Al Wiseman Blog

Pic Magazine- September 1948

2007-07-31T17:26:00.000-04:00

Greetings! If you are an Al Wiseman fan, then prepare yourself to be filled with bountiful giddiness while veiwing this energetic Al Wiseman gag cartoon torn directly from the pages of Pic Magazine.

And if you are not an Al Wiseman fan- then get the hell off this site!

Wait, why did I say that? I apologize. Everyone is welcome to the Al Wiseman Blog. Especially you!

Oh, and special thanks to our pal Leif Peng for uncovering this shiny gem of Wiseman-ness.

But what about the drawing itself? Is it an early precursor to Henry Mitchell, Ruff the dog and Hot Dog the cat?

Why, no. Not at all. That would be stretching faint simularities to silly, illogical extremes. But there is a nifty motion-cloud-thingy. And who doesn't love a nifty motion-cloud-thingy?

Wiseman magazine gags:
Saturday Evening Post gags:
1/27/45
10/30/48
1/22/55
Liberty Magazine gags:
November 1947
Pic Magazine gags:
August 1948
September 1948

Pic Magazine- August 1948

2007-07-27T21:25:00.000-04:00

Hello Wiseman fans! In my incredibly short hiatus from posting on the Al Wiseman Blog, we were contacted by cartoonist and fellow Wiseman fan Leif Peng. Turns out that Leif had discovered a couple of Wiseman gag cartoons in the pages of Pic Magazine. So, you may ask, how did he find these swell examples (and just what the hell was Pic Magazine anyway)? Well, let's quote Leif:

"I found [them] while flipping through an old Pic magazine - "The magazine for young men" - a sort of early Esquire competitor, I guess. Since I first visited your wonderful blog I've been keeping a look out for Al's work. Hopefully I'll have more for you in the future!"

Thanks, Leif! We'd love to see more!

Above: Al loved fishing. Did he also love hunting? Oh, I can't remember...

Wiseman magazine gags:
Saturday Evening Post gags:
1/27/45
10/30/48
1/22/55
Liberty Magazine gags:
November 1947
Pic Magazine gags:
August 1948
September 1948

Wiseman Original Art- Dennis Sunday

2007-01-01T20:19:00.000-05:00

Wow! It's New Year's Day, Wiseman fans! And every new year promises a brand-new beginning with even greater events ahead for each and every one of us! Yay!

(Yet, on the other hand, maybe this New Year is just a bright shiny package containing the same old stuff you thought you'd thrown out last year.)

Hmmm...

Well, I choose to believe that as long as we have Al Wiseman artwork to help us along, it'll be a darned swell year!

In fact, if good ol' Al were still around, I'm sure he'd say, "Hey, let's celebrate the New Years with a post featuring the original art from an early Dennis Sunday comic strip!" Great idea, Mr. Wiseman!

And luckily, Wiseman fan Jim Fisher recently sent me photos of his incredible framed Al Wiseman Dennis Sunday original! Keen! Thanks Jim!

Click to enlarge:

Oh, and Jim also sent an image of his 1951 Ketcham Dennis daily! Yow!

Please order Dennis the Menace books from Fantagraphics (and ask them to reprint the Wiseman Dennis comic books and Sunday strips).

"Dennis the Menace" & related characters are ©Hank Ketcham Enterprises, Inc.

Wiseman Silhouettes- Dennis in Hollywood (part 3)

2006-12-18T22:43:00.000-05:00

Today we've got more Al Wiseman silhouettes for you. Why? Because Al Wiseman was the God of Funnybook Silhouettes!

And because Silhouettes are good for you!

Kinda like eating your vegetables- except they're like vegetables that taste like candy!

Yay!

Wiseman Silhouettes:
Dennis in Hollywood:
Part 1/Part 2
Charley Jones' Laugh Book Magazine:
August 1950: Part 1
March 1953: Part 2

Please order Dennis the Menace books from Fantagraphics (and ask them to reprint the Wiseman Dennis comic books and Sunday strips).

