Mr. Tawny © DC Comics
I'm a big fan of the Fawcett Comics run of Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel, Jr. When I had a comic collection, I owned quite a few Mary Marvel, Wow Comics, Whiz Comics, Marvel Family, and Captain Marvel Adventures. And most of the early run of SHAZAM! that DC Comics published in the 1970s. The Marvel Family had some really fun supporting characters including our subject today, Mr. Tawny, the talking tiger. And yes, Mr. Tawny predates Tony the Tiger.
Mr Tawny first appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #79 in 1947. Created by Otto Binder and C. C. Beck. (Otto Binder also co-created the Legion of Super-Heroes years later. Funny how this blog almost always comes back to the Legion.) So with Mr. Tawny, they placed a funny animal character in the middle of a super-hero comic. And it works. Several of those stories were reprinted in the SHAZAM! 100 Page Giants in the 1970s. Not cheap but they are a fun read.
This piece was something I was playing with today that ended up becoming a fully realized Canson piece. Not planned, but I'm happy with it. And it marks the first time I have drawn Mr. Tawny.
This was done in ink and color pencil on an 11" x 17" sheet of Canson Mi-Teintes paper.
This is Post #1139
4 comments:
Superb! Love Mr. Tawny.
Awww yeah
Never heard of Mr. Tawny, wonder if he also pre-dates Rags the Tiger from the original Crusader Rabbit cartoon?
Gary
Thanks Little John!
Thanks Lisa!
Gary - you can also pick up the SHOWCASE PRESENTS: SHAZAM!, (the black and white collection of the 1970s run of SHAZAM!) to see the stories. I forgot about that when I wrote the post yesterday. Mr Tawny did predate Rags the Tiger but only by a couple of years. Though I doubt he was the first talking tiger. They may be pretty common but they are still Grrrrrreat! ;)
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