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An Altar Boy Named Speck

Summary

An Altar Boy Named Speck, also known as Speck the Altar Boy, is an American gag cartoon comic strip series created by Tut LeBlanc.[1] The strip first appeared March 1, 1951 in Catholic Action of the South, which was the official paper of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans.[2] Margaret Ahern continued the Speck comic upon LeBlanc's 1953 death, drawing it until 1979.

Author(s)W. R. "Tut" LeBlanc
Margaret Ahern
Current status/scheduleConcluded gag cartoon
Launch dateMarch 1, 1951
End date1979
Alternate name(s)Speck the Altar Boy
Syndicate(s)National Catholic News Service
Genre(s)Humor, Religion

The comic is about a mischievous but lovable altar boy who keeps getting into various kinds of trouble.

Tut LeBlanc edit

Wilmer Ralph "Tut" LeBlanc[3] (born in Perry, Louisiana, 1915; died February 23, 1953[4]) was a self-taught artist.[1] In 1943, he married Mildred Marie Simon.[5] He drew the Speck material while living in Abbeville, Louisiana, where he had spent most of his life. He died in 1953 from heart problems that he had had since childhood.[6]

Collections edit

The Speck cartoons have been collected in various reprint volumes.

  • LeBlanc cartoons
    • An Altar Boy Named “Speck” (Lafayette, LA: Tribune Printing Plant, 1952)[7] - reprinted by Our Sunday Visitor and About Comics.[8]
    • Speck: More Cartoons (Huntington, Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor, 1952)[9]
  • Ahern cartoons
    • Speck the Altar Boy (Garden City, NY: Hanover House, 1958)[7]
    • Presenting Speck the Altar Boy (Garden City, NY: Hanover House, 1960)[7]
    • Speck: The Altar Boy (New York: All Saints Press, 1963)[7] - reprints all of the first and part of the second Hanover House volumes.
    • A Speck of Trouble: New Escapades of the Inimitable and Irresistible Speck, the Altar Boy (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1964)[7]
    • Speck the Altar Boy: The Collection Compilation (Camarillo, CA: About Comics, 2021) - reprints both Hanover House books as a single volume.[10]

References edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b "Speck the Altar Boy, by Margaret Ahern," ComicStripFan.com. Accessed Dec. 31, 2018.
  2. ^ "Catholic Paper Cartoon Breaking Into Book World". The Prospector. April 11, 1952. p. 2. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  3. ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries (1952 ed.). Library of Congress. 1952. p. 139. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  4. ^ "Tut LeBlanc obituary". The Daily Advertiser. 24 February 1953. p. 1.
  5. ^ "Obituaries" (PDF). The Examiner. February 26, 2014. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  6. ^ Dalhouse, Neil (December 2007). "Speck The Altar Boy". The Good & True. No. 50. St. George's College Old Boys Association. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  7. ^ a b c d e Bates, John C. (Fall 2018). "Portraits of Catholics with Western Pennsylvania Connections: The Famous, the Forgotten, and the Unknown". Gathered Fragments: 82.
  8. ^ "An Altar Boy Named 'Speck'". About Comics. Archived from the original on 2021-06-14. Retrieved 2021-06-28.
  9. ^ Amazon listing
  10. ^ "Speck the Altar Boy: The Collection Compilation". About Comics. Archived from the original on 2021-06-14. Retrieved 2021-06-28.

Sources edit

  • "ComicStripFan.Com". ComicStripFan.Com. Archived from the original on 13 August 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-21.