Tailspin Tommy and the Air Mail Bandits

Tailspin Tommy, debuted in 1928, is a comic strip about a fictional pilot named "Tailspin" Tommy Tompkins, drawn by Hal Forrest. In the wake of Charles Lindbergh's crossing the Atlantic Ocean a great interest in aviation was created. Tailspin Tommy was the first aviation based comic strip to appear as a result of this interest, and also the longest lasting. It was quickly followed by others such as Skyroads and Scorchy Smith. In 1928, Tailspin Tommy began it's run in four newspapers, written by Glenn Chaffin and illustrated by Hal Forrest. By 1931, it was running in over 250 newspapers across the country. Forrest took over the strip's writing in 1933 and wrote and drew the strip alone for the next three years. In 1936, he took on an assistant, Reynold Brown, who eventually began to ghost draw the strip. By 1940, interest in aviation was on the decline and Tailspin Tommy began to lose papers. A change in syndicates did little to help and the strip ended in 1942. Small bump on corner, otherwise in excellent condition.