Rip Kirby

Rip Kirby was a popular comic strip featuring the adventures of the eponymous lead character, a private detective created by Alex Raymond in 1946. Displaying the talents of more than a dozen writers and illustrators, the strip had a long run, spanning five decades.

After World War II, Raymond did not return to work on any of his previous successful comic strips (Flash Gordon, Jungle Jim, Secret Agent X-9) but instead began work on a new strip in which ex-Marine Rip Kirby returns from WWII and goes to work as a private detective, sometimes accompanied by his girlfriend, fashion model Judith Lynne "Honey" Dorian. Her given name and nickname were borrowed from the names of Raymond's three daughters.

Rip Kirby was based on the suggestion by King Features editor Ward Greene that Raymond try a "detective-type" strip. The daily strip was first published on March 4, 1946.^[1] The strip enjoyed enormous success, and Raymond received the Reuben Award in 1949.^[2]

During Raymond’s years on the strip, the stories were initially written by Ward Greene and later, following Greene's death, by Fred Dickenson. Some sequences were also written by Raymond.

Characters and story

Comics historian Don Markstein noted how Rip Kirby broke away from the usual pulp detective stereotype:

After Alex Raymond sketched a model, this panel of Honey Dorian appeared in his Rip Kirby strip.

Circulation rose steadily during the strip's first few years — even tho Rip wasn't the kind of private detective they were used to from pulp fiction. This one did more cogitating than fisticuffing, and smoked a leisurely pipe while he did it. He had a frail, balding assistant, Desmond (a former burglar), instead of a two-fisted sidekick. Instead of carrying on with an endless series of female clients, he had a steady girlfriend, Honey Dorian. If that wasn't enough, he even wore glasses! Even Kerry Drake didn't depart so far from the standard. If Rip was more sophisticated and urbane than the average fictional private eye, that's okay, because he was very successful — both for himself and for the people who wrote, drew and distributed him.^[1]

In 1956, Alex Raymond was killed in a car crash.^[2] King Features quickly needed a replacement and found it in John Prentice.

Dickenson continued to write the series until the mid-1980s when he was forced to retire for health reasons. Prentice then took over the writing along with others.^[1] Prentice kept the strip going until his own death in 1999. The strip ended with Rip’s retirement on June 26, 1999. Prentice received the National Cartoonist Society Story Comic Strip Award for 1966, 1967 and 1986 for his work on the strip.

Over the years of publication, the strip was ghosted and assisted by many artists and writers, including Frank Bolle^{[citation needed]} (who completed the last episode), Al Williamson,^{[citation needed]} and Gray Morrow.^{[citation needed]}

In 2009, IDW Publishing announced plans to reprint Alex Raymond's Rip Kirby as part of their Library of American Comic Strips. Volume 1 will cover 1946-48, with the second volume covering 1948-51.

Story list

Alex Raymond's Rip Kirby

Writers and artists

References

This article includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (October 2009)

External links

• Thrilling Detective: Rip Kirby
• Tribute: John Prentice
• English titles on IpComics
• Cómics de Lector Libro (Spanish list of '"Rip Kirby titles)
• Ediciones Viñetas (Spanish list of '"Rip Kirby titles)
• Johan Blixt (Swedish list of '"Rip Kirby titles)
• Seriene i Agent X9 etter nummer (Norwegian list of '"Rip Kirby titles)
• forum.stripovi.com - RIP KIRBY - uporedni hronološki kompletan popis (Serbo-Croatian complete list of '"Rip Kirby titles published in Yugoslavia)