AN ILLUSTRATED COMPARISON (IN COMICS):
ALFREDO ALCALA AND ARNOLD HICKS,
IN DR.
JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE
In January
28, 1950, Ace Publishing released a seven-issue Tagalized version of “Dr.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” in its bi-monthly comics Tagalog Klasiks. From the gothic
novel, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and
Mr. Hyde (1886) of Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894), it was adapted for comics
by Evelyn Goodman and drawn by Arnold Hicks in Classic Comics #13, published by Gilberton Company Inc. in August
1943.
Alfredo
Alcala (1925-2000), a legendary Filipino illustrator, did the opening pages of
the series except for the first and the fifth issues, and also the cover page
of Tagalog Klasiks #16 (February 11,
1950) which contained the second issue. The rest were taken from Arnold Hicks’
artworks for Classic Comics (later
became Classics Illustrated).
 |
|
On the right, Tagalog
Klasiks #16 cover featuring Alfredo Alcala’s illustration, and on the left, Classic Comics #13 cover featuring Arnold Hicks’ illustration |
For
clarification, this blog is not made to allude to the comparison that Alcala is
the Dr. Jekyll and Hicks is the Mr.Hyde, in terms of drawing skill. It is,
however, a given if you compare the drawings of the two artists that Alcala has
the superior skill.
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| Issue #1, all nine pages drawn by Hicks (Tagalog Klasiks #15, January 28, 1950). |
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| Issue #2, first page drawn by Alcala, the rest by Hicks (Tagalog Klasiks #16, February 11, 1950). |
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| Issue #3, first page drawn by Alcala, the rest by Hicks (Tagalog Klasiks #17, February 25, 1950). |
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| Issue #4, first page drawn by Alcala, the rest by Hicks (Tagalog Klasiks #18, March 11, 1950). |
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| Issue #5, all nine pages drawn by Hicks Tagalog Klasiks #19, March 25, 1950). |
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| Issue #6, first page drawn by Alcala, the rest by Hicks (Tagalog Klasiks #20, April 8, 1950). |
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| Issue #7, first page drawn by Alcala, the rest by Hicks (Tagalog Klasiks #21, April 22, 1950). |
