Publishers Newspaper Syndicate (later Publishers Syndicate) was a syndication service based in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

that operated from 1925 to 1967, when it merged with the

Hall Syndicate Publishers-Hall Syndicate was a newspaper syndicate founded by Robert M. Hall in 1944. Hall served as the company's president and general manager. Over the course of its operations, the company was known as, sequentially, the Hall Syndicate (1944 ...

. Publishers syndicated such long-lived

comic strips A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

as '' Big Chief Wahoo/

Steve Roper Steve Roper is a noted climber and historian of the Sierra Nevada in the United States. He along with Allen Steck are the founding editors of the Sierra Club journal ''Ascent''. Roper is the winner of the Sierra Club's Francis P. Farquhar M ...

'', ''

Mary Worth ''Mary Worth'' is an American newspaper comic strip that has had an eight-decade run from 1938. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, this soap opera-style strip influenced several that followed. It was created by writer Allen Saunders and ar ...

'', ''

Kerry Drake ''Kerry Drake'' is the title of a comic strip created for Publishers Syndicate by Alfred Andriola as artist and Allen Saunders as uncredited writer. It debuted on Monday, October 4, 1943, replacing Norman Marsh's '' Dan Dunn'', and was syndicat ...

'', '' Rex Morgan, M.D.'', ''

Judge Parker ''Judge Parker'' is an American soap opera-style comic strip created by Nicholas P. Dallis that first appeared on November 24, 1952. The strip's look and content were influenced by the work of Allen Saunders and Ken Ernst on ''Mary Worth''. C ...

'', and ''

Apartment 3-G ''Apartment 3-G'' is an American newspaper soap opera comic strip about a trio of career women who share an apartment in Manhattan. Created by Nicholas P. Dallis with art by Alex Kotzky, the strip began May 8, 1961, initially distributed by t ...

''.

Allen Saunders Allen Saunders (April 24, 1899 – January 28, 1986) was an American writer, journalist and cartoonist who wrote the comic strips ''Steve Roper and Mike Nomad'', ''Mary Worth'' and ''Kerry Drake''. He is credited with being the originator of the ...

served as comics editor in the 1940s and wrote a number of Publishers Syndicate's most popular strips, including ''Apple Mary''/''

'', '' Big Chief Wahoo'', and ''

''. His protege Nicholas P. Dallis followed in Saunders' footsteps by writing the popular strips '' Rex Morgan, M.D.'', ''

'', and ''

''. In addition to comic strips, Publishers syndicated sports columnists such as Red Smith and columnists such as

Roscoe Drummond James Roscoe Drummond (January 13, 1902 – September 30, 1983) was a 20th-century American political journalist, editor, and syndicated Washington columnist, known for his long association with ''The Christian Science Monitor'' and 50-year syndi ...

. Publishers Syndicate was acquired by

Field Enterprises Field Enterprises, Inc. was a private holding company that operated from the 1940s to the 1980s, founded by Marshall Field III and others, whose main assets were the '' Chicago Sun'' and '' Parade'' magazine. For various periods of time, Field En ...

in 1963 and merged with the Hall Syndicate in 1967, becoming the

Publishers-Hall Syndicate Publishers-Hall Syndicate was a newspaper syndicate founded by Robert M. Hall in 1944. Hall served as the company's president and general manager. Over the course of its operations, the company was known as, sequentially, the Hall Syndicate (1944� ...

History

From 1919 to circa 1925,

-area businessmen Eugene P. Conley and John H. Millar ran a syndication service aimed at teen readers. Called Associated Editors, the syndicate offered among other features the columns and cartoons of

Robert Quillen Verni Robert Quillen (March 25, 1887 – December 9, 1948) was an American journalist and humorist who for more than a quarter century was "one of the leading purveyors of village nostalgia" from his home in Fountain Inn, South Carolina. In 2012, ...