"Dennis the Menace" & related characters are ©Hank Ketcham Enterprises, Inc.

Dennis Sunday Comic Strip 1/3/54 (Part 2)

2006-12-15T22:15:00.000-05:00

Wait! If you haven't read yesterday's post, go there first!

This is the second half of a Dennis the Menace Sunday strip with a plot that's so convoluted and complicated that if you don't start at the very beginning, you'll be lost forever!

Whew! That was close...

Please order Dennis the Menace books from Fantagraphics (and ask them to reprint the Wiseman Dennis comic books and Sunday strips).

"Dennis the Menace" & related characters are ©Hank Ketcham Enterprises, Inc.

Dennis Sunday Comic Strip 1/3/54 (Part 1)

2006-12-14T21:15:00.000-05:00

Yay! It's Snowing!!!!

Well, it's not really snowing here. But if it were snowing, you know where I'd be!

No, not outside enjoying nature, silly. I'd be inside comfortably reading and re-reading this exemplary Wiseman-drawn Sunday comic over and over again!

What, I should go out in the cold and chance freezing to death? We at the Al Wiseman Blog strictly believe in getting all our life experiences second-hand through the magic of Al Wiseman's stunning artwork!

It makes life so much easier that way...

Tomorrow: The long-awaited conclusion of this excitingly Winter-wonderland-ish Dennis comic strip!

Please order Dennis the Menace books from Fantagraphics (and ask them to reprint the Wiseman Dennis comic books and Sunday strips).

"Dennis the Menace" & related characters are ©Hank Ketcham Enterprises, Inc.

Dennis the Menace Takes a Poke at Poison

2006-12-13T22:22:00.000-05:00

Looks like our pals over at Comics With Problems have scanned and posted an edition of the timeless Dennis the Menace giveaway comic Dennis the Menace Takes a Poke at Poison (drawn by good ol' Mr. Al "I drew Dennis the Menace" Wiseman himself!)

Click Here.

In all honesty, we at The Al Wiseman Blog aren't actually pals with the Comics With Problems folks. In fact, we don't even know who the heck they are. But it is our belief that everyone on the internet should extend a hand in friendship to all other internet denizens. (Unless, of course, they have a site featuring adult content, in which case we should shun and vilify them.)

Thanks to Milo George for the heads-up!

Please order Dennis the Menace books from Fantagraphics (and ask them to reprint the Wiseman Dennis comic books and Sunday strips).

"Dennis the Menace" & related characters are ©Hank Ketcham Enterprises, Inc.

The Romans (Part 2)

2006-12-12T21:40:00.000-05:00

If you remember the last installment of our look into Al Wiseman's unfinished "Romans" project, then you know exactly what to expect: awesome pencil sketches of tubby toga-wearing fat fellas and nubile, nearly naked nymphs!

That pretty well sums it up for today.

Above: Even the roughest of Al's rough sketches should be framed and hung up in museums throughout the world. Discard all those silly Renaissance paintings and bow to the true master of the human form!

We Learn to Play (Part 5)

2006-12-11T21:11:00.000-05:00

Look! It's that sneaky lil' raggamuffin, Dennis the Menace, hiding out on top of some young gal's dresser/toy box thing. Why? Well, looks like he's just a Dennis doll, not the actual livin', breathin' kid.

But, golly, why did the little girl take him out of his box? Jeez, doesn't she know that she's lowered his current book value through the floor just for her personal playtime enjoyment? Selfish, selfish child!

But hey- check out this artwork! It goes to prove once again that Al Wiseman was a funnybook genius. What's not to get?

Please order Dennis the Menace books from Fantagraphics (and ask them to reprint the Wiseman Dennis comic books and Sunday strips).

"Dennis the Menace" & related characters are ©Hank Ketcham Enterprises, Inc.

We Learn to Play (Part 4)

2006-11-21T21:11:00.000-05:00

Hyper as they are, you'd think that children would instinctively sense "how to play" without the use of an instruction manual. But no, this apparently is not the case.

