The original artwork for these Paramount Sales News cartoons is probably next to nonexistent, but thanks to Bob Jaques (who else?), we know that at least the artwork for Sept. 14, 1938 survives and was auctioned off four years ago. And we present it here. Note the lettering on the rabbit. Damage? Revised later?
Has anyone ever seen the one-sheet for Mutiny Ain’t Nice? If so, does it match the Oct. 26th panel? Starting around this time, the trade magazine began to use the poster art to advertise the cartoons (we’ll see a few examples soon) rather than original unique pieces.
September-October 1938 (click to enlarge)
09-07-38
9-14-38
Trade ad for “Buzzy Boop At The Concert” – released Sept. 16th 1938
9-21-38
9-28-38
10-05-38
10-19-38
10-26-38
Here’s a sample of what the Paramount salesmen were selling to the theaters at the time these promotional pieces above appeared in print.
Below: Mutiny Ain’t Nice (released September 23rd, 1935)
Below: Sally Swing (released October 14th, 1938)
THAD KOMOROWSKI is a writer, journalist, film restorationist and author of the acclaimed (and recently revised) Sick Little Monkeys: The Unauthorized Ren & Stimpy Story. He blogs at 
From what I’ve observed of the posters that exist and made available through print or online, each unit of animators was responsible for their cartoons’ poster art. Given that – my guess is that the poster art for ‘Mutiny Ain’t Nice’ differs from the promotional art.
And we present it here. Note the lettering on the rabbit. Damage? Revised later?
I can tell something new was pasted over it with rubber cement. Probably had to redraw the rabbit with the text appearing legible to print. Those markings leftover is probably the dried cement after the pasted addition fell off over time.
They apparently originally intended to have Popeye pull a sheet of paper with the text on it out of the hat, then decided to change it to a rabbit instead. Looking closely, I see a very faint ghost of the outline of the paper (as well as the missing “E” in “POPEYE”) where it was erased when they changed it. They didn’t bother to erase the parts of the paper that the rabbit would cover.
In the building-block cartoon, note the clever nod to the artist.
Good catch, Eric! These signatures were pretty rare. Larz Bourne actually signed one without hiding it much later.