Stripper's Guide

Here is an original art sales list from cartoonist Nate Collier. It was circulated in the 1950s. Obviously in addition to being an excellent cartoonist in his own right, he was a fan of the great cartoonists of the past. Check those prices!

Chip Collins was one of those guys we all love to hate. He was a rich kid attending the prestigious Braxton College. He was a sports superstar, had women throwing themselves at him, and was pals with everyone in school. How could anyone not hate him?

The stories in Chip Collins Adventures were typically about Chip winning the track meet, making the winning basket, scoring the touchdown in OT, etc ad nauseum. When not playing the Jim Thorpe role, Chip was busy with his extracurricular activities of foiling crooks and solving mysteries.

The strip started as a replacement for Frank Merriwell's Schooldays, an essentially identical strip. I'm guessing the syndicate (Central Press Association) decided that they could just as easily do the same strip without paying the licensing fees for this well-known dime novel character, and thus Frank Merriwell ended on 7/14/1934, and turned into Chip Collins on the following Monday. For more on Frank Merriwell, try here and here.

The strip was written by William Ritt (who may well have written the Frank Merriwell strip, too, but credit on that was given to "Gilbert Patten, the original Burt L. Standish". The art was by Jack Wilhelm, a good cartoonist who was especially adept at depicting lovely ladies.

Unlike the Merriwell strip, Chip Collins got a Sunday version in addition to the daily. I say Sunday, but actually you'll find that these strips are dated on Saturdays. This is because they ran in the New York Journal, Hearst's second New York paper (the major Hearst strips ran in the Sunday New York American). The Journal published a color comic section as part of its Saturday edition.


Whether it was because of the loss of the Frank Merriwell name, or the stories and art that often seemed rushed, Chip Collins had a short life. The Sunday (er, Saturday, okay to heck with that, I'm calling 'em Sundays) was killed as of the 6/15/1935 episode, and the daily ended 7/27/1935. Both episodes tried to wrap things up in their final panels, as seen above.

A few items of note on these strips. Notice on the daily that the final panel is obviously not by Wilhelm. My guess is that the original version of the strip continued the storyline, so a bullpen artist was called on to redo the last panel as a series wrap-up. On the final Sunday note that the art is by Paul Frehm rather than Wilhelm. Unfortunately I don't have the Sundays leading up to this, so I don't know if Frehm took over earlier or just did the final installment (my next to last is 2/9/35, and Wilhelm was still credited there). This may be the key to why Chip Collins ended - was Wilhelm just too overwhelmed with the work? The art does certainly look rushed on much of the Chip Collins run.

One final note before I let Chip Collins recede once more into the collective memory. The New York Journal sometimes (often?) dropped the Chip Collins Sunday for an ad. Given that the Sunday was not widely syndicated, if at all, was the Sunday even produced in weeks that it didn't run there? Does anyone have Sundays from other (non-Hearst papers)?

Our final look at the Keane oeuvre concerns this cute little feature titled Eggheads. Apparently it started on 9/28/1981, and I've seen no examples later than 1982. However, a reprint book from Fawcett was published in 1983 that does not mention the demise of the strip, so perhaps it soldiered on a little while longer. Syndicated by Register & Tribune Syndicate, I regrettably did not even find this strip running in the home paper.

The humor of Eggheads abounds in puns and groaners, and the Mutt And Jeff style 'takes' in the final panel are a standard feature.

According to the blurb on the book, Bil drew roughs and son Jeff Keane did the finished drawings.

If the last four days of Stripper's Guide posts whetted your Keane appetite, hop on over to his website here.

Labels: Obscurities

As long we're on a Bil Keane kick, let's keep it rolling with this feature called Spot News. This little 1-column feature, known as a filler in the biz, would have been marketed as a cute addition to the editorial page. The gags are topical but not editorial.

The feature began in the Des Moines Register on August 3, 1959. Although I've never seen a sample with a copyright slug, I assume they were the syndicator since Keane's other syndicated cartoon (Channel Chuckles, see yesterday's post) was with them.

The Register ran the feature on a space available basis (in other words, it only appeared when there was a hole to fill on the page). I have also heard this practice called ROP (run of press) by people in the business. The latest I've seen are from early 1960, and the feature was not listed in the 1960 E&P Syndicate Directory, which comes out in late summer, so I assume it didn't even make its one year anniversary. If anyone knows the specific end date, I'd love to hear from you.

Tomorrow, one last keen Keane item.

Labels: Obscurities

When the name Bil Keane comes up, naturally we think of Family Circus as his big success. However, he has actually had two big syndication hits.

Recognizing that newspapers were getting into the TV show listing business, Keane created Channel Chuckles in 1954. The daily and Sunday panel series, which focused on television-related gags, was the perfect feature to add a little graphic interest to the otherwise type-intensive TV program listings. The feature was distributed by the Register & Tribune Syndicate.

Keane's idea started a minor avalanche of 'me-too' features - Tee Vee Tee Hees, TV Laffs, TV Micro Funnies, The Vidiots and others have followed over the years, all trying to tap the same market.

As seen above, Channel Chuckles was also offered as a Sunday color feature. Though it never had the popularity of the daily panel, it was a good fit for papers which printed a weekly TV Guide-style listing booklet. The Sunday lasted until about 1970, while the daily continued through 1977.

Before Bil Keane became an American institution with Family Circus, he was on staff at the Philadelphia Bulletin for many years, and produced the long-running local feature Silly Philly. The title character was a quaker, emblematic of the city of brotherly love.

The feature started in the back pages of the paper's Sunday Fun Book on 4/27/1947. The Fun Book featured Will Eisner's The Spirit plus additional local features like Sports Stars and It's Philadelphia (both of which will probably pop up here eventually as obscurities of the day).

The Fun Book eventually folded, and Silly Philly was promoted into the paper's regular Sunday comic section. There it ran until 9/3/1961. Presumably Keane decided to end the feature as the Family Circus gravy train started rolling.

Labels: Obscurities

Here's another batch of Milton Caniff items from his early days at the Columbus Dispatch. For more see this blog entry.

The top four are portraits (well, duh) that accompanied biographies of these gents in the Sunday Dispatch magazine section. This was only one of the many and varied illustrating jobs Caniff handled at the Dispatch.

The Escapes From The Pen comic strip (later panel) was Caniff's longest running feature at the Dispatch. There were five discrete runs, punctuated, I gather, by him leaving the paper to get back to his school work at Ohio State University.

The five runs I have documented are:

4/10/27 - 2/26/28 : mostly weekly strip usually ran on Sundays
1/27/29 - 9/8/29 : fortnightly, then weekly (the sample is from this run)
12/23/29 - 5/22/30 : daily panel feature on comics page, Caniff's first daily feature
7/14/30 - 12/31/30 : same
8/17/31 - 12/5/31 : same

Labels: Obscurities

The Roy Rogers strip was throughout its run offically bylined to Al McKimson. This name, I am told, is a pseudonym for the brothers Tom and Chuck McKimson (art and script, respectively). However, over the years I've gathered a number of additional credits from various sources. Being somewhat skeptical of art and writing style spotters, I'll just tell you what I've been told regarding the Roy Rogers strip and let you choose whether or not you take a grain of salt with it, as I do. Any additional information, or refutation of this information, is of course very welcome.

Phil Evans, writer "...the early years of the strip..." (MFG #10)
John Ushler, artist, 1949-53 (Bails)
Pete Alvarado, artist, 1949-51 (Bails)
Alex Toth, art 1960 (Bails)
Hy Mankin, art, early years (MFG #226)

One credit that is ensured is that of artist Mike Arens. He first started taking surreptitious credit on the strip on 5/10/1953, as can be seen in our sample. The detail view shows his monogram on the flanks of a horse. The monograms eventually changed to initials, and became less secretive. The art style on the Sundays doesn't seem to change on this date, so presumably Arens had started earlier, taking not even clandestine credit for his work.

EDIT (5/23/06) : Alberto Becattini sends a message wherein he discusses the credits on Roy Rogers. I'll pass along what he says:

"The Al McKimson by-line refers to Western Publishing comics editors Al Stoffel and Tom McKimson. Chuck McKimson was not initially involved in the production of this strip (which began in December, 1949), as he was at Western from 1954 to circa 1963.

Note that another Western Publishing-produced strip, Gene Autry, was by-lined "Bert Laws", from Albert Law Stoffel.

Back to Roy Rogers:

Al Stoffel wrote, besides editing, some of the first few episodes, whereas he only produced the strip from 1954-61. Phil Evans wrote most of the strip from 1954-61, and perhaps even before that. Carl Fallberg wrote some continuities in 1952-53.

Now to the artists:

Pete Alvarado probably drew the dailies and Sundays in 1949-50. Mike Arens started drawing dailies and Sundays in 1950. He drew most of the Sundays until the strip folded in 1961 (and he was allowed to sign them in 1955), whereas he alternated with others on the dailies. John Ushler drew some Sundays in 1950 (the one I have is dated March 19). Hi Mankin (he signed himself Hi, not Hy) drew the dailies in 1953-58. Alex Toth drew the dailies from Dec. 19, 1960 until Jan. 12, 1961."

I've asked Alberto for his sources for this information so that we may be better able to judge the accuracy of the above.

The Pioneers should be mentioned in any discussion of early adventure strips, though its short run and storybook style writing is enough to keep it from being much more than a curiosity. It is, though, only mentioned in one of the standard references, Goulart's Encyclopedia of American Comics (of which more shortly).

