Tom McKimson (1907-1998)

Tom McKimson Bugs Bunny #163 Three Stories Preliminary Original Art plus Published Comic Book Group of 4 (Gold Key, 1975). In this exceptional issue, Bugs deals with space aliens who create a duplicate of our hero; does a "Jack and the Beanstalk" thing with magic beans given to him by a witch, and tricks snooty Elmer by disguising himself as a witch doctor. The issue featured art by Tom McKimson (1907 – 1998), one-time animator and brother of famous Looney Tunes/Merry Melodies animator/director Robert McKimson. Here are Tom's preliminary drawings for the three stories: "Planet of the Shapes" co-starring Yosemite Sam with appearances by Elmer Fudd and Petunia Pig (12 pages with an attached Character Design sheet and newspaper tearsheet); "Swell Fellow Fudd" with Elmer, Sylvester, Honey Bunny, and Clovis Cat (six pages with attached Character Design sheet hand-signed by Tom McKimson); and "Fe-Fi-Fo-Hum" with Bugs and the Beanstalk Giant (six pages with attached Character Design sheet). The story art is in graphite with red marker captions and some additional color markers, on onionskin paper measuring approximately 24" x 19" with image areas of about 12" x 17.5" plus extra art in the margins. The Character Design drawings are in color marker on various sizes of onionskin. Each group of story pages and design sheet are stapled together in the upper left corner and have been stored folded. Tom's personal file copy of the published comic book is included, initialed on the cover. Art is in Fair condition with handling, edge wear, tears, and some age-related paper toning. HID09710052018 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved