CHIP -N- DALE No. 24, December 1960

This issue of Chip –n- Dale has a couple of golden age giants keeping good–n-busy into the silver age: Al Hubbard and Jack Bradbury. Tom McKimson was the art director for this title and maintained a very high standard throughout C&D's 30 issue run (McKimson was a key Warner Bros. animator in the 1940s, working on Bob Clampett’s unit). This cover was penciled by Pete Alvarado.

By the time of this issue's publication in 1960, Al Hubbard had been either drawing comics or making cartoons for over twenty years. Suffice to say he had drawn a couple tons of funny animals. Despite this volume, Hubbard was incapable of drawing a panel without energy and variety – nothing ever looked stale. Just look at the catalog of poses and expressions in this next story. I don’t know who did the script, but it’s very funny!

This next story is all Jack Bradbury, his style camouflaged a bit by the Disney cast. It is hard not to gush about Jack Bradbury – so why try? Bradbury is simply one of the finest kids' comic book artists that ever held a pen and brush - his characters so rounded and bouncy. One can just feel the compact density of his little oinkers. This man was born to drawn funny animals.

This last tale is perhaps my favorite of the bunch. Pencils: Pete Alvarado. Inks: Steve Steere.

Steere was one of Western Publishing's premier inkers, doing the inking chores for much work by Harvey Eisenberg, Pete Alvarado, Phil DeLara, Jack Bradbury, and Tony Strobl (to name a few). Get the idea?

This ad is from the same issue and serves as potent verification: Yes. It was a different time.

SUPER GOOF in "The Missing Pyramid"

This post – from Super Goof No. 13, May 1970 - is for Tyler Cosley and his father, cartoonist Jamie Cosley; a father and son team of Super Goof fans! Me too, guys! See Dad's work at his blog: Nobody Likes Jamie Cosley.

Goofy became super when he ate one of his super goobers (his peanut patch had been irradiated by a falling meteor). He may have become stronger as the Super Goof, and even been able to fly, but nothing could enhance his already super-human optimism and generous spirit. The art here, including the cover, is by Pete Alvarado. Alvarado’s eye-pleasing, clean simplicity always does the job right.

Magilla Gorilla - "The Boomerang Gorilla"

Magilla was an un-sellable gorilla that lived in the display window of a pet shop. Mr. Peebles, shop owner, couldn’t afford to feed him and urgently wanted Magilla to find a home elsewhere. Thus, like much of Dickens, Magilla was about the need for love, acceptance, and finding one's place in the world.

This first story (Magilla Gorilla No. 4, March 1964) is by Pete Alvarado, who was a major background and layout man for Warner Bros. Animation during the glory years. This tale travels far and wide, but Alvarado moves us along easily with graceful layouts and a cast of perfectly rendered characters.

These following 4-pagers are both by Phil DeLara. Another ex Warner Bros. animator, DeLara worked in Chuck Jones’ unit before the war, then post-war worked in Bob McKimson’s unit. He quit Warner Bros. in the 1950s and went to work drawing comics for Western Publishing. The opening splash panels on both stories expand the mind.