The story concerned itself with the trek of a group of families who leave the wilds of Maine to strike it rich in the California gold rush. This is a tale full of possibilities, but in the hands of writer Glenn Chaffin (later to create Tailspin Tommy) it is a real yawner. The art by someone named Lovrien Gregory (also sometimes spelled Louvrien) doesn't do much to help the cause. Initially the story was told exclusively in captions, but occasional word balloons began popping up later. Our sample strip is one of the few that used word balloons for most of the strip.

The Pioneers began its run on February 12, 1928 and ended January 13, 1929. Ralph Wolfe took over the art chores on 7/22/28, and then the writing on 9/23. Wolfe improved the strip on the art front, but the writing didn't get much livelier.

I must confess that I've not read the strip through to the end, despite having the opportunity, so I can't say whether it concluded with the group arriving in California or got cancelled in mid-odyssey; my guess is that the strip was intentionally closed-end. The run of the strip comprises 49 episodes based on my dating, so I wonder if there was perhaps an even 50 episodes in actuality (my dates come from a run in the Columbus Dispatch). Being from Bell Syndicate, it should come as no surprise that the strip continued to be sold after its initial running dates, so you may find later ones; the latest I've seen run in late 1929.

Jay Maeder, writing in Goulart's Encyclopedia of American Comics, claims that the strip was running in 1926, and that Glenn Chaffin was not the first writer. If Jay is reading the blog, perhaps he could tell us if this was indeed the case. I've never found the strip running earlier than the cited running dates, but maybe I have just never come upon the right sources. Jay, you out there?

Labels: Obscurities

For some reason John Lehti's delightful Tommy of the Big Top strip never found its audience. The art was wonderful, the stories good, but it just never seemed to take off. Perhaps an early sign of the demise of the story strip?

The strip started 10/28/1946. Young Tommy was living with his older sister, the parents not in the picture for reasons I haven't discovered. Sister, who looks to be a teenager, is being successfully courted by a loathsome fellow, and Tommy wants nothing more than to be out of the picture in case the pair get married.

A circus comes to town and he resolves to join it, and our sample strips show a snippet of that sequence. Continuing this sequence the circus manager insists that the sister give permission for Tommy to join the circus. To keep the story from bogging down at that point, Lehti has good ol' sis acquiesce to the proposal without so much as batting an eye. So Tommy is off on his adventures with the circus.

What I like about the strip is that it tries not to follow the well-worn path of just having the circus as a backdrop for stories about the kid solving mysteries and foiling crimes. The stories (at least as much as I've read of the strip) really try to evoke the exotic atmosphere of circus life, and the adventures are down to earth and believable. The stories very deliberately try to evoke the thrills and mysteries of circus life. In this era, running away with the circus was a standard youthful obsession, and Lehti milks that desire like a real pro by showing kids a highly sanitized but nevertheless exciting view of what a kid might experience if he or she acted on the fantasy.

Tommy of the Big Top ended sometime in 1950 (can anyone supply a specific date?) and Lehti went on to have far more success with his Bible story strip, Tales From The Great Book.

Labels: Obscurities

Long before the husband and wife team of Stan and Jan Berenstain hit the jackpot with their Berenstain Bears, they created a strip called Sister. The strip ran 4/6/1953 through 4/15/1956, from the Register & Tribune Syndicate. Before this, I am told, the feature appeared in Collier's magazine.

Sister stuck to a strict gag-a-day format in both the daily and the Sunday versions. The child, who was mildly mischievous, sort of a Little Iodine on Ritalin, had a pair of generic parents who went by the board-approved names Mom and Dad, befitting their complete lack of any distinguishing character traits. Now I speak of gags, but that may be gilding the lily. The writing on the strip gives me the impression that the Berenstains were big Dennis The Menace fans, because many of the gags seem to be recycled from that feature. As anyone can tell you, the recycling process does not yield new materials of the same quality as the original.

Perhaps the best gag in the strip, and it seems to be unintentional, is that the titular Sister is an only child. Anyone giving pause to think about this may wonder how the name came about. Is there a feral sibling locked up in the attic? Is there some horribly sad secret in this family to which we aren't privy?

That this strip lasted three years (running for its entirety in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, for one) speaks, I think, to the possibility that strips just get cancelled a lot slower at sleepy Iowa-based syndicates. Surely it wasn't particularly popular in its run; I see it pop up as a Sunday rarely, and the daily is even more scarce.

Labels: Obscurities

Ham Fisher's Joe Palooka went through a lot of topper strips in its day. The hardest to find, as is true for all toppers, are the ones after 1940. Compounding the problem with Palooka is that by this time it usually only used a topper in the tabloid format (I have on occasion seen half-pagers with the topper, but that was the exception, not the rule). Worse yet, the Palooka tabloid version was available with the paper's choice of a topper or a large title bar, and unfortunately for us completists, most papers opted for the title. Why so many papers chose a title bar over an extra feature is a bit of a head-scratcher.

Today we have samples of some of the toppers in Joe Palooka's 1945 crop. This was the last full year of toppers, as the feature was dropped entirely in July 1946. Fisher didn't stick with any topper title for long in this era, and often juggled toppers from week to week. Some topper titles were one-shots. Here's the vital statistics on the toppers in today's samples:

Sidewalks Of Manhattan - 11/18/45 - 2/24/46
Miss Jones - 3/12/44 - 11/11/45, also ran under the titles of Miss Jones On The War, The War And Miss Jones, the title on our sample was used only once, on this last installment of the series.
The Atom Age - 10/14/45 - 11/4/45
Fisher's Current History - one-shot title, ran on 10/28/45
Now That It's Over - one-shot title, ran 10/7/45
Fisher's Follies - 8/12/45 - 9/30/45
Letter From Home - one-shot title, ran 9/16/45
War Time Anecdotes - 11/21/43 - 9/9/45

Art on all of these is presumably by Mo Leff.

I've managed to get almost all the Joe Palooka toppers fully researched, but if anyone happens to have tearsheets of the JP topper Smile Darn Ya! by George Sixta, a really rare one that ran in 1941, I'd love to know what dates you have.

Labels: Obscurities

Now that the blog brain trust has supplied the correct ID for the Daily Worker's cartoonist 'del' as Maurice del Bourgo, let's take a look at his magnum opus, Little Lefty.

Little Lefty started on October 8, 1934, and was by far the longest running strip in the history of the socialist paper The Daily Worker. It ran daily, with occasional hiccups, through January 3, 1943. The star of the show would have gotten along well with Percy Crosby's Skippy. Both were fond of philosphizing at length over the sorry state of the world. Skippy preferred the all-American apple pie solutions of democracy, freedom and the golden rule as a cure for the ills of society, whereas Lefty was just as certain that a socialist state was the cure.

Lefty was unabashedly political, and the jokes, when they could be wedged in amongst the idealistic sloganeering, were weak at best. This made Lefty fit in perfectly with the rest of the Worker's so-called humor. As I've mentioned before, the folks who contributed to the Worker were far too earnest and idealistic to really allow themselves to let loose with a good 'slip on a banana peel' type knee slapper. "How can we laugh when the world is in such a state?" I can imagine them muttering at their drawing boards.

Little Lefty actually ran seven days per week for long stretches. When the Daily Worker added a Sunday edition, Little Lefty On Sundays was inaugurated. This version, essentially just an extra daily, ran 1/12/1936 - 5/28/1939, changing its title to Buttons on 11/6/1938.

In 1940, a new character was introduced named Marmaduke. He's hard to describe, sort of a flying eel with a handlebar moustache. I haven't read enough of this stretch of the strip to really understand the significance of his form, but one of these days I'll dig some strips out from that era to show. Marmaduke was less fond of spouting philosophy as Lefty, but he made up for it by earnestly showing the horrors of capitalism through longer contiuning storylines. The strip was sometimes renamed Adventures Of Marmaduke in 1940-41, and when Little Lefty appeared in this time the strip was often titled Little Lefty's Cartoonews. This title flagged the strip as even more earnestly political, as Lefty commented on the news of the day, making the strip verge on being a political cartoon.

The strip went on a long hiatus starting 6/8/1941, coming back for a short run 11/2/1942-1/2/1943. After this 'del' seems to have left the paper for greener pastures.

The samples shown are the first two installments of the strip from 1934.

Blog Note: I'm getting more and more spam comments on the blog so I've activated the comment verification feature of Blogger. If you leave a comment now, you'll just have to answer a very simple question to post (you just type the word shown in a graphic image). Hopefully this will cut down on the junk mail that I have to go around deleting every morning these days.

Labels: Obscurities

Sorry about bringing you in here at the middle of the Arno story, do have earlier clippings but they're lost somewhere in the paper bizzard. The article does bring you up to date, though.

A second tangential interest to comics historians here in these stories; Cornelius Vanderbilt for a short while ran his own newspaper syndicate (the CV Syndicate, appropriately), which included several comic strips in their offerings.

6/19/1931
Vanderbilt's Tale Myth, Says Counsel
Lawyers for Arno and Mrs. Vanderbilt Give New Version of Clash

Reno, Nev., June 18 - An entirely new version of the trouble between Cornelius Vanderbilt Jr, author, and Peter Arno, New York illustrator, was told tonight by William Woodburn, attorney for Mrs. Vanderbilt, as a pending separation suit was dismissed.

