Wednesday, November 13, 2013

BILL WARD and CANIFF



The drawing above by Bill Ward was recently sold at auction.  It was sold by the great-grand-nephew of Milton Caniff.  He described it as a caricature of Caniff.

I didn't see the resemblance at first, but I kind of get it from this pic of Caniff from 1943.  Ward and Caniff had something in common during WWII.  Both had strips that appeared in military camp newspapers.  Caniff had 'Male Call' -

and Ward had 'Torchy' - 

Click here to read "The Origin of Torchy."  I see a definite Caniff influence in Ward's strip work.  Ward would develop his own signature, sexy style, drawing cartoons primarily for the men's magazine market.
"Just to refresh your memory, Mr. Black, 
I called you in to help me look for an earring."

A Spanking

Lots of these cartoons had a theme of sexy secretaries and their lascivious bosses.  I'm not sure it did much for women's lib!

When the men's mags faded, Ward found work in the humor mags, particularly Cracked.  Even when I was a kid, Ward was still at it, drawing busty Nanny Dickering.  Va-va-voom!  I didn't know what I was reading!  Fortunately, neither did my mom.

To read more about Bill Ward, visit his official website.  But be warned, much of his work is R-rated and NFSW.

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