Rip Kirby
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Rip Kirby was a comic strip featuring an eponymous character, created by Alex Raymond in 1946.
[edit] Publication history
Upon returning from World War II, Raymond did not return to work on any of his previous successful comic strips (Flash Gordon, Jungle Jim, Secret Agent X-9) but instead he began work on a new strip starring an ex-marine private detective named Rip Kirby, based on the suggestion by Ward Greene that Raymond try a "detective-type" strip. The daily strip was first published on March 4, 1946.[1] The strip enjoyed enormous success and Raymond received the Reuben Award in 1949.[2]
During Raymond’s years on the strip, the stories were written by first King Features editor Ward Greene and later following Greene's death, by Fred Dickenson. Some sequences were also written by Raymond himself.
In 1956, Alex Raymond was killed in a car crash.[2] The syndicate quickly needed a replacement and found it in John Prentice. Dickenson continued to write the series until the mid-1980s when he was forced to retire for health reasons. Prentice then took over the writing along with others.[1] Prentice kept the strip going until his own death in 1999. The strip ended with Rip’s retirement on June 26, 1999. Prentice received the National Cartoonist Society Story Comic Strip Award for 1966, 1967, and 1986 for his work on the strip.
Over the years of publication, the strip was ghosted and assisted by many artists and writers, including Frank Bolle (who completed the last episode), Al Williamson, Gray Morrow, and Neal Adams.
[edit] References
Footnotes
[edit] External links
- Remington "Rip" Kirby on The Thrilling Detective
- Rip Kirby entry on Don Markstein's Toonopedia
- Tribute: John Prentice