. Associated Editors was dissolved when Millar and Conley went their separate ways. (Millar became the owner of Home News Publishing, a chain of small-town papers.)Watson, Elmo Scott
"The Era of Consolidation, 1890-1920" (Chapter VII)
in ''A History Of Newspaper Syndicates In The United States, 1865-1935'' (Western Newspaper Union, 1936)

/ref> The Publishers Syndicate was founded in 1925 by Conley.Heise, Kenan
"News Syndicate Chief Harold Anderson,"
''Chicago Tribune'' (January 26, 1988). and Harold H. Anderson Among its first columns were those of Quillen; its first strips were Walt Scott's ''Dramatic Events in Bible History'' and John H. Striebel ''Poor Pa''. Many of Publishers' most popular and long-running strips were launched in the 1930s, including '' Dan Dunn: Secret Operative 48'', ''Apple Mary'' (which later became ''

''), and '' Big Chief Wahoo''. Successful Publishers strips launched in the 1940s included ''

'', ''

Dotty Dripple ''Dotty Dripple'' was an American gag-a-day comic strip, originally started by Jeff Keate & Jim McMenamy on June 26, 1944, but was taken over by Buford Tune on October 16, and continued for the next thirty years. The strip was distributed by Pu ...

'', and '' Rex Morgan, M.D.''; while popular strips originating in the 1950s included ''

'', ''Tales from the Great Book'', Friar Justin "Fred" McCarthy's ''Brother Juniper'', and

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...

and

Dan DeCarlo Daniel S. DeCarlo (December 12, 1919 – December 18, 2001) was an American cartoonist best known for having developed the look of Archie Comics in the late 1950s and early 1960s, modernizing the characters to their contemporary appearance and es ...

's ''

Willie Lumpkin William Lemuel "Willie" Lumpkin is a fictional supporting character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is best known as the Mail carrier, mailman of the Fantastic Four in their Fantastic Four (comic book), ...

''. Notable strips launched in the 1960s were ''

'' and ''

The Wizard of Id ''The Wizard of Id'' is a daily newspaper comic strip created by American cartoonists Brant Parker and Johnny Hart. Beginning November 9, 1964, the strip follows the antics of a large cast of characters in a shabby medieval kingdom called "Id ...

''. In 1963 Chicago-based

and ''

New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the '' New York Tribune'' acquired the '' New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and compet ...

'' publisher

John Hay Whitney John Hay Whitney (August 17, 1904 – February 8, 1982) was an American venture capitalist, sportsman, philanthropist, newspaper publisher, film producer and diplomat who served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, publisher of the '' New ...

acquired Publishers Syndicate, merging syndication operations with Field's

Chicago Sun-Times Syndicate The Field Newspaper Syndicate was a syndication service based in Chicago that operated independently from 1941 to 1984, for a good time under the name the Chicago Sun-Times Syndicate. The service was founded by Marshall Field III and was part of ...

, the

New York Herald Tribune Syndicate The New York Herald Tribune Syndicate was the Print syndication, syndication service of the ''New York Herald Tribune''. Syndicating comic strips and newspaper Column (periodical), columns, it operated from c. 1914 to 1966. The syndicate's most no ...

, and the syndicate of the ''

Chicago Daily News The ''Chicago Daily News'' was an afternoon daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, published between 1875 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois. History The ''Daily News'' was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Dougherty ...

'' (a newspaper that had been acquired by Field Enterprises in 1959). When the ''New York Herald Tribune'' folded in 1966, Publishers inherited their strips, including

Johnny Hart John Lewis Hart (February 18, 1931 – April 7, 2007) was an American cartoonist noted as the creator of the comic strips '' B.C.'' and '' The Wizard of Id''. Brant Parker co-produced and illustrated ''The Wizard of Id''. Hart was recogniz ...

's '' B.C.'',

Mell Lazarus Melvin Lazarus (May 3, 1927 – May 24, 2016) was an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of two comic strips, '' Miss Peach'' (1957–2002) and '' Momma'' (1970–2016). Additionally, he wrote two novels. For his comic strip ''Pauline ...

' ''

Miss Peach ''Miss Peach'' was a syndicated comic strip created by American cartoonist Mell Lazarus. It ran for 45 years, from February 4, 1957, to September 8, 2002. Format and style The daily strips often contained only a single panel. The format was ...

'', and Harry Haenigsen's ''

Penny A penny is a coin (: pennies) or a unit of currency (: pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. At present, it is ...

