Lance (comic strip)
Encyclopedia
Lance, one of the last of the full-page comic strip
s, was self-syndicated by the artist, Warren Tufts
. Comic strip historians regard Lance as one of the great adventure strips. It had an impressive five-year run through the late 1950s.
Although Terry and the Pirates
continues to reach readers in reprints, Lance remains mostly forgotten except for critical acclaim. Comics critic Bill Blackbeard
rated Lance "the best of the page-high adventure strips undertaken after the 1930s".
described the setting:
Originally, it was formatted like Prince Valiant
, with text in captions but minus balloons. Eventually, it switched to the more familiar conventional comics format. The Sunday strip
began June 5, 1955. The last full page was #85. After that, the strip appeared in half page and tab
formats. The daily strip
began January 14, 1957 and lasted at least until February 15, 1958. Tufts' Casey Ruggles
was referenced when Ruggles made a brief appearance in the daily strip.
The final Lance strip was #261, published 29 May 1960.
had Lance as a cover feature on several issues.
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
s, was self-syndicated by the artist, Warren Tufts
Warren Tufts
Warren Tufts , born Chester Tufts, was an American comic strip and comic book artist-writer best known for his syndicated Western adventure strip Casey Ruggles which ran from 1949 to 1954....
. Comic strip historians regard Lance as one of the great adventure strips. It had an impressive five-year run through the late 1950s.
Although Terry and the Pirates
Terry and the Pirates (comic strip)
Terry and the Pirates was an action-adventure comic strip created by cartoonist Milton Caniff. Captain Joseph Patterson, editor for the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate, had admired Caniff’s work on the children's adventure strip Dickie Dare and hired him to create the new adventure strip,...
continues to reach readers in reprints, Lance remains mostly forgotten except for critical acclaim. Comics critic Bill Blackbeard
Bill Blackbeard
William Elsworth Blackbeard , better known as Bill Blackbeard, was a writer-editor and the founder-director of the San Francisco Academy of Comic Art, a comprehensive collection of comic strips and cartoon art from American newspapers...
rated Lance "the best of the page-high adventure strips undertaken after the 1930s".
Characters and story
Comics historian Don MarksteinDon Markstein's Toonopedia
Don Markstein's Toonopedia was a web encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation. Don D...
described the setting:
- "Lance" was the hero's first name, not his last—his full name was Lance St. Lorne. He was an officer in the U.S. cavalry at Ft. Leavenworth, Ks., in the 1840s, when his unit's task was to tame the Western territories, making them safe for American settlers. The setting and the task provided plenty of scope for adventure—fighting the Sioux, interacting with real historical personages like Kit Carson, and whatnot. Like Casey RugglesCasey RugglesCasey Ruggles is a Western comic strip written and drawn by Warren Tufts. The Sunday strip was launched 22 May 1949. Four months later, the daily strip began September 19, 1949.-Characters and story:...
, Lance was characterized by high-quality stories and art, but also by historical accuracy. Unlike, say, Lucky LukeLucky LukeLucky Luke is a Belgian comics series created by Belgian cartoonist, Maurice De Bevere better known as Morris, the original artist, and was for one period written by René Goscinny...
, when Lance met someone who had really lived, that person was as old as he'd actually have been at the time, and in circumstances congruent with the known course of the person's life. Lance started out in about a hundred or so papers. It was so successful, Tufts even did a daily version, as a companion. But his drawing was so meticulous, he was spending as much as 100 hours a week just producing the comic, leaving little time for such niceties as taking care of business. With United Feature, this had led to missed deadlines. With him responsible for the whole enterprise—something had to give. The daily didn't last long, and the Sunday, which had originally been drawn in the full-page format popular before World War II and not easily reformattable, shrank to a half page, and then smaller yet. Circulation began to fall.
Originally, it was formatted like Prince Valiant
Prince Valiant
Prince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur, or simply Prince Valiant, is a long-run comic strip created by Hal Foster in 1937. It is an epic adventure that has told a continuous story during its entire history, and the full stretch of that story now totals more than 3700 Sunday strips...
, with text in captions but minus balloons. Eventually, it switched to the more familiar conventional comics format. The Sunday strip
Sunday strip
A Sunday strip is a newspaper comic strip format, where comic strips are printed in the Sunday newspaper, usually in a special section called the Sunday comics, and virtually always in color. Some readers called these sections the Sunday funnies...
began June 5, 1955. The last full page was #85. After that, the strip appeared in half page and tab
Tab
Tab or tabs may refer to:* Tab, a British Army term for a loaded march* Tab , by Monster Magnet* Tab , a small protective covering for the fingers* Tab , the mechanism for opening a beverage can...
formats. The daily strip
Daily strip
A daily strip is a newspaper comic strip format, appearing on weekdays, Monday through Saturday, as contrasted with a Sunday strip, which typically only appears on Sundays....
began January 14, 1957 and lasted at least until February 15, 1958. Tufts' Casey Ruggles
Casey Ruggles
Casey Ruggles is a Western comic strip written and drawn by Warren Tufts. The Sunday strip was launched 22 May 1949. Four months later, the daily strip began September 19, 1949.-Characters and story:...
was referenced when Ruggles made a brief appearance in the daily strip.
The final Lance strip was #261, published 29 May 1960.
Episode guide
- Loud Thunder (#1-15) Fall 1834
- Trappers and Scouts (#16-55) Winter/Spring 1835
- The Beginning (flashback) (#56-58) 1776 - 1834
- Kit Carson (#59-78) Summer/Fall 1835
- Many Robes (#79-85) Winter 1835/36
- Valle (#86-114) Spring 1836 - Summer 1837
- The Rangers (#115-127) Summer/Fall 1837
- The Pass (#128-139) Winter 1837
- Washington (#140-145) Spring 1838
- Billy Benedict (#146-161) Summer 1838
- California Independence (#162-188) 1838 - 1845
- The War with Mexico (#189-201) 1845
- Wheatcroft (#202-219)
- El Carnicero (#220-231)
- Papita (#232-243)
- Nelly Gray (#244-261) 1847
Reprints
There have been only a few scattered reprints of individual Lance strips. The American Comics Archive reprinted Lance in their Big Fun comics magazine. In Big Fun #5, devoted solely to Lance, they reprinted Sundays and dailies from the beginning through August 20, 1957. Comics RevueComics Revue
Comics Revue is a bi-monthly small press comic book published by Manuscript Press and edited by Rick Norwood. Don Markstein edited the publication from 1984 to 1987 and 1992 to 1996....
had Lance as a cover feature on several issues.
External links
- Big Fun
- Lance by Warren Tufts (blog): images of the strip