Don Flowers
Encyclopedia
Don Flowers was an American cartoonist best known for his syndicated panel Glamor Girls. Flowers was noted for his fluid ink work, prompting Coulton Waugh
to write that Flowers displayed "about the finest line ever bequeathed to a cartoonist. It dances; it snaps gracefully back and forth; the touches related."
as a staff artist and photo retoucher.
After a brief job with the Chicago American
, Flowers moved to New York where he was a staff artist at the Associated Press. He created his first syndicated feature, Puffy the Pig, for AP Newsfeatures
in 1930. The following year, he began drawing Oh, Diana! and introduced a pinup-style with Modest Maidens, both for AP Newsfeatures. Modest Maidens brought him a weekly salary of $25, which tripled the following year.
s, entertained GIs and served as wardens and lookouts. Modest Maidens became so successful that William Randolph Hearst
wanted the feature and offered Flowers double what he earned at AP. However, AP held the rights, so Flowers simply renamed his panel Glamor Girls and signed on with King Features
.
Oh, Diana! was continued by Bill Champs and Phil Berube after Flowers left AP for King Features in 1945. Virginia Clark was drawing Oh, Diana! in 1947. Modest Maidens, was taken over by AP staff artist Jay Alan.
At its peak, Glamor Girls ran in 300 newspapers. Flowers continued to draw the Glamor Girls daily
and Sunday panels
until his 1968 death from emphysema.
in 2005 with a foreword by Sergio Aragones
and an afterword by Don Flowers, Jr.
Coulton Waugh
Frederick Coulton Waugh was a cartoonist, painter, teacher and author, best known for his illustration work on the comic strip Dickie Dare and his book The Comics , the first major study of the field.His father was the marine artist Frederick Judd Waugh, and his grandfather was the Philadelphia...
to write that Flowers displayed "about the finest line ever bequeathed to a cartoonist. It dances; it snaps gracefully back and forth; the touches related."
Pigs and pin-ups
One of three children, Flowers was born In 1908 in Custer City, Oklahoma, to Mabel Flowers and photographer W.A. Flowers. He dropped out of school at age 16 and spent five years working at The Kansas City StarThe Kansas City Star
The Kansas City Star is a McClatchy newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri, in the United States. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes...
as a staff artist and photo retoucher.
After a brief job with the Chicago American
Chicago's American
Chicago American, an afternoon newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, was the last flowering of the aggressive journalistic tradition depicted in the play and movie The Front Page....
, Flowers moved to New York where he was a staff artist at the Associated Press. He created his first syndicated feature, Puffy the Pig, for AP Newsfeatures
AP Newsfeatures
AP Newsfeatures, aka AP Features, was the cartoon and comic strip division of Associated Press, which syndicated strips from 1930 to the early 1960s.In February 1930, I.M...
in 1930. The following year, he began drawing Oh, Diana! and introduced a pinup-style with Modest Maidens, both for AP Newsfeatures. Modest Maidens brought him a weekly salary of $25, which tripled the following year.
From AP to King Features
During WWII, the gals of Modest Maidens learned first aid, dug in victory gardenVictory garden
Victory gardens, also called war gardens or food gardens for defense, were vegetable, fruit and herb gardens planted at private residences and public parks in United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Germany during World War I and World War II to reduce the pressure on the public food supply...
s, entertained GIs and served as wardens and lookouts. Modest Maidens became so successful that William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
wanted the feature and offered Flowers double what he earned at AP. However, AP held the rights, so Flowers simply renamed his panel Glamor Girls and signed on with King Features
King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate, a print syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation, distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to nearly 5000 newspapers worldwide...
.
Oh, Diana! was continued by Bill Champs and Phil Berube after Flowers left AP for King Features in 1945. Virginia Clark was drawing Oh, Diana! in 1947. Modest Maidens, was taken over by AP staff artist Jay Alan.
At its peak, Glamor Girls ran in 300 newspapers. Flowers continued to draw the Glamor Girls daily
Daily strip
A daily strip is a newspaper comic strip format, appearing on weekdays, Monday through Saturday, as contrasted with a Sunday strip, which typically only appears on Sundays....
and Sunday panels
Sunday strip
A Sunday strip is a newspaper comic strip format, where comic strips are printed in the Sunday newspaper, usually in a special section called the Sunday comics, and virtually always in color. Some readers called these sections the Sunday funnies...
until his 1968 death from emphysema.
Books
During the late 1940s, some 200 Flowers cartoons were published in an Avon paperback. The initial print run of 200,000 copies immediately sold out, followed by a second printing of 215,000 copies. Alex Chun collected Flowers' work for The Glamor Girls of Don Flowers, published by Fantagraphics BooksFantagraphics Books
Fantagraphics Books is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, magazines, graphic novels, and the adult-oriented Eros Comix imprint...
in 2005 with a foreword by Sergio Aragones
Sergio Aragonés
Sergio Aragonés Domenech is a cartoonist and writer best known for his contributions to Mad Magazine and creator of the comic book Groo the Wanderer....
and an afterword by Don Flowers, Jr.