PARALLEL ART HISTORY
RICHARD OUTCALT
RICHARD OUTCALT
Richard Felton Outcault was one of the comic pioneers, and often credited as the inventor of the comic strip. Coming from Lancaster, Ohio, Outcault was a graduate from the McMicken University in Cincinnati, who studied art in Paris, and eventually settled in New York. After doing illustration work for publications like The Electrical World, Life and Judge, he was hired by media tycoon Joseph Pulitzer to come and work for the New York World in 1894.
For this newspaper, Outcault made series of cartoons set in certain quarters in Manhattan, which eventually resulted in the feature 'Down in Hogan's Alley'. Being one of the first continuing series with a regular cast, one character stood out. At the time, it was still difficult to use yellow ink in color printing, since it didn't dry properly. When one of the World's foremen of the color-press room wanted to experiment with a new type of yellow ink, he used the shirt of one of Outcault's characters as a test area. 'The Yellow Kid' was born.
The Yellow Kid had great success, and it generated the first comic merchandising ever: there were Yellow Kid key-rings, statuettes and a lot of other related paraphernalia sold. The character and its creator also became a pivot in the newspaper battle between tycoons Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. Hearst overbid Pulitzer and Outcault went to work for his New York Morning Journal. A lawsuit followed, which resulted in Outcault being able to take his cast of characters over to the Journal, but the name 'Hogan's Alley' remained with Pulitzer. In the World, 'Hogan's Alley' was continued by George Luks, while Outcault made new features under the title 'McFadden's Row of Flats' for the Journal. Eventually, both titles appeared under the name 'The Yellow Kid'. With two rival 'Yellow Kids' appearing in the two newspapers, a new phrase in the American newspaper vernacular was born, "yellow journalism".
When the interest in 'Yellow Kid' cooled down around 1901, Outcault created new features, such as 'Lil' Mose', the first strip with a black as its principal character, in James Gordon Bennett's New York Herald. Then in 1902, R. F. Outcault created 'Buster Brown', another classic which would have even more success than The Yellow Kid. It too had lots of merchandise available, even including a popular line of kid's shoe. The character was also used to advertise for cigars and whiskey. And again, Hearst bought Outcault away from the rivaling newspaper, which was followed by a lawsuit and resulted in two seperate Buster Browns appearing in the Bennett's Herald and in Hearst's American.
Outcault continued 'Buster Brown' until 1921, after which it was reprinted for a couple of years. In addition, he had created other features, such as 'Tommy Dodd' and 'Aunt Ophelia' in the New York Herald (1904), as well as 'Buddy Tucker', featuring a side-character from 'Buster Brown', in 1905. Richard Outcault died in Queens, New York in 1928, at the age of 65.
Richard Felton Outcault (January 14, 1863-September 25, 1928) was an American comic strip scriptwriter, sketcher and painter. Outcault was the creator of the series The Yellow Kid and Buster Brown, and is considered the inventor of the modern comic strip.
Biography
Born in Lancaster, Ohio and died in Flushing, New York, Outcault began his career as Thomas Edison's technical illustrator and as humoristic sketcher for the magazines Judge and Life, but soon joined Joseph Pulitzer's New York World. Pulitzer used Outcault's comics in an experimental color supplement, using a single-panel color cartoon on the front page called Hogan's Alley, depicting an event in a fictional slum. A character in the panel, The Yellow Kid, gave rise to the phrase "yellow journalism." Hogan's Alley debuted May 5, 1895.
In October 1896, Outcault defected to William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal. The result of a lawsuit awarded the title "Hogan's Alley" to the World and "The Yellow Kid" to the Journal.
In 1902, Outcault introduced Buster Brown, a mischievous boy dressed in Little Lord Fauntleroy style, and his dog Tige. The strip and characters were very popular and Outcault eventually licensed the name for a number of consumer products, most notably Buster Brown shoes.
In the Journal, Outcault began experimenting with using multiple panels and speech balloons. Although he was not the first to use either technique, his use of them created the standard by which comics were measured.
Richard F. Outcault died in 1928 and was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.
