Today is going to be a fun day! Why? Because I’m posting today an artist completely new to me (but perhaps not to some of my expert readers) making his first appearance on the Big Blog! I love it when that happens.
The cartoonist in question is Dave Gerard, who worked as a magazine cartoonist (Colliers, The Saturday Evening Post, Evening Post and others) during the 1940s and 1950s. Mr. Gerard tried a number of panel strips with limited success before he struck gold this his legacy creation, Will-Yum, a precocious but endearing small boy. Will-Yum was in syndication from 1953 to 1966.
I really love Gerard’s clean style here – very free, organic, and lively, much like his subjects, and his storytelling is charming – again, much like his subjects. Another thing I love? Mr. Gerard, after retiring from cartooning, went into politics and became the mayor of Crawfordsville, Indiana from 1972 to 1976. To my knowledge, Mr. Gerard is the only cartoonist that has made this professional transition!
Dave Gerard passed away in August of 2003.
This comes from Dell Four Color No. 676, February 1956
And just for good measure, here are a couple of B&W inside covers. I love these pages as they always show off the brushwork. Isn’t it gorgeous?
Well, that's all for now, Kids! Coming up: Let’s do a story from Coo Coo Comics (1947) by the great Jack Bradbury!
I will see you all again very soon. Until then, I hope you are all warm, safe, and happy!
--Your friend, Mykal
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