Popular Entertainment

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  Camera-ready comic art drawing for Kevin the Bold

  Description (Brief)

  This pen-and-ink drawing prepared for the Kevin the Bold comic strip shows Kevin and the "Viking Indians" engaging in battle with Captain Spur’s army.

  Kreigh Collins (1908-1974) began his career as an illustrator for magazines in the 1930s. In 1950, along with writer R. R. Winterbotham, Collins debuted his most popular work, the newspaper strip Kevin the Bold.

  Kevin the Bold (1950-1968) was a comic strip whose star originally appeared as a supporting character in a strip called Mitzi McCoy, first published in 1948. The original strip focused on the escapades of a 20th-century socialite and heiress. When she met her 15th-century ancestor, Kevin, he became the new star and the strip was renamed for him. Kevin, originally presented as an Irish shepard, eventually becomes something of an errand boy for King Henry VIII. In 1968 Kevin was killed in a sailing accident and the strip’s name and focus changed again, this time to the name Up Anchor, set in contemporary times.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1966-05-29

  graphic artist

  Collins, Kreigh

  publisher

  NEA, Inc.

  ID Number

  GA.22482

  catalog number

  22482

  accession number

  277502

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Camera-ready comic art drawing for Aggie

  Description (Brief)

  This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Aggie comic strip shows the character Wayout coming over to Aggie’s house to find her staring at a coconut. After Wayout determines that the coconut might be a “hairy cantaloupe,” Aggie says she wants to get the milk out of the coconut, and Wayout’s follow-up quip results in his being thrown out of the house.

  Roy L. Fox (1924- ) debuted his first work in The Philadelphia Bulletin in 1939. He began drawing Aggie Mack (later Aggie) after the death, in 1962, of creator Hal Rasmussen.

  Aggie Mack, and later Aggie, (1946-1972) was a comic strip about a girl in her early teens. Aggie was raised by her father’s second wife, who favored her own daughter, Mona. Aggie's homelife interactions became less central to the strip over the years, and Aggie began to be shown in contemporary teenager, community-based situations. The strip was also popular overseas, particularly in France, where it appeared under the name Fillettes.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1966-07-17

  graphic artist

  Fox, Roy

  publisher

  Tribune Printing Company

  ID Number

  GA.22504

  catalog number

  22504

  accession number

  277502

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Camera-ready comic art drawing for Bugs Bunny

  Description (Brief)

  This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Bugs Bunny comic strip shows Sylvester, Bugs, and a goat named Cynthia going to the beach to play some music. In order to dissuade a heckler, who put sand in Bugs’s tuba, Cynthia simply butts him with her head.

  Ralph Heimdahl (1909-1981) spent the earlier part of his career animating for Walt Disney Studios. His work included early animation for Snow White (1937), Fantasia (1940), and Dumbo (1941). In addition to his work for Disney, Heimdahl also illustrated the Bugs Bunny daily comic strip starting in 1948. He later took over the Sunday strip, which he animated until the 1970s.

  Bugs Bunny (1942-1970s), the newspaper strip, started as a spin-off of animated media including the title character. Bugs Bunny first appeared as the villain in the 1938 theatrical short Porky’s Hare Hunt. He was named after its director, Ben “Bugs” Hardaway. The newspaper strip itself, as well as the comic book version, never reached the popularity of the theatrical animations or cartoons and was canceled in the 1970s.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1966-06-26

  graphic artist

  Heimdahl, Ralph

  publisher

  Warner Brothers Pictures, Inc.

  Bell-McClure Syndicate

  ID Number

  GA.22527

  catalog number

  22527

  accession number

  277502

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Camera-ready comic strip, entitled Apartment 3-G

  Description (Brief)

  This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Apartment 3-G comic strip shows the characters discussing how much they miss Peter. A new neighbor, named Newton Figg, is just arriving to move into 3-B, across the hall. Figg raises some eyebrows because he’s arriving with two oversized, stuffed animals named Wilbur and Wendell.

