Kerry Drake
Encyclopedia
Kerry Drake is the title of a comic strip
created for Publishers Syndicate (later Publishers-Hall Syndicate
) by Alfred Andriola
as artist and Allen Saunders
as uncredited writer. It debuted on Monday, 4 October 1943, replacing Norman Marsh's Dan Dunn
, and was syndicated continuously through 1983.
According to Saunders, Dan Dunn rivaled Dick Tracy in pioneering themes and techniques of the American detective comic—until 1942 when Marsh had an argument with Publishers Syndicate and "stormed out." The syndicate then had Saunders (as writer and the syndicate's comics editor) and artist Andriola take over the abandoned newspaper strip and subsequently replace it in 1943 with a new detective strip, Kerry Drake.
Among Andriola's many assistants or ghosts over the years, specifically in drawing, were artists Hy Eisman
, Jerry Robinson
, Fran Matera
and most notably Sururi Gümen
, the last of whom worked on the strip for 30 years and shared credit with Andriola from 1976 to 1983.
in often explosive shoot-out resolutions of crime, the emphasis was on how Drake traced clues with up-to-date crime analysis tools to solve complex cases that gradually unfolded and intrigued readers.
White-haired Drake was attractive and intelligent, while his nefarious opponents were initially drawn with facial distortion (an evil-is-ugly convention for villains that was also found in the cartooning of Pete Hoffman
and Chester Gould). Under Gumen, however, the artwork became more consistently photorealistic. Meanwhile, Drake advanced in his career and developed in his personal life as Saunders combined action and drama. In 1957, Drake married Mindy, a police widow, and when they had quadruplets, he had to balance the conflicting demands of work and family. His younger brother, private eye David, better known as Lefty, then took over more of the adventuring and case resolution.
version was produced by the Swedish
publisher Semic Press from 1984 through the late 1990s. Many of the earlier episodes were republished in comic book form by Harvey Comics
and later by Blackthorne Publishing
in its Reuben Award Winner Series.
's Lolita
, Clare Quilty (Peter Sellers
) is seen reading Kerry Drake in a hotel lobby.
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....
created for Publishers Syndicate (later Publishers-Hall Syndicate
Publishers-Hall Syndicate
Publishers-Hall Syndicate was a newspaper syndicate founded in 1944 by Robert M. Hall, the company's president and general manager.Hall had worked for The Providence Journal during high school, followed by three years at Northeastern Law School and four years at Brown University...
) by Alfred Andriola
Alfred Andriola
Alfred James Andriola was an American cartoonist best known for the comic strip Kerry Drake, for which he won a Reuben Award in 1970. His work sometimes appeared under the pseudonym Alfred James....
as artist and Allen Saunders
Allen Saunders
Allen Saunders was an American writer, journalist and cartoonist who wrote the comic strips Steve Roper and Mike Nomad, Mary Worth and Kerry Drake...
as uncredited writer. It debuted on Monday, 4 October 1943, replacing Norman Marsh's Dan Dunn
Dan Dunn
Dan Dunn was the first fictional character to make his debut in an American comic magazine, making him the forerunner of many comic book heroes. Created by Norman Marsh, he first appeared in Detective Dan, Secret Operative No...
, and was syndicated continuously through 1983.
According to Saunders, Dan Dunn rivaled Dick Tracy in pioneering themes and techniques of the American detective comic—until 1942 when Marsh had an argument with Publishers Syndicate and "stormed out." The syndicate then had Saunders (as writer and the syndicate's comics editor) and artist Andriola take over the abandoned newspaper strip and subsequently replace it in 1943 with a new detective strip, Kerry Drake.
Among Andriola's many assistants or ghosts over the years, specifically in drawing, were artists Hy Eisman
Hy Eisman
Hy Eisman is an American cartoonist who wrote and drew the Sunday strips The Katzenjammer Kids and Popeye. In December 2008, Eisman was the first to introduce the character of Bluto to the Popeye Sunday page...
, Jerry Robinson
Jerry Robinson
Jerry Robinson is an American comic book artist best known for his work on DC Comics' Batman line of comics during the 1940s.He was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2004.-Career:...
