I bought this issue from 1917 recently, in fantastic condition proving, as I've always said, that if comics are looked after they won't fall apart after a few decades.
The cover strip features Phil Ray, a music-hall comedian of the time. Decades before Look-In, it was a trend to feature celebrities in strip form. (A.P. would emphasise this even more when they launched Film Fun three years later in 1920.) Artwork by Swedish-born cartoonist Alex Akerbladh.
As you may have noticed from the cover topline, Merry and Bright was about to absorb The Favourite Comic. Page two went into more detail in an editorial tucked away in the corner. (As always, click on the pages to see them full size.)
It's refreshing how honest the editorial is about the reasons for the merger. Here's a larger version to save you straining your eyes...
Merry and Bright had the usual equal division of strip pages and prose story pages. Here's another page of strips. Corny Cachou is by Bertie Brown.
On the back page was Curly Kelly, drawn by G.M. Payne. I suspect that Curly may have been another real-life comedian of the day considering the strip uses a signature like the cover strip. Any info welcome.
I hope you've enjoyed this look back at what kids were reading a century ago. Please post your comments below if you're inclined.
