Tim Tyler's Luck
Tim Tyler's Luck was an adventure comic strip created by Lyman Young, elder brother of Blondie creator Chic Young. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, the strip ran from August 13, 1928, until August 1996.
Lyman Young studied at the Chicago Art Institute and served in World War I before beginning his career as a cartoonist in 1924, taking over C. W. Kahles' strip The Kelly Kids. In 1927 he created The Kid Sister, a spin-off of The Kelly Kids.
Characters and story
When Tim Tyler's Luck started in 1928, Tyler was living in an orphanage. However, he soon left the orphanage for the outside world. When he teamed with an older sidekick, Spud, they began globe-trotting for a series of international adventures. Many tales took place in Africa, as noted by comic strip historian Don Markstein:
- By the time the Sunday version started (July 19, 1931), Tim and Spud were well away from the orphanage, living a life of adventure. At first, their adventures tended to be light and cartoony, but later, with Buck Rogers, Dick Tracy and the like gaining popularity, the strip took a more serious turn. Tim and Spud traveled the world before settling for several years in Africa, where (having grown into their late teens or so) they joined the Ivory Patrol and spent their time chasing after poachers and the like. They returned to America during World War II, where they mostly dealt with spies and saboteurs. Afterward, they went traveling again, eventually returning to Africa, where they remained for good.[1]
Illustrators
In 1935, Young added a topper strip, Curley Harper. Young employed several artists, some of whom became famous and successful with their own strips. The illustrators included Alex Raymond, Burne Hogarth, Clark Haas, Tony DiPreta, Nat Edson and Tom Massey.
In 1972, Young's son, Bob Young, began sharing credit with his father, completely taking over the strip after Lyman Young's 1984 death. Tim Tyler's Luck slowly faded away and was carried by only a single paper when it was canceled in 1996.
Film
In 1937, a 12-chapter movie serial starred Frankie Thomas as Tim Tyler.
The title of the Umberto Eco novel The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana (2004) is taken from the title of a strip episode, in turn inspired by H. Rider Haggard's novel She.