  Alex Kotzky(1923-1996), while an art student in New York in 1940, became an assistant at DC Comics. In the 1950s he worked for publishers Quality Comics and Ziff-Davis. During this time he also ghost-drew for comic strips such as Steve Canyon and Big Ben Bolt. In 1961 he and writer-psychiatrist Nick Dallis began producing Apartment 3-G.

  Apartment 3-G (1961- ) portrayed the lives of three young women who live together: art teacher Lu Ann Powers, nurse Tommie Thompson, and Margo Magee (who over time held different jobs). The soap opera-style comic includes the interactions of the three young women and their friendly, fatherly neighbor Professor Aristotle Papagoras.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1966-08-07

  graphic artist

  Kotzky, Alex

  publisher

  Publishers Newspapers Syndicate, Inc.

  ID Number

  GA.22528

  catalog number

  22528

  accession number

  277502

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Camera-ready comic art drawing for Dotty

  Description (Brief)

  This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Dotty Dripple comic strip shows the title character’s son rushing back to college, leaving her with empty-nest syndrome.

  Buford Tune (1906-1989) started working as an assistant to the art editor of the New York Post in 1927. One of his first assignments was to revive an old family comic strip called Doings of the Duffs. After a brief hiatus Tune returned to comic strip production in 1931. He created Dotty Dripple in 1944.

  Dotty Dripple (1944-1974) was a domestic humor-themed comic strip like the popular Blondie strip. Dottie was described as a typical housewife responsible for her children, Taffy and Wilbert; her dog, Pepper; and her husband, Horace. Part of the running humor of the strip was that Horace was often seen behaving like a child himself. Between 1946 and 1955 the strip was also sold in comic book form by Harvey Comics.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1966-09-12

  graphic artist

  Tune, Buford

  publisher

  Publishers Newspapers Syndicate, Inc.

  ID Number

  GA.22530

  catalog number

  22530

  accession number

  277502

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Camera-ready comic art drawing for Beetle Bailey

  Description (Brief)

  This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Beetle Bailey comic strip shows Beetle asking what the Chaplain thinks about sneaking naps after being told “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

  Addison Morton "Mort" Walker (1923- ) was first published at age eleven, and soon afterward was drawing a weekly cartoon for the Kansas City Journal. After U.S. Army service in World War II, Walker began drawing a cartoon named Spider for the Saturday Evening Post. King Features Syndicate later contracted with him for the related comic strip devoted to the character Beetle Bailey. Walker also wrote for Hi and Lois, considered to be a spin-off of Beetle Bailey. More recently Walker has drawn the strip with the help of his sons.

  Beetle Bailey (1950- ), a private in the U.S. Army, is regularly looking for a way to avoid doing work. He is memorable because his eyes are always covered by a hat or helmet. The strip location originally took place on a college campus but after a year Walker reimagined the location of the strip as a U.S. Army base called "Camp Swampy," where the characters seem to be stationed in never-ending basic training.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1966-09-24

  graphic artist

  Walker, Mort

  publisher

  King Features Syndicate

  ID Number

  GA.22533

  catalog number

  22533

  accession number

  277502

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Camera-ready comic art drawing for Lolly

  Description (Brief)

  This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Lolly comic strip shows the title character, who has taken a job as a secretary, making an initial spelling mistake in a letter she has prepared for her boss.

  Per Ruse "Pete" Hansen (1920- ) was born in Denmark and moved to the United States as a child. He began his comic art career as an artist at Disney Animation Studios in 1938. In the early 1950s, after leaving Disney, he began working on Flapdoodles and later, between 1955 and 1983, Lolly, Hansen’s best known strip. In the 1980s, after returning to Disney, Hansen wrote for their foreign publication strips.

  Lolly (1955-1983) was a newspaper comic strip about a young, single woman who supported herself, her grandmother, and her younger brother, Pepper. The strip stood out in the 1950s because it featured a young girl as the family’s breadwinner. The strip appeared as a comic book series in the 1950s and 1960s.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1966-07-11

  graphic artist

  Hansen, Pete

  publisher

  Tribune Printing Company

  ID Number

  GA.22538

  catalog number

  22538

  accession number

  277502

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Camera-ready comic art drawing for Gasoline Alley

  Description (Brief)

  This pen-and-ink drawing, prepared for the Gasoline Alley newspaper comic strip, shows character Walt Wallet being scolded for trying to walk Effie home. She waves goodbye, but Wallet sees little hope in her attentions.

