Elder & Kurtzman Original Art: Goodman Beaver Underwater p.80

HARVEY KURTZMAN & WILL ELDER. Page 80, "Goodman Underwater" episode (1962) in Goodman Beaver.

This is one of five hilarious G.B. stories that Kurtzman & Elder created for Help! magazine in the early '60s before Goodman morphed into "Little Annie Fanny" for Playboy. In this Cold War parody of the TV show Sea Hunt, Goodman is underwater with Mr. Nelson (the lead Lloyd Bridges character) inside a secret Russian hide-out. (Note: page number is from the Kitchen Sink Press collection, not Help! or the MacFadden paperback, Executive Comic Book.)

Provenance: From the estate of Harvey Kurtzman. Comes with a letter of authenticity upon request.

Size/medium/condition/price: Written by Kurtzman. Drawn by Elder based on pencil layouts by Kurtzman. Pen, brush and ink on heavy illustration board. Board measures 8 3/8" wide x 11 5/8" high. Actual image is 6 1/2" x 8 1/2". The "original" lettering on all Goodman Beaver art consists of photostats glued to the board with forty year-old rubber cement. Some light staining is visible on this lettering.There is a small piece of masking tape an inch below the image, registration marks, and printer's handwritten notations outside the image area. All Goodman Beaver originals have these minor flaws to a lesser or greater degree. These can be easily eliminated from view by matting the original. The original comes with a removable acetate overlay (not pictured here) with large areas blocked in by Elder in red marker. (The red areas were shot by the printer and converted to a 30% "screen," then "double-burned" on to the line art on the film negatives to create the gray tone underwater area on the published panel.) Exquisite pen and ink work by Elder from the self-described "funniest" work this famous team ever created. Note the numerous Elder sight gag in the background and magnificent cross-hatching.