Luckily for the youths of the 1950's, Al Wiseman drew a helpful how-to book for them titled We Learn to Play.

So no more sitting on the floor staring at your feet, kids. Let's learn to play!

Here's one thrilling way to engage in what the experts refer to as "playing": Grab some toys, a pet and maybe a friend or relative. Then place them on chairs (or boxes) in a row. And- by golly- you've got a train!

Of course, the train doesn't actually move. Nor will it slice through drunken hobos who have fallen asleep on the non-existent railroad tracks. In fact, pretty much all the exciting aspects of being on a train are entirely absent from this exercise in futility.

But despair not, brave youngsters! This playtime will prepare you for the sheer boredom of waiting in endless rush hour traffic. Just pretend that you're in an automobile instead of a train and sit there- for hours and hours and hours.

Whew, all that sittin' has me plumb tuckered out. I sure wish there was a book out there on how to take a nap!

Confessions of a Little Old Lady in Tennis Shoes (Part 9)

2006-11-20T21:45:00.000-05:00

At last!

Here's the belated Halloween posting that I had planned on putting up at the end of October. That is, before various computer-related quagmires resulted in the temporary implosion of the Al-Wiseman-Blog-Universe, rendering our lives meaningless.

So why did this happen? Well, I blame humanity's unholy observance of the satanic Halloween Holiday for all my troubles. There's simply no other explanation.

After all, I don't remember encountering such insurmountable problems on Saint Patrick's Day...

(Above: An illustrated poem from the book Confessions of a Little Old Lady in Tennis Shoes just in time for your Thanksgiving Day Celebration!)

Confessions of a Little Old Lady in Tennis Shoes Posts:
Part 1/Part 2/Part 3/Part 4/Part 5/Part 6/Part 7/Part 8

Yay! Problem Fixed!

2006-11-13T13:01:00.000-05:00

Hoorah! A friend of mine figured out what was going wrong with this blog (and why I couldn't post images or do much of anything at all).

I'm out of town right now, but will resume with new Al Wiseman posts when I return (probably Saturday)...

Big Blog Problems!

2006-11-08T23:10:00.000-05:00

For reasons too complex to go into (which I don't even understand), I'm not able to post images currently.

This site will be back up and running as soon as I (or someone smarter than myself) figure out what's wrong.

Honest!

Gas Buggy Gamblers Poster (Part 2)

2006-10-30T19:16:00.000-05:00

Bah. I've got a cold and haven't the strength to babble on and on incoherently about this swell Al Wiseman artwork.

Which is good news for you!

Enjoy the silence while you can...

Dennis the Menace On Safety (Part 4)

2006-10-27T22:10:00.000-04:00

"Dennis" and "Safety". Do those two words really belong together in the same sentence? And just what does Dennis know about safety anyway?

Well, as today's two cartoon panels show us, Dennis knows plenty. Or more to the point, Dennis knows how to laugh in the face of un-safety. Why, that boy can lighten up any situation, no matter how grisly or horrific, by using only his cutely inappropriate comic asides!

What a happier world we'd live in, if only we could all be little more like Dennis!

(Oh, and some of the "in-pain" characters strike me as having been penciled by someone other than Wiseman. They just look a bit odd...)

Dennis the Menace On Safety Posts:
Part 1/Part 2/Part 3

Please order Dennis the Menace books from Fantagraphics (and ask them to reprint the Wiseman Dennis comic books and Sunday strips).

"Dennis the Menace" & related characters are ©Hank Ketcham Enterprises, Inc.

"Dear Mr. Disney"

2006-10-26T14:14:00.000-04:00

Previously, we've posted artwork that lil' Al Wiseman drew as a boy showing how he was influenced by a certain Walter Elias Disney, founder of the "Walt Disney Studios" (a little known animation company which flourished for a time during Al's childhood).

Here we present a letter twelve-year-old Al (then using his step-father's last name) sent to Mr. Disney requesting a job. So what happened next? History is somewhat unclear on this matter.

