Monday, August 14, 2006

Myron Waldman's Eve

I was aware of this book but had never seen a copy before Josh Kaell showed me his. It's a 1943 paperback graphic novel, told without words, by Fleischer head animator Myron Waldman. You can see the Fleischer influence in the Boop-ish design of Eve's face. The book was published by Stephen Daye, a New York publisher I've never heard of.

The story is about a N.Y. secretary who pines for romance and finds it in Miami, another Fleischer connection as the studio had spent several years there before Paramount brought it back to New York.

The interior drawings are completely black and white, drawn with a brush.

Waldman was the most sentimental and gentle of the Fleischer head animators. That was apparent in his creation of Betty Boop's dog Pudgy and his direction of the Fleischer two-reel version of Raggedy Ann and Andy. This story is reflects the same sensibility in print form.

There are three copies listed at AbeBooks.com. They're not cheap, but Josh found his copy for less than those listed, so keep your eyes open at used book stores and flea markets.

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