Woodburn's statement preceded a scheduled conference of Sam Platt, attorney for Vanderbilt, and himself, on the separate maintenance suit Mrs. Vanderbilt intends to file. The conference was postponed until Friday.

Vanderbilt claimed he chased Arno from his home Monday morning and tried to fire at the cartoonist, but his revolver was empty. Arno has denied knowledge of the chase.

"Mr. Arno and Mrs. Vanderbilt arrived home Sunday morning from a party at the home of mutual friends," Woodburn said. "Before Mr. Vanderbilt arrived home they were in the house talking.

"When Mr. Vanderbilt entered the three of them talked amiably. Then Arno went home, parting as a friend.

"The next day Mr. Vanderbilt telephone Mr. Arno, threatening to pump him full of lead.

"Mr. Vanderbilt also threatened to shoot Mrs. Vanderbilt. Monday night Mr. Arno and True Vencill, a friend of Mrs. Vanderbilt came to my house to see me about it. The next day Mr. Arno told the police."

Woodburn and Clyde Souther, attorney for Arno, both said they believed the whole affair had been fabricated by Vanderbilt. Souther added:

"Arno believes in justice and his discussion will be limited to the mere statement of fact that his relation to Mrs. Vanderbilt has always been eminently proper."

6/30/31
Lois Long Divorces Arno, Cartoonist
Writer-Wife Cites Cruelty; Husband is Accused in Vanderbilt Case

Reno, Nev., June 29 - Lois Long, writer-wife of Peter Arno, obtained a divorce from the cartoonist here today on a cross complaint, which charged that she lived in "abject terror" of Arno because he was violently abusive on "hundreds of occasions."

Miss Long did not personally appear in court, her testimony being offered by deposition.

Arno was there, however. His only witness was True Vencill, at whose home Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr. had been staying since she separated from Vanderbilt after a quarrel, a fortnight ago, over attentions Arno was allegedly paying her. Vencill established proof of Arno's residence in Reno for a six weeks' period.

Within two months after their marriage at Stamford, Conn., on August 12, 1927, Arno became subject to "outbursts of jealousy," his wife's deposition said.

On one occasion, she alleged, he dragged her from a table at which she was dining with a friend, and there were "several occasions" when he struck her. They separated November 10, 1930.

Arno will pay $8,000 alimony the first year, $7,000 for each of the two succeeding years, and $6,000 a year thereafter. Two hundred dollars a month is to go to support of their daughter, Patricia, whose custody will be divided.

Arno, whose true name is Curtis Peters, Jr., expects to remain here for another week, and then go to Los Angeles. He had no comment to make on any future matrimonial ventures.

7/4/31
Arno Slips, Falls In Vanderbilt Row
One Blow Lands and Men are Separated at Chance Reno Meeting

Reno, Nev., July 3 - George E. Killmer, head of a private protective association, said Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr., and Peter Arno, the noted cartoonist accused by Vanderbilt of breaking up his home, fought at a chance meeting at a railway station here early today.

Killmer said Vanderbilt had gone to the station "to bid good-by to Logan Billingsiea, president of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce, New York.

After they had passed each other several times hostilitiess began. Killmer related, when Arno descended from a railway coach, in appearance "retaining an insulting grin." The officer said Mrs. Vanderbilt's name was used by the two men, but that he "could not get them." Vanderbilt was declared to have struck Arno, who slipped and fell, after which the men were separated.

11/7/33
Peter Arno Takes Count in Dispute With Entertainer

Hollywood, Nov. 6 - The New Yorker cartoonist, Peter Arno, was knocked "cold" in an Embassy Club fist fight today while celebrities looked on.

Somebody planted a "haymaker" on his chin. The knockout followed words between him and Drexel Biddle Steel, entertainer and actor from Philadelphia, who was giving a supper party for Claire Delmar, Swiss actress.

Steel denied he delivered the potent poke and Sally O'Neill, actress, companion of Arno at the club denied reports that she belabored Steel with a chair. Steel said Arno was struck by Gordon Butler, Steel's business manager.

Arno, who once had a sensational altercation with Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr., said he was struck by Butler after he, Arno, had seized Steel and "popped him" for "annoying my women guests, Miss Sally O'Neill and another young woman."

Among those at the scene were Joan Crawford, Franchot Tone and Mr. and Mrs. Clark Gable.

Miss O'Neill verified Steel's statement that it was another man who struck Arno. She said her impression was that the "other man" struck her companion on the chin from the rear, which the ringsiders agreed would have been quite a feat. One version was that Steel drew back to "paste" Arno, but that someone beat him to the punch.

Steel Wires Statement

Steel wired to New York a statement indicating he became incensed at something Arno said after Steel introduced him to Miss Delmar. Steel said Arno approached the Delmar party table and "accused me (Steel) of knowing him when his name was Curtis Peters, interior decorator for Gilda Gray."

"I arose and presented him to Miss Delmar, which she acknowledged," said Steel. "That was not enough for him and I explained at that moment there was just one thing he lacked - besides being born a man he had failed being born a gentleman.

"Mr. Gordon Butler, when Mr. Arno made a pass at me, stepped in to defend not only Miss Delmar but me, and sent Mr. Arno sailing across the dance floor, much to Miss Delmar's amusement and to Mr. Arno's surprise."

Miss O'Neill said she supposed the way the report started that she hit Steel with a chair was that Steel stood near Arno with a chair in hand and after the knockout and that she rushed over in an attempt to prevent further toruble.

Arno Tells His Side

"Last night at the club," said Arno, "Steel came to my table and I told him to cut out talk about his being an intimate friend of mine and that I was going in business with him.

"He went back to his table. A few minutes after that I went over to the orchestra leader and agreed to play the piano. While I was playing I saw Steel had returned to my table and was annoying my women guests.

"I walked back over to the table, grabbed him, pushed him back over to his table and then popped hiim. As I did so, this man Gordon Butler - Steel has a butler - smacked me on the side of the head and I went down.

"While this was going on Steel raised a chair and made for me. Miss O'Neill rushed in between us.

"The next time I see Drexel Biddle Steel," Arno added, "I'm going to hang one on him that he won't forget for a long time."

There were no hard feelings held by Steel.

Butler admitted modestly he was the hero of the occasion.

Labels: News of Yore

There is a fertile history of farm publications in this country. Most of these newspapers and magazines had their own homegrown comic strips, often written and drawn by relatively accomplished, though today unknown, creators.

In the case of Paw Tucker, though, we do have a smidgen of information. The signature Bell refers to Ray C. Bell and his wife Caroline. Ray did the pencilling on his work, his better half did the inking and elaborated on Ray's sketchy backgrounds. This information courtesy of their son's book A Bedtime Companion - An Anthology of Humorous Americana (ISBN 0-9710519-5-X). According to son Robert, the dynamic duo drew cartoons for farm publications from the early 1930s through the early 1950s.

Their production in the 30s was mostly panel cartoons, panoramic views of family get-togethers being a favorite subject (much like Dudley Fisher's Right Around Home Sundays). A central figure in many of these panels was Pa Tucker, and finally the Bells made him the star of his own comic strip, while also continuing the large panel format series. Pa's adventures lasted until the early 50's (my latest samples are from 1951), the panel cartoons were dropped around 1949.

Apparently the Bells managed to syndicate their wares to several different farm publications. They definitely appeared in Ohio publications (their home base), and all my samples are from the Wisconsin Agriculturist-Farmer.

Farm publication comics are a rich vein of American cartooning history, and well worth someone doing serious research. My hands are full with researching comics in mainstream publications and these features don't fall under the purview of Stripper's Guide (they fail to meet the requirements on two fronts; they didn't appear in "general interest newspapers", and most farm publications were bi-weekly, whereas Stripper's Guide rules say that comic strips have to appear in weekly or more frequent publications to qualify).

More mystery strips, today the letter G.