''. In 1967, Field Enterprises acquired Robert M. Hall's New York-based Hall Syndicate, merging it with Publishers to form the

Publishers Syndicate strips and panels

* ''

'' by Nicholas P. Dallis and Alex Kotzky (1960–1967; continues today with

King Features Syndicate King Features Syndicate, Inc. is an American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product License, licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, columnist, newspape ...

) * ''Apple Mary'' by Martha Orr and later

and Dale Connor (October 29, 1934–1939) * '' Big Chief Wahoo'' / ''

'' originally by

and

Elmer Woggon Elmer Woggon (November 4, 1898 – April 1978), who signed his art Wog, was the creator of an early newspaper comic strip that eventually developed into the long-running '' Steve Roper and Mike Nomad''. Biography Born and raised in Toledo, ...

(1936–1967; continued until 2004 eventually with King Features) * ''Blade Winters'' by Lafe Thomas (1952–1953) * ''Brother Juniper'' by Friar Justin "Fred" McCarthy (1958–1967; continued until 1989 eventually with King Features) * '' Dan Dunn: Secret Operative 48'' originally by Norman W. Marsh and Paul Pinson (1933–1943) * ''

'' by Buford Tune (1944–1967; continued until 1974 by

) * ''Dramatic Events in Bible History'' by Walt Scott (1927–1929) * ''Dudley D.'' by

Dave Gantz David Gantz (December 6, 1922 – December 14, 2007) was an American artist and sculptor who illustrated children's books and worked as a newspaper cartoonist. Biography Gantz graduated from The High School of Music & Art in New York City, the ...

(1963–1964) — acquired from

(1961–1962)Gantz entry
''Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999''. Accessed Nov. 3, 2018. * ''

'' by Nicholas P. Dallis and

Dan Heilman Dan Heilman (1922 – December 17, 1966) was the first artist of the ''Judge Parker'' comic strip. He was born in 1922 (some sources say 1924) in Cincinnati, Ohio. Having served in World War II, Heilman became an assistant to artist Ken Ernst on t ...

(1952–1967; continues today with King Features) * ''

'' by

(uncredited) and

Alfred Andriola Alfred James Andriola (May 24, 1912 – March 29, 1983) was an American cartoonist best known for the comic strip '' Kerry Drake'', for which he won a Reuben Award in 1970. His work sometimes appeared under the pseudonym Alfred James. Andriola w ...

(1943-1967; continued until 1983 eventually with King Features) * ''

'' by "Dale Allen" (

and Dale Connor) (1938–1967; continues today with King Features) * ''Pauline McPeril'' by

Jack Rickard Jack Rickard (March 8, 1922 – July 22, 1983) was an American illustrator for numerous advertising campaigns and multiple comic strips but was best known as a key contributor to '' Mad'' for more than two decades. Rickard's artwork appeared in ...

and

(1966–1967; continued until 1969 by Publishers-Hall) * ''Poor Pa'' (1926–1955) illustrated by John H. Striebel; originally written by

; soon taken over by Claude Callan * '' Rex Morgan, M.D.'' originally by Nicholas P. Dallis, Marvin Bradley & John Frank Edgington (1948–1967; continues today with King Features) * ''Ruth & Roxy'' by Paul Rhymer and illustrated by Hugh Chenoweth (1939) * ''Tales from the Great Book'' by John Lehti (1954–1967; continued until 1972 with Publishers-Hall) * ''

'' by

and

(Dec. 1959 – May 28, 1961) * ''

'' by

Brant Parker Brant Julian Parker (August 26, 1920 – April 15, 2007) was an American cartoonist. He co-created and drew the comic strip ''The Wizard of Id'' comic strip until passing the job on to his son, Jeff Parker, in 1997. Cartoonist Johnny Hart, h ...

and

(1964–1967; continues today with

Creators Syndicate Creators Syndicate (also known as Creators) is an American independent distributor of comic strips and syndicated columns to daily newspapers, websites, and other digital outlets. When founded in 1987, Creators Syndicate became one of the few suc ...

)

References

{{reflist Comic strip syndicates Defunct companies based in Chicago Mass media companies established in 1925