R. F. Outcault, The Father of the American Sunday Comics, and the Truth About the Creation of the Yellow Kid
by Richard D. Olson
Who is the Yellow Kid and why is everybody making a fuss over him? The answer is that he was the first successful comic strip character to achieve a popularity so great that he not only increased the sales of newspapers carrying him, but he was also the first to demonstrate that a comic strip character could be merchandised profitably. In fact, for these two reasons, the Yellow Kid and his creator, R. F. Outcault, are generally credited with permanently establishing the comic strip and making it a part of American society. Now let's take a closer look at how this historical milestone actually occurred.
Richard Felton Outcault, known to all who know his work as R. F. Outcault, was the comic genius who took advantage of the Zeitgeist. Others had tried but failed--Outcault was the first to have the intellect and artistic ability to see and depict New York City as many of its residents did, and to be able to present it to them in a manner that made them laugh. And for being in the right place at the right time, and for possessing unusual innate and learned talent, R. F. Outcault became the anointed father of the American comic strip.
Outcault was born in Lancaster, Ohio, on 14 January 1863, the son of Jesse and Catherine Outcault, and died at his Madison Avenue residence/studio in New York City on 25 September 1928. Even as a child it was apparent that he had artistic talent, and he developed that talent with training in the community. He later entered the McMicken University's School of Design in Cincinnati in 1878 and continued his studies for three years. When he left in 1881, he took a job as a painter of pastoral scenes for the Hall Safe and Lock Company. In 1888, the Centennial Exposition of the Ohio Valley and Middle Atlantic States was held in Cincinnati. The Edison Laboratories electric light display needed some sophisticated illustrations and hired Outcault to do the work. His drawings were superlative, and he soon moved to Edison's West Orange, New Jersey, headquarters as a full-time employee. In 1889, Edison named him the official artist for his travelling exhibit and sent him to Paris for the World's Fair, where he also continued his art studies in the Latin Quarter. While in Paris, he developed what was to become a life-long preference for berets and capes.
Outcault returned to New York City in 1890 and joined the staff of Electrical World magazine, which was owned by one of Edison's friends. He also freelanced jokes and cartoons to some of the weekly humor magazines like Truth. His humor and art were well received, and his work appeared more and more frequently, typically focusing on Blacks living in the imaginary town of Possumville or Irish tenement street children living in New York City. Let there be no mistake about it, these cartoons were created for adults, not children. Adults bought the magazines, not children, and the humor was aimed at adults, not children.
PARALLEL ART HISTORY
RICHARD OUTCALT
RICHARD OUTCALT
Richard Felton Outcault was one of the comic pioneers, and often credited as the inventor of the comic strip. Coming from Lancaster, Ohio, Outcault was a graduate from the McMicken University in Cincinnati, who studied art in Paris, and eventually settled in New York. After doing illustration work for publications like The Electrical World, Life and Judge, he was hired by media tycoon Joseph Pulitzer to come and work for the New York World in 1894.
For this newspaper, Outcault made series of cartoons set in certain quarters in Manhattan, which eventually resulted in the feature 'Down in Hogan's Alley'. Being one of the first continuing series with a regular cast, one character stood out. At the time, it was still difficult to use yellow ink in color printing, since it didn't dry properly. When one of the World's foremen of the color-press room wanted to experiment with a new type of yellow ink, he used the shirt of one of Outcault's characters as a test area. 'The Yellow Kid' was born.
The Yellow Kid had great success, and it generated the first comic merchandising ever: there were Yellow Kid key-rings, statuettes and a lot of other related paraphernalia sold. The character and its creator also became a pivot in the newspaper battle between tycoons Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. Hearst overbid Pulitzer and Outcault went to work for his New York Morning Journal. A lawsuit followed, which resulted in Outcault being able to take his cast of characters over to the Journal, but the name 'Hogan's Alley' remained with Pulitzer. In the World, 'Hogan's Alley' was continued by George Luks, while Outcault made new features under the title 'McFadden's Row of Flats' for the Journal. Eventually, both titles appeared under the name 'The Yellow Kid'. With two rival 'Yellow Kids' appearing in the two newspapers, a new phrase in the American newspaper vernacular was born, "yellow journalism".
When the interest in 'Yellow Kid' cooled down around 1901, Outcault created new features, such as 'Lil' Mose', the first strip with a black as its principal character, in James Gordon Bennett's New York Herald. Then in 1902, R. F. Outcault created 'Buster Brown', another classic which would have even more success than The Yellow Kid. It too had lots of merchandise available, even including a popular line of kid's shoe. The character was also used to advertise for cigars and whiskey. And again, Hearst bought Outcault away from the rivaling newspaper, which was followed by a lawsuit and resulted in two seperate Buster Browns appearing in the Bennett's Herald and in Hearst's American.