G. Whiskers - Geoffrey Foladeri - Press Alliance - daily strip - 1940-58
Galloping Galaxies - Lillian Bono - self-syndicated - weekly strip - 1983-84
G.R.A.B. - David Dunning, Sally Wilson - self-syndicated - weekly panel - 1978-79
Gabby Flynn - Ken Ernst - Watkins Syndicate - weekly strip - 1939
Gabe & Loki - Ross Bunch - Centurion Press - daily strip - 1972-78
The Games Afoot, The Sherlock Holmes Crime Scene Chronicle - Howard Bender, Jack Harris - Singer Media - 1996-2003
Garden State Digest - Gar Schmitt - self-syndicated - weekly panel - 1969
Gargoyle And Gadget - E.B. Sullivan - National Newspaper Syndicate - daily strip - 1936-45
General Friendship - McCann & Tepper - United Feature Syndicate - Sunday strip - 1946
Generation Gap - Kennison Keene - Community & Suburban Press - weekly panel - 1971 (found! in Nashua Reporter)
Geographic Oddities - Leon A. Dickinson - Queen Features - weekly panel - 1939
George - George Wolfe - Al Smith Service - weekly panel - 1969
George And Jacques - Adrian Raeside - Miller Services - daily strip - 1979 (Charles Brubaker asked Raeside about this strip, turns out in ran only in the Toronto Star, thus doesn't qualify for Stripper's Guide indexing)
Georgi - Sharaga Caltoon - American Internation Syndicate - weekly strip - 1992-94
Geraldine - Mike Rose - Atlas Features - weekly strip - 1951-59
Geriatrix - Paul Norris, Lyle Swigart - Copley News Service - weekly panel - 1978-85 (existence verified by DD Degg in Oswego County Messenger - thanks DD!)
Gerties Gig - Suzanne Farrow - LA Times Syndicate - daily panel - 1976
The Ghost Rider - Stanley Matz - self-syndicated - daily strip - 1939
Ghoulsville - Peter Garvey - Trans World News - daily panel - 1976
Giggle Gags - Cecil Danner - Paramount Syndicate - daily panel - 1938
The Gilmore Brothers' Music Scene - Douglas and Keith Gilmore - Telstar - weekly strip - 1975
Ginger - Gene McNerney Jr - Watkins Syndicate - daily strip - 1936
Ginger Blue - Al Carreno - Al Smith Service - weekly strip - 1954
Gino - Gene Machamer - self-syndicated - daily panel - 1982-91
Girl About Town - Melisse - United Feature Syndicate - daily panel - 1936
Glamorettes - Woody Kimbrell - General Features - daily panel - 1950
Gleeb - Paul Lowney - Copley News Service - weekly panel - 1981-85 FOUND! by D.D. Degg in Oswego County Messenger
Glombo - Glen Sherman - Humor Books Syndicate - daily strip - 1995-96
Going Down - Leonard Bruce - Leoleen-Durck Creations - daily strip - 1982-92
Going West -Frank Thomas - Al Smith Service - weekly strip - 1951-54 (aka Hossface Hank?)
Goldbrick & Company - Tom Gibb - Exmark News Service - weekly strip - 1980
The Golden Age - Robert Hoover - Dispatch Features - thrice weekly panel - 1968-74
Golden Spurs - W. O'Forest - Jones Syndicate - Sunday strip - 1940
Goo-Gags - Pat Pending - King Features Syndicate - daily panel - 1926
The Good Old Days - Walter Schwimmer - Feature Sales Syndicate - daily panel - 1938
Goodbyland - Charles Biro, George Nagle, Bob Wood - ? - Sunday strip - 1937-38
Goofy Golf - H.C. Weagant - King Features Syndicate - daily panel - 1926
Goomer - Nacho & Ricardo - Creators Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 1992
Gopher Hole Gazette - Evans - Harper Features - weekly panel - 1934 (turned out to be an illustrated column and thus not eligible for SG listing)
Grace And Looie - Al Wiseman - LA Times Syndicate - daily panel - 1966,73
Gramps - Patrick Rice - American Way Features - daily strip - 1987
Grandfather Clause - Chris Wright - Creators Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 2000-01 FOUND! existence verified by Charles Brubaker; thanks Charles!
Grandpa Noah - Gus Edson - Chicago Tribune-NY News Syndicate - weekly strip - 1955 (verified - replaced Cousin Juniper as topper to The Gumps)
Great Little Lovers - Grace Drayton - DP Syndicate - weekly strip - 1926
Great Moments - Dick Leahy - Continental News Service - weekly strip - 1995-present
The Great Pierre - Marc Swayze - Bell Syndicate - daily strip - 1956 (DD Degg says Swayze in Alter Ego article said the strip never sold)
Green Force Five - Osvaldo Blanco, Miguel Repetto, Alfredo Grassi - King Features Syndicate - daily strip - 1985-87
Green Scene - Pat Hines - Richard Lynn Enterprises - daily panel - 1978
Greenhouse Effect - Jeff Barfoot - Paradigm-TSA - daily and Sunday strip - 1999
Greenwood - Keith M. Manzella - self-syndicated - daily and weekly strip - 1988-94
Greg-Jim Humorous Adventures - Gregory Clarke, Jim Frise - Star Newspaper Service - weekly - 1938-40
Grimes the Butler - Joe Busciglio - Publishers Feature Service - weekly panel - 1946-49
Gripes And Grins - Lin Streeter - Associated Newspapers - daily panel - 1945
Ground Zero - Tim Haggerty - United Feature Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 1987 (Found! in LA Times)
Grumps - Roger Price - Manson Western Syndicate - daily panel - 1976
Guess Who - William Feld - Stuyvesant Feature Syndicate - weekly panel - 1970
Gully Foyle - Reginald and Stanley Pitt - Ledger Syndicate - Sunday strip - 1967-71 (Art Lortie and Steven Rowe both say it was never successfully sold - case closed!)
Gunther - John Roman - McNaught Syndicate - daily strip - 1980-81

Charles H. Wellington started his syndicated cartooning career with World Color Printing in 1904. He was an excellent cartoonist from the start, his ideas were fresh and funny and best of all (from the syndicate's perspective) he was a real workhorse.

Wellington was one of the backbone menbers of WCP's staff through 1907, until the call of New York finally became too strong. His first job in the Big Apple was with the New York World, where he only managed to make a single sale. He found a much more receptive audience in the Hearst camp, though, and produced many daily-style series for them, mostly for the Evening Journal. In May 1911 Wellington produced an innocuous and short-lived strip called His Noble Son-In-Law. There were less than ten installments of the series. The idea was anything but fresh and pretty much ran the course in that short time.

The plot was already old hat. Starting in the American gilded age it had become fashionable for social climbing debutantes to marry titled beaus from Europe. In real life, and in the funnies that mirrored it, many of these dukes, earls and other assorted peers turned out to be penniless lazy neer-do-wells. Many of the titles were real, but the gents often failed to live up to their impressive names. The phenomenon became a favorite target for humorists, and His Noble Son-In-Law is one of many times the subject was mined for laughs.

The short-lived series was eminently forgettable, or at least seemed to be forgotten. Wellington went on to create other series for Hearst in 1911, then made a jump over to the New York Globe, where his work was sometimes picked up by the Associated Newspapers cooperative.

In late 1913, while apparently still working for the Globe, Wellington began a new Sunday strip for the McClure Syndicate titled Pa's Imported Son-In-Law. It was a direct descendent of the original series. The strip began on 10/19/1913, and once again Wellington didn't stick with it long. His last strip ran on 1/4/1914, after which the title was continued by uncredited cartoonists (one of which was Ed Carey). This version of the strip lasted until at least August 1914, and then was revived by McClure as Return Engagement of Pa's Son-In-Law on 4/18/1915. This version, now signed by Ed Carey, ran until 7/2/1916.

But Wellington wasn't done. He left McClure to return to the Hearst fold, and continued the series yet again, this time as That Son-In-Law of Pa's, for Hearst's Newspaper Feature Service syndicate. This series started on 12/8/1913, and a daily version was added in 1915.

This series met with good success as part of the NFS package, and Wellington stuck with it for Hearst until October 1920. But Wellington wasn't quite done switching syndicates.

The next, and last, move had Wellington jumping yet again, this time to the New York Tribune's syndicate, where the strip made its last name change, to Pa's Son-In-Law. Apparently now tired of jumping syndicates, Wellington continued the strip here for over two decades. It finally expired on 5/17/1942.

Our sample today is the very first strip from early May 1911.

Today's post is brought to you by the letter F. If you don't recall what I'm doing here, read this post. Any and all information is greatly appreciated and positive proof is rewarded as well.

