CASEY RUGGLES A Saga of the West Volume 1

Casey Ruggles is a comic strip about a smart and brave adventurer, in and out of scrapes with nefarious villains and beautiful women. It first appeared in American newspapers from May 2, 1949 - October 30, 1955. This strip is unique, starting as a Sunday only, but then a daily was added to the Sunday story line on September 19, 1949. However, it was split into their own continuities on January 9, 1951. Volume 1, the first 34 Sundays were printed in glorious color until the daily and Sunday continuities split, followed by dailies to October 30, 1955. Warren Tufts is one of those rare artists, hugely admired by his fellow creators. Tufts' assistants were another talented list: Al Plastino (Superman artist), Edmond Good, Alex Toth, and the super DC creator Ruben Moreira. Tufts is not so well known to the public today, but this small body of work, and then his next project, Lance, captured devoted admiration from fans and other creators, for quality stories and artwork. Tufts left the strip, formed his own syndicate, and began Lance, which would become his magnum opus and, in fact, was squarely influenced by Hal Foster's magnificent work on Prince Valiant. Lance actually captured the same quality of storytelling, panoramic art, and heroic yet human characters as Prince Valiant! Tufts was a brilliant and hard-working creator, who really knew how to make a must-read strip. Lance once again taxed his ability to do it all himself, and he finally gave it up to leave the comics field for more lucrative areas. But he left behind two fabled, legendary, much-admired strips that collectors have sought after ever since I can remember. Aside from some brief Pacific Comics Club reprints many years ago, this fine strip has never before been collected. Out of print. Condition: Fine. Bumped corner on both book and dust jacket.