Author: DOuG pRATt

There should be a Google Doodle celebrating the invention of colored pencils.

A while ago I posted a Private Snafu cartoon from the U.S. National Archives. Here’s a postwar cartoon from the archives with delightfully creative drawings and animation by the UPA studio. Sponsored by the Navy, the idea was to show it to sailors as a way of encouraging re-enlistment.

McGinty and the bird remind me of “Half Hitch,” a comic strip from the Hank Ketcham studio. Ketcham drew an earlier version of the character while in the Navy during WWII, so perhaps it was an inspiration for McGinty.

After watching some wild James Tyer animation tonight, I drew this cartoon super fast, without caution or concern over how it came out.

Who was Jim Tyer? Here are some examples of his “anything goes” style.

This is a brand-new appearance of Wendell and his buddy Beckle, who is now wearing shorts! The completed, inked strip should be ready soon. Don’t know how many more new installments I’ll get done, but I’ve written five more dailies and a Sunday.

My lettering needs more practice. In the third grade, long ago, we had to learn cursive writing with a fountain pen. Being a leftie it was a struggle to avoid smearing wet ink, just like Charlie Brown giving up the effort and switching to be pencil pal.