What I'd like to believe is that Walter Disney immediately jumped at the chance to have talented young Al employed at his studio. But quick-thinking Al had a change of heart. Why would he want to become just another faceless cog-in-the-machine and take on projects to which he could never sign his name? No, that would never do.

So Alvin went back to his schoolwork and continued plotting ways to make a name for himself in the cartooning world.

Well, at least that's what I'd like to believe...

A special thanks to Teresa Tersol-Wiseman for the scan of Al's letter!

Al's Childhood Drawings:
Part 1/Part 2/Part 3

We Learn to Play (Part 3)

2006-10-24T22:42:00.000-04:00

Gather around everyone! Let's see more images from the greatest unheralded childrens' book of all time! We Learn to Play was lovingly drawn by Al Wiseman while he was under the incorrect assumption that his name was "Hank Ketcham."

This was a true tour de force of cataclysmic Wiseman-esqe proportions!

Imagine being a child in the 1950's and owning a copy of this precious book. How lucky you would be! Why, you would carry it around with you everywhere until it fell apart in your hands and your parents had to dispose of it. But you'd never forget!

And now you, dear blog reader, can carry your computer with you everywhere and have these images forever (well, at least until the internet dissolves in your hands).

Above: Notice that the writer of this book, Jean Kelleher Porter, describes herself as a "Specialist in Industrial Recreations and Employee Activities". Why, I bet she made all that stuff up!

Frankly, I think being the "Creator of 'Dennis the Menace'" is a much more impressive job description.

Confessions of a Little Old Lady in Tennis Shoes (Part 8)

2006-10-24T11:14:00.000-04:00

Well, here we are once again, gazing at a wonderful Al Wiseman drawing from the 1974 book Confessions of a Little Old Lady in Tennis Shoes.

You know, we could spend plenty of quality Al Wiseman Blog time trying to figure out what the heck is going on in this fanciful image. And you might think that we'd gain valuable insight by reading the poem that accompanied it. Unfortunately, the poem is even more inscrutable than the artwork. (Plus, poems from this book tend to give me awful migraine headaches, anyway.)

So let's skip the poem altogether and use our fertile imaginations to conjure up a much better scenario.

Hmmm... Must think...

Well, if your imagination fails you, feel free to just sit back and admire the skillful drawing ability of the omni-talented Mr. Wiseman.

After all, we are not here to judge you, but to help guide you through a richer and more meaningful Al Wiseman viewing experience.

Confessions of a Little Old Lady in Tennis Shoes Posts:
Part 1/Part 2/Part 3/Part 4/Part 5/Part 6/Part 7

The Hearing Book (Part 4)

2006-10-23T21:50:00.000-04:00

We at the Al Wiseman Blog don't condone nudity in any way, shape, or form. To further elaborate, we consider any nakedness to be an affront to everything pure and morally benign in this world.

But gosh, when Al Wiseman draws nude ladies we just can't help ourselves! So let's cast aside our strict moral values and wallow in the forbidden sights (at least until the shame of our actions catch up with us and leads us to our eventual repentance). Oh, it's an endless cycle...

But will someone please explain to me what an early '60s Kurt Schaffenberger-drawn Lois Lane is doing wandering around all naked in a 1980 Al Wiseman-created nudist colony? Is she there on an undercover assignment for the Daily Planet? If so, shouldn't she actually be under some covers or something?

Well, I feel ashamed for looking already...

The Hearing Book:
Part 1/Part 2/Part 3

Dennis the Menace Coloring Books (Part 3) by Joe B.

2006-10-20T21:11:00.000-04:00

(Note: We're lucky today to be graced with the presence of yet another excellent post by distinguished Dennis the Menace collectables expert Joe B.

Joe's gonna tell us about a swell coloring book that's so full of great black & white Al Wiseman images that you'll be tempted to take out your crayons and start coloring your computer screen! But don't- you'll get everything all waxy.

Thanks Joe!)

(Above: The 29 cent edition of this book)

Dennis the Menace 1962 Coloring Book
by Joe B.