  Richard Arnold "Dick" Moores (1909-1986) worked as an assistant to Chester Gould on the Dick Tracy comic strip early in his career. Moores continued to work on other strips and branched out into animation and comic book illustration, working on titles such as Mickey Mouse, Scamp, Donald Duck, and Alice in Wonderland. In 1956 Frank King asked Moores to assist on the daily strip Gasoline Alley, which Moores took over completely after King’s retirement in 1959. When the Sunday artist for Gasoline Alley retired in 1975, Moores took over that work as well, and continued drawing the strip until his death in 1986.

  Gasoline Alley (1918- ) originated on a black-and-white Sunday page for The Chicago Tribune called The Rectangle, a collaborative page with contributions by different artists. One corner of "The Rectangle," drawn by Frank King, was devoted to the discussions between four men about their cars, an impetus for the name of the strip Gasoline Alley. Within a year the strip began appearing in the daily newspapers. Gasoline Alley, whose original characters included Walt, Doc, Avery, Bill, and Skeezix, is noted for its use of characters who have continued to age naturally.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1966-08-13

  graphic artist

  Moores, Dick

  King, Frank

  publisher

  Tribune Printing Company

  ID Number

  GA.22550

  catalog number

  22550

  accession number

  277502

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Camera-ready comic art drawing for Dr. Kildare

  Description (Brief)

  This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Dr. Kildare comic strip shows Blanco visiting the hospital operating room where his curiosity about a surgery in process prompts the title character to ask if Blanco would ever consider becoming a doctor.

  Kenneth Bruce Bald (1920- ) started his career as an artist at Jack Binder’s New York studios drawing features for Fawcett comic books. After his service in World War II, Bald continued working on comic books and eventually transitioned to comic strips, beginning with Judd Saxon in 1957 and Dr. Kildare in 1962, which he drew until his retirement in 1984. In addition, throughout the early 1970s, Bald drew a comic strip version of the popular television show Dark Shadows, for which he used his pseudonym “K. Bruce.”

  Dr. Kildare (1962-1983) was a comic strip based on the popular film, radio, television, and comic book character James Kildare. The title character first appeared in the 1937 film Internes Can’t Take Money, starring Joel McCrea. Early storylines featured Dr. Kildare as a medical intern being mentored by an older physician named Dr. Leonard Gillespie. In 1961 the film was adapted into a television series, which was in turn adapted into a newspaper strip.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1966-10-09

  graphic artist

  Bald, Ken

  publisher

  King Features Syndicate

  ID Number

  GA.22565

  catalog number

  22565

  accession number

  277502

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Camera-ready comic art drawing for Judge Parker

  Description (Brief)

  This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Judge Parker comic strip shows Charles holding Casandra Canabar and Randy Parker hostage, telling them to report to the police that the emergency call had been a false alarm.

  Harold Anthony LeDoux (1926-2015) moved to New York City after World War II and began drawing for the Famous Funnies comic books. In 1953 he began assisting Dan Heilman on the comic strip Judge Parker. LeDoux took over the strip after Heilman's death in 1965 and retired in 2006.

  Judge Parker (1952- ) was created by psychiatrist and writer Nick Dallis. Dallis invited Dan Heilman, who had previously assisted on Buz Sawyer and Mary Worth,to be the artist for Judge Parker. The title character was a widower with two children, who later married a younger woman. Originally written as an attractive crime-fighting character, Parker had by the 1960s become more conservative and sedate while the younger attorney, Sam Driver, became more central to the cast, along with his client and girlfriend, Abby, and her two children.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1966-08-21

  graphic artist

  LeDoux, Harold

  publisher

  Publishers Newspapers Syndicate, Inc.

  ID Number

  GA.22570

  catalog number

  22570

  accession number

  277502

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Camera-ready comic art drawing for Dan Flagg

  Description (Brief)

  This pen-and-ink drawing prepared for the Dan Flagg comic strip shows the title character and companions aboard a yacht in trouble during a storm. Flagg tries to calm the other passengers and announces the arrival of the U.S. Coast Guard.