, Fran Matera
Fran Matera
Francis "Fran" Matera is an American comic strip artist best known for his King Features Syndicate adventure strip Steve Roper and Mike Nomad from 1984 to 2004. In addition to his extensive experience in newspaper strips, Matera also spent many years in the comic book industry, particularly for...
and most notably Sururi Gümen
Sururi Gümen
Sururi Gümen was a Turkish American illustrator. For many years he was an uncredited ghost artist behind Alfred Andriola's comic strip Kerry Drake, finally receiving co-credit in 1976....
, the last of whom worked on the strip for 30 years and shared credit with Andriola from 1976 to 1983.
Characters and story
When the strip began, Drake was a criminal investigator for the district attorney. Later, after the murder of his secretary and fiancee, Sandy Burns, by Trinket and Bulldozer, he left the DA's office and joined his city's police force. Kerry fought Dr. Prey, the Man with No Face, and many others. The stories had plenty of suspense, action and danger, but unlike Dan Dunn, who had followed early Dick TracyDick Tracy
Dick Tracy is a comic strip featuring Dick Tracy, a hard-hitting, fast-shooting and intelligent police detective. Created by Chester Gould, the strip made its debut on October 4, 1931, in the Detroit Mirror. It was distributed by the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate...
in often explosive shoot-out resolutions of crime, the emphasis was on how Drake traced clues with up-to-date crime analysis tools to solve complex cases that gradually unfolded and intrigued readers.
White-haired Drake was attractive and intelligent, while his nefarious opponents were initially drawn with facial distortion (an evil-is-ugly convention for villains that was also found in the cartooning of Pete Hoffman
Pete Hoffman
Pete Hoffman is an American cartoonist. He is known for his work on the adventure strips Steve Roper and Jeff Cobb.-Early years:...
and Chester Gould). Under Gumen, however, the artwork became more consistently photorealistic. Meanwhile, Drake advanced in his career and developed in his personal life as Saunders combined action and drama. In 1957, Drake married Mindy, a police widow, and when they had quadruplets, he had to balance the conflicting demands of work and family. His younger brother, private eye David, better known as Lefty, then took over more of the adventuring and case resolution.
Awards and reprints
In 1970, Andriola received a Reuben Award for "Kerry Drake by Alfred Andriola," without acknowledging that it was written by Saunders and ghost-drawn by Gumen. Saunders quit shortly after that, at which point Andriola became the official writer, although even then, according to Markstein, he hired ghost authors. When he died in 1983, Drake ended with him. After the strip no longer was produced for American newspapers, a comic bookComic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
version was produced by the Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
publisher Semic Press from 1984 through the late 1990s. Many of the earlier episodes were republished in comic book form by Harvey Comics
Harvey Comics
Harvey Comics was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by Alfred Harvey in 1941, after buying out the small publisher Brookwood Publications. His brothers Robert B...
and later by Blackthorne Publishing
Blackthorne Publishing
Blackthorne Publishing, Inc. was a comic book publisher that flourished from 1986-1989. They were notable for the Blackthorne 3-D Series, their reprint titles of classic comic strips like Dick Tracy, and their licensed products...
in its Reuben Award Winner Series.
Cultural mentions
In Stanley KubrickStanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
's Lolita
Lolita (1962 film)
Lolita is a 1962 comedy-drama film by Stanley Kubrick based on the classic novel of the same title by Vladimir Nabokov. The film stars James Mason as Humbert Humbert, Sue Lyon as Dolores Haze and Shelley Winters as Charlotte Haze with Peter Sellers as Clare Quilty.Due to the MPAA's restrictions at...
, Clare Quilty (Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
) is seen reading Kerry Drake in a hotel lobby.
Sources
- Strickler, DaveDave StricklerDave Strickler is a reference librarian noted for his compilation of Syndicated Comic Strips and Artists, 1924–1995: The Complete Index, regarded as a major reference work by researchers and historians of newspaper comic strips....
. Syndicated Comic Strips and Artists, 1924-1995: The Complete Index. Cambria, California: Comics Access, 1995. ISBN 0-9700077-0-1.