bounce020629

It’s the first Billy Bounce post of the new year and it’s a sad one – today we reach the end of the Denslow era.  We’re picking up right where we left off with the circus and zoo at the beginning of June, 1902. Things fall apart a bit; my source papers poop out after two weeks for the rest of the month…luckily I was able to find the one above in another paper, but we’re still missing 6/15 and 6/22. The gang then leaves the circus in July and by the time they hit the seashore for a few weeks of laughs, Denslow is signing his last strip. My sources have the 7/20 Sunday comics section, but Billy is conspicuously absent.  I’m guessing he just didn’t run that day; if you know otherwise and can supply that date (or the two in June), please get in touch!

Look for the Kahles run to begin soon. And don’t fret, we may be seeing more Denslow material too (just not here in the Billy Bounce archive).

tenderfoot121020

Saddle up for some hi-jinks in the Old West! As promised, we have some more Tenderfoot Tim – in fact, I’m putting up all the 1912 pages today. For those disappointed by the extremely short run of Vic’s Bad Bill, you will be happy to know there are plenty more Tenderfoot pages to come. And for those few who became really attached to Bad Bill himself, you may want to check out a certain Buckskin Bill who shows up in December.

quacks041218

I took a break from the Billy Bounce project to revamp an archive that I am not sure anyone was clamoring for: The Little Quacks. The strips we had previously posted long, long ago were actually reprints from several years later; we now have the original run, including the missing Christmas strip seen above (I kept the whole page as to not butcher the ribbon). Dipping back into the duck pond has produced some curiosities, such as these two; it makes me wonder how many times these characters have appeared since this short lived run (I’m guessing there are are more to be had). Plus I ran into an earlier series that we’ll be adding sometime soon. Look forward to seeing some more Quacks in the new year!

catville091205

Here’s a little Christmas present: Louis Wain’s Catville! I’m dedicating this one to my sister who as a young girl used to tell anyone who would listen that she planned to be a “kitty cat” when she grew up. And in spirit, maybe she did. If she leaves a comment I’ll consider it a Christmas miracle…

bounce020413

Our run of Denslow’s Billy Bounce pages hit a snag after the March 16th episode – a full three weeks of Sundays are missing from my source! Luckily, I was able to find the remaining March pages in another paper, but they are in rather poor shape. Still no luck with April 6th; if anyone has a scan they would like to send, we would be more than happy to add it to the archive.  Of note this time around is the April 27th outing, which introduces the two lion cubs; I had no idea Billy had abducted them from their mother after they had all tried to eat him!  These new additions take us through May, which features the start of the Billy Bounce Zoo & Circus and includes the two Denslow pages we posted years ago.  I have better versions of these (May 11th and 25th) and will be replacing them soon.