Advalange

Tuesday Mid-Western Day. 

The Milwaukee Journal was one of the most important and inn ovating newspapers from the forties to the eighties. They had a large selection of top tier comics, almost everything from King Features and Disney, which meant they also had a lot of room for newspaper comic ads. Apart from that they also tried out new comics and that makes them a prime source for collectors. I was lucky enough to get a few runs from this paper, but also online it is a very sourceable paper. Going through my collection of microfiche material saved for this blog, I cam across a stash of newspaper ads from all of the important artists. Many were attached to products and series by the Johnstone and Cusjing talent agancy. Dik Browne on Roger Wilco on Powerhouse candy bars, Mel Graff end Frank Robbins on Kolynos tooth powder, William Steig on Kellogg Cornflakes, Wrexler (and otehrs) on Camels and Paul Pinson on Treet luncheon meat. There's Mal Eaton and someone else on The Pepsi Cops. Country Jane, Amanda Jones and Cheeko are by a very singular artist, whom I suspect to be Harry Haenigsen.  Mum could be by Ken Bald but one of the one here is signed with a different (though illedgeable) name, Muffy is by Dick Calkins, Toofer is by  Charles A. Voight, Tootsie Roll is by C. C. Beck and Frito artist Schunning is completely unknown by me.

 

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An Ad a Day

Saturday Advertising Leftovers.

A couple of years ago (when postage was not yet a problem) I got several bound newspaper books. Over the last year I have been cutting up some of them and selling the remains on Ebay. The most interesting takeaway from this is how many cartoons and cartoonlike illustrations could be found on your regular daily newspaper page between (roughtly) 1935 and 1955. I have already shown a lot of Sunday newspaper ads (especially from the late forties and fifties), but they had their daily counterparts as well. On the aberage comic strip page, one day a week some extra room was saved for a daily newspaper ad, and illusttrated ads were sprinkled throughout the paper every day. Here is some of the loot from one month, September 1944, in the Denver Post.

An unremarkable ad from a remarkable artist (Rube Goldberg) for a small time product.

These two ads (especially the second one) look as if they could be the erly work of Dik Browne for Johnstone and Cushing. I would have to be very early. Browne has said that he started working at J&C six days after being discharged from the army.

Charles A. Voight is best known for his work as the artist of the newspaper strip Betty. After it was discontinued Vioght jobbed around as an illustrator and developed a very funny non realistic style which he used for Prize Comics' Sir Prize, but also for this ad series whoch ran for quite some time. Long enough for a booklet to be made. My friend Ken Quattro wrote about it on his blog The Comics Detective.

Two ads which look like the early work of Jack Betts (especially the first one).

Revered cartoonist William Steig never was too good to do advertising (which helpen popularize his innovative modern style).

Lichty was later famous for his cartoon series Grin and Bear It.