On this day, April 8, 1920, children’s book author and illustrator Ruth Chew was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After studying at the Corcoran School of Art, Chew went on to produce over 30 children’s books most of which were juvenile fantasy typically centered around witches and magic.
On this day, April 7, 2007, cartoonist Johnny Hart died in Nineveh, New York. Hart’s first published work was in Stars and Stripes done when he was enlisted in the U. S. Air Force. In 1957 Hart created the cartoon B. C. and later was the co-creator of The Wizard of Id with Brant Parker.
On this day, April 6, 1926, illustrator Gil Kane was born in Riga, Latvia. His family emigrated to the U. S. in 1929. Kane went to Manhattan’s School of Industrial Art, and in his senior year he went to work for MLJ Comics. Kane also worked for Marvel Comics. He served in the Pacific in the
On this day, April 5, 2005, illustrator Dalia (aka, Dale) Messick died in Sonoma County, California. Messick studied briefly at the Ray Commercial Art School in Chicago and began working for a Chicago greeting card company. Messick worked on and/or created a variety of comic strips. In 1940 she created her most famous comic strip and
On this day, April 4, 1918, illustrator Joyce Ballantyne was born in Norfolk, Nebraska. Ballantyne studied art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and at the American Academy of Art. Her earliest work was painting Rand McNally maps. In the mid-40s, Ballantyne began painting pin-ups for Brown & Bigelow calendar company. In addition
On this day, April 3, 2013, cartoonist Ed Fisher died in Canaan, Connecticut. While studying at Antioch College in Ohio, Fisher sold his first cartoons. He served in the Pacific in the Army Air Forces during WWII. Fisher contributed cartoons to many publications, but his over 700 witty cartoons for The New Yorker from 1951 through
On this day, April 2, 1929, illustrator and author Edmund H. Garrett died in Needham, Massachusetts. Garrett studied in Paris at the Académie Julian. In addition to his fine art paintings, Garrett produced illustrations for a variety of publishers, for books of poetry, and books of fiction such as The Legends of King Arthur and Pride
On this day, April 1, 1917, comic book writer and illustrator Sheldon Mayer was born in New York City. Mayer began contributing to comic books in 1935, producing illustrations, house advertisements, and even cover illustrations. Over the years Mayer was involved with the creation of Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and All-Star Comics. He also produced
On this day, March 31, 2013, illustrator Bob Clarke died in Seaford, Delaware. At age 17 Clarke worked as an assistant on Ripley’s Believe It or Not drawing the strip of Ripley’s found trivia. In the Army, Clarke worked for Stars and Stripes. Clarke’s work often appeared in advertisements and in MAD magazine, illustrating more than
On this day, March 30, 1868, Maud Humphrey was born in Rochester, New York. She studied at the National Academy of Design and at the Art Students League in New York selling her first illustration in 1884. Her specialty was illustrations of children and her work appears in many of the major magazines and also