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Friday, June 26, 2015

Rip Kirby - The Affairs of Crusher Twickham


Rip Kirby is an important form of the mid-century detective genre. Cartoonist 'Alexander Gillespie Raymond' inspired the realist comic style seen first in his "Flash Gordon" strip and later in Alex Kotsky’s "Apartment 3-G"

Rip Kirby is a cool detective who plays piano, crazy smart, gets involved with some of the most beautiful women ever to grace the comics pages and has adventures that take him all over the world. In an introduction by Tom Roberts, Raymond says: "Rip is a conglomeration of all the likable qualities I have seen in men I know."  Rip has a personal butler, 'Desmond' - a reformed criminal of some sort, is feisty and loyal and very clever himself and assists with investigating when needed. Girlfriend Honey Dorian is trouble-prone and too understanding of Kirby’s involvements with other women, and one of the more likeable beauties to grace the strip.

Raymond's realistic style and skillful use of "feathering" (a shading technique in which a soft series of parallel lines helps to suggest the contour of an object) has continued to be an inspiration for generations of cartoonists. The clean lines, emphasis on shadows, and sophisticated style well suits the private-detective image.

Alex Raymond received a Reuben Award from the National Cartoonists Society in 1949 for his work on Rip Kirby.

'The Affairs of Crusher Twickham' is a decent, mystery adventure for Rip and Desmond - Honey Dorian is not much around here. In this story Desmond’s old friend tries to become a gentleman to woo a lady, but it turns out the lady works in a club and her boss sees dollar signs. The story mostly follows Desmond, and Rip is not that much of principal focus in the storyline.
The Affairs of Crusher Twickham
Rip smokes a pipe to show he's intellectual

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Story: The Affairs of Crusher Twickham
Original run in papers: Nov 1953 - Apr 1954
Story & Art: Alex Raymond


The Affairs of Crusher Twickham (70 MB)
The Affairs of Crusher Twickham
   (Size: 70 MB)


2 comments:

  1. আচ্ছা এটা কি RK026 Calendar Girl নামেও বেরিয়েছিল ।
    ধন্যবাদ কুন্তলদা rip kirby এর জন্য ।
    আমার all time favorite .

    ReplyDelete