Mary Perkins On Stage by LEONARD STARR

      My brother Stuart and I discovered Leonard Starr in our teens through the Menomenee Falls Gazette and loved his work on the newspaper strip Mary Perkins On Stage. Starr shared a studio with Juliet Jones artist Stan Drake for a time and collaborated on the Kelly Green albums for France.
      Classic Comics Press is publishing Leonard Starr's Mary Perkins On Stage. Reading the series from the beginning is giving me a greater appreciation for Starr's writing.
      Leonard Starr was a special guest at San Diego Comic-Con in 2009. I looked up the Classic Comics Press table on Wednesday's Preview Night. Met publisher Charles Pelto and looked through the Mary Perkins On Stage daily and Sunday originals. I selected three dailies and Charles set them aside until the next day. When I came back on Thursday, Leonard was there and he started out by asking me about the Stephanie Gladden/Phil Moy Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends pages I had just bought and was carrying in a clear plastic bag. Leonard signed my three dailies and mentioned the apartment in the April 25, 1966 strip was his own NYC apartment. He wrote an inscription on the sixth collection making its debut at Comic-Con.
      Charles talked to me about the upcoming volume seven which he regards as the highpoint of the strip with the origin of the disfigured actor Maximus and the Viet Nam story. This will be out in December. I can hardly recall what I said to Leonard except for admiration for his skills in writing and drawing. Later, I dropped by while my friend Mando Mendez (creator of the old Rules of Attraction website) was talking to Leonard. He directly asked if the gossip columnist was a caricature of Leonard himself and was answered affirmatively.
      I was in a line for five hours at Hero Initiative on Saturday and arrived at 4:15 for Leonard's spotlight panel. Charles, cartoonist Batton Lash, and artist Joe Jusko sat on the panel with Leonard. They were praising the work of letterer Ben Oda. Leonard said he used a brush only for On Stage with pens for the backgrounds. He mentioned sharing a studio with Stan Drake and not being able to come up to his level. The timeless quality of the On Stage stories was brought up and Leonard credits following Raymond Chandler's advice to never use slang. He described Mary as a Janet Leigh-level actress (Psycho, Who's That Lady?) who was always very good in her roles. He did not want a star such as Liz Taylor with 40 guys around her. Leonard did not want constant love affairs and chose to have Mary marry commercial photographer Pete Fletcher early in the strip. He said the only time Mary was jealous was the Viet Nam story. Leonard said the syndicate picked On Stage from 5 offerings he made to them. It was not his favorite because of too many people. His own favorite was the story of a medical missionary which involved foreign travel, exotic nurses, and diseases.
      An audience member asked about the inspiration for Maximus. Leonard said it was Lon Chaney and his make up tricks. Someone asked about Thundercats. Leonard said there was the opportunity and the money for a cartoon series which must be rushed to completion and was very successful. A fan asked about the comic books he drew. Leonard responded he did Pow Wow Smith and other westerns, but never superheroes. Another question was why he chose to write as well as draw the strip. Leonard said he didn't want to pay a writer. Joe Jusko asked about the Kelly Green graphic novels. Leonard said he and Stan Drake were told there was a lot of money in French comics. Hugo Pratt had an Italian villa. Leonard and Stan wanted an Italian villa. Later, Leonard learned France only had two television channels. One was run by the government and the other was equally boring. During the time of Kelly Green, another dozen channels started up and the boom in French comics was over. Pratt had to sell his Italian villa.

The Rules of Attraction by Armando Mendez, courtesy of the Internet Archives

Today's Inspiration blog: Luminaries of the NCS: Leonard Starr

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There are 18 Pieces of Art In This Gallery.    

This Room is Ordered By The Owner's Preference.

There are 18 Pieces of Art In This Gallery.    

This Room is Ordered By The Owner's Preference.