Description
W. Chase Craig (1910-2002) illustrated,
wrote and produced comic books from the mid-1930s until his retirement from Western Printing
and Lithography in 1975. Craig wrote and drew the first issues of Bugs Bunny, Looney Tunes,
and Merrie Melodies for Western Printing and Lithography. Western's Los Angeles office
issued comics based on Walt Disney Studios, Walter Lantz, MGM, Edgar Rice Burroughs,
Hanna-Barbera characters, and popular TV shows of the 1950s and 1960s.
Background
W. Chase Craig (1910-2002) illustrated, wrote, and produced comic books from the mid 1930s
until his retirement from Western Printing and Lithography in 1975. He graduated from the
Chicago Academy of Fine Arts in 1934, and soon started working for the Christian Science Monitor, where he drew the Little Chauncey cartoon. The
following year he moved to Hollywood, California where he started as assistant animator on
Oswald Rabbit for Walter Lantz. In the mid to late 1930s, Craig worked for Tex Avery, then
moved to the Los Angeles Daily News to help on the Charlie
McCarthy newspaper strip. He developed and sold the syndicated strip, Odd Bodkins, joining
Western Publishing soon after. In 1942, Craig enlisted in the US Navy. During the war he
worked at the Navy's "Vine Street Press" drawing illustrations for aviator training manuals.
In 1950, he became an editor at Western Printing and Lithography, rising to Managing Editor
and Executive Editor.
Extent
17.147 linear feet
Restrictions
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of
this collection has not been transferred to California State University, Northridge.
Copyright status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials
protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires
the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be
commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any
use rests exclusively with the user.
Availability
The collection is open for research use.