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The Aviation Art of Russell Keaton

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The Aviation Art of Russell Keaton collects his comic strip "Flying Jenny". Flying Jenny, the story of a plucky female test pilot, ran during WWII, until Keaton's death. The strip was very popular at its peak, and was rare among the adventure strips of the time, featuring a female lead.

Keaton's work was very much a product of its time, mixing a glamour girl artwork style with its portrayal of Jenny as a talented aviator and dedicated career woman.

Keaton's own interest in the still-young field of aviation shines through in the technical accuracy of his storylines and artwork.

In addition to collecting many of the Sunday and daily strips from the series, it also provides an extensive section of Keaton's correspondance with his collaborators and syndicate editors. The only shortcoming of this collection is that it doesn't include the complete run of the series, as other Kitchen Sink collections do; however, the bulk of the strips drawn by Keaton himself are included, and the strips excluded are from the other artists who filled in for him due to wartime duties or illness.

The book also contains examples of Keaton's early work as a ghost artist on Flash Gordon, and some of his other aviation strip work.

A great book for aviation afficionados, aspiring cartoonists, WWII nostalgia buffs, or any adventure comic fan. An important contribution to the history of comics, with special interest to followers of the Trina Robbins books on the history of women in comics.