| The Adventures of Smilin' Jack | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Author(s) | Zack Mosley |
| Current status/schedule | Ended |
| Launch date | October 1, 1933 |
| End date | April 1, 1973 |
| Alternate name(s) | On the Wing |
| Syndicate(s) | Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate |
| Genre(s) | Aviation |
The Adventures of Smilin' Jack is an aviation comic strip that first appeared October 1, 1933, in the Chicago Tribune and ended April 1, 1973.[1]
After a run of 40 years, it was the longest-running aviation comic strip. The strip was created by 27-year-old cartoonist and aviation enthusiast Zack Mosley, who had previously worked on the Buck Rogers and Skyroads strips.[2] Mosley was a member of organizations that indicate his avid aviation research for his strip: Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Aviation-Space Writers Association, National Cartoonists Society, B.P.O. Elks, Silver Wings Society, OX-5 Club, and the Quiet Birdmen Fraternity for many years. On September 18, 1976, he was inducted into the Civil Air Patrol Auxiliary-USAF Hall of Honor.[3]
Smilin' Jack was originally Mack Martin, in On the Wing, but Chicago Tribune editor Joseph Medill Patterson did not like the original title, so on December 31, 1933, the name was changed to Jack Martin, and the strip was retitled The Adventures of Smilin' Jack after its creator, who had been nicknamed "Smilin' Zack" by his colleagues. In later years it was simply known as Smilin' Jack. Zack Mosley's assistant during the 1930s and early 1940s was Boody Rogers. Smilin' Jack's appearance was based on that of notable air racing star Roscoe Turner.[4]
The Sunday page had a topper strip, originally called Air Facts. This later became Smilin' Jack Cut-Outs, a paper doll feature, and then Smilin' Jack's Flyin' Facts.[1]
- ^ a b Holtz, Allan (2012). American Newspaper Comics: An Encyclopedic Reference Guide. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. p. 356. ISBN 9780472117567.
- ^ Robert C. Harvey, The Art of the Funnies: An Aesthetic History (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1994), 111-114
- ^ Mosley, Jill Smilin' Jack
- ^ Robert Hull, September Champions: The Story of America's Air Racing Pioneers. Stackpole Books: 1979. 105.