Ella Cinders

Ella Cinders is an American syndicated comic strip created by writer Bill Conselman and artist Charles Plumb. Distributed for most of its run by United Feature Syndicate, the daily version was launched June 1, 1925, and a Sunday page followed two years later. It was discontinued on December 2, 1961. Chris Crusty ran above Ella Cinders as a topper strip from July 5, 1931 to July 6, 1941.

Publication history

Ella Cinders was launched in 1925 by the Metropolitan Newspaper Service. In the summer of 1925, Max Elser, Jr., the president of MNS, introduced Ella Cinders and Conselman to the readers of Cartoons & Movies magazine:
United Features acquired MNS in 1930, taking over syndication of Ella Cinders.
The credited artists on the strip were creator Charles Plumb, Fred Fox and Roger Armstrong of Scamp.
However, the comic strip had numerous ghost writers and ghost artists. Comic strip historian Allan Holtz notes, "Very seldom did the credited writer or artist perform the task claimed - though they were usually involved in some capacity." The ghosts included children's book author Hardie Gramatky, Morton Traylor, Henry Formhals and Texas artist Jack W. McGuire. His son, Jack W. McGuire, Jr., recalled:

Characters and story

Initially, as the name implies, the strip presented a variation on the classic Cinderella story, but then it diverged into other plotlines, as noted by comics historian Don Markstein:

Film adaptation

The prolific Alfred E. Green directed the film adaptation Ella Cinders, starring Colleen Moore, produced by Moore's husband John McCormick, and released by First National Pictures on June 6, 1926.

Books

Ella also turned up in Big Little Books and comic books, including early issues of Tip Top and Sparkler Comics, plus her own title in 1948–1949.