Fair Game - Stephanie Piro - Chronicle Features - daily panel - 1996-98
Faith, Hope And Sue - Lisa Wild - Davey Associates - daily panel - 1994
Familiar Folks - Bill Nickel - Editorial Services - weekly panel - 1947
Family - Doug Wright - Toronto Star Syndicate - weekly strip - 1980
Family K624 - Tim Jackson - Creative License Studio - weekly - 1999-2002
Family Popcorn - Shel Dorf, Tom Reese - self-syndicated - daily strip - 1997
The Family - Wildt - American International Syndicate - daily strip - 1991-94
Familyades - Lois Gilbert - Associated Midwest Newspaper Syndicate - daily panel - 1937-38
Famous Fighters - John Wentworth - National Newspaper Service - daily strip - 1932
Famous Monuments - Hendrick van Loon - Christy Walsh Syndicate - weekly strip - 1927
Famous Pastimes - Paul Sell - Leeds Features - daily panel - 1933
Fantom Of The Fair - Paul Gustavson - Watkins Syndicate - weekly strip - 1939
Farm Life - Harlan Wade - Trans World News - daily strip - 1978
Fast Lane - Harley Schwadron - Davey Associates, Copley News Service - weekly, daily panel - 1993-present
Father Victor - John T. O'Brien - National Catholic Welfare Conference - weekly strip - 1958-60
Faulty Fables - Rick Stromoski - Whitegate Features - daily - 1990-91 (Charles Brubaker contacted the creator who said "it was negotiated to be syndicated but as far as I know nothing came of it")
Faxtoons - Dan Rosandich - Great Lakes Features - weekly - 1991-92
Feedback - Doc and Rebecca Blakely - self-syndicated - weekly strip - 1987
Ffarm.com - Bob Englehart, Pat McGrath - Paradigm-TSA - daily and Sunday strip - 1999 (Found! in Hartford Courant)
The Field Family - Al Brooks - Humor Books Syndicate - weekly strip - 1993-96
The 52 Club - Rooney W. Davis - Quality Art Service - weekly panel - 1967-69
The Fighting Chaplain - Carl Pfeufer - Eric Jon Associates - weekly strip - 1955-61 (Alberto Becattini says it ran in the Catholic Weekly - not a newspaper by our definition)
Figleaves - Greg Curfman - Sandcastles Syndicate - weekly strip - 1976-79
The Final Frontier - Dawn Munson - American International Syndicate - daily panel - 1993-95
Fireman Sam - Joe Buresch - Miller Features - daily strip - 1939
The First Lady - Madeline Brogan - Tribune Media Services - daily and Sunday strip - 1993
First World War - Laurence Stallings - Register & Tribune Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 1934
Fish Story - Randy Bisson - American International Syndicate - daily panel - 1988-98
A Flash Of Luck - S. M. Nemer - Thompson Service - daily panel - 1934
Fletcher Of The 4-H'ers - Joe Buresch - self-syndicated - weekly panel - 1958-86 (Alberto Becattini quotes Buresch as saying that it ran in farm publications)
Flight - J.H. Mason, W.D. Tipton - Miller Services - daily panel - 1934-35
Flip Art - Al Goring - self-syndicated - weekly panel - 1975-77
Fluffhead - Jacques Boivin - Miller Services - daily panel - 1979
Flying Legion - William Winston - National Newspaper Service - daily strip - 1939-42 (Alberto Becattini says it was a topper to Skyroads - I have never seen a Skyroads Sunday)
Focus On Fact - Neville Randall - Interpress - daily strip - 1973
Fodor's Follies - Laszlo Fodor - Bell Syndicate - daily panel - 1938-39
Folly's Thinkshop - Richard Jarrett - self-syndicated - weekly strip - 1979-82
A Fool There Was - Pete Keenan - International Syndicate - weekly panel - 1927-28
Footsies - Bill Shelly - Wade Allen Syndicate - daily panel - 1968
For Better Or Worse - Justin Manning - Four Corners Syndicate - weekly panel - 1968-70
For Heaven's Sake - Ruth Davis, Bob Maley - Heavenly Comics Syndicate - daily panel - 1969-72
For Pete's Sake - Robert Righetti - Danny Ball Productions - weekly panel - 1978-79
For Warped Minds Only - Ralph Hamellmann - Global Features - daily and Sunday strip - 1991-93
For Women Only - Isabelle Ziegler - Carlile Crutcher Syndicate - daily strip - 1939
Fortune Kookies - Charles Glass - Chicago Tribune-NY News Syndicate - daily panel - 1973-77
Foto Finish - Charles McKenzie - United Cartoonists Syndicate - daily - 1988
The Fourth Floor - Todd Schowalter - Plain Label Press - daily strip - 2001-03
The Fox And The Crow - Jim Davis - McClure Syndicate - daily strip - 1950
Fractured Facts - John Locke - Syndicated News Service - weekly panel - 1994-present
Francie Frills - Vic Herman - McClure Syndicate - daily panel - 1948
Freak Patents - Harvey Peake - Carlile Crutcher Syndicate - daily panel - 1936
Fred - Leonard Bruce, Charles Durck - Leoleen-Durck Creations - daily - 1983-92
Freddie Fix It - Mike Gray, Bob Hyde - Nationwide Features Syndicate - daily panel - 1949-50 [Charles Thompson supplies proof that Nationwide was a producer of advertising strips; not eligible for SG listing]
Free Zone - Winthrop Prince - Chronicle Features - weekly - 1985-90 (existence verified by author - thanks Winthrop!)
Froyd - Philippe Grabowski, Bob Keleman - Syndicated News Service - daily and Sunday strip - 1991-present
Frustration - Ray Hanson - Register & Tribune Syndicate - daily panel - 1974
Fun Bug - Howard Rands - Al Smith Service - weekly panel - 1978 (Todd Hillmer found this feature, turned out to be an activity panel, not eligible for the SG index)
Funnigrams - W.F. Peters - Publishers Feature Service - weekly panel - 1946-49
Funny Form - Charles Barsotti - Chicago Tribune-NY News Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 1974 (Charles Brubaker checked with the creator, who says it was never sold or syndicated)
Funny Money - Dan Shefelman - King Features - weekly - 1991 CONFIRMED by creator (see post below)
Funny Side Up - Trent - World Feature Service - weekly strip - 1931
Funtime - Edo Anderson - Smith-Mann Syndicate - weekly strip - 1951-54
Fusebox - Greg Panneitz - Continental Features - weekly strip - 2002-present
Future Eye - John Mayo, Jerry Siegel - McClure Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 1953
Fuzzy - Leonard Bruce - Leoleen-Durck Creations - daily - 1983-92

7/9/1939
Cartoonist Crosby's Wife Wins Divorce
Creator of Skippy is Ordered to Pay Her $14,500, Cede Lands

Agnes Dale Crosby, wife of Percy Leo Crosby, creator of the comic strip character "Skippy," yesterday was granted a temporary divorce from her artist husband in Fairfax County Circuit Court by Judge Waletr T. McCarthy. Charges of cruelty were brought by Mrs. Crosby against her husband.

Judge McCarthy ordered Crosby to pay $14,500 annually to his divorced wife. He also ordered the transfer of two tracts of land in Fairfax County and 1,400 acres in Loudoun County to Mrs. Crosby. Under the court order, Mrs. Crosby retains custody of the four children, Percy, 9; Barbara Dale, 7; Joan Caroline, 6 and Carol, 5.

While artist Crosby is given the privilege of visiting his children, the court decree contains an injunction restraining him from interfering with his wife or children or seeking to gain control.

In her petition Mrs. Crosby charged that her husband had on several occasion assaulted her. An indenture was made between the couple on May 11 providing for a lump-sum payment of $15,000 by Crosby to his wife. They were married in New York City on April 4, 1929.


8/15/1937
Many Actors Got Start on Newspapers

The newspaper business, which has contributed heavily in personnel to practically all professions, has given a large number of actors to motion pictures, a survey of Hollywood revealed recently.

Four cartoonists, 10 reporters, and advertising and circulation department representatives have been graduated into the ranks of the film stars, among other employees of newspapers.

Gary Cooper, currently in "Souls at Sea," was at one time a newspaper cartoonist, and the story concerning the firing of John Barrymore, another artist, by the late Arthur Brisbane, is now historical. Leo Carrillo, now in "Hotel Haywire," was a cartoonist in San Francisco, and Keye Luke, Chinese character actor, is famous for his newspaper and magazine drawings.

[article continues discussing non-cartoonists...]

2/16/1934
Police Guarding 'Ding,' Noted Cartoonist, From Kidnapers

Des Moines, Feb. 15 - State police tonight guarded Jay N. Darling ("Ding"), nationally known newspaper cartoonist and sportsman, against reports that he was next on gangdom's list of intended kidnap victims.

Secrecy veiled investigation by State and Federal officers, but Federal Agent O.C. Dewey announced that evidence of a carefully planned plot to abduct Darling had been discovered.

In their efforts to provide every safeguard, the officers kept the cartoonist's whereabouts secret.

The purported plot was discovered while Darling was returning from Washington, where he attended a conference of President Roosevelt's wild life conservation committee.

A telegram, signed with a fictitious name, asked Darling when he would arrive in Chicago and where he would stay. Officers indicated they had traced the telegram to a supposed Chicago gangster.

Federal agents guarded Darling while he stopped in Chicago and escorted him to the Iowa border, where State officers joined him. Since his return to Des Moines last Wednesday, the State agents have been with him constantly.

A farmhouse near Creston, in southwest Iowa, figured in the purported plot, the officers believed. The farmhouse, definite location of which has not been determined, also was mentioned as the possible hideaway of the Edward G. Bremer kidnapers.

The officers indicated their belief that a definite ransom demand for Darling's release had been fixed in event the kidnaping was effected.

The announcement of the supposed plot was amde, Dewey indicated, in the hope that publicity might serve as a warning and discourage attempt to carry out the abduction.

Darling, widely known for his cartoons in newspapers and magazines, also is prominent for his work in conservation of the Nation's wild life and his broad acquaintance in political fields.

2/25/1932
Ripley, Cartoonist, Faces $500,000 Balm Suit

New York, Feb. 24 - Robert L. Ripley, the cartoonist of "Believe It Or Not" fame, is being sued for $500,000 for alleged breach of promise of marriage by Marion Ohnick, 37, a prima donna, who formerly appeared with the San Carlo Opera Company in the title role of "Madame Butterfly."

Miss Ohnick, who also is known as Haru Onuki, of Long Beach, Calif., has been appearing recently on a vaudeville circuit, her attorny, Abraham Greenberg, said.

Labels: News of Yore

6/16/35
Gaar Williams, 54, Cartoonist, Dies

Chicago, June 15 - Gaar Williams, 54, veteran newspaper cartoonist, who drew whimsical studies of "Just Plain Folks," died today in Passavant Hospital after being stricken with a cerebral hemorrhage.

He died four hours after being stricken as he sat in his automobile on Michigan Boulevard with his wife and Miss Blanche Stillson, of Indianapolis. Funeral arrangements awaited word from the artist's mother in Richmond, Ind.

Williams was the creator of the comic strip "A Strain On The Family Tie" and "Zipper," the comic dog. Formerly a political cartoonist for the Chicago Daily News and the Indianapolis News, he reached the height of his popularity with his "Silky" comic strips of later years.

He turned to comic drawing after joining the staff of the Chicago Tribune in 1921.

11/25/34
C.R. Macauley Dies; Newspaper Cartoonist

New York, Nov. 24 - Charles R. Macauley, 54 years old, a well-known newspaper cartoonist, died today at St. Vincent's Hospital from a cardiac ailment growing out of an attack of pneumonia.