Coloring books, since Bill brought them up, will be the topic today. Like the game and toy of my previous posts, the coloring book I'll be discussing has a beautiful Al Wiseman cover. That alone is worth this write-up. I could just stop here, but I won't.

Not only is the cover by Al, but the entire coloring book is drawn by him. The drawings appear to be made especially for this book, and, to my knowledge, have never been reprinted. Unlike many of the coloring books that contain large versions of daily cartoon reprints for kids to color, this coloring book tells a continuous story in large, full-page panels. Not only that, but there are two versions of this rare coloring book.

There are tons of Dennis coloring books out there, and just when I think I have them all, I discover another one. For the record, I have indexed 24 coloring books that exist so far. The one that Bill has posted pictures from I have never seen, so that would be #25.

Let's start with the more expensive version of the coloring book. Published by Watkins-Strathmore Company, it was a whopping 29 cents back in 1962. This coloring book contains 83 different full-page panels, each drawn by Wiseman. The story all takes place on a single Saturday: Dennis wakes his parents up early, eats, "helps" his dad wash the family car (with the car windows open), annoys the Wilsons, goes to town with his dad, goes on a boat ride with his dad & gets him soaked, then visits a pet store with Joey and buys a pet skunk for the Wilsons. In all, it is not a very memorable story but is a clever idea.

(Above: The 10 cent edition of this book)

What is the difference between the two books? If you look at the upper-right-hand corner of the coloring books, you can see the prices with the catalog numbers above them. The only differences between the book covers are those. The big book is squarebound with 83 panels and is #1838 for 29 cents, and the smaller book with 23 panels is #1800-7 for 10 cents. The story makes sense in the 83 panel version, and it seems no thought was given to the story in the smaller version as there is no flow to the story. Unless you are a completist, the smaller version only has a portion of the larger book, so if you want only one, you should seek out the larger edition.

How hard are these to get? I see them appear maybe once a year on eBay, and they can go for up to $15, depending on who's bidding and the condition.

So, I hope I have been able to show through these past several posts that the Dennis merchandise Al worked on represents some of his finest artwork during his peak years.

-Joe B.
Ultimate Dennis the Menace Thread
Joe B. posts:
Real Action Toy
Pressman Paint Set

Dennis the Menace Coloring Book Posts:
Part 1/Part 2

Please order Dennis the Menace books from Fantagraphics (and ask them to reprint the Wiseman Dennis comic books and Sunday strips).

"Dennis the Menace" & related characters are ©Hank Ketcham Enterprises, Inc.

Syva

2006-10-19T12:19:00.000-04:00

Well, I don't know what "Syva" is, or what it does. But after seeing this Al Wiseman artwork, I know I'd never use anything else:

I mean, just check out the competition- Syva reveals them to be nothing more than sad, pitiful losers! After one look at their rickety boats and whatnot, you realize that the competition will soon be drowning in their own incompetence (while Syva continues sailing on into a brighter future). You know, Syva even makes Du Pont look like the sorry-ass amateurs that we always suspected they were!

Like I said, I don't know what products or services Syva provide, or even if they're still in business. But from this day forward, my kitchen cabinets will only be stocked with the fine items bearing the trusted Syva logo.

We Learn to Play (Part 2)

2006-10-18T00:10:00.000-04:00

Since images from the 1954 book We Learn to Play made us all so deliriously giddy yesterday, why wait for more giddyness?

Well, there ain't no good reason whynot. So here's more!

Above: (Page 40) Please look at this drawing and tell me why Al Wiseman is not universally worshipped for his cartooning genius. Will everyone please get with the program already!

Oh, the horse's hide is branded "H/K" for "Hank Ketcham"! (And you just know Al really wanted to write "A/W".)

Hey, what's this:
Above: The cover for a 1965 reprint of We Learn to Play. This version was part of an eight-book series of (unrelated) kids' books published under the umbrella title of "Compton's Beginner's Bookshelf". The only copyright appearing in this book is the original date of 1954. But since a few other books in this series have a 1965 copyright, I'm going with that date...

