Jim Raymond
Encyclopedia
Jim Raymond was a comic strip
artist and the younger brother of Flash Gordon
artist Alex Raymond
.
, Raymond's first cartoons were published in his high school newspaper. In 1935, he started as an assistant on the Blondie
comic strip, mostly as a replacement for Alex, who had been working on Blondie for three years before leaving to start his own strips.
Initially, Raymond's responsibilities were quite minor, but by 1937, when the first son of Blondie creator Chic Young
died of jaundice
, Raymond was considered experienced enough to take over both writing and drawing the strip for a year.
In 1938, Chic Young returned from his sabbatical, resuming his place as the main writer of Blondie. Raymond continued to play a major role in creating the artwork, in addition to a short stint assisting his brother Alex on Jungle Jim
around 1944. In 1950, due to Chic's diminishing eyesight, Raymond permanently became the lead artist of Blondie and began to develop the distinctive style that the strip uses to this day.
Chic Young died in 1973 and his son Dean, who had been assisting with the writing for about ten years, took over as head writer. Raymond continued as the artist and began sharing a byline credit with Dean soon after.
Raymond's health began to fail in 1980, and he died in late 1981 from cancer. After his death, he was succeeded by Mike Gersher
, who had assisted him for about 17 years. Excepting Gersher, all Blondie artists since that time have stuck very closely to the style that Jim Raymond refined, with small modifications to keep props and clothing styles contemporary.
Jim Raymond was the great-uncle of actors Matt Dillon
and Kevin Dillon
.
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
artist and the younger brother of Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon is the hero of a science fiction adventure comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by and created to compete with the already established Buck Rogers adventure strip. Also inspired by these series were comics such as Dash...
artist Alex Raymond
Alex Raymond
Alexander Gillespie "Alex" Raymond was an American cartoonist, best known for creating Flash Gordon for King Features in 1934...
.
Biography
Born in New Rochelle, New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Raymond's first cartoons were published in his high school newspaper. In 1935, he started as an assistant on the Blondie
Blondie (comic strip)
Blondie is an American comic strip created by cartoonist Chic Young. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, the strip has been published in newspapers since September 8, 1930...
comic strip, mostly as a replacement for Alex, who had been working on Blondie for three years before leaving to start his own strips.
Initially, Raymond's responsibilities were quite minor, but by 1937, when the first son of Blondie creator Chic Young
Chic Young
Murat Bernard Young , better known as Chic Young, was an American cartoonist who created the popular, long-running comic strip Blondie. His 1919 William McKinley High School Yearbook cites his nickname as Chicken, source of his familiar pen name and signature...
died of jaundice
Jaundice
Jaundice is a yellowish pigmentation of the skin, the conjunctival membranes over the sclerae , and other mucous membranes caused by hyperbilirubinemia . This hyperbilirubinemia subsequently causes increased levels of bilirubin in the extracellular fluid...
, Raymond was considered experienced enough to take over both writing and drawing the strip for a year.
In 1938, Chic Young returned from his sabbatical, resuming his place as the main writer of Blondie. Raymond continued to play a major role in creating the artwork, in addition to a short stint assisting his brother Alex on Jungle Jim
Jungle Jim
Jungle Jim is the fictional hero of a series of jungle adventures in various media. The series began in 1934 as an American newspaper comic strip chronicling the adventures of Asia-based hunter Jim Bradley, who was nicknamed Jungle Jim...
around 1944. In 1950, due to Chic's diminishing eyesight, Raymond permanently became the lead artist of Blondie and began to develop the distinctive style that the strip uses to this day.
Chic Young died in 1973 and his son Dean, who had been assisting with the writing for about ten years, took over as head writer. Raymond continued as the artist and began sharing a byline credit with Dean soon after.
Raymond's health began to fail in 1980, and he died in late 1981 from cancer. After his death, he was succeeded by Mike Gersher
Mike Gersher
Mike Gersher was formerly an artist on the Blondie comic strip. He started being credited as the head artist in late December 1981, after the death of the long serving Jim Raymond. Gersher had assisted Raymond for about seventeen years, although it is not known what exactly contributions he made...
, who had assisted him for about 17 years. Excepting Gersher, all Blondie artists since that time have stuck very closely to the style that Jim Raymond refined, with small modifications to keep props and clothing styles contemporary.
Jim Raymond was the great-uncle of actors Matt Dillon
Matt Dillon
Matthew Raymond "Matt" Dillon is an American actor and film director. He began acting in the late 1970s, gaining fame as a teenage idol during the 1980s.- Early life :...
and Kevin Dillon
Kevin Dillon
Kevin Dillon is an American actor.Kevin Dillon is also the name of:*Kevin Dillon , character from Rodman Philbrick's young adult novel Freak the Mighty and the film based on it, The Mighty...
.