Spotlight on newspaper strip layout

note: This article developing into an article about the work from a manuscript until the reader sees the strip in the newspaper. Will rename the article when it is finished.

The creators

The writer

The author's task was to write a manuscript. Lee Falk wrote the script with dialogues and narrative text, also with a description of the scene and other instructions for the cartoonist. When one read newspaper comics in old newspapers from the 30s and 40s many newspapers had a by-line over the strip: Mandrake the Magician short title by Lee Falk and Phil Davis. This short title is the same in different newspapers on the same day. But this short title is not found at any original art, so most likely it is not written in the script.

One of the few scripts still in existence is from October 27 1996, a page from the Phantom Sunday story "The Lookout". note: The pencil sketches in the script were made by George Olesen.

• 

  script 1996
  The Phantom

• 

  the page

The artist

The artist's task was to draw the newspaper comic stripes in high contrast, with black ink on white paper.

By studying original art created by various newspaper comic artists, one sees that the daily strips have a blue color were a dotted pattern later is glued on. This pattern is known as Ben-Day dot pattern or later as Zip-A-Tone, to create a halftone effect. One do not see a corresponding blue color or halftone pattern on the Sunday pages. Nor do one see any hints that the artist envisages which colors will be used on a Sunday page. A small exception can be seen on the back of Alex Raymond's third Flash Gordon page. A small note is written with a typewriter: Note to color man - it is very important that the skin of the inhabitants of the new planet be given a blue tint insted of a flesh tint

In both the dailies and Sundays there is glued on a small copyright mark. The sundays often has a logo glued on the strip.

It has not been established whether it was the artist himself who applied the blue colour on the dailies. But it is unlikely that the artist himself glued on the dot pattern, the copyright mark or the logo.

• 

  a strip from 1935

King Features Syndicate

The staff

At KFS, a staff was employed to prepare the cartoon artists' drawings so that they could be printed in the newspapers. Such a staff was later in the Marvel universe known as the bullpen.

The preparing was correcting misspellings, (adding blue color as guide for the half tone pattern on the dailies ?), adding the half tone pattern on the dailies, glue on copyright label, adding a logo to the Sunday pages. adding colors for the Sundays - for later color separation. Since the daily strips and Sunday pages was to be printed in slightly different proportions is it possible that part of this work had to be done for each individual variant.

In the USA there were also newspapers in languages other than English, so the strips for these newspapers were also translated by the staff.

Newspapers - layout

Daily strips

In 1934 the size of newspapers in the United States were about 381 × 578 mm. And where each page was divided into eight columns.

The first Mandrake story was offered by KFS to the newspapers in a format spanning 6 columbs.

Newspaper page
column 1	column 2	column 3	column 4	column 5	column 6	column 7	column 8
Mandrake the Magician						column 7	column 8

In 1935 the strips were offered in two variants, spanning 5 or 6 columbs, and in 1942 a 4 columbs variant was added.

Newspaper page
column 1	column 2	column 3	column 4	column 5	column 6	column 7	column 8
Mandrake the Magician						column 7	column 8
Mandrake the Magician					column 6	column 7	column 8
Mandrake the Magician				column 5	column 6	column 7	column 8

By 1945 KFS offered the Mandrake daily stripes only as 4 or 5 columns, adding a 3 column variant in 1946. The 3 column variat was intended to be split in half. So that the last half of the strip came under the first half.

Newspaper page
column 1	column 2	column 3	column 4	column 5	column 6	column 7	column 8
Mandrake the Magician					column 6	column 7	column 8
Mandrake the Magician				column 5	column 6	column 7	column 8
Mandrake the Magician			column 4	column 5	column 6	column 7	column 8

From 1954 KFS only offered the 4 columns variant.

Newspaper page
column 1	column 2	column 3	column 4	column 5	column 6	column 7	column 8
Mandrake the Magician				column 5	column 6	column 7	column 8

Lee Falk's other comic strip, The Phantom had a corresponding development in size. It started spanning 6 columns in 1936, and 5 columns variant was added in 1939. In 1942 there was only 4 and 5 columns variant. A 3 columns variant was added in 1947. Then, from 1953 there was only the 4 and 5 columns variants.

