Robert Wathen, 1909-1956. Papers, 1934-1942
Held by The Filson Historical Society
Creator: Robert Wathen, 1909-1956
Title: Robert Wathen, 1909-1956. Papers, 1934-1942
Rights: For information regarding literary and copyright interest for these papers, contact the Collections Department.
Size of Collection: 3 vol. in 1 ovsz. box
Location Number: Mss. A W324
Biographical Note
Robert Wathen (1909-1956)
Born in Madisonville, Kentucky, on 14 October 1909, Robert Wathen grew up in Louisville. He graduated from Louisville Male High School in 1927 and attended the Louisville School of Art from 1926 to 1927. In the 1930s, he was employed as a newspaper cartoonist in the engraving department of the Louisville Courier-Journal and Louisville Times. In 1936, Wathen began drawing for the comic strip Bela Lanan, Court Reporter (aka You Be the Judge), written by L. Allen Heine (1883-1959). The strip ran until fall 1942.
Samuel Dashiell Hammett (1894-1961)
Dashiell Hammett was an American writer of detective novels and short stories. He began his career as an operative for Pinkerton’s National Detective Agency in 1915. In 1918, he enlisted in the Army Medical Corps, where he contracted the Spanish influenza and tuberculosis during WWI. In 1922, he began publishing fiction stories to support himself and his family, soon becoming a well-known author of crime and detective fiction. During this time, Hammett used his expertise to create his only daily comic strip Secret Agent X-9, which ran from 22 January 1934 to 20 April 1935.
L. Allen Heine (1883-1959)
Leslie Allen Heine (1883-1959) was born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1883. He began his career as a stockbroker in 1910 and worked as an advertiser from the mid-1910s to the mid-1920s. He became disabled in December of 1926, which fueled his writing career. Heine wrote primarily books and sheet music, as well as the comic strip Bela Lanan, Court Reporter.
Alex Raymond (1909-1956)
Alexander Gillespie Raymond Jr. (1909-1956) was an American cartoonist and illustrator born in New Rochelle, New York. He attended the Grand Central School of Art in the wake of the 1929 economic crisis and began his comics career in 1930 assisting Russ Westover with his Tillie the Toiler comic strip. This job fueled his career as a staff artist for King Features Syndicate, Inc., where he was assigned as illustrator of the espionage action-adventure strip Secret Agent X-9 by author Dashiell Hammett (1894-1961).
References:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/11744/dashiell-hammett/
https://strippersguide.blogspot.com/2017/05/ink-slinger-profiles-by-alex-jay-robert.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20130927145012/http://cartoonician.com/alex-raymonds-last-ride/
https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780786710294/page/224/mode/2up
https://www.nichibei.org/2022/03/the-great-unknown-and-the-unknown-great-comic-strips-as-vehicles-of-social-and-political-commentary/
Scope and Content Note
This collection contains three sets of newspaper comic strips (including original metal printing blocks), some of which feature illustrations by Louisville artist Robert Wathen. The comics were published in newspapers across America, including the Louisville Courier-Journal, and in books. These comics touch on topics such as court cases and FBI investigations.
Volume 1: Secret Agent X-9, 1934-1936.
A series of bound comic strips printed from 1934-1936. Secret Agent X-9 is a comic strip created in 1934 by Samuel Dashiell Hammett (also known for The Maltese Falcon) and illustrator Alex Raymond (also known for Flash Gordon). The strip follows a nameless agent known only as X-9, who works for a secret agency that specializes in covert operations. A combination of secret agent and private eye adventure stories, Secret Agent X-9 was distributed by King Features from 22 January 1934 until 10 February 1996. This comic series is presented in this collection in the form of a book.
Volume 2: You Be the Judge (Bela Lanan, Court Reporter), 1936-1942.
You Be the Judge (later known as Bela Lanan, Court Reporter) was a series of comic strips based on real court cases with the points of view of the defendant, plaintiff, and/or judge in each case. This volume includes newspaper clippings and metal printing blocks. Each page features a six-episode story published over six weeks, with some including a text column explaining the case at the end. The comic, written by L. Allen Heine, began on 6 July 1936 and ran until the fall of 1942.
Volume 3: You Be the Judge (Bela Lanan Court Reporter) – continued, 1936-1942.
References:
https://comicskingdom.com/vintage/secret-agent-x-9/about
https://strippersguide.blogspot.com/2017/05/ink-slinger-profiles-by-alex-jay-robert.html
https://strippersguide.blogspot.com/2009/05/obscurity-of-day-bela-lanan-court.html
https://strippersguide.blogspot.com/2017/05/ink-slinger-profiles-by-alex-jay-robert.html
Related collections:
Oertel’s beer print [PR010.0032]
Robert Wathen painting [2025.32]
Folder List
Volume 1: Secret Agent X-9 by Samuel Dashiell Hammett and illustrator Alex Raymond, 1934-1936.
Volume 2: You Be the Judge (Bela Lanan, Court Reporter) by L. Allen Heine and illustrator Robert Wathen, 1936-1942.
Volume 3: You Be the Judge (Bela Lanan, Court Reporter) by L. Allen Heine and illustrator Robert Wathen – continued, 1936-1942.