Hal Forrest
Encyclopedia
Hal Forrest was an American
comic strip
artist best known for the his work on Tailspin Tommy
.
Forrest was born July 22, 1895, in Philadelphia. When he was 16, he drew a comic strip, Percy the Boy Scout, for the Philadelphia Telegraph, and a year later he became the youngest scoutmaster in the country, heading the 13th troop established in America. From 1911 to 1915, while attending the Art Institute of Chicago, he was a member of the Chicago Tribune staff and of Troop A, First Illinois Cavalry. In 1915-17 Hal was a member of Headquarters Troop, Third New Jersey Infantry, and during this period, he collaborated with Lee Pape, author of Little Benn's Notebook, on a color Sunday page of comics for The Philadelphia Record
.
On the day war was declared, he enlisted and was assigned to the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps in San Antonio, Texas
, where he became Sergeant-Major of 144th Pursuit Squadron, Kelly Field. He created Liberty Loan Posters and War Cartoons for the Bureau of Public Information.
At Kelly Field, he drew cartoons for the camp newspaper, the Kelly Field Eagle and also was art editor of The Set-up, a camp newspaper in Waco, Texas
. While he was with the 479th Pursuit Squadron, U.S. Air Corps Reserve, at Clover Field in Santa Monica, Forrest drew Artie the Ace, the first aviation comic strip, which led him to develop, in 1928, the popular Tailspin Tommy, syndicated in more than 200 newspapers as both a Sunday and daily strip.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
artist best known for the his work on Tailspin Tommy
Tailspin Tommy
Tailspin Tommy was an air adventure comic strip about a youthful pilot, "Tailspin" Tommy Tompkins. Originally illustrated by Hal Forrest and initially distributed by John Wheeler's Bell Syndicate and then by United Feature Syndicate, the strip had a 14-year run from 1928 to 1942.In the wake of...
.
Forrest was born July 22, 1895, in Philadelphia. When he was 16, he drew a comic strip, Percy the Boy Scout, for the Philadelphia Telegraph, and a year later he became the youngest scoutmaster in the country, heading the 13th troop established in America. From 1911 to 1915, while attending the Art Institute of Chicago, he was a member of the Chicago Tribune staff and of Troop A, First Illinois Cavalry. In 1915-17 Hal was a member of Headquarters Troop, Third New Jersey Infantry, and during this period, he collaborated with Lee Pape, author of Little Benn's Notebook, on a color Sunday page of comics for The Philadelphia Record
The Philadelphia Record
The Philadelphia Record was a daily newspaper published in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1877 until 1947. The Record was founded in 1877 as a one-cent daily newspaper...
.
On the day war was declared, he enlisted and was assigned to the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps in San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
, where he became Sergeant-Major of 144th Pursuit Squadron, Kelly Field. He created Liberty Loan Posters and War Cartoons for the Bureau of Public Information.
At Kelly Field, he drew cartoons for the camp newspaper, the Kelly Field Eagle and also was art editor of The Set-up, a camp newspaper in Waco, Texas
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
. While he was with the 479th Pursuit Squadron, U.S. Air Corps Reserve, at Clover Field in Santa Monica, Forrest drew Artie the Ace, the first aviation comic strip, which led him to develop, in 1928, the popular Tailspin Tommy, syndicated in more than 200 newspapers as both a Sunday and daily strip.