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Monday, September 26, 2011

Wrigley's Sunday Comic Strip Ads -- Part I


Courtesy of the Cole Johnson archives, we have with us for three days a series of Wrigley's gum ads penned by the leading cartoonists of King Features. These ran in Sunday comics sections in 1926-27. We begin with the Katzenjammer Kids by H.H. Knerr (originally published March 14 1926) and Barney Google by Billy DeBeck (May 9 1926).

(By the way, I posted last week that Cole was being chased around by a surgeon with a knife. Well, the report is in; Cole was indeed carved up but came through the ordeal and is home again breathing those refreshing old newspaper fumes.)
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3 comments:

  1. GRIZEDO9/26/2011 9:54 AM

    Good to hear Cole is well.
    What was the first advertising strip? Was it these?

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  2. Allan Holtz9/26/2011 10:24 AM

    Oh my, no. Assuming you mean advertising strips using licensed characters, they go further back. I recall seeing Mutt & Jeff ad strips, pre-1910 if I recall correctly. I can't think of any actual STRIPS earlier than that, but of course advertising using licensed characters goes right back to the Yellow Kid. I bet there are earlier strips than the M&J, too, but they're not coming to mind at the moment.

    --Allan

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  3. Mark Johnson9/26/2011 12:38 PM

    Wasn't there also at least one in this series where all (or at least six) Hearst cartoonists collaborated, each doing one panel with their characters?

    ReplyDelete