Outcault continued 'Buster Brown' until 1921, after which it was reprinted for a couple of years. In addition, he had created other features, such as 'Tommy Dodd' and 'Aunt Ophelia' in the New York Herald (1904), as well as 'Buddy Tucker', featuring a side-character from 'Buster Brown', in 1905. Richard Outcault died in Queens, New York in 1928, at the age of 65.
Richard Felton Outcault (January 14, 1863-September 25, 1928) was an American comic strip scriptwriter, sketcher and painter. Outcault was the creator of the series The Yellow Kid and Buster Brown, and is considered the inventor of the modern comic strip.
Biography
Born in Lancaster, Ohio and died in Flushing, New York, Outcault began his career as Thomas Edison's technical illustrator and as humoristic sketcher for the magazines Judge and Life, but soon joined Joseph Pulitzer's New York World. Pulitzer used Outcault's comics in an experimental color supplement, using a single-panel color cartoon on the front page called Hogan's Alley, depicting an event in a fictional slum. A character in the panel, The Yellow Kid, gave rise to the phrase "yellow journalism." Hogan's Alley debuted May 5, 1895.
In October 1896, Outcault defected to William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal. The result of a lawsuit awarded the title "Hogan's Alley" to the World and "The Yellow Kid" to the Journal.
In 1902, Outcault introduced Buster Brown, a mischievous boy dressed in Little Lord Fauntleroy style, and his dog Tige. The strip and characters were very popular and Outcault eventually licensed the name for a number of consumer products, most notably Buster Brown shoes.
In the Journal, Outcault began experimenting with using multiple panels and speech balloons. Although he was not the first to use either technique, his use of them created the standard by which comics were measured.
Richard F. Outcault died in 1928 and was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.
R. F. Outcault, The Father of the American Sunday Comics, and the Truth About the Creation of the Yellow Kid
by Richard D. Olson
Who is the Yellow Kid and why is everybody making a fuss over him? The answer is that he was the first successful comic strip character to achieve a popularity so great that he not only increased the sales of newspapers carrying him, but he was also the first to demonstrate that a comic strip character could be merchandised profitably. In fact, for these two reasons, the Yellow Kid and his creator, R. F. Outcault, are generally credited with permanently establishing the comic strip and making it a part of American society. Now let's take a closer look at how this historical milestone actually occurred.
Richard Felton Outcault, known to all who know his work as R. F. Outcault, was the comic genius who took advantage of the Zeitgeist. Others had tried but failed--Outcault was the first to have the intellect and artistic ability to see and depict New York City as many of its residents did, and to be able to present it to them in a manner that made them laugh. And for being in the right place at the right time, and for possessing unusual innate and learned talent, R. F. Outcault became the anointed father of the American comic strip.
Outcault was born in Lancaster, Ohio, on 14 January 1863, the son of Jesse and Catherine Outcault, and died at his Madison Avenue residence/studio in New York City on 25 September 1928. Even as a child it was apparent that he had artistic talent, and he developed that talent with training in the community. He later entered the McMicken University's School of Design in Cincinnati in 1878 and continued his studies for three years. When he left in 1881, he took a job as a painter of pastoral scenes for the Hall Safe and Lock Company. In 1888, the Centennial Exposition of the Ohio Valley and Middle Atlantic States was held in Cincinnati. The Edison Laboratories electric light display needed some sophisticated illustrations and hired Outcault to do the work. His drawings were superlative, and he soon moved to Edison's West Orange, New Jersey, headquarters as a full-time employee. In 1889, Edison named him the official artist for his travelling exhibit and sent him to Paris for the World's Fair, where he also continued his art studies in the Latin Quarter. While in Paris, he developed what was to become a life-long preference for berets and capes.
Outcault returned to New York City in 1890 and joined the staff of Electrical World magazine, which was owned by one of Edison's friends. He also freelanced jokes and cartoons to some of the weekly humor magazines like Truth. His humor and art were well received, and his work appeared more and more frequently, typically focusing on Blacks living in the imaginary town of Possumville or Irish tenement street children living in New York City. Let there be no mistake about it, these cartoons were created for adults, not children. Adults bought the magazines, not children, and the humor was aimed at adults, not children.