Howard "Howie" Post (November 2, 1926 – May 21, 2010) Alternate source: "'Dropouts' cartoonist Howard Post dies in NJ at 83", Associated Press via ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'', May 24, 2010 was an American animator,

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary an ...

, and comic strip and

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. ...

writer-artist. Post is known for his syndicated newspaper comic strip ''The Dropouts'' which had a 13-year run and for creating

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...

' ''

Anthro Anthro may refer to: * Anthropo-, a prefix meaning human, humanoid, human-like * Anthro, short for: ** Anthroposophy ** Anthropology **Anthropomorphism * Anthro (comics) Anthro is a fictional superhero character published by DC Comics, present ...

''.

Early life and career

Born in New York City, Post grew up in the

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach to its east, Lower New York Bay to th ...

and

Sheepshead Bay Sheepshead, Sheephead, or Sheep's Head, may refer to: Fish * '' Archosargus probatocephalus'', a medium-sized saltwater fish of the Atlantic Ocean * Freshwater drum, ''Aplodinotus grunniens'', a medium-sized freshwater fish of North and Central ...

neighborhoods of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

and then in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

.Howard Post interview
"Country Boy from the City"
''

Comic Book Artist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

'' #5 (Summer 1999) In a 1999 interview, he recalled his start in drawing and his father's influence: As a teenager, Post attended the Hastings School of Animation, in New York City. When he was age 16 or 17, his father was stricken with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in w ...

and hospitalized, making Post the primary breadwinner for a family of four. At

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

' animation studio,

Famous Studios Famous Studios (renamed Paramount Cartoon Studios in 1956) was the first animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was founded as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount seized control ...

he earned $24 a week as an in-betweener.

Comic books

To supplement what even then was considered a meager income, Post broke into

s—first being rejected by the L.B. Cole studio on 42nd Street and then successfully selling work to artist

Bernard Baily Bernard Baily (April 5, 1916 – January 19, 1996)
at the

Prize Comics A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

' ''Wonderland Comics'' #2, and the five-page "3-Alarm Fire!", starring Hopeless Henry, in

Cambridge House Publishers Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge becam ...

' ''Gold Medal Comics'' #1. Credited as Howie Post, he soon began drawing for the company that would become

, including the features "Jimminy and the Magic Book" in ''

More Fun Comics ''More Fun Comics'', originally titled ''New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine'' a.k.a. ''New Fun Comics'',''N ...

'', "Rodeo Rick" in ''

Western Comics Western comics is a comics genre usually depicting the American Old West frontier (usually anywhere west of the Mississippi River) and typically set during the late nineteenth century. The term is generally associated with an American comic books ...

'', "Presto Pete" in ''Animal Antics'', "Chick 'n Gumbo" in ''Funny Folks'', and "J. Rufus Lion" in ''Comic Cavalcade'', among other work. During the 1950s, he drew many humorous stories for the satirical comics ''Crazy'', ''Wild'', and ''Riot'', from

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in 19 ...

' 1950s forerunner,

Atlas Comics Atlas Comics may refer to * Atlas Comics (1950s), one of the two comic publishing companies that would be the forerunner of Marvel Comics * Seaboard Periodicals Atlas/Seaboard is the term comic book historians and collectors use to refer to the 1 ...

, as well as occasional stories in that publishers

horror comics Horror comics are comic books, graphic novels, black-and-white comics magazines, and manga focusing on horror fiction. In the US market, horror comic books reached a peak in the late 1940s through the mid-1950s, when concern over content and the ...

, including ''

Journey into Mystery ''Journey into Mystery'' is an American comic book series initially published by Atlas Comics, then by its successor, Marvel Comics. Initially a horror comics anthology, it changed to giant-monster and science fiction stories in the late 1950s. ...

'', '' Uncanny Tales'', and ''

Mystery Tales Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

''. As Howie Post, he drew the three-issue run of Atlas' ''The Monkey and the Bear'' (Sept. 1953 - Jan. 1954).

Harvey Comics and later career at Famous Studios

By 1961, Post was drawing adventures of such

Harvey Comics Harvey Comics (also known as Harvey World Famous Comics, Harvey Publications, Harvey Comics Entertainment, Harvey Hits, Harvey Illustrated Humor, and Harvey Picture Magazines) was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by Alf ...

’ characters as

Hot Stuff the Little Devil Hot Stuff the Little Devil is a comic book character created by Warren Kremer who first appeared in ''Hot Stuff'' #1 (October 1957), published by Harvey Comics. Imbued with a mischievous personality and able to produce fire, Hot Stuff appears as a ...

Spooky the Tuff Little Ghost Spooky the Tuff Little Ghost is a fictional character that appeared in titles published by Harvey Comics. Spooky first appeared in ''Casper the Friendly Ghost'' #10 (June 1953). He is Casper's cousin, although their exact relation is never specif ...

