[dwilt]

Good Lord,"Mrs. Newlywed" has a LOT of hair.

Link to the book: Newlyweds and Their Baby

[The Australian Panther]

Good Lord,"Mrs. Newlywed" has a LOT of hair.

Awesome, isn't it! Given the general tone of the strip and Mcmanus' sense of humor, clearly he was exaggerating what he saw as a trend, to make a point. But seriously, how disciplined was the guy. Can you imagine drawing that over and over again? Hard to believe from today's perspective, but he was a superstar, up there with Movie stars and a very rich man from his cartoons.

But his most endearing creation  before Jiggs was, or were, ?THE NEWLYWEDS.? The young, terribly in love couple became the top title in the Pulitzer ?Funny Side? Sunday section. When Hearst coaxed McManus over to our side in mid- 1912, he took the characters with him. (See Archivist blog of 29 August 2012).  In the field of daily strips, George had an open field. He did several obscure series that didn?t amount to much, including LEAVE IT TO GEORGE, OUTSIE THE ASYLUM and THE NEARLYWEDS, where a couple never makes it to the altar. BRINGING UP FATHER began with 1913, and it would fast become the McManus magnum opus. (See Archivist blog 2 January 2013). Soon, licensing Jiggs for toys, books, and movies would profit McManus millions of dollars and worldwide fame. Roanoke College gave him a degree, he was the first celebrity honored by the Banshees, and Senator Mathew N. Neely (D-W.Va.) read a paper of praise on the Senate floor wishing that ?Jiggs and George could be as eternal as the everlasting hills.?

 

https://www.comicskingdom.com/trending/blog/2013/01/23/ask-the-archivist-george-mcmanus-at-129

The other thing that we should envy cartoonists of that era, is the degree of artistic freedom they were allowed. Impossible today in this new age of left-wing, 'cancelling' censorship.

Trivia question for you - what other US cartoonist or cartoonists, were honoured by the US Senate?