  Don Sherwood (1930-2010) spent his youth preparing to be a comic artist and after serving as a U.S. Marine in the Korean War assisted on Terry and the Pirates. In 1963 he debuted his own strip, Dan Flagg, inspired by the U.S. Marine Corps. After Dan Flagg was canceled in 1967, Sherwood began drawing for Hanna-Barbera, Columbia Pictures, the comic book The Phantom, and The Flintstones comic strip.

  Dan Flagg (1963-1967) was an adventure comic strip that premiered during the Vietnam War. As World War II had been a popular subject matter for comic strips in the 1940s, publishers thought that comic strips about the Vietnam War would be just as popular. However, though readers thought Dan Flagg was an entertaining character, increasing opposition to the Vietnam War prevented the strip from enjoying sufficient popularity. Dan Flagg was dropped by its syndicate in 1965 and canceled permanently in 1967.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1966-07-24

  publisher

  Bell-McClure Syndicate

  graphic artist

  Sherwood, Don

  author

  Thomas, Jerry

  ID Number

  GA.22575

  catalog number

  22575

  accession number

  277502

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Camera-ready comic art drawing for Brick Bradford

  Description (Brief)

  This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Brick Bradford comic strip shows Hoppy beginning to drown at the base of a waterfall because his power pack has failed. The title character saves him, and they quickly realize that the rescue airship is nearby but cannot see them. Brick leaves to get its attention.

  Paul Leroy Norris (1914-2007) began working as an illustrator and cartoonist in the late 1930s when he was hired by the Dayton Daily News. During the next decade Norris started developing comic books. In the 1940s he launched the short-lived undersea adventure comic Aquaman. After World War II Norris continued drawing for comic books and comic strips. He began working on the Brick Bradford dailies in 1952, and when creator Clarence Gray died in 1957 Norris took over the Sunday strip as well, and produced both until his retirement in 1987.

  Brick Bradford (1933-1987) tells the fantastic tales of a space-age adventurer who encounters alien creatures from other worlds. Cocreator William Ritt heavily influenced the strip’s subjects with his interests in classical mythology and modern science.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1966-07-10

  graphic artist

  Norris, Paul

  publisher

  King Features Syndicate

  ID Number

  GA.22577

  catalog number

  22577

  accession number

  277502

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Camera-ready comic art drawing for Bringing Up Father

  Description (Brief)

  This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Bringing up Father comic strip shows Mother mentioning that she worries about Father and his absentmindedness. When she and Nora are at the matinee, Father takes a message for Mother. He doesn’t recall all the details about the message, and when Mother becomes angry about that he reveals that she was the one who had forgotten to meet someone for lunch earlier that day.

  Frank Fletcher (1919- ) began his career in the advertising field. He also served as art director for the Pictorial Review and the Saturday Home Magazine, and provided artwork for popular comic books. Fletcher also became the artist for the Bringing Up Father comic strip after the death in 1954 of its creator, George McManus. Fletcher continued drawing the strip in the Sunday edition until 1984.

  Bringing Up Father (1913-2000) featured an Irish immigrant named Jiggs; his wife, Maggie; and their two children Nora and Ethelbert (known as Sonny). The story usually revolved around Jiggs’s attempts to cope with his newfound wealth after receiving winnings from the Irish Sweepstakes. Much of the time Jiggs longed for his working-class friends, habits, and general lifestyle. Meanwhile Maggie, a social climber, had embraced her nouveau riche status and demanded that Jiggs do the same.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1966-09-25

  author

  Fletcher, Frank

  graphic artist

  Kavanaugh, Bill

  publisher

  King Features Syndicate

  ID Number

  GA.22587

  catalog number

  22587

  accession number

  277502

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Camera-ready comic art drawing for Moon Mullins and Kitty Higgins

  Description (Brief)

  This pen-and-ink drawing prepared for the Moon Mullins comic strip shows Mullins going to a therapist because he's being seen as procrastinating at work. The session is unsuccessful, however, as Mullins persists in his easygoing work habits. Included in this story board is Ferd Johnson's "topper" strip Kitty Higgins, about the young and clever girl who later became a Moon Mullins character.