Wendy the Good Little Witch Wendy the Good Little Witch is a fictional comic book character from Harvey Comics. Like Casper the Friendly Ghost and Hot Stuff the Little Devil, Wendy is an opposite-type character, a girl witch who does good deeds. Publication history Wend ...

, and the

Ghostly Trio The Ghostly Trio (consisting of Stretch, Fatso, and Stinkie, formerly Fatso, Fusso, and Lazo) are fictional characters appearing in Harvey Comics. They are well known for being the uncles of Casper the Friendly Ghost. Their first animated appearan ...

in such comics books as ''Casper's Ghostland'' and ''TV Casper & Company'', starring

Casper the Friendly Ghost Casper the Friendly Ghost is the protagonist of the Famous Studios theatrical animated cartoon series of the same name. He is a pleasant, personable and translucent ghost, but often criticized by his three wicked uncles, the Ghostly Trio. The ...

. Post was the head of

Paramount Cartoon Studios Famous Studios (renamed Paramount Cartoon Studios in 1956) was the first animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was founded as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount seized control ...

, as well as a key director, succeeding

Seymour Kneitel Seymour Kneitel (March 16, 1908 – July 30, 1964) was an American animator, best known for his work with Fleischer Studios and its successor, Famous Studios. Early years Kneitel was born in New York City where he graduated from P.S. 10 in Man ...

from 1964 through 1965. He later went up to director and writer position at Famous Studios, and created and designed a character named Honey Halfwitch (voiced by

Shari Lewis Shari Lewis (born Phyllis Naomi Hurwitz; January 17, 1933 – August 2, 1998) was a Peabody-winning American ventriloquist, puppeteer, children's entertainer, television show host, dancer, singer, actress, author, and symphonic conductor. She wa ...

), who is half-

wizard Wizard, the wizard, or wizards may refer to: * Wizard (fantasy), a fictional practitioner of magic * Wizard (supernatural), a practitioner of magic Art, entertainment and media Fictional characters * Wizard (Archie Comics), a comic book sup ...

, half-girl. Post pitched the character to the highest brass at Paramount. In June 1966,

Shamus Culhane James H. "Shamus" Culhane (November 12, 1908 – February 2, 1996) was an American animator, film director, and film producer. He is best known for his work in the Golden age of American animation. Career Shamus Culhane worked for a number o ...

, the last head of Famous Studios, took over the series, and the character was given a new design and voice in the last 4 cartoons. The final cartoon, Brother Bat, was the last cartoon with Post's involvement as a writer. The series would continue until August of 1967, 4 months before the studio shutted down.

''Anthro''

In the late 1960s, as Howie Post, he created, wrote and drew the prehistoric-teen comic book ''

'' for

, which ran six issues (Aug. 1968 - Aug. 1969) after debuting in '' ''Showcase'''', with the last issue in the series inked by

Wally Wood Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as '' Weird Science'', ''Weird Fantasy'', and ''MAD Magazine'' fro ...

and

Ralph Reese Ralph Reese (born May 19, 1949) is an American artist who has illustrated for books, magazines, trading cards, comic books and comic strips, including a year drawing the ''Flash Gordon'' strip for King Features. Prolific from the 1960s to the 1 ...

''The Dropouts''

''The Dropouts'' was a comic strip created by Post and was syndicated by

United Features Syndicate United Feature Syndicate (UFS) is a large American editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1919. Originally part of E. W. Scripps Company, it was part of United Media (along w ...

from 1968 to 1981. Post began the strip at the same time his comic book ''

'' was canceled. The premise of ''The Dropouts'' was a variation on the "stranded on a desert island" gag. The two main characters, Alf and Sandy, were indeed castaways, but the island is hardly deserted: One of the strip's

running gag A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are n ...

s was how closely the natives' society resembled

Western civilization human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''. image:Plato Pio-Clemetino Inv305.jpg, upPlato, arguably the most influential figure in all of Western philosoph ...

. Other characters, all natives, included a one-man police force, a doctor, and a chef running a cafe with inedible food. There were other Western characters, including a religious zealot, an angry feminist and a disheveled alcoholic, Chugalug.

Later life and career

In the mid-to-late 1980s, Post drew for the

Star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth make ...

imprint of

, on titles such as '' Heathcliff'' and ''

Care Bears Care Bears are multi-colored bears, originally painted in 1981 by artist Elena Kucharik to be used on greeting cards from American Greetings. In 1983, the characters were turned into plush teddy bears. The characters headlined their own televis ...

''. He was also an editor on ''Looney Tunes Magazine'' and ''Tiny Toons Magazine'' for

.''Tiny Toon Adventures Magazine'' #6
at the Grand Comics Database. In later years, Post taught art and illustration privately and at New York's

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...

. A long-time resident of

Leonia, New Jersey Leonia is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 8,937,''Post Scripts'' by Mark Evanier
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Post, Howard 1926 births 2010 deaths American comic strip cartoonists Artists from Brooklyn People from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn People from Crown Heights, Brooklyn People from Leonia, New Jersey Famous Studios people Inkpot Award winners