And, no, the drawing on this version of the cover is not by Al Wiseman. I suppose the editors decided that the Wiseman art was way too dynamic for the youngsters and had to be dulled down by at least 75%.

We Learn to Play (Part 1)

2006-10-17T19:51:00.000-04:00

Published in 1954 by Encyclopedia Britannica, the stunningly exuberant We Learn to Play was perhaps the best gosh-darn book Hank Ketcham never drew.

Sure, the inside credits read "Illustrations by Hank Ketcham." But the inside credits lie! As you and I can plainly see, the visuals bear the unmistakable stamp of a certain ubiquitous workaholic ghost we know as Mr. Al Wiseman.

The book was pretty much an instruction manual for stumped parents seeking constructive new ways to keep their kids entertained. I'd imagine the tots would be suitably entertained just peering at the exceptional images filling the pages of this volume. It's obvious that Al was having a great time coming up with inventive ways to illustrate the various games and activities described in the text. And by keeping with a limited color-scheme and often letting those colors define the borders of objects, Al was able to tap into his masterful sense of design (which was often overshadowed by his skill with detail).

In fact, of all the non-Dennis projects Al worked on in his long career, this is one of my favorites. Check out the cover! Why, it's wonderfully simple and infectiously joyful:

Now here's the back cover:
Above: Yay! Silhouettes!

Above: Sure, some blogs show you covers. And others may show you back-covers. But how many show you spines?

The Imported Ticky-Two (Part 7)

2006-10-16T18:56:00.000-04:00

Ha! You thought I forgot about the Ticky-Two book, now didn't you?

Just because it's been a while since I've posted about Al Wiseman's 1971 import car book doesn't mean that it's strayed far from my thoughts. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Truth be told, I find it hard to concentrate on anything else. Those cute lil' Ticky-Two cars haunt my every waking hour, then zoom themselves into my very dreams and nightmares.

So much so, that I usually wake up in a cold sweat, my head pounding and spinning with images of hundreds of tiny Ticky-Two cars etched into my retinas.

Oh, how they beep their little Ticky-Two horns: "Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!"

But don't let this bother you. I knew what I was getting into when I became the curator of the Al Wiseman Blog. And happily, any adverse effects are fully covered under our generous Al Wiseman Blog Health Insurance Plan^TM.

Now, on to the Wiseman art:

Above: (page 13) "Dedicated to our... 9 year old son." 9 year old son? Al didn't have a nine-year-old son in 1971. Is this just some in-joke that I'll never understand? Probably...

Above: Page 33

The Imported Ticky-Two:
Part 1/Part 2/Part 3/Part 4/Part 5/Part 6/Part 7

Dennis the Menace Coloring Books (Part 2)

2006-10-13T20:18:00.000-04:00

Look! It's another image of that pesky Mitchell kid! It's funny how he keeps sneaking into the Al Wiseman Blog, no?

We try to keep him away, but he just won't stop showing up. Maybe he thinks this is the Wilson residence or something...

Oh well, let's use his little visit as an excuse to remind you (yet again) to buy massive amounts of Fantagraphics Dennis books every chance you get. In fact, purchase yourself a nice spacious warehouse or two so you'll have someplace to stack up all your volumes of Dennis daily panel reprints.

Only that, and that alone, will convince Fantagraphics' publisher Gary Groth to saturate the market with Wiseman Dennis reprints. Well, that and your letters and emails.

Here's your daily dose of Wiseman:

Above: From an unknown Dennis the Menace coloring book- it's Dennis and some cute lil' gal-child.

Above: "This is where I live!" claims Dennis. I see no reason to doubt him.

Dennis the Menace Coloring Book Posts:
Part 1/Part 2

Please order Dennis the Menace books from Fantagraphics (and ask them to reprint the Wiseman Dennis comic books and Sunday strips).

"Dennis the Menace" & related characters are ©Hank Ketcham Enterprises, Inc.