Mr. Macauley served for several years as a cartoonist on the old New York World. He also worked on the Brooklyn Eagle and the New York Daily Mirror. He is credited with originating "The Big Stick" President Theodore Roosevelt was so often pictured as carrying.


12/1/33
Cartoonist Bronstrup Dies

San Francisco, Nov. 30 - C.A. Bronstrup, political cartoonist and a member of the San Francisco Chronicle 20 years, died today from a heart ailment.

1/27/30
Cartoonist Killed in Auto Crash

Cleveland, Jan. 26 - Irving S. Knickerbocker, staff artist for the Newspaper Enterprise Association here and known in the cartoon world as "Nick" [actually Knick - ed] was killed in an automobile accident here today. His car struck another car and glanced off into a telephone pole.

10/21/31
William A. Rogers, Cartoonist, Dead

William A. Rogers, 77, noted cartoonist, died at his home at 3331 P street northwest, early yesterday after an illness of less than a week. He was formerly on the staff of the Washington Post.

Mr. Rogers was born in Springfield, Ohio, May 23, 1854. In 1873 he began his career in New York City as an illustrator and cartoonist for the Daily Graphic. He was later on the staff of Harper's Weekly, Harper's Magazine, Life, St. Nicholas, Century, the New York Herald and the Washington Post. He came to Washington in 1923.

Among his personal friends Mr. Rogers numbered President Theodore Roosevelt, President Grover Cleveland and Jules Jusserand, former French ambassador to the United States. It was at the suggestion of the latter that he was made a chevalier in the French Legion of Honor for a cartoon published in the New York Herald during the World War.

Mr. Rogers is survived by a daughter, Mrs. W.W. Buckley, of Washington, and a son, Harry A. Rogers, of Wilton, Conn. Funeral services will be conducted in Springfield, Ohio, tomorrow afternoon.

Labels: News of Yore

Here's a group of cartoonist death notices, all gleaned from the Washington Post.

12/31/39
Walter Blackman, Cartoonist, Dies

Cleveland, Dec.29 - Walter W. Blackman, 65, for 21 years political cartoonist for the Birmingham, Ala., Age-Herald, died today at his home in Willowick, Ohio, east of here. He was a member of the Gridiron Club and the National Press Club of Washington.

Originator of one of the first animated motion picture cartoons, he used the idea in connection with the Government's Liberty Loan campaigns. Years ago he obtained a patent on a process for making motion pictures in natural color. While a cartoonist for the Birmingham Age-Herald he was sent by his paper to campaign on political issues.

11/23/39
"Jerry on the Job"Artist Dies at 49

New York, Nov.22 - Walter C. Hoban, 49, widely known comic artist and cartoonist, died last night after a two-month illness. He was with King Features Syndicate for more than 20 years. He was best known perhaps for his comic strip "Jerry on the Job."

8/15/39
Powers, Noted Cartoonist, Dies

New York, Aug.14 - T.E. Powers, 69, noted political cartoonist of the Hearst newspapers for more than 40 years, died today after a two-year illness.

One of the earliest political caricaturists of modern journalism, Powers was the favorite political cartoonist of President Theodore Roosevelt.

Powers retired several years ago due to ill health.

9/11/39
Bob Edgren, Sports Cartoonist, Dies

Carmel, Calif., Sept. 10 - Bob Edgren, 65, famous sports editor and cartoonist, died here last night after a series of heart attacks.

Edgren for many years was sports editor of the old New York World.

Surviving are his wife, a son and three sisters.

1/10/39
Joseph McGurk Dies

Philadelphia, Jan. 9 - Joseph W. McGurk, 52, illustrator and one-time sports cartoonist, died last night.

3/7/38
McDougall, 80, First Cartoonist in U.S., Suicide
White House Writer in Days of First Roosevelt Shoots Self

Waterford, Conn., March 6 - Walt McDougall, 80, dean of American cartoonists, author and humorist, was found dead today on a couch in his Fern Lane farmhouse.

Dr. Frank Dunn, medical examiner, said McDougall's right hand clutched an old-fashioned "horse pistol" and that his death was suicide.

McDougall, generally regarded as the first American [daily newspaper] cartoonist, contributed to the old New York World and to the Philadelphia North American. He also did strips for the McClure Syndicate and nationally known magazines.

Among his better known ones were "Absent Minded Abner," "Fatty Felix," "Hank The Hermit," "Teddy In Africa" and the Rambillaux Series.

His cartoon "The Feast of Belshazzar" was credited with helping to elect Grover Cleveland president.

McDougall was once rebuked by the Supreme Court of the United States for drawing a cartoon showing justices of the high court chewing tobacco behind the bench.

He was a personal friend of the late Theodore Roosevelt and covered the White House as a newspaperman in his Presidential regime.

10/17/37
Will Chapin Dies

Hollywood, Calif., Oct. 15 - Will E. Chapin, 80, cartoonist and writer, died at his home here yesterday.

8/28/37
Frederick Opper Dies at 80; Happy Hooligan's Creator

New Rochelle, N.Y., Aug. 27 - Heart disease brought death today to Frederick Burr Opper, 80, creator of Happy Hooligan, Alphonse and Gaston, and other comic strip characters read around the world.

He was forced by failing eyesight a few years ago to retire from active work for newspapers with which he had been connected since 1899.

Born in Madison, Ohio, the son of an Austro-Hungarian immigrant, Opper left school at 14 to work on the Madison Gazette, a weekly newspaper. A year later he went to New York.

When he submitted some of his sketches to magazines they were promptly purchased. Then Col. Frank Leslie hired him as a staff artist for Leslie's weekly. Three years later he went to Puck, with which he remained until engaged for the New York Journal.

With the rise of the syndicate system, his cartoons were circulated throughout the world.

In 1900 he created the tramp with the tin hat, Happy Hooligan, best known of his characters.

Opper for many years was an outstanding political cartoonist, during the McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt campaigns. His "Willie and Teddy" series had the nation roaring.

12/28/36
Cartoonist Weed Dies of Pneumonia

New York, Dec. 27 - Clive Weed, artist and political cartoonist, died today in a hospital here of pneumonia. He was 52.

Weed studied art at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, where he was a favorite pupil of the late Thomas Pollock Anshutz, instructor of many noted American artists.

In 1910 he joined the staff of the Philadelphia Record, and a year later went to the Philadelphia Press, where his chief work was illustrating news stories. He joined the New York Evening Sun in 1912, and one of his first assignments was to sketch the survivors of the Titanic disaster.

He became political cartoonist for the old New York Tribune, the Philadelphia Public Ledger, and editorial cartoonist for the magazine Judge. His drawings also appeared in Colliers, the American Magazine, Leslie's and Life.

Weed returned to newspaper work in 1927 as cartoonist for the New York Evening World, and once the last edition of that paper was published he had been with the King Features Syndicate.


7/5/36
Charles C. Reese, Cartoonist, Dead

Glendale, Calif., July 4 - Charles Chandler Reese, 74, newspaper illustrator and cartoonist, died at a hospital yesterday of the infirmities of age.

His career included prominent posts of New York, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia newspapers. During the Spanish-American war his sketches on the field of action in Cuba appeared in the New York World, drawing wide attention.

Reese claimed to have been the first artist to have a picture reproduced as a double-truck, or two-page, illustration in a newspaper.

Born in Pittsburgh, Reese lived in the East until he came here six years ago. He was prominent in the Elks and was past exalted ruler of lodges at Hackensack, N.J., and Staten Island, N.Y.


10/21/35
Creator of 'Gumps' Is Killed in Crash
Sidney Smith Had Been on Outing Celebrating New Contract

Chicago, Ill., Oct. 20 - Sidney Smith, 58, creator of "The Gumps," one of the most popular of all newspaper cartoons, was killed at 3:45 a.m. today in an automobile collision near Harvard, Ill., a few miles from the Wisconsin boundary.

Smith, at the time of the accident, was alone. The previous afternoon he had been on a gay outing at Lake Geneva, Wisc., in celebration of a three-year extension of his $150,000-a-year newspaper syndicate contract.

He had gone from his home in Chicago to the Wisconsin resort to meet with syndicate officials and sign the contract extension. He then invited the syndicate men to spend Sunday at his nearby 2,200 acre Shirland farm.

When they preferred to return to Chicago Smith drove them to the city, then started back toward the farm. It was late at night. To break the long, solitary drive, the cartoonist stopped at the Bubbling-Over Tavern, 6 miles south of the point where he met his death.

At the roadhouse Smith entertained the patrons by drawing pictures of the cartoon characters he made famous throughout the world. About 3:30 a.m. he started on the last lap of his journey.

He was driving a small sedan. Another sedan, headed south and driven by Wendell Martin, of Waukesha, Ill., collided with Smith's car. Although there were no witnesses it is believed the two machines met almost on the center line of the highway. Smith's car was whirled around, thrown off the road and against a telephone pole. The top of the cartoonist's head was crushed in. Marlin suffered a broken hip, fractured jaw, and other injuries.

Smith's body was brought to a Chicago undertaking parlor and from there will be taken to his Chicago residence, 1500 Lake Shore Drive. Funeral services will be held at his home Wednesday. Internment will be in Rose Hill Cemetary here.

