The Kelly Pages: Comic Jack Kelly IV

Hello!

Here's a look at the final Maverick annual in my Kellection. It's probably the nicest one, too:

Bart is finally joined by brother Bret (James Garner) on the cover, along with cousin Beau (Roger Moore). He's still only partially shown, though.

As usual, the annual is filled with comic strips and stories. The first story in the book is titled:

This annual is probably the only place where cousins Bret, Bart and Beau appear together in the same story (James Garner left Maverick before Roger Moore came aboard as Beau, although Moore had appeared with Garner and Kelly as a different character in "The Rivals" episode). The story's author did get a trifle confused, though, because Bret, Bart and Beau are described as "the Maverick brothers".

There's also a "Maverick" game and factoids about riverboats, derringers and famous gamblers such as Wild Bill Hickok and Bat Masterson (I wonder how many parents knew their kids were reading this stuff?). ;->

How 'bout one more look at Bart:

The Kelly Pages: Comic Jack Kelly III

Howdy!

And, now a look at another British Maverick annual in my Kellection:

Once more, Roger Moore has a more prominent place on the cover. Oh well, half a Jack Kelly is better than none! :)

Inside, there are colorful comic strips and stories with titles such as "Shanghaied" and "Mavericks! Keep Out!" There are also little vignettes about actual historical figures such as Davy Crockett and "The Jersey Lily" (Lillie Langtry). And: "Riverboats played an important part in the settlement of the west" (Beau and Bart--who should know--tell us why on the inside covers).

There's even a game called "Down the Mississippi", where one can "Sail With Bart Maverick on The 'River Queen' bound for New Orleans. This game can be played by two or more players and requires a dice and suitable counters." But, be careful: "Returning to his cabin Bart finds his bankroll missing. Go back to square 6."

Very fun little book. Here's one more pic:

And, speaking of Sir Roger Moore: I peeked at his autobiography, My Word is My Bond, and here's what he had to say about working (and playing) with Jack Kelly and James Garner on Maverick:

"...Jack Kelly and I got along really well, on and off the set. In true Maverick style, I'd regularly join Jim Garner, Jack Kelly and their wives for a poker school at Jack's house on Sunset Boulevard. I was never particularly lucky at cards, but had my fair share of luck on the other side of that old adage."

[Moore describes the long days spent filming Maverick episodes, and explains how he, Garner and Clint Walker of Cheyenne finally lobbied no less than Ronald Reagan (then president of the Screen Actors' Guild) for more reasonable hours. They were "rewarded" by Warner Brothers with a time-clock in the make-up department.]

"Actors had to punch in every morning. I refused to be part of such a stupid scheme. I bought my own make-up and never punched in....Jack Kelly was similarly minded and one day took the time-clock and used it as a football."

[Moore also said that frequent Maverick director Leslie H. Martinson--who directed him in The Rivals--would get so upset when things didn't go right on the set (like when James Garner just didn't give a darn or Jack Kelly only wanted to clown), he'd actually start weeping!]

My Word is My Bond is doggone interesting--I'll have to read the rest of it some time!

The Kelly Pages: Comic Jack Kelly II

Hello!

I found another great Maverick comic album (annual), this one with Jack Kelly shown solo on the cover. (I hope he notices that desperado in the yellow shirt in time!) This annual contains stories as well as black-and-white comics starring Bart Maverick.

I discovered that most of the British annuals for Maverick and many other popular TV series were illustrated by one artist, Walt Howarth. Sadly, the prolific Mr. Howarth passed away in 2008. However, there's a commemorative MySpace page for Mr. Howarth that includes this wonderful gallery of his TV annual covers. [UPDATE: The MySpace page and gallery are unfortunately gone, but there's a nice blog post about Mr. Howarth here, and another look at his life and career is here.]

On his page, Mr. Howarth is quoted as saying that he based most of his TV character drawings on photographs, but he wished he'd had a VCR back in the early days so he could have sketched the freeze-framed images. Well, I think he did all right with just the photographs--JK really looks smashing on that cover. :)

I have two more of Mr. Howarth's Maverick annuals that I'll post about in the near future.

The Kelly Pages: Comic Jack Kelly

Since the Maverick episodes with Roger Moore/"Beau" are starting to wind down on Encore Westerns, I thought I'd feature this striking cover of a Maverick "comic album" today. I just wish you all could see it in person, full-size, because it's much better looking than this scan.

The album contains a not-badly drawn Beau and Bart in three comic book adventures. Surprisingly, it also has the story "Trail West to Fury", based on an actual Maverick episode starring Bart and Bret (although the ending is somewhat different).

Now, if the "star" billing seems a little, er, reversed on this cover, that's because the album is British, and so is Roger Moore. ;-> But, our boy Jack Kelly is lookin' pretty good there (even if he does have the credits on him!)