Jack and Jill (Teddy Bear)

[Peter Gray]

At a craft fair I bought for £2 Jack and Jill 13th aug 1955
fun seeing an early Harold Hare by Hugh..

[Peter Gray]

such a great character....he looks cuter and shorter at this stage..

Jack and Jill got better in the later 50's 60's...1955 is good But not as good as the later issues..

[johnny_jane]

I had never seen him drawn that way, in the latter 70s version his eyes were moved to the front of his head. Thank you for scanning and posting this

[Peter Gray]

Thanks Johnny..welcome!!!

He does look better in the 60's and 70's version...the artist can get better expression with the eyes close together...

[philcom55]

It's interesting to compare Hugh McNeill's Harold Hare strips in Jack & Jill with the earlier Harry Hargreaves version which seems to have more of a 'Disney' look:



- Phil Rushton

[Peter Gray]

A kind of Brer Rabbit...also a very different character..

[johnny_jane]

He was very similar to Bunny Cuddles in later years: they had virtually the same face, shared a house with another character much smaller than themselves (Tiny Mole for bunny, Dicky Mouse for Harold) and both had an obsession with a particular type of food (carrots for Harold, jam for Bunny). Harold seems to be earlier than Bunny yet it feels as if Harold's look was made to be similar to Bunny's in later years?

[matrix]

It is interesting looking at how these characters evolved over the years, of course some due to the different artists involved.
'Jack and Jill' themselves changed probably more than any through the years, the scans below are numbers 65 and 66 to give two examples. No 65 drawn by Hugh Mcneill in my opinion is a lovely example of his work it really stands out compared to some of the other early examples. I think no 66 is by a different artist? (would anyone like to confirm that).

[Peter Gray]

The second one the children don't have much expression..wooden....also the boy has lipstick on...;0)

[philcom55]

I can't quite make out the issue numbers so I'm not sure which example is the McNeill one (is it signed?), but they do seem to be drawn by two different artists. Personally I prefer the second one with the baby bird - in spite of the 'lipstick' and baby-doll expressions noted by Peter. In many ways that was the way children had always been represented in nursery publications up to that point - a style epitomized by the work of popular illustrators such as Mabel Lucie Attwell. By contrast the first cover seems less well drawn (especially the car in the last frame), though the children themselves look slightly more modern.

It's only when you compare Jack & Jill and Playhour with other, long-running nursery titles such as Chick's Own and Rainbow (both of which were still being published in the mid-1950s) that you realize how revolutionary they were. Even so, it still took a year or two for them to cast off some of the more old-fashioned elements.

- Phil Rushton

[matrix]

Yes, sorry Phil they are not the best scans. That is no 65 I thought that was by HM could it be by someone else? I must admit I never even thought about lipstick

I guess it doesn't stand out as much on here but when you see that one against a lot of the early covers it really stands out, especially bringing the characters to the foreground like that.

[philcom55]

I agree Matrix. The colour and design are really striking!

- Phil R.

[matrix]

'Flipper the Jolly Penguin' from 'Jack and Jill comic has four artists credited on the 'Look and Learn' site. Fred Robinson, Walter Bell, Walter Booth, and A.S.A Newark.

On the scans below I can not help seeing Robert Macgillivray's work, especially Jane?

Could anyone please identify which artist drew this sample.

Thanks.

[philcom55]

I see what you mean about Macgillivray Matrix, but I'd guess this is Fred Robinson. Hard to be sure though as I'm not too familiar with the other artists mentioned.

[matrix]

Thanks for the reply Phil.

I guess another nearly forgotten strip hardly any examples or info anywhere.

On some early examples of Flipper the last panel was nearly a page, one signed JVK?

I will post a scan later.