Part of Series
Alex Raymond (1909. – 1956.) smatra se, uz Miltona Caniffa i Hala Fostera, jednim od tri velikana novinskog avanturističkog stripa. Raymondov prvi veliki strip bio je Flash Gordon 1934. Rip Kirby najavio je veliki tematski i crtački pomak od tog klasika znanstveno-fantastičnog stripa. S Ripom Kirbyjem Raymond je ujedinio svoj jedinstveni crtež kistom, dinamični pristup pripovijedanju i filmsko kadriranje koje je nedostajalo statičnom Flashu. Promovirao je novi stil crtanja – kinematografski fotorealizam – koji je ostavio snažan dojam na crtače poput Stana Drakea, Leonarda Starra, Ala Williamsona i Neala Adamsa. Sabrane pasice Ripa Kirbyja prva su cjelovita, arhivska zbirka ovog poslijeratnog i postmodernog klasika Alexa Raymonda. Raymond ga je kreirao 1946., nakon aktivne vojne karijere u marincima tijekom Drugog svjetskog rata. Novinske su pasice o Ripu Kirbyju unijele svježu krv u žanr kriminalističkog stripa, potpuni zaokret od tadašnjeg hladnog i žestokog stila detektivske fikcije. Rip Kirby je pametan i profinjen, no ipak čovjek. Često na tehnike rješavanja zločina primjenjuje znanstvene metode, ali se upušta i u akciju – Kirby je oličenje američkog sportaša i odlikovani ratni heroj. Na scenariju je sudjelovao i Ward Greene, pa strip često govori o suvremenim problemima, poput ilegalnog trgovanja djecom ili pokušaju da se ograniči gomilanje atomskog i biološkog oružja. Sporedne uloge igraju Desmond, Ripov batler i pomoćnik, te mnogo zadivljujućih ženskih likova, posebno Ripova djevojka, Honey Dorian, te crnokosa i prikladno imenovana Pagan Lee. Modno osviješten, Raymond je u novinske pasice unio šik i šarm mode poraća i ranih pedesetih. U ovoj knjizi nalaze se sljedeće prič 1. Bandarovi rubini (6.12.1948. - 8.1.1949.) 2. Kao pčele na med (10.1.1949. - 21.5.1949.) 3. Veselo ljeto Pagan Lee (23.5.1949. - 3.9.1949.) 4. Mala bjegunka (5.9.1949. - 3.12.1949.) 5. Opasnost u snijegu (5.12.1949. - 25.3.1950.) 6. Važna je predstava (27.3.1950. - 10.6.1950.) 7. Manglerov povratak (12.6.1950. - 23.9.1950.) 8. Zatočena pjevica (25.9.1950. - 23.12.1950.) 9. Ne tako malen čovjek (25.12.1950. - 28.4.1951.) 10. Ja sam OK – ti si super tip (30.4.1951. - 22.9.1951.)
Author
Alexander Gillespie Raymond was an American comic strip artist, best known for creating the comic Flash Gordon in 1934. The serial hit the silver screen three years later with Buster Crabbe and Jean Rogers as the leading players. Other strips he drew include Secret Agent X-9, Rip Kirby, Jungle Jim, Tim Tyler's Luck, and Tillie the Toiler. Alex Raymond received a Reuben Award from the National Cartoonists Society in 1949 for his work on Rip Kirby. Born in New Rochelle, New York, Alex Raymond attended Iona Prep on a scholarship and played on the Gaels' football team. He joined the US Marines Corp in 1944 and served in the Pacific theatre during World War II. His realistic style and skillful use of "feathering" (a shading technique in which a soft series of parallel lines helps to suggest the contour of an object) has continued to be an inspiration for generations of cartoonists. Raymond was killed in an automobile accident in Westport, Connecticut while driving with fellow cartoonist Stan Drake, aged 46, and is buried in St. John's Roman Catholic Cemetery in Darien, Connecticut. During the accident which led to his untimely demise, he was said to have remarked (by the surviving passenger of the accident) on the fact that a pencil on the dashboard seemed to be floating in relation to the plummet of the vehicle. He was the great-uncle of actors Matt Dillon and Kevin Dillon.