Survivors are his wife, a son, Robert Sidney Smith, 25, of Phoenix, Ariz., and a daughter, Mrs. Gladys Lucknow, of Lauderdale, Wis.

Smith's first wife, Gentraude Craddock, of Pittsburgh, died in 1924. His second marriage took place in 1926.

Preferred To Draw
Sidney Smith was born in Bloomington, Ill., on February 13, 1877, the son of Dr. T.H. and Mrs. Francis A. Shafer Smith. His father was a dentist and wanted the son to follow him in his profession. But Sidney, from boyhood, showed an inclination to spend most of his time bending over a drawing board. When he was 18 he was drawing for the Bloomington Sunday Eye.

From Bloomington he went to Indianapolis, where he joined the staff, first of the News, then of the Press. Later he went to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Pittsburgh Post, the Pittsburgh Press, the Indianapolis Sentinel and the Toledo News Bee. But his drawings for all these papers were centered around a human goat called "Old Doc Yak."

Not until 1917, when he was on the art staff of the Chicago Tribune, did Smith conceive the now-famous Gump family. Between the birth of Andy and the burial of Old Doc Yak, several other series, including "The Bunk of a Busy Brain," "Self-Made Heroes" and "Light Occupations" wandered across the cartoonist's drawing board.

Won World Recognition
But it was with the Gumps -- Andy, Min, Chester, Uncle Bim -- that Sidney Smith won world recognition. The strip has been published throughout the United States, in Canada, Europe, Hawaii and Australia.

In keeping up the daily and Sunday production the cartoonist was forced to build up a staff of artists and idea men.

It was on March 15, 1922, that Smith signed the first $1,000,000 contract ever given a comic strip artist. The agreement was to cover a 10-year period and as a bonus, the creator of the Gump strip was given a Rolls Royce.

At the time of the artist's death the comic was drawn three months in advance. His staff hopes to continue the adventures of the Gump household.

7/19/35
Mother of McManus, Noted Cartoonist, Dies

Hollywood, July 18 - Mrs. George McManus, 82, mother of George McManus, cartoonist, died here today.

Born in Limerick, Ireland, she came to the United States when she was a small girl. Her first home was in St. Louis, but she went to New York after her marriage to George McManus, Sr., stage actor. She came here a year and a half ago. She is survived by one other son, Charles McManus, of New York. George lives here.

Labels: News of Yore

A double dose of mystery strips this weekend. Will you be the hero who can supply proof that any of these ran in U.S. newspapers?

Today's post is brought to you by the letter E. If you don't recall what I'm doing here, read this post. Any and all information is greatly appreciated and positive proof is rewarded as well.

E-String - uncredited - Syndicate X - twice weekly - 1995
E-Trivia - Rick Broadhead - United Feature Syndicate - twice weekly - 2000
Eaglefeathers - Chet Dippel - Community Features - weekly panel - 1980-81
Eb And Flo - Guy Parker - Kirk Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 1945-47
Edge - L.J. Kopf - Morrisseau Syndicate - unknown - 1982-83
Effie Spunk - F.O. Alexander - Ledger Syndicate - daily strip - 1935
Elmer Dimbulb - Walt Williams - Matz Unique Features - daily strip - 1934
Elmer Jones - Stanley Matz - Miller Features - daily strip - 1940
Elmer In Europe - Peter Probyn - London International Press - weekly panel - 1959-60
Elmer's Fixit Shop - Art Huhta - Register & Tribune Syndicate - Sunday strip - 1947-49
Endearing Species - Dean Norman - Environment Cartoon Features - weekly panel - 1993-2002
Ernie - Bill O'Brian - Hayden-Kennedy Syndicate - daily strip - 1950
Et Tu - Dan Harper - LA Times Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 1975-76
Ever Notice? - Keith Manzella - Newspaper Features - daily strip - 1988-94
Everybody's Business - Matt Tolbert, Ken Roberts - Copley News Service - weekly strip - 1992-present
Everybody's World - Claire and Frank Ford - Chicago Tribune-NY News Syndicate - Sunday strip - 1973
Excursions - Rick Geary - Copley News Service - weekly strip - 1986-93
Extenuating Circumstances - David Watkins - Suzerain Group - daily panel - 1992
The Eyes Have It - Al Goring - self-syndicated - weekly panel - 1975-77

After a long layoff I'm finally back to listing mystery strips. Today's post is brought to you by the letter D. If you don't recall what I'm doing here, read this post. Any and all information is greatly appreciated and rewarded as well.

Dad Allen - Leonard Merrill - Thompson Service - daily panel - 1932-33
Dad Burns - Al Ware - self-syndicated - twice weekly panel - 1966
Daffy Demonstrations - Ray Rohn - Ledger Syndicate - daily panel - 1926
Dairy Boy - Ferd Himme - Lowery Cartoon Corp - weekly panel - 1932
Daisy Daily and Dotty Dawn - Larry Whittington - General Features - weekly strip - 1937-42
Dan Dennis - Sam Gilman - Watkins Syndicate - weekly strip - 1939
Dan Hastings - Jack Binder, Fred Guardineer, Ken Fitch - Harry Chesler Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 1937-38
Dan Savage - Bob Goodbread - Dickson-Bennett - daily strip - 1981-82
Dash Sanders - Frank Cunningham, Hal Sharpe - Thompson Service - daily strip - 1938
Dash Of Humor - Art Bouthiller - Creative Comic Syndicate - weekly panel - 1991-92
Davey Dollar - Steve Byrne - R-GAB Features - daily/weekly panel - 1980
David Copperfield - David Volkmelker - Jolyon Features - daily - 1939
The DeBrees - Barsotti, Kipp - LA Times Syndicate - unknown - 1975
Deadwood Gulch - Gordon (Boody) Rogers - Eastern Color - weekly strip - 1930-34
Dean Denton - Harry Francis Campbell - Walkins Syndicate - weekly strip - 1939
Dear Gods - Leonard Bruce, Ross Osterman - Leoleen-Durck Creations - daily strip - 1991-92
Deb's Diary - Earl Reeder - National Newspaper Service - daily panel - 1928
Deep River Dan - Joe Buresch - Newspaper Art Features - daily strip - 1939
Demetrakis - Manos Pavlidis - Mid-Continent Features - daily - 1975
Dennis Dull - Phil Young - Chronicle Features - daily panel - 1993
Derby Dan - Bozz - Press Alliance - daily strip - 1940
Desprit Danny & Tess Turrible - A.C. Sells Jr. - Thompson Service - daily strip - 1935
Detective Dolt - Walt Clay, Don Easton - United Feature Syndicate - unknown - 1933
Detectives Nehi & Skyhi - Joe Buresch - Thompson Service - daily strip - 1934-36
Diamond Challenge - Jim Evans, Jim Johnson - United Fetaures - daily and Sunday strip - 1991-97
Diary Of Dr. Hayward - Curt Davis - Eisner-Iger Associates/Pan American Press - weekly strip - 1939-50
Diary Of A Good Girl - Melisse - King Features - daily panel - 1937
Did You Know? - John Jarvis - Community & Suburban Press Service - weekly panel - 1978
Didja' Hear? - Herman - Western Newspaper Union - weekly panel - 1948
Different Blokes - Kevin Miller, David Watkins - Suzerain Group - daily strip - 1993-94
Dilly - Dell Healy - Trans World News Service - daily strip - 1979
Dim Wits - David Rogers - American International Syndicate - daily panel - 1979
Ding Bats - Nonnee Coan - Chicago Daily News - daily panel - 1973
Dinky Doyle - Frank Thomas - Consolidated News Features - daily strip - 1946
The Dinosaur Circus - Elena Steier - DBR Media - weekly - 2001-03 (found! by Charles Brubaker in the Drumright (OK) Gusher - thanks Charles!)
A Dip In The Future - A.A. Goodrum - Thompson Service - daily panel - 1932
Diplomatic Pooch - Jim Asher, Phil Evans - Evans & Cooke - daily strip - 1970-71
Dizzy Heights - G. Melikov - Nu-Way Features - daily panel - 1936
Do You Believe - Steve Feeley, Ed Kuekes - Lafave Syndicate - daily panel - 1955-62
Do You Know That - George Gunderson - Star Syndicate - daily panel - 1930-31 (turned out to be a Canadian feature)
The Dobbs Family - Chris Decker - Lloyd James Williams - daily and Sunday strip - 1938-41
Doc - Hy Gage - Ledger Syndicate - daily panel - 1925
Doc Doodle - Ross E. Bunch - Wilson Features - daily and Sunday strip - 1979
Doc Perkins' Tickletones - T.C. Buxton - Thompson Service - daily panel - 1937-38
Doc Savage - uncredited - Ledger Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 1966-73
Doctor Proctor - Eddie Germano - Trans World News Service - daily strip - 1976-79
Dodie - Peter Garvey - Trans World News Service - daily apnel - 1976
Doggone - John Broudhecker - Allied Features - daily panel - 1958-60
The Doghouse - Dave Allen - Worldwide Media - daily and Sunday strip - 2000-03
Dogs Of War - Buzz Williams - Miller Features - daily strip - 1938-39
Dolf's Fortune - Kenyon Brooks - McClure Syndicate - daily strip - 1928
Domestique - uncredited - Spadea Syndicate - weekly strip - 1975
Don't Do That - Sylvia Robbins - Associated Press - weekly panel - 1950-56
Don't Laugh - Tony Weier, John Whelan - At Large Features - daily strip - 2001-02
Doors - Woodie Hall - Mike LeFan Features - thrice weekly - 1976
Doozies - Edmund Gross, Joe Roy Santoro - Features Unlimited - Sunday panel - 1974
Dork Tower - John Kovalic - Sheffield Productions - weekly strip - 1998-present
Dorothea - Glenn - Miller Services - daily strip - 1937
Dot And Dash - Tony Basso - Associated Midwest Newspapers - daily strip - 1937-38
Dottie Date - Ray Doherty - self-syndicated - daily panel, Sunday strip - 1948
Double Bill - Bill Buttle - Miller Features - weekly - 1999 (according to the creator this was a puzzle feature)
Double Duty - Al Liederman - American International Syndicate - daily strip - 1987-92
Doctor Aha - Bob Adam - Winford Company - daily panel - 1975
Doctor Crystal's Cosmic Kid's Stuff - Jean & Jim Anton - self-syndicated - weekly strip - 1985-86
Doctor Justice - E. Letkeman - Star Newspaper Service - daily strip - 1945
Doctor Remedy - Adolph Schus - George Matthew Adams Service - daily panel - 1939
Doctor Sam And The Space Monsters - Jim Westermann - Editorial Board Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 1967-69
Doctor Tombs - Tom Lowell - Independent Features - daily - 1965
Doctor X - M.R. Mont - Editors Press Service - daily strip - 1946-47
Drawn Out - Bill and Eric Teitelbaum - LA Times Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 1980
The Drimbles - Agoo - Ledger Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 1971-72
Driver Ed And Edna - Ross Bunch and the Dintimans - Trans World News Service - daily panel - 1976-78
Drug Chuckles - Everett Lowry - self-syndicated - weekly panel - 1932
Drugs & Guns - Edward Bryant - self-syndicated - weekly - 1991-92
Duckie - J. Carver Pusey - United Features - daily strip - 1928
Ducking Out - Tom Mikionis - Universal Press Syndicate - daily and Sunday strip - 1994
Duckville Doings - Bill Bly - Wheeler-Nicholson - daily strip - 1926
Duffer - Art A. McCourt - Feature Syndicate - weekly - 1979-80
The Duke Of Manhattan - Edwin Homer, Delos Lovelace - McClure Syndicate - daily strip - 1946
Dumb Blonde - George Davies - Transatlantic News Features - daily panel - 1948
The Dwigginses - Russ Bender, Guy Nonnan - Century Features - unknown - 1937