  Ferdinand "Ferd" Johnson (1905-1996) took a job in 1923 assisting on Frank Willard's new comic strip Moon Mullins. In 1925 Johnson started drawing his own Sunday comic called Texas Slim, and a few years later he launched Lovey-Dovey. In 1958 Johnson took over Moon Mullins which he continued until its cancellation in 1991.

  Moon Mullins (1923-1991) was about a hard-living, would-be prizefighter nicknamed Moon. The strip offered storylines and personality characteristics which were appealing to readers during the Prohibition era. Moon Mullins was reinterpreted as a radio show and was regularly included as an animated television presentation on the 1970s Saturday morning cartoon program Archie’s TV Funnies.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1961-10-22

  graphic artist

  Johnson, Ferd

  publisher

  News Syndicate Co., Inc.

  ID Number

  GA.22589

  catalog number

  22589

  accession number

  277502

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Camera-ready comic art drawing for Dick Tracy

  Description (Brief)

  This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Dick Tracy comic strip shows Tracy coming back from a trip to the moon and getting notice that his help is needed to catch an escaped fugitive.

  Chester Gould (1900-1985) began his career in the early 1920s cartooning for The Daily Oklahoman. Shortly afterwards he began drawing his strips Fillum Fables and The Radio Catts. Gould's Dick Tracy strip ran beginning in 1931. He drew and wrote Dick Tracy until he retired in 1977.

  Dick Tracy (1931- ) is a police detective who is shown using science and technology to his advantage in order to solve his crimes. His "2-Way Wrist Radio" was an example of his futuristic interests. During the 1960s Gould began receiving criticism about the strip, especially for its politics and celebration of the police. This criticism prompted more science fiction-directed stories, such as Tracy’s visits to the moon. The Dick Tracy story has seen adaptations to radio, film, television, books, and comic books.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1966-05-21

  original artist

  Gould, Chester

  publisher

  Tribune Printing Company

  ID Number

  GA.22594

  catalog number

  22594

  accession number

  277502

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Camera-ready comic art drawing for Louie

  Description (Brief)

  This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Louie comic strip shows the title character frustrated with cooking. He misses his wife until she comes home and starts to scold him for leaving a messy kitchen, after which he starts to wish she was back on vacation.

  Harry Hanan (1916-1982) was a British comic artist who started his illustrating career at the Liverpool Evening Express. After World War II he became a cartoonist for London's The People, in which his strip Louie was first published in 1947. The strip, without a script, was syndicated internationally.

  Louie (1947-1976) was a domestic comedy strip about a short, ordinary, middle-aged man and his wife. The character Louie was often seen being frustrated while grinning and bearing everything silently, without a script, throughout the run.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1965-07-25

  graphic artist

  Hanan, Harry

  publisher

  News Syndicate Co., Inc.

  ID Number

  GA.22598

  catalog number

  22598

  accession number

  277502

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Camera-ready comic strip, entitled Barney Google and Snuffy Smith

  Description (Brief)

  This pen-and-ink drawing for the Barney Google and Snuffy Smith comic strip shows Aunt Loweezy telling Snuffy to punish Jughaid for using her prize-winning quilt and petticoat to make a tent and a kite. Snuffy can’t seem to understand why that’s a problem until he finds out what Jughaid did with his whittling knife.

  Fred Lasswell (1916-2001) started his career in the 1920s as a sports cartoonist for the Tampa Daily Times. During the course of his work there he began assisting Billy DeBeck with Barney Google. After DeBeck’s death in 1942, Lasswell took over the strip entirely. During his service in World War II Lasswell also created a strip called Sgt. Hashmark. Lasswell continued to draw Barney Google and Snuffy Smith until his death in 2001.

