Showing posts with label Boys' Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Boys' Life. Show all posts

Friday, March 10, 2023

"Boys' Life" (December 1998)

Here's an cool illustration by Bill Cigliano for the December 1998 issue of "Boys' Life" magazine:


Not sure what's inside, but the characters we see on Scrooge's hat are intriguing, including the very Ann Rutherford-looking Ghost of Christmas Past!

Compare and contrast with the 1952 issue of "Boys' Life" we saw way back when!



Monday, May 3, 2021

Bonus Robert A. Graef


In addition to his work on the 1940 edition of "A Christmas Carol" from McLoughlin Bros., Robert A. Graef (1879-1951) produced tons of art for books and magazines.

He painted a bunch of covers for "Argosy" magazine. Here are just a couple:




He illustrated lots of stories for "Boys' Life" magazine, including many sports stories:


Many of these were adapted into books:




In addition to "A Christmas Carol," he illustrated other classics for children:




Here's a couple more illustrations:





He definitely had an affinity for sports stories:



A versatile artist, his work on "A Christmas Carol" barley scratches the surface!

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Boys' Life (December 1952) - Part 2



The two-page comic adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" from the "Boys' Life" issue of December 1952 runs through the story pretty quickly, but I think they get the flavor.

This is another example of the presumption that everybody knows the story already, so if you're shown some highlights, you can fill in the gaps.

The standout is the art, by the prolific Creig Flessel. Lots of detail.



He had a long career and, interestingly (I think) did a lot of work for "Detective Comics" before Batman appeared in issue 27 and took over that comic book.



Flessel also drew quite a bit for "The Sandman" feature, including his first cover appearance. He kind of does that old school "exaggeratedly realistic" thing. I like it!

In any event, we get another fun little bit of 1950s with this story.



And some fun ads with hints for the boys as to what to ask mom and dad to get them for Christmas!


Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Boys' Life (December 1952) - Part 1




Boys' Life (December 1952)
Editor: Irving Crump
Artist: Creig Flessel

Here's about as snappy a graphic adaptation as you'll ever see in two full-color pages, included inside the comic insert in Boys Life magazine!

Take a look: