Need your help to identify comics' author

[arsen33]

Hi!
The strips below were included in a European comics during WW2 (start of 1940). However I believe it has been inspired by a US comics author.
I would be very grateful if someone can find any resemblance with a US comics authors.
The first strip features policemen. They all show there teeth which I believe maybe a way to identify the author.

http://imageshack.us/a/img829/2768/unknowncomics.png

The second strip features a cowboy with a sombrero:

http://imageshack.us/a/img259/306/unknowncomics2.png

I thought it may come from Sombrero Pete but I have not enough images from this series...

Both strips were published early 1940. In the publication were also some strips from Dell publisher from 1936 to 1939. I believe it may be a clue.
I also suspect that Martin Branner or one of his collaborator may be involved.

Many thanks for your help.

[paw broon]

It's a shame the text has been whited out as that would let us identify the country, though not necessarily the original country. But I don't think it is Sombrero Pete.  I'm no expert in this but his sombrero and trousers look different from the original and the art is a bit different than the one on ebay:-
http://www.pulpsandcomics.com/dtaweb2/BLB-11-013.jpg
Also, British and European anthology comics included many American strips as well as Euro material and the 3rd tier you've posted looks Belgian/French as much as anything.
Hope this doesn't muddy the waters and I could be wrong - I often am.  You've piqued my curiosity.

[arsen33]

It's a shame the text has been whited out as that would let us identify the country

Sorry about that... Actually, these strips were included in a belgian/french comics series. However this was published (at the end of 1939, start of 1940) when the presumed author was a soldier preparing for WW2. Actually, his wife took over the series using copies from previous strips from the same series. But in these particular case, I think she find her inspiration or source from some US comics (She was also translating a lot of these comics for french and belgian journals)... I tried to identify these by reading several US comics on this site but without real success.

About the second strip, I agree that it does not really look like sombrero pete but it was best guess so far. You may be right about the fact that it may be not US. It may come from an earlier strip by the French author which I have not found yet.

About the first strip, it is likely that it was not a straight copy but a kind of "remix".

[arsen33]

Sorry about that I realize I never gave the conclusion I made from this.
Actually the strips were from Spirou. They were supposed to have been done by Blanche Dumoulin, Rob-Vel's wife when Rob-Vel was a soldier.
I finally found out that all Spirou pages and most of Toto pages from that period were done with the help of Van Straelen. Most of Spirou and Toto characters were actually just copied from older pages originally done by Rob-Vel. Most of the other characters were clearly drawn by Van Straelen. It is notably the case of the strip with the cowboy. The position of the cow-boy, the way the right hand is drawn in the two first cases, the double eyebrows,... are all characteristics of Van Straelen drawing in the 30s.
You may have a look to the study I made for Spirou at this address (it is in french language however, but the illustration are already clear):
http://www.inedispirou.com/bibliotheque/Textes/Etudes/modele_etudes.php?dir=calque
page 38 and after are about Van Straelen.
Actually, during WW2 and after the war, Van Straelen will be known for his reprise of Will Sparrow and Aeroport Z. He still uses the copy and actually Will Sparrow, Mark Park, Dino and Dario are most of the time just copied over the original drawing by Caesare Away.

[paw broon]

Better late than never and your conclusions are very interesting.  Thank you.  Excellent study of Spirou.  Slowly working my way through it.