tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32738097.post8241635586292951772..comments2024-03-26T22:05:12.894+00:00Comments on Bear Alley: The Evolution of Billy BunterStevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12010426017572710283noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32738097.post-80614568436451762002010-04-04T15:06:33.786+01:002010-04-04T15:06:33.786+01:00To summarize my thoughts (above) on the respective...To summarize my thoughts (above) on the respective artistic merits of Leonard Shields, CH Chapman and RJ Macdonald, I would say that Shields was excellent at his best, Chapman was nothing to write home about (though he does have some pics that are worthy to browse), while RJ Macdonald can't be neglected, especially for some of his very good Gem drawings.<br />I never enthused over Chapman as Naveedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18066220238210573929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32738097.post-17546375492646804832008-06-27T19:58:00.000+01:002008-06-27T19:58:00.000+01:00good Job! :)good Job! :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32738097.post-59043112303662945462008-05-12T22:32:00.000+01:002008-05-12T22:32:00.000+01:00I would also hardly agree that Chapman was the bes...I would also hardly agree that Chapman was the best artist. In my opinion that accolode should rightly go to Leonard Shields who was the most competent illustrator, and whose best drawings for the Magnet could never be bettered by any of the other artists.<BR/>I do agree with most of what Nandu states about Shields (above), with one exception. It was not a 'job of work' for this artist to Naveedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18066220238210573929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32738097.post-13564679576562760552008-02-17T11:36:00.000+00:002008-02-17T11:36:00.000+00:00Thanks for your splendid piece. I agree with Nandu...Thanks for your splendid piece. I agree with Nandu about Shields, but I am still a great admirer of Chapman. Actually, I think that the quality of Chapman's work waxed and waned along with Frank Richard's own writing: it definitely deteriorated in the late thirties.Brian Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06703654925714686579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32738097.post-3072968059526506762008-02-17T02:42:00.000+00:002008-02-17T02:42:00.000+00:00Nothing specific to add, Steve. Just wanted to say...Nothing specific to add, Steve. Just wanted to say congrats on a terrific blog. It's the kind of lovingly well-informed thing one always loves to stumble across.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32738097.post-73615176451886475212008-02-15T11:00:00.000+00:002008-02-15T11:00:00.000+00:00Nandu,Thanks for the thoughtful and informative co...Nandu,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the thoughtful and informative comment. I hadn't actually realised how much of Shields' work I was choosing when I was writing: I wanted a few examples of how Bunter had developed artistically and to illustrate some of the points made in the article; but my main aim was to put together some information about his earliest artists so the choices for later illustrations Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12010426017572710283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32738097.post-20824455163526558932008-02-15T10:12:00.000+00:002008-02-15T10:12:00.000+00:00Just as a further aside, Steve; in your blog you s...Just as a further aside, Steve; in your blog you show a number of later Magnet illustrations - presumably chosen for comic effect - and all are by Shields, which illustrates the point I was making about Shields's skill.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11193773038286512389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32738097.post-89872646455829521002008-02-15T10:08:00.000+00:002008-02-15T10:08:00.000+00:00Lovely piece, Steve - especially the details of th...Lovely piece, Steve - especially the details of the artists. The presumably apocryphal tale of Clarke dying in mid-sketch has been folk-lore in Bunter circles for decades. I was reading a Collectors' Digest from 1954 yesterday, which contained the same assertion, but in tones to suggest that this was already well-known to all.<BR/><BR/>I wouldn't agree that Chapman was the best artist, though Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11193773038286512389noreply@blogger.com