Posted in: Comics, Vintage Paper | Tagged: dime novels, Newspaper strips

Vintage Paper Expert John Adcock of Yesterday's Papers Dead at Age 74

Historian John Adcock of Yesterday’s Papers has passed after a long battle with cancer. Adcock wrote extensively about Comics, Dime Novels, and Music.

I first ran across the name John Adcock about 12 years ago as my own interest in old paper of various types increasingly reached back past the Golden Age and pulps.  John's Yesterday's Papers was already an amazing resource at that time, and steadily became even better over subsequent years.  The site has been the first (and sometimes only) search result for countless relatively obscure titles, publishers, businessmen, artists, and writers I've been curious about over the years.  There are details of many specific aspects of illustrated periodical publishing history to be found on the internet today only because John put them there, either by researching them himself or encouraging associates to write about them.  He had an eye for spotting things that others missed. An indispensable gift for a historian.

A few years later, I ran into John on Facebook and sometimes engaged in sprawling conversations about such history.  He was unfailingly knowledgeable, curious, and gracious.  Fellow historian Rick Marschall just informed me about John's passing and has written the below about his life and work.

John Adcock, whose work in several fields of popular culture was widely known, has died after a long battle with cancer. He left this life just after entering his 74th year, and died at his home in Edmonton.

John Kenneth Adcock was born in 1950 in Nelson, BC, Canada; and grew up in Trail, BC. He was a cartoonist, illustrator, storyteller, and blogger. As a professional and amateur scholar he shared his love and fruits of research in the areas of comics and cartoons; dime novels and "penny dreadfuls" and various genres of folk music.

In recent decades John devoted himself to the web magazine Yesterday's Papers. In its electronic pages he published thousands of articles (many by himself but also by scholars from around the world) and illustrations. It commenced in 2008 with an article about Walt Kelly's Ten Ever-Lovin' Blue-Eyed Years with Pogo. At the time of John's death there had been 5,562,010 page views of the web magazine.

The site is widely respected as the internet's premier site for scholarly essays; news and analysis; reviews and commentary on the history and heritage of the comic-strip art form. It is a reflection of John Adcock's personality and priorities that, when he was asked before he died what was among his proudest achievements with Yesterday's Papers, he wrote, "I was happy about two posts, one about George W, Johnson, known [in that era] as 'the Whistlin' Coon,' the first black man to record for Edison; and another post about a forgotten sports cartoonist named Dan Leno on the San Francisco Bulletin. Both died with unmarked graves, and both now have markers."

Significant for scholars, John maintained a meticulous cross-reference index to Yesterday's Papers contents; and provided links to hundreds of related sites and reference sources.

John was a talented cartoonist; among his modest list of published work was illustrations for the children's book Ronald and the Dragon (written by Lawrie Peters; Tree Frog Press, Edmonton, 1975). He contributed to the fanzines Chronicle, Weirdom, and Visions. In Yesterday's Papers and other venues he extensively wrote on subjects beyond comics history: country, bluegrass, and roots music; animated cartoons; silent films, and Penny Dreadfuls. He had written about the work of Harold Furniss and Ferdinand Fissi for the British magazine Ripperologist [issue #135, available for free download].

John worked for years on a major book-length, illustrated history of Penny Dreadfuls, the boys' magazines of the 19th century. He also had recently completed a major treatment of the corporate and creative work of the Chicago Tribune and New York News and their syndicate's classic strips for the revival of NEMO Magazine (Fantagraphics). Rick Marschall, the Editor of NEMO (a magazine of comics history that initially ran for 32 issues) recruited John to serve as Associate Editor of the new incarnation alongside Jon Barli and John Kelly. John Adcock's book on Penny Dreadfuls and dime novels never was published; and it was Marschall's intention to help it see print. At the least, this work will be serialized in NEMO.

John also arranged for Marschall to succeed him as the Administrator of Yesterday's Papers. This fact, Marschall said, "I humbly assert, will reassure uncountable fans and scholars around the world, at least to the extent I am able to maintain John's standards and integrity." It likely will be a web adjunct of NEMO but firmly retain John Adcock's identification, spirit, and appearance. It will continue to publish articles and images from the "yesterdays" of comics, cartoons, and animation.

John Adcock is survived by his daughter Lana (Rick) and son Bryan (Donna); his grandchildren Zachary, Cody, Taylor, Dustin, and Samantha; his great-grandchildren Brantley, Ayla, and Oaklen; his brother Richard (Sheila); niece Roxanne; and his friend Andrea Schmidt. Readers of his posts will know of John's affection for his family dog Gracie. A Celebration of Life service will be conducted in Edmonton at a time and location to be determined by the family.

A Personal Note from Rick Marschall

I represent uncountable people around the world who were touched by John. Family and neighbors knew him, I reckon, as a gentle man – and a gentleman with a soft voice, devoted to his interests and passions. The legatees of his amazing scholarship no less sensed his gentle spirit and fierce integrity.

I wrote more than a hundred articles through the years for Yesterday's Papers, and provided many images. His contributors (and faithful readers) included some of the most prominent comics scholars and popular-culture critics from around the world. After John's death one of his followers, Miron Murcury, wrote that John had been particularly flattered and encouraged that I wanted to write for Yesterday's Papers. However I surely was not alone in, rather, being grateful to appear in its pages. The web magazine is an essential archive of information and insights, thanks to John Adcock's tutelage.

Therefore I am proud that I will be the next captain of the good ship Yesterday's Papers.

During John's last months we managed weekly phone chats. After he had vouchsafed his medical prognosis and imminent death we were liberated, so to speak, to discuss more than comics – life; people we have encountered; faith; the "adventures" of collecting and researching; the magic of our beloved art form; and his legacy.

Like many of his friends, I assumed he had a massive collection, a mountain of documentation and paper archives that populated the columns of Yesterday's Papers. No. Astonishingly, and admirably, all of his thousands of illustrations and even more facts and data, were gleaned through research and the modern miracle of the internet and screen-captures. This was a lesson for other scholars, and (trust me) likely a boon to his budgets. He amassed an astounding visual archive by hard work, initiative, and imagination. He set a standard.

I have wondered whether John was proudest of his drawings, his cartooning talent. I think so. He was a very good artist. Creative, engaging, and accomplished. He was published a bit – not enough! – and he occasionally shared his drawings, whether "finished" or sketchbook-art, on the web and in letters; unfailingly charming. In turn, I share some here (all copyright, Estate of John Adcock).

For the moment, and for any reader not yet familiar with the amazing web magazine "Yesterday's Papers," it can be accessed at https://john-adcock.blogspot.com.

There can be no greater acknowledgment of John's scholarship and devotion, and tribute to him, than for me to keep Yesterday's Papers alive as he would have continued it; and for fans, scholars, and researchers to continue their reliance on it. If I may pledge: it will be Tomorrow's Papers too. Godspeed, John.

Rick Marshall is a historian who has written dozens of books on a wide range of subjects including comics, television, and music.  He has been the editor of comics history magazines Nemo, the Classic Comics Library and Hogan's Alley. At Marvel, Marshall was the founding editor of Epic Illustrated.

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