Stripper's Guide: Ink-Slinger Profiles by Alex Jay: Bernard Dibble

Monday, April 10, 2017

Ink-Slinger Profiles by Alex Jay: Bernard Dibble

Alfred Bernard Joseph Dibble was born in Haddonfield, New Jersey, on August 26, 1899. The New Jersey, Births and Christenings Index, at Ancestry.com, recorded the name as Alfred B. Dibble. Bernard Joseph Dibble was the name on the World War I draft card.

In the 1900 U.S. Federal Census, “Aathur” Dibble was the only child of Theodore and Nina. His maternal grandmother was part of the household. They resided in Haddon, New Jersey on West Haddonfield. The Official Bulletin of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, December 1921, identified Dibble’s ancestors.

Bernard Dibble, Camden, N. J. (Pa. 35468). Son of Theodore Savage and Nina (Da Costa) Dibble; grandson of Theodore Hoyt and Mary Shelly (Reilly) Dibble; great-grandson of Timothy Taylor and Esther (Taylor) Dibble; great-grandson of Joshua Taylor, Sergeant, Colonel Swift’s Regt., Conn. Cont’l Troops.

The quartet was recorded in the 1910 census in Woodbury, New Jersey. Dibble’s father was a railroad stenographer.

On September 12, 1918, Dibble signed his World War I draft card. He lived with his parents in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at 202 South DeKalb Street. Dibble was a clerk, with the West Jersey Sea Shore Railroad Company. The description of Dibble was medium height and build with hazel eyes and brown hair.

Information regarding Dibble’s education, art training and whereabouts in the 1920 census have not been found. Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999 said Dibble was self-taught. From 1920 to 1923, Camden, New Jersey city directories listed Dibble as a clerk who resided at 726 North 4th.

Apparently, Dibble moved to Manhattan, New York City in the mid-1920s. American Newspaper Comics (2012) said Dibble created the strip, Danny Dingle, which ran from July 29, 1924 to 1938. The topper was called Dub-Dabs.

The death of Dibble’s father was reported in The New York Times, February 12, 1928, and said in part:

Theodore S. Dibble, for more than thirty years with the freight traffic department of the Pennsylvania Railroad, died here Friday night, after an illness of many months. He lived recently with his son, Bernard Dibble, a newspaper cartoonist, at 214 Riverside Drive, although his home and office had been for years in Camden, N.J. He was 53 years of age.

Dibble’s artistic cousin, Tom Dibble Jr., died in a car accident March 2, 1929. Tom produced the strip Who’s Zoo. Anna Dibble left a comment at the Stripper’s Guide about the family relationships.

Bernard Dibble was my husband's father.
Tom Dibble, Jr. was Bernard Dibble's first cousin.
Bernard Dibble was the son of Theodore Savage Dibble.
Tom Dibble, Jr. was the son of Thomas Reilly Dibble.
Theodore Savage Dibble & Thomas Reilly Dibble were twin brothers. Their father Theodore Hoyt Dibble was a Civil War hero.

According to the 1930 census, newspaper cartoonist Dibble married Barbara when he was 28 years old. They lived in Manhattan, New York City at 610 Riverside Drive. During the 1930s, American Newspaper Comics said Dibble drew Hawkshaw the Detective, Captain and the Kids, Cynical Susie, and Looy Dot Dope.

The Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 1, Group 2, Pamphlets, Etc., 1938, New Series, Volume 35, Number 2 had this entry: “Dibble, Bernard. Captain and the kids with Uncle Seltzer. © Jan. 8, 1938; AA 254616; Stephen Slesinger, inc., New York. 3863”. The entry in catalog number seven said: “Dibble, Bernard. Captain and the kids in Boys vill be boys. © June 14, 1938; AA 270773; Stephen Slesinger, inc., New York. 25252”.

Information in the 1940 census said Dibble was a 1935 resident of Cresskill, New Jersey. Dibble’s 1940 address was 3120 Broadway in Manhattan. The self-employed cartoonist was married to Eleanor and had two sons, Michael and Theodore.

American Newspaper Comics said Dibble produced Jonesy in the mid-1940s, and ghosted Arnie Mossler’s The Young Idea. According to Alberto Becattini, Dibble ghosted Ernie Bushmiller’s Nancy in the 1950s. Dibble’s comic book work is noted here.

Manhattan telephone directories from 1949 and 1953 listed Dibble’s address as 3133 Broadway. Dibble resided in Manhattan at 536 Isham in 1957 and 1959.

Dibble passed away in 1961 according to Who’s Who of American Comic Books.

—Alex Jay

Labels: Ink-Slinger Profiles