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Horace T. Elmo

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Horace T. Elmo
BornArazio Theodore Elmo
(1903-04-03)April 3, 1903
New York City, NY, U.S.
DiedOctober 23, 1992(1992-10-23) (aged 89)
Bronx, New York, U.S.[1]
Area(s)Cartoonist
Pseudonym(s)Jackson[2]
Teddy
Horace Elmo
H. T. Elmo
Notable works
Lincoln Newspaper Syndicate
Elmo Features Syndicate
Spouse(s)
Martha Oliver
​
​
(m. 1928, unknown)​

Vilma A. Molnar
​
(m. 1931)​
[3]

Horace T. Elmo (3 April 1903 – October 23, 1992)[4] was an American comic strip cartoonist particularly active in the 1930s and 1940s; he also ran a comic strip syndication service whose main claim to fame was that it employed Jack Kirby in the late 1930s.

Biography

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He was born Arazio Theodore Elmo in Manhattan (later moving to Brooklyn and then the Bronx),[3] the sixth of seven children of Italian immigrants Joseph and Josephine Elmo.[3]

It is not known if or where Elmo received art training, but early cartoons were published on the "amateur pages" in Judge magazine.[5] After starting out as a stock clerk in the export business, he worked as a cartoonist with the local tabloid the New York Evening Graphic.[6][4]

Elmo's first recorded comic strip was the daily strip Little Otto, "which was to be syndicated beginning in 1926 by Wheeler-Nicholson, Inc. It’s unclear if the strip was ever published."[3][7]

His first professionally published work were six episodes of the recurring one-page feature Did You Know That for the film magazine Picture Play in 1932–1933.[3]

He started the weekly syndication service Lincoln Newspaper Syndicate (also known as Lincoln Features Syndicate and Lincoln News Syndicate) in 1935, beginning with Larry Antonette's[8] Dash Dixon, and followed by Biff Baxter’s Adventures,[9] Detective Riley, Little Buddy, Your Health Comes First!!!, and Socko the Sea Dog (a takeoff on Popeye).

In the period 1935–1939, Elmo worked on a number of strips of his own, including Facts You Never Knew, The Fizzle Family, Goofus Family, and Laughs from Today's News.[10] He also ghosted some Lincoln service strips, including Socko the Seadog and Your Health Comes First!!!.

Jack Kirby joined Elmo's syndicate in 1936, working on strips and single-panel advice cartoons such as Your Health Comes First!!! (under the pseudonym Jack Curtiss), as well as Abdul Jones, The Black Buccaneer, Cyclone Burke, Detective Riley, and Socko the Seadog.[11] While with the syndicate, Kirby also did the artwork for a 24-page pamphlet produced for the banking industry, called The Romance of Money.[12] Kirby remained with the syndicate until late 1939, when he began working for the theatrical animation company Fleischer Studios.[13]

After a two-year hiatus, from 1941 to 1946 Elmo worked on some new weekly strips, including It's Amazing, Sally Snickers,[3] and Useless Eustace.[2]

Elmo's Lincoln service operated until c. 1945, when he restarted it as Elmo Features Syndicate, sometimes employing the talents of the Roche-Iger Studio;[2] but that syndicate also didn't last.[6]

After the demise of his syndication service, Elmo did some work in the comic book industry, for both National Comics Publications and Timely Comics.[10]

In the late 1950s/early 1960s, Ace Books published three Elmo cartoon collections;[10] he also packaged books sold in the United Kingdom, including 150 Games to Play, The Complete Book of Space, and 101 Things to Make and Play.[10]

Elmo's later strips included The Rhyming Romeos, which ran exclusively in the African-American newspaper the Arkansas State Press in the 1950s; and Puggy and Tell Me, which ran exclusively in the Hubbard, Ohio, News Reporter in the 1960s and in the Spirit Lake Beacon in the mid-1970s.

