Number 909


The bear and the gorilla


Jim Tyer was an animator and comic book artist who has a lot of fans. I like animation but Tyer's name was unknown to me until I started posting his work on Mighty Mouse and my more knowledgeable readers told me. It was when I realized I'd grown up with a man's work, both in animated cartoons and in comic books and didn't know it. Tyer, who was born in 1904, died in 1976.

This funny strip, signed by Tyer in the last panel, is from Ha-Ha Comics #4, 1943. There are more hilarious Tyer comic book stories at Animation Archives here.

"Killer Gorilla" is signed "Schwalb," a name I'm not familiar with. The splash panel is surreal, the artwork is minimalist, and it's all very appealing to me. Regular readers of this blog know that--ook, ook!--I've got a liking for comic book apes and gorillas.