Monday, March 04, 2013

The Red Opportunity

Monday Cartoon Day.

American Legion was a monthly magazine for veterans. It ran from the mid forties at least until the mid fifties (after which my interest stops). It was very rightwing, anti-communist f course and full of every kind of pure American sentiment. It also had some of the best free lance cartoonists working for them. They had Mort Walker, Virgil Partch, Hank ketcham, Rob't Day, Chon Day, Dan Tobin, Bill Tobey, Reamer Keller, Gardner Rea. In fact, they had so many I am nowhere near done scanning them in. But I did come across this remarkable two page article illustrated by some of their top ontributors. It also has one of only two assigments I have ever see done by Mort Walker. Most cartoonists not only sold their cartoons, but also picked up advertising and illustration assignments from their clients. The Saturday Evening Post had regular columns that needed illustrations and Hank Ketcham provided a lot of those. Dan Tobey did a lot of illustration work for Collier's, as did Virgil Partch every now and then. But Mort Walker (who afterwards always told the story that he was the best selling cartoonist of his period) almostnever did anything like tha. He even did not contribute to the Wheaties cartoon illustrated series of ads. And everyone did those. Mort Walker only did is own stuff, maybe a longer, serial cartoon here or there, but that was it. Apart from this assignment, an illustrated piece in one of Martin Goodman's pocket magazines (Brief) which I have shown here he was never offered anything like that or just didn't want to illustrate someone else's words.

No comments: