Gadzooks, It’s Bazooka! Read guest blogger Kirk Taylor’s post on the Abrams ComicArts Blog about the new book Bazooka Joe and His Gang by The Topps Company!
A package arrived from my publisher yesterday! It’s Publication Day, the Bazooka Joe and His Gang 60th Anniversary Collection from Topps and Abrams ComicArts hits shelves today! Congratulations to all the amazing contributors for a job well done!
Extremely honored and happy to be guest blogger on the Abrams ComicArts blog. I was asked to contribute the introduction to the official Bazooka Joe and His Gang book for the 60th anniversary of that iconic brand and it’s mini-comics. What’s most thrilling is the involvement and contributions of Wesley Morse’s son Talley! He’s written a revelatory preface and given us a glimpse of photos and art from his private collection. The book also features three never-before-published drawings from the Taylor-Morse Collection and the first-ever comprehensive bio of Morse written by daughter-in-law Nancy Morse and myself. It’s been an absolute dream project and is hopefully just the beginning of shining a much deserved light on mystery man Wesley Morse — Stay tuned!
Drawing by featured artist, Luis Perez Calvo!
QUE SABOR !! Pencil, acrylic on carboard. 30 x 75 cm. 2010
Guest blogger Kirk Taylor is the curator of the Taylor-Morse Collection and the great nephew of Avonne Taylor. An artist and writer, Kirk is currently completing work on the biography of Wesley Morse with co-author Nancy Morse. You can visit his website and follow him on twitter here @TaylorMorseArt.
Bazooka Joe is perhaps the most widely recognized confectionary icon in the world. Since the 1950s, Bazooka Bubble Gum has been distributed internationally, with the comics translated into 50 languages and sold in more than 100 countries. The character and brand have influenced artists and creators worldwide.
It’s exciting to see the Wesley Morse art from the original comic strips and promotional material being used for these products.
WALLS 360 and Topps Partner to Produce New Bazooka Joe Wall Graphics
A Valentine from cartoonist Wesley Morse to Ziegfeld Girl Avonne Taylor, 1922-23(?). Notice the pencilled in “Sorry I missed you” and the quickly sketched self-caricature of Morse with a smoke formed question mark hovering over his head. The 80 illustrated letters Morse penned for Taylor are the only surviving document of their long-ago affair.
The Morse family has updated the official website of cartoonist Wesley Morse! They’ve included never-before-seen art, unpublished works and rare family photos! There is also a nice page on the Taylor-Morse Collection…Stay tuned!
Snapshot of Avonne getting familiar with a sculptural relief at the 1939 World’s Fair. Cartoonist Wesley Morse, Avonne’s old flame, used the ‘39 Fair as a setting for many of his most famous Tijuana Bibles. — From her personal collection.
A Convergence Of Two Girly Art Gods!
FILM FUN magazine, 1924, cover by Enoch Bolles, interior art by Wesley Morse, featuring actress Mae Murray and screen vamp Nita Naldi.
