Covering TC Artists

I've expressed my fondness for seeing Creators in their comics previously.
Let us expand that to include seeing Creators ON their comics...

How many of these folks can you identify?

Oh, sure - it's an old cover, but there are a few fairly famous names in the crowd. And, of course, it hasn't been very long since you had a look at Frank Borth, so that one should be fairly easy - right?

And, you might not know his name, but i'm willing to bet you can make a fair guess which one is the Editor.

Other famous names include one of DC's most prominent Editors (though an artist here), one of Jack Kirby's most beloved collaborators, a classic pulp artist of renown, and some familiar names from this blog (like the guy who draws The Bear).

And, Yes - if you're wondering...

I am rambling to stall and create spoiler space, because the answers are down
below.
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         . right here...

The cover was drawn by Reed Crandall, the guy who was playing the comb before getting the trash can lids slammed over his head.

Incidentally - this was the cover to the first issue of the Draw-Along With Frank Borth series. Kind of an unfair spotting advantage, eh?

cover art by Reed Crandall from Treasure Chest Of Fun & Fact v18 #11 (1963)

Frank Borth's Mistakes

From the way i've featured and talked about him, one might come to think that i view Frank Borth as some sort of Perfect Artist or something. But, i assure you, that's far from the truth. In fact, he's not only made mistakes - he's made hundreds of them!

Think i'm exaggerating? 
Not at all, and i can prove it.

Here are over 335 Mistakes from Borth -

Before you ask - No. We won't be running a guide to all the mistakes. You'll have to count them yourself.

page art by Frank Borth from Treasure Chest Of Fun & Fact v17 #s 1, 5, & 13 and v18 #s 4 & 12 (1961-1963)

Landing Buttons' UFO

Before we view the concluding chapters of Buttons' UFO, let us pause a moment for a couple comments on our previous post.

I heard back from the Librarians at the Catholic University in Washington, D.C. regarding those pencil notes in the margins of chapter 5. While they cannot absolutely confirm that those are Frank Borth's annotations, their archive does include his personal collection of issues from 1956-1970, so it is very likely to be the case.
And let me note how speedy and helpful the Librarians at CU are. Thank You!

Very cool info - and a tremendous pain. You may have noticed i sometimes get a bit obsessed with knowledge/information. Now that i know this, i'm going to have to read through 15 years of their collection to see if any more instances of Borth's personal notes are included. I will, of course, keep you appraised if i find more.

The second note is merely another odd synchronicity in my daily life. Recall in the margin notes yesterday that he made reference to Ashtabula being funnier that Jersey City. I'd never heard of Ashtabula before. But between yesterday and today, i read the latest issue of VFW magazine and it turns out there was a naval vessel named the Ashtabula upon which one of those profiled had served.
Certainly funnier than the Intrepid (no, i'm not going to go hunt and see if there was a ship named Jersey City)

Any way, it was just a barely amusing encounter and example of how things seem to cluster in reality. Let's move onward, shall we?

Here are the final chapters of Buttons' UFO -

Damn. Should have read that warning before i tore a hole in the wall...

page art by Frank Borth from Treasure Chest Of Fun & Fact v25 #s 16-18 (1969)

Borth's Buttons Bonus

We continue with Frank Borth's solo tale of Buttons' UFO from yesterday. This time we've got chapters 3-5, with possibly a special bonus for the 5th installment.

We'll talk about that when we get there. Let's get started first -

Let's go to the Catholic University in Washington, D.C. for this next chapter. In their archives is a copy of Treasure Chest Of Fun & Fact v24#15 that is potentially Quite Special. There are penciled notations in the margins that appear to be from Frank Borth himself. Is that possible?

Well, yes.

Just about 15 years ago, Frank Borth did an extensive interview for them regarding his time working on TCoF&F. It is quite possible that Frank either bequeathed his personal copies to them, or allowed them to scan his personal collection.

I have an inquiry submitted to the Librarians. I'll let you know if i hear back with any concrete details. Meanwhile, be aware that a couple of the notations continue on the following page -
 

Wasn't Ashtabula the home of the Rasa family?

Yeah, it's late and sleep is still elusive. We'll be back with the three concluding chapters.

page art by Frank Borth from Treasure Chest Of Fun & Fact v24 #s 13-15 (1969)

Back To Borth's Buttons

As i noted last week when we started Draw-Along With Frank Borth, i was actually going to run another serial when i remembered that dangling bit and went back to it instead.

My sleep has still been savagely fractured - when i lay down, i'm back up within 30-90 minutes. Ugh. Much ugh.
But, since i'm up again for a bit, i decided to go ahead and start prepping pages and run the first two chapters today instead of waiting until tomorrow to begin Buttons' U.F.O.! -

Buttons' UFO was something of a successor to The Enchanted Flivver. But this time, we've got a Bathtub instead of an old auto. (Yes, there is an in-story explanation for it)

Another significant difference is that this time Frank Borth is handling both Story and Art as a solo production. The series ran in 8 chapters. Let's get started this afternoon with the first two, and we'll continue tomorrow -

Oops.
We'll see how that plays out when we continue on the morrow...

page art by Frank Borth from Treasure Chest Of Fun & Fact v24 #s 1 & 2 (1969)