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<\/a>In the early 1940s, one of the more popular genres of comic books besides superheroes were \u201cfunny animal\u201d stories\u2014Dell Comics published two different series of magazines based on the popular animated characters, Walt Disney\u2019s Comics & Stories<\/em> and Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies Comics<\/em>. Their later magazines New Funnies<\/em> featured Walter Lantz characters, Our Gang Comics<\/em> covered the MGM cartoons and Animal Comics<\/em>, for a stretch in 1944, did adaptations of Famous Studios characters. <\/p>\nTo capitalize on Dell\u2019s success, Ned L. Pines, owner of the Nedor Publishing Company, convinced publisher Benjamin W. Sangor to issue monthly comics with original talking funny animals through his Cinema Comics<\/em> outfit, operated on 45 West Forty-fifth Street in New York. <\/p>\n When Paramount\u2019s Famous Studios returned to New York from Miami in early 1943, many of its animators worked on Sangor\u2019s \u201cfunny animal\u201d stories in their spare time. The studio was in close proximity to the Cinema Comics<\/em> building. Famous Studios was located on 25 West Forty-Fifth Street. In addition to the pay from the animation studios, these artists were given $15\/page for an eight-page story on a 64-page magazine. (By 1944, this shrank to 48 pages, due to wartime paper shortages.) <\/p>\n Arguably, the most prominent animator from Famous Studios to freelance on funny animal stories was Jim Tyer, at the time serving as head animator\/de-facto director on the Popeye<\/em> cartoons. His style of drawing displayed a wild, eccentric energy and spontaneity, which matched strikingly with his comic book work. <\/p>\n Tyer\u2019s stories inaugurated Sangor\u2019s line of comic book magazines\u2014including Coo-Coo, Giggle, Ha-Ha, Goofy<\/em> and Happy Comics<\/em> \u2014 by the fall of 1943. (His stories for Barnyard Comics<\/em> occurred in its second issue, in 1944.) In addition to the stories, Tyer also drew various covers, illustrations placed in text stories, and even the logos (particularly, for Giggle<\/em> and Ha-Ha<\/em>) for their early issues.<\/p>\n Around 1946, original comic book stories starring Felix the Cat<\/em> appeared in issues of Four Color<\/em>, published by Dell Comics; previous Four Color<\/em> magazines with Felix were reprints of earlier newspaper strip adventures. Otto Messmer, responsible for the success and popularity of the Felix cartoons during the 1920s, was working for the Douglas Leigh Organization, creating animation for electric signs. He enlisted Tyer and Joe Oriolo to assist him with the new Felix stories. <\/p>\n In issue #119 (September 1946), Tyer worked on the Felix story, \u201cAncient Egypt\u201d<\/a>, where Felix brings merriment to a bored kingdom by inadvertently \u201cinventing\u201d various musical instruments; in one instance, he uses serving trays to capture a fly, with each hit creating a musical \u201cCLANG\u201d. The king sees this, and clashes them together in merriment, enjoying the new discovery of cymbals. Tyer hadn\u2019t drawn many Felix stories for Dell\u2014instead, he drew selected pages for the next Four Color special with Felix, in issue #135 (February 1947) for the stories \u201cStarburst\u201d and \u201cThe Great Inventor.\u201d For issue #162 (September 1947), Tyer took over most of the drawing duties for the story \u201cWeather Profit”<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Laffographs”<\/p><\/div>Besides the magazines published by Cinema Comics and Dell, Tyer also worked for other established publishers, including one story for Timely Publications\u2019 (later evolved into Marvel Comics) Krazy Komics<\/em>, issue #23, published August 1946 \u2014 Casper Cat in \u201cO Sol-o Mioz”<\/a>. Tyer also worked on a story with Chad Grothkopf\u2019s Sherlock Monk and Chuck the Duck for Fawcett\u2019s Funny Animals<\/em> \u2014 issue #55, published November 1947.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Later, Felix the Cat<\/em> was given his own series of comics from Dell by early 1948. Messmer (and presumably Joe Oriolo) drew the first several pages, and Tyer handled the remainder of the stories \u201cMisdeal\u201d<\/a> and \u201cLaffographs\u201d<\/a> in the first issue, published February-March 1948. In issue #3, Tyer was given his own Felix story, \u201cSolo Fright\u201d<\/a>, for issue #3 (June-July 1948). <\/p>\n In most cases for Golden Age funny animal comics, a studio animator\u2019s drawing style in a comic book story helps identify their work in an animated film. This reel containing Jim Tyer\u2019s animation for Van Beuren, Jam Handy, Famous Studios, Terrytoons \u2014 and his work for television animation for ex-Famous animators Joe Oriolo, Hal Seeger and Paramount\u2019s King Features \u2014 might provide an insight on the parallel between animators\u2019 studio jobs and freelance work for comic books. <\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>\n<\/a>