Oomph Girl

Ann Sheridan was known for being cast as either the girl next door or the tough broad, and in this opening illustration for Ann Sheridan and the Sign of the Sphinx (Whitman Authorized Edition 2390, 1943), Henry Vallely chose to portray the former trait. As John Pansmith pointed out in his article for the Big Little Times, "He also had an uncommon knack for drawing easily recognizable movie stars and celebrities and fitting them in amid fictional characters". Vallely was able to demonstrate this in the fourteen Whitman Authorized Editions produced between 1942 and 1947 featuring celebrities of the day such as Shirley Temple, Jane Withers and Gregory Peck.