Not many people know it, but the socialist paper The Daily Worker went through quite a long period where they ran their own comic strips. The earnest folks at the paper were seriously humor impaired, but they gave it the ol' college try. Here's one of their earlier efforts, Red Builder Tales. The main purpose of this very short run strip is to recruit people to sell the paper.

The strip ran every two to three days from June 19 to July 20 1934. The cartoonist, who was with the paper for many years and was their most consistent comic strip producer, signed himself only as 'del'. I believe his real name was Fred Ellis.

EDIT: Thanks to Steven Rowe, 'del' has been correctly reidentified as Maurice del Bourgo, a prolific comic book artist of the 40s. Here's a great sample of his editorial work showing that the signatures are identical. Thanks Steven!

Labels: Obscurities

I was moving a bunch of files around this morning, when what pops to the top of the stack but a series of caricatures Jim Ivey drew a few years ago of some of the press barons. Neat caricatures, so I thought I'd share. I especially like the Brisbane one. He really was an old sourpuss, just as depicted. Many cartoonists who worked for him commented that he was one of the only people they'd ever met that had not even a trace of a sense of humor. It is rumored that when he had to evaluate cartoons for publication that he handed them off to his secretary who would tell him which ones were funny.
Jim Ivey, famed editorial cartoonist, cartooning historian, raconteur and bon vivant, is now an octogenarian, but still as sharp as a tack, and still producing great cartoons. He's also a prolific, entertaining and erudite correspondent. I welcome and suggest that anyone interested in corresponding with a cartooning great, a guy who knew practically every cartoonist of note for the past sixty years, drop him a line. You'll be glad you did. You can write to him at:

Jim Ivey
5840 Dahlia Dr #7
Orlando FL 32807

Walt McDougall is on of the greatest creators of comic strips in the early decades of their existence in American newspapers. He was also a free spirit, a curmudgeon, and, from his own admission, a major pain in the behind to his employers.

In April 1905 McDougall had a tiff with the management of the Philadelphia North American. He left the paper to start what he called a "trolley park" in his biography This Is The Life. He's a bit hazy on what a trolley park is, presumably it would have been obvious to someone reading his book in the 1920s. Best I can make out from searching about the web is that it would have been an amusement park operated at the terminus of a trolley line.

Anyway, McDougall seems to have worked his trolley park for about a year before the management at the North American asked to retain his services once more. In the meantime, though, McDougall's cartooning hand was not completely idle. I am aware of two series by him in this timeframe. Today we look at one of them, Mr. Makepeace. This strip I have only found in the Washington Star (the other appeared in the New York World). Both features prominently display McDougall's own copyright, as you can see in the lower left of the samples for today.

How these features were distributed I don't know for sure, but given McDougall's nature, I'm guessing that he sold the features directly to the papers.

Mister Makepeace ran in the Washington Star from June 11 until November 30, 1906, generally three times per week. By this time he was actually back with the North American, but I assume he sold the feature before that occurred.

The strip is not one of his best efforts. Although McDougall was notable for having a keen wit in addition to his considerable prowess with the pen, this strip has a pretty basic premise. Makepeace, as the name implies, is a pacifist, and he goes around trying to broker disagreements and prevent fights. The kicker is that he's also hard of hearing, so he spends all his time trying to act as a referee in circumstances that he misunderstands due to his handicap. Hilarity, in theory, ensues.

One further observation on Mister Makepeace - the lettering on the strips is so tiny that I have to guess that McDougall was trying to sell this as a Sunday page feature, not in the smaller daily format in which it was presented in the Star. Another clue is that there is very little crosshatching or shading, which also bespeaks his intention to get color reproduction for the feature.

NOTE: Once again this post was uploaded only with superhuman effort. Blogger is a free service, and one of my favorite sayings is "you get what you pay for". Obviously Blogger is no exception. Looking for alternatives right now.

Labels: Obscurities

Note: Now Blogger is allowing me to upload images, but when I try to upload my text posts its locking up my browser. Sigh. Couldn't post yesterday, we'll see what tomorrow brings...

Seems like I never stop finding these Believe It Or Not-style features. This one, by Henry McCarn, uses the form to tell tidbits from the history of North and South Carolina. Only place I've found this series is in the Lenoir (NC) News-Topic, a weekly paper, and they only ran this feature for two weeks. Presumably it ran longer elsewhere, since the panels they printed were copyrighted in different years. The copyrights on the two installments are from 1938 and 1939, and both appeared in the News-Topic in late January 1939. I'd be willing to bet that the paper ran the pair of samples sent to them by the cartoonist, who was probably attempting to self-syndicate his brainchild. Given the frankly amateurish drawing, I can't imagine it ran all that long in any venue, but then again, look at Girls & Sports.

Labels: Obscurities

Here's a real obscure one. I don't know much about it, but I'll tell you what I can, and maybe someone who knows more will enlighten us. Joe And Judy was bylined to someone named Walsh, and was signed B. Derfla (that last name's Alfred backwards). The strips were numbered, and the highest one I've seen is #80. All my samples come from the Catholic Herald Citizen of Milwaukee. The strips I have all came from 1951 issues of the weekly newspaper and were not printed in numerical order.

Since the strips aren't at all religious in nature, I'm betting that they weren't done particularly for this paper. Perhaps a rejected syndicate submission? I also notice, and it may not mean anything, that in all my samples the two title characters never appear together in one strip. Just sorta odd.

The art, competent but nothing to write home about, doesn't ring any bells for me, but the style of the signature seems naggingly familiar. Try as I might, though, I just can't place it. Can anyone think of a cartoonist who might use the name Alfred B.?

Labels: Obscurities

Is there a word that means more obscure than obscure? Well, if there is, the item above fits the description. This 8 page color comic section was issued in June 1960 by something called American Armed Forces Features, copyrighted to the W.B. Bradbury Company of New York. It's definitely a preprint section - the masthead for the Westover Yankee Flyer was obviously printed on later (and out of kilter).

All the strips are about military life, and all the ads are geared to men and women in the services, so the reasonable presumption is that Bradbury was trying to market this preprint section to military papers. I can't imagine that it was a success since this is the first I've ever found (on eBay a few weeks ago). However, you'll notice that it says "Vol. 6 Number 64" on the front page, implying that it was a going concern for a good long time. Has anybody seen more of these? Does anyone know any of the story behind this preprint section?

The features in this section are:

America's Fighting Heroes - uncredited
The Little Corporal - uncredited
Top Kick - uncredited
Tex by George Wolfe
Gooch by Jess Benton
The Sergeant's Family by Duquette
Silent Sam - uncredited
Armed Forces Athletes by Sebo
Phineas Fogg And Crocklesberry by Vic Martin
Air Force Ace by Henry Boltinoff
Big Hearted Harry - uncredited
Did You Know? - uncredited
Flossie - uncredited
The Wise Guy - uncredited

There is a military history research center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania that apparently has a run of the Westover Yankee Flyer newspapers. One of these days I'll have to go check it out.

Labels: Obscurities