frank king

Frank King was best known as the creator of “Gasoline Alley,” one of the earliest comic strips, and one that is still going strong after more than 100 years. But before that, he was the creator of numerous comics that lasted around a year, or even less. He began with “Jonah, a Whale for Trouble,” which ran for just a little over two months, in late 1910, in The Chicago Tribune, followed by the frog-themed “Young Teddy” (1911 to 1912), “Hi-Hopper,” (February to December 1914),  “The Boy Animal Trainer,” “Here Comes Motorcycle Mike,” and so on. In 1915, he introduced this comic strip, “Bobby Make-Believe” (not to be confused with the later “Billy Make-Believe”) which concerned the heroic daydreams of a Calvin-like boy. When the more successful “Gasoline Alley” took off, King dropped “Bobby,” and it was quickly forgotten.

You know, please be forewarned: Like other strips of its time (but actually a bit moreso), “Bobby Make-Believe” could not avoid racism, but it continues to have its fans and defenders to this day. Anyway, here it is.