Finally, one of my favorite unsung cartoonists: Ray Thompson - who drew the stories of the Fleer Dubble Bubble Kids for the namesake bubble gum.