Alberto's Page>THE "OTHER RAYMONDS"

THE "OTHER RAYMONDS"

26.07.2014 17:45

OBSCURE ARTISTS No. 4

THE "OTHER RAYMONDS"

Tutti quelli che amano I fumetti conoscono Alex Raymond (1909-1956), che ci ha dato meravigliose strip quali Flash Gordon, Jungle Jim e Rip Kirby. Molti meno sono coloro I quali sanno che anche due dei suoi fratelli hanno lavorato nel campo dei fumetti per un bel po' di tempo. Alexander Gillespie e Beatrice Raymond avevano avuto sei figli: Al primogenito Alexander Gillespie, Jr. (1909) avevano fatto seguito Robert M. (1912), Beatrice A. (1914), James C. (1917), John D. (1919) e George P. (1921).

Alex inizia a disegnare fumetti a 20 anni, assistendo Russ Westover per Tillie the Toiler, poi Chic Young per Blondie e Lyman Young per Tim Tyler's Luck (Cino e Franco), prima di ottenere successo per conto suo.

Jim Raymond

Nato nel Connecticut nel 1917, James Crossley (Jim) Raymond pubblica le prime vignette sul giornalino del liceo. Debutta nei fumetti prestando il suo nome di battesimo e le sue fattezze a Jim Brady, alias Jungle Jim, verso la fine del 1933. Alex Raymond ha da poco lasciato Lyman Young e Tim Tyler's Luck per lavorare alle proprie strip, e sembra che dal 23 ottobre 1933 sia Jim a disegnare anonimamente la strip di Young, continuando probabilmente fino a novembre, quando viene sostituito da Nat Edson e Burne Hogarth. Nel 1935 Jim diventa l'assistente di Chic Young per Blondie. Nel 1937, quando il primogenito di Young muore di itterizia, Jim prende a scrivere e a disegnare la strip per un anno. Young torna poi a scriverla e a
schizzarla, ma è Raymond a eseguire il grosso del disegno. Jim aiuta inoltre suo fratello Alex, ripassando a china Flash Gordon e Jungle Jim nel 1941-42. Quando Alex viene arruolato a metà del 1944, Austin Briggs riprende Flash Gordon ma a quanto sembra si rifiuta di disegnare Jungle Jim, cosicché Jim Raymond ne rileva anonimamente il disegno, continuandolo finché anche lui viene arruolato il 12 gennaio 1945 (la sua ultima tavola appare il 25 marzo). Congedato l'anno seguente, torna a disegnare Blondie e nel 1949, a causa dei problemi che Chic ha alla vista, ne diviene il solo (ancorché ufficioso) disegnatore. Dovrà tuttavia ttendere fino al 1974, quando Young scompare, per firmare la strip insieme con il figlio di Young, Dean, che la sceneggia sin dal 1963. Inoltre Jim Raymond scrive e disegna il topper di Blondie, Colonel Potterby and the Duchess, dal 1935 al 1963. Continuerà a disegnare Blondie finché la sua salute peggiora nel 1979, cosicché deve lasciare il grosso del disegno al suo assistente Michael Gersher, finché scompare alla fine del 1981 per un tumore, lasciando la moglie Agnes.

Molto meno si sa di George P. Raymond, nato nel Connecticut il 27 marzo 1921. Come i fratelli Alex and Jim, George ha del talento, e dal 1951 assiste per Big Ben Bolt John Cullen Murphy (1919-2004), cresciuto a New Rochelle, a un isolato dalla casa dei Raymond. George contribuirà alla strip per quindici anni, occupandosi di layouts, lettering e ricerche. Raymond risulta essere scomparso il 3 aprile 1998.

Everybody who loves comics knows Alex Raymond (1909-1956), who gave us such wonderful strips as Flash Gordon, Jungle Jim, and Rip Kirby. Fewer people, though, know that two of his brothers also worked in the comics field for quite a long time. Alexander Gillespie and Beatrice Raymond had six children: first-born Alexander Gillespie, Jr. (1909) was followed by Robert M. (born 1912), Beatrice A. (born 1914), James C. (born 1917), John D. (born 1919), and George P. (born 1921).

Alex started out in comics at 20 years old, assisting Russ Westover on Tillie the Toiler, then Chic Young on Blondie and Lyman Young on Tim Tyler's Luck, before making it big on his own.

Born in Connecticut, James Crossley (Jim) Raymond had his first cartoons published in his high school newspaper. He made his debut in comics lending his first name to and modeling for brother Alex's Jim Brady, a.k.a. Jungle Jim, late in 1933. Alex had just recently quit Lyman Young and Tim Tyler's Luck to work on his own strips, and it seems that as of October 23, 1933 Jim was ghosting Young's strip. His tenure probably ended in November that year, when he was succeeded by Nat Edson and Burne Hogarth. In 1935 Jim became Chic Young's assistant on Blondie. In 1937, when Young's first son died of jaundice, Jim took over both writing and drawing the strip for a year. Young then came back to writing and sketching the strip but Raymond did most of the artwork. Jim also helped out his brother Alex, inking on Flash Gordon and Jungle Jim during 1941-42. When Alex was drafted in mid-1944, Austin Briggs took over Flash Gordon but reportedly refused to draw Jungle Jim, so Jim Raymond anonymously took over the artwork, continuing to draw it until he himself was drafted on January 12, 1945 (his last Sunday appeared on March 25). He came back to civilian life and to Blondie the following year, and by 1949, due to Chic's diminishing eyesight, he was Blondie's sole (though unofficial) artist. Yet he had to wait until 1974, when Young died, to sign the strip along with Young's son Dean, who had been writing most of it since 1963. Jim Raymond also wrote and drew Blondie's topper, Colonel Potterby and the Duchess, from 1935-63. He continued drawing Blondie until his health began to fail in 1979, leaving much of the art to his assistant, Michael Gersher until he died late in 1981 from cancer, leaving wife Agnes.

Less is known about George P. Raymond, who was born March 27, 1921 in Connecticut. Like his brothers Alex and Jim, George had some talent, and by 1951 he was assisting on Big Ben Bolt for John Cullen Murphy (1919-2004), who grew up in New Rochelle, the Raymonds living only a block away from him. George worked on the strip for fifteen years, doing layouts, lettering, and research. Reportedly, Raymond died on April 3, 1998.

JIM RAYMOND FUMETTOGRAFIA/COMICOGRAPHY

Editore/Publisher: King Features Syndicate

Blondie - Strisce quotidiane e tavole settimanali / Daily strip and Sunday page

Assistente / Assistant 1935-1937

Ghost testi, matite e chine / Ghost writer, pencils and inks 1937-1938

Assistente matite e chine / Assistant pencils and inks 1938-1949

Ghost matite e chine / Ghost pencils and inks 1939-Mar 09 1974