Personal life and death

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Elmo was married twice; first to Martha Oliver, and then to Vilma A. Molnar.[6] He and Vilma had two children — Elaine and Horace Jr.[3]

Horace T. Elmo died in the Bronx in 1992.[3][6]

Bibliography

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Strips and panels

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  • Detective Riley (1935–c. 1943)
  • Facts You Never Knew (1935-1939)
  • The Fizzle Family (1935–1939)
  • Goofus Family (1935-1939)
  • It's Amazing (1941–1946)
  • Laughs from Today's News (1935–1939)
  • Our Puzzle Corner (1936)
  • Puggy (1960–mid-1970s)
  • The Rhyming Romeos (1950s) — copyrighted by Famous Funnies;[3] ran exclusively in the Arkansas State Press
  • Sally Snickers (1941–1946)
  • Socko the Seadog (1935–1939)
  • Tell Me (1960–mid-1970s)
  • Useless Eustace (1941-1946)[2]
  • Your Health Comes First (1935–1939)

Comics

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Books

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  • Modern Casanova's Handbook (Ace Books S-093, 1955)
  • Hollywood Humor (Ace Books S-140, 1957)
  • Mad. Ave. (Ace Books D-533, 1961)

Lincoln Newspaper Syndicate/Elmo Features Syndicate strips and panels

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  • Abdul Jones (c. 1936–1939) by Jack Kirby[6]
  • Biff Baxter’s Adventures (1935–?) by "Bob Dart" (a.k.a. Larry Antonette)
  • The Black Buccaneer[14] by Jack Kirby
  • Cyclone Burke[14] (ghosted by Jack Kirby)[3]
  • Dash Dixon (1930–1939) by "Dean Carr"[15] (a.k.a. Larry Antonette)
  • Detective Riley (1935–c. 1943) by "Richard Lee" (ghosted by Jack Kirby, H. T. Elmo, and others)
  • Did You Know by Topps (1939–1944)
  • Little Buddy by "Bruce Stuart" (1935–?)
  • Nappy by Irv Tirman (1939–1944)
  • Socko the Sea Dog (1935–1944) by H. T. Elmo (1935–1939) and then "Teddy" (1939–1944) — at some point ghosted by Jack Kirby
  • Useless Eustace (1941–1946)[2]
  • Your Health Comes First!!! by Jack Kirby (under the pseudonym "Jack Curtis") (1935–1939)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Elmo entry, Grand Comics Database. Retrieved Jan. 8, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e Holtz, Allen. "Obscurity of the Day: Useless Eustace," Stripper's Guide (April 24, 2017).
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Jay, Alex. "Ink-Slinger Profiles by Alex Jay: H.T. Elmo," Stripper's Guide (April 25, 2017).
  4. ^ a b "Horace T. Elmo". lambiek.net. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  5. ^ The Judge vol. 84 (Judge Publishing Company, 1923).
  6. ^ a b c d e Holtz, Allan. "Obscurity of the Day: Detective Riley," Stripper's Guide (May 09, 2011).
  7. ^ Editor & Publisher vol. 59, p. 51 (Editor & Publisher Company, 1926).
  8. ^ Antonette entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Retrieved Jan. 9, 2022.
  9. ^ Jay, Alex. "Ink-Slinger Profiles by Alex Jay: Larry Antonette," Stripper's Guide (June 11, 2014).
  10. ^ a b c d Elmo entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Retrieved Jan. 8, 2022.
  11. ^ John Morrow, editor. The Collected Jack Kirby Collector (TwoMorrows Publishing, 2004), p. 102.
  12. ^ Mendryk, Harry. "The Romance of Money," Jack Kirby Museum website (Feb. 14, 2009).
  13. ^ "In his Own Words: Jack Kirby at Fleischers". Archived from the original on September 30, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) at Cartoon Research.com.
  14. ^ a b Holtz, Allan. "Stripper's Guide Bookshelf: The Comic Strip Jack Kirby," Stripper's Guide (September 30, 2006).
  15. ^ Carr entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Retrieved Jan. 9, 2022.
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