Differences between the different variants

Comparing the size ratio between the 6 column strip and original art by Phil Davis, one find that the strips printed in the newspapers are slightly higher then the original art (fig. 1) in 1934. Comparing the 5 and 6 column variants of the Mandrake strip in 1935, one find that the 5 column variant is closest to the original art drawn by Phil Davis. The 6-column variant is stretched in height, as seen in the illustration below (fig. 2).

By the end of 1938 it looks like the 5 and 6 columns strips size ratio are identically, but compared to the original they seem significantly stretched in height (fig. 3).

By the end of 1942 the 4 and 5 columns variant are identically with the the original art, but the 4 columns are is slightly stretched in height, while the 5 columns variant are compressed in height (fig. 4).

In 1946 the 4 columns are slightly stretched in height compared with the original (?) art. The 5 columns variant now are reduced in height by cutting away the lower parts of the original (?) art. In the 3 columns variant are reduced in height by cutting away the lower parts, but not as much as seen for the 5 comlumns. In addition, each panel having more art on the sides of the panels (fig. 5).

The size of the column (where a column is about 1.83 inches (46 mm) wide) variants was in 1946 stated to:

• 3c = 4 3/4 inch (= about 138 x 120,65 mm)
• 4c = 2 7/16 inch (= about 184 x 61,91 mm)
• 5c = 2 1/4 inch (= about 230 x 57,15 mm)

• 

  fig. 1

• 

  fig. 2

• 

  fig. 3 (same height)

• 

  fig. 4 (same height)

• 

  fig. 5 (same width)

Sunday pages

The early Mandrake the Magician Sunday pages was designed to fill a whole page in a standard size newspaper. The pages were also scaled down so that they fit on a tabloid page, and be used in the newspaper's weekend insert magazine.

In 1942 KFS started to offering the Sunday page also as half pages, and sold the Sundays in three variants: standard page, tabloid page and standard half page.

• 

  the last full page layout

• 

  the first full/half page

• 

  as half page

By 1945 there was only two variants: tabloid page and standard half page. Interesting, the Sunday pages were now sold as furnished in mat form complete. These are cardboard molds that were sold to the newspapers, which then poured liquid lead into the molds to make the printing plates. If they were to print the strip in color they used four printing plates. One for red, one for yellow, one for blue and one for black.

By 1961 (1960?) a third variant turn up and the Sunday page was now sold in three different formats: tabloid page, standard half page and standard third page. For the Mandrake Sundays this third page was made by dropping the first row of a half page. This "throwaway" panels contain material that is not vital to the main part of the strip.

• 

  full page

• 

  half page

• 

  third page

In 1973 the Sunday page was sold only as standard half page and standard third page.

In 1984 the Sunday page was sold as: standard third page, tabloid half page and the small quarter half page.

Lee Falk's other comic strip, The Phantom had a had a slightly different development in size. It started in 1939 in three different format: standard page, tabloid page and standard half page. By 1945 it was sold as: tabloid page, standard half page and standard third page. And in 1946 only as standard half page and standard third page, adding the tabloid page again in 1952. A fourth variant turned up in 1966, the small quarter half page. Then a fifth variant in 1971, the tabloid half page.

Final product to be sold to the newspapers

Mats

• 

  sample

KFS proof sheets

KFS distributed the strips in a form of proofs, with one week (Monday to Saturday) of run on each sheet. Each strip the same size as how it appeared in the newspapers.

• 

  1936: The Phantom
  6 columns

• 

  1946: Mandrake
  cropped

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Sources

• Archive.org: Editor & Publisher 1901-2015 information for the size and years of the Mandrake strips from "Editor and Publisher", Annual directory of features - Newspaper art features: years 1934-1942, 1945-1959 and 1961-2010.
• Heritage Auctions: Sold original art
• Legion of Andy: BEN DAY DOTS Part 8: 1930s to 1950s—the Golden Age of Comics

See also

• Spotlight on Sunday strip layout