Good afternoon, Kids! So nice to visit with you all again!
Today we have a cartoonist all-but completely forgotten by time (but not here at the Big Blog), 1940s cartoonist, Ben Levin. Despite much searching, I have not been able to turn up any biographical information. He was an active cartoonist for comics throughout the 1940s and early 50s, however, and his work was always very loose, rubbery, and appealing.
One of my pleasures in hosting the Big Blog is to archive and bring to light the work of artists increasingly lost to the past. This lively story - from Jingle Jangle Comics No. 13 (February 1945) – features Aunty Spry, who was a reoccurring character in Jingle Jangle and always illustrated by Ben Levin.
Isn’t it pleasant to imagine the kids in early 1945, reading this comic book story in their rooms or perhaps stretched out on a rug in the living room while their parents listen to the radio. WWII would end before the year was over, but their parents would still be concerned with gas rationing. And so was Aunty Spry. So much so she suggests that she and her young charges walk to the rodeo rather than use gasoline by driving!
Let's wrap things up with a couple of full-page ads from the same issue. Man, I love the ad pages from this era of comics!
Coming up next, a Superkatt story from Dan Gordon! I will see you all again very soon. Until then, I hope you are all warm, safe, and happy!
--Your friend, Mykal
