January 2nd, 2016

Friends Forever

by Mort Walker

Beetle and Sarge by Mort Walker. Limited edition comic art print, Harry N. Abrams, 1978.

In 1978, Harry N. Abrams collaborated with the Newspaper Comics Council to produce a series of limited edition comic art prints by twenty of America’s top cartoonists. Each artist created a unique illustration that featured their most well-known characters.

This project provided the cartoonists with the opportunity to showcase their talents in an unrestricted format. The resulting creations were then reproduced with the highest quality standards and printed on rag paper in a limited edition of one hundred sets, which were numbered and signed by each artist. The prints were initially offered for $250 per print or $6000 for a set of twenty, but since that time individual prints have sold for considerably more.

In addition to Mort Walker, the artists that participated were: Hal Foster (Prince Valiant), Roy Crane (Buz Sawyer), Bud Sagendorf, (Popeye), Dick Moores (Gasoline Alley), Walt Kelly (Pogo), Al Capp (Li’l Abner), Howie Schneider (Eek and Meek), Lee Falk (Mandrake the Magician), Allen Saunders (Mary Worth), Ernie Bushmiller (Nancy), John Hart (B.C.), V.T. Hamlin (Alley Oop), Milt Caniff (Steve Canyon), Mell Lazarus (Miss Peach), Chester Gould (Dick Tracy), Ferd Johnson (Moon Mullins), Al Smith (Mutt & Jeff), Fred Lasswell (Snuffy Smith) and Al Andriola (Kerry Drake).

– Brian Walker