  Barney Google and Snuffy Smith (1919- ) started out as a sports strip titled Take Barney Google, F'rinstance. The title character was portrayed as a very short man who was regularly seen at sporting events. The addition of a race horse named Spark Plug, in 1922, caught the nation's attention and prompted creator DeBeck to make the horse a regular cast member. Hillbilly Snuffy Smith, also very short in stature, joined the cast in 1934 and soon was added to the title of the strip. Since the 1950s, Snuffy Smith has been the central character of the strip.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1966-06-12

  graphic artist

  Lasswell, Fred

  publisher

  King Features Syndicate

  ID Number

  GA.22603

  catalog number

  22603

  accession number

  277502

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Camera-ready comic art drawing for Fred Basset

  Description (Brief)

  This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Fred Basset comic strip shows Fred upset because his “Best of Breed” trophy has been put away and forgotten in a closet. The drawing includes the date "9-14" and is presumed to date from about 1966.

  Alexander S. Graham (1913-1991) was a Scottish artist who created the comic strips Wee Hughie, Our Bill, and Briggs the Butler for British newspapers between the 1940s and 1960s. Graham debuted Fred Basset in 1963. The strip was syndicated and distributed to international audiences.

  Fred Basset (1963- ) was about the daily life of a Basset Hound who communicated with comic strip readers, but not with his owner. Many times the strip's humor was the result of Fred's thought-commentary about mundane activities, such as trying to catch some table scraps or following his owner on a round of golf. The strip was continued after Graham's death in 1991 by his daughter Arran. It is currently being prepared by artist Michael Martin, with consultation by Graham's daughter.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1966

  graphic artist

  Graham, Alex

  publisher

  Hall Syndicate, Inc.

  ID Number

  GA.22607

  catalog number

  22607

  accession number

  277502

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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  Camera-ready comic art drawing for Mr. Abernathy

  Description (Brief)

  This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Mr. Abernathy comic strip features Mr. Abernathy's secretary, Flossie, asking for the afternoon off. Mr. Abernathy denies her request but when she reveals she was hoping to shop for a new bathing suit, Abernathy quickly changes his mind and escorts her on her shopping trip.

  Alexander Ralston “Bud” Jones Jr. (1927-2014) was an American comic artist made famous for the Mr. Abernathy newspaper strip. Jones and his partner, writer Frank Ridgeway, debuted the strip in 1957. During the time Ridgeway wrote for Mr. Abernathy he also wrote for both the Famous Studios and the Hanna-Barbera Studios. Jones resigned from the strip in the 1980s, while Ridgeway continued the strip as both the artist and writer until his death in 1994.

  Mr. Abernathy (1957-1994) was a short, balding multimillionaire with a butler named Dudley and a sweet, but forgetful secretary named Flossie. Though Mr. Abernathy had a successful business and an enormous fortune, he was often seen engaging in careless behavior, such as chasing young women.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1966-05-29

  graphic artist

  Jones, Ralston

  publisher

  King Features Syndicate

  author

  Ridgeway, Frank

  ID Number

  GA.22611

  catalog number

  22611

  accession number

  277502

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Camera-ready comic art drawing for Dondi

  Description (Brief)

  This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Dondi comic strip shows Baldy and Dondi talking about how the bike they thought was missing was actually secretly purchased by Baldy's parents for his birthday. The reader then sees a man sitting in a jail cell.

  Irwin Hasen (1918-2015) started his career in comic book illustration for titles such as The Green Hornet and The Flash. After service in the U.S. Army Hasen returned to comic book production, but while on holiday in Europe he met Gus Edson, with whom he later collaborated on Dondi. The strip, written by Edson and drawn by Hasen, debuted in 1955. After Edson’s death in 1966, Hasen continued drawing and writing the strip.

  Dondi (1955-1986), the title character, was the inspiration of cocreator Gus Edson after a USO trip to Europe during World War II. The young, orphaned Italian boy was found by an American soldier named Ted Willis, who took him back to the United States. The early comic strip story discussed Dondi's Italian history and new American life. Later, during and after the Korean and Vietnam wars, Dondi's heritage in the strip changed to fit a similar story in the later wars. A film adaptation of Dondi premiered in 1961.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1966-08-17

  author

  Hasen, Irwin

  graphic artist

  Edson, Gus

  publisher

  Tribune Printing Company

  ID Number

  GA.22626

  catalog number

  22626

  accession number

  277502

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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