In 1992, nine years after this was published in The Wall Street Journal, I was surprised to see the gag appear in The New Yorker. It was drawn by a cartoonist I admire and respect, and the caption was “You will have a nice day.” Great minds think alike, I guess.
Case in point No 10 in this ongoing feature is the late Johnny Hart (1931-2007). Everyone knows by now that, before he created his popular “B.C.” comic strip in 1958, Johnny Hart produced gag cartoons for most of the big national cartoon-using publications, such as The Saturday Evening Post and Collier’s.
The first early cartoon of his that I’ve posted below is from True magazine. It’s in the hardcover anthology “The True Album of Cartoons”, published in 1960, so it’s safe to say that it appeared in True sometime in the 1950’s. The other three early cartoons are from “Cartoon Annual No. 2″, a paperback, pocket-sized anthology published in 1955 by Ace Books, Inc.
I can’t see any visible connection to Hart’s “B.C.” drawing style in any of these cartoons. Yes, “we all have to start somewhere”.
I’m also including a photo of Johnny Hart, lifted from “The Cartoonist Cookbook”, published in 1966.
Johnny Hart
Another gag slanted to appeal to my “law” cartoon markets. This one was rejected many times, but was finally picked up by the Florida Bar News.
Another gag slanted for my various “law” markets. This one didn’t get any takers until Florida Bar News decided to publish it.
This was another gag that was slanted for my various “law” markets, and once again I was glad that The National Law Journal chose to publish it.
Case in point No. 9 in this continuing series is cartoonist Don Tobin. Born in 1916, Tobin worked for a time as a Walt Disney animator. After serving in the Navy during World War II, he tried his hand at gag cartooning and his work soon started appearing in “Collier’s”, “Saturday Evening Post”, “Look”, “Ladies’ Home Journal” and similar popular publications. In the 1950’s, he created “The Little Woman”, which became a long-running King Features syndicated gag panel.
The first early Tobin cartoon I’ve posted below appeared in “Collier’s”, probably in the mid-1940’s. I found it in a collection called “Cartoon Round-Up”, published in 1946. I don’t think that anyone could possibly attribute this cartoon to Don Tobin, if it were not for his name printed below it. Yes, “we all have to start somewhere”.
The second cartoon is from “Ladies’ Home Journal” and it was included in a hardcover anthology “Cartoon Treasury”, published in 1955.
The last two cartoons are from “True” magazine. I found them in “Cartoon Laffs”, a paperback collection of “True” cartoons which I’ve mentioned before. The collection was published in 1952 and it’s safe to say that these two cartoons date from the late 1940’s or very early 1950’s.
I’m also including a 1960’s photo of Don Tobin, lifted from “The Cartoonist Cookbook”, published in 1966. Also, from the same book, is a typical Tobin drawing of “The Little Woman”.
Don Tobin
