Mike Gersher was formerly an artist on the Blondie comic strip. He started being credited as the head artist in late December 1981, after the death of the long serving Jim Raymond. Gersher had assisted Raymond for about seventeen years, originally as a trainee assistant but later becoming responsible for complete artwork. They met in 1963 after Gersher won a national cartooning contest. [1] Raymond's health began to fail around 1979, [1] and it is almost certain that Gersher was handling the majority of the strip from about April 1981. [2] [3] He began signing the strip on the 28th of December of that year.
Gersher's early solo strips bore a close resemblance to those of Jim Raymond, albeit with a slightly looser drawing style. Although few exact details are known, Gersher's time as lead artist did not run smoothly. He had to rely heavily on assistants, notably future head Blondie artist Denis Lebrun, who was soon brought in to ink backgrounds and improve the lettering. [4]
In 1984 Gersher was replaced by Stan Drake, although Drake did not begin to sign the strip until some time in 1985.
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Murat Bernard "Chic" Young was an American cartoonist who created the comic strip Blondie. His 1919 William McKinley High School Yearbook cites his nickname as Chicken, source of his familiar pen name and signature. According to King Features Syndicate, Young had a daily readership of 52 million. Stan Drake, who drew Blondie in the 1980s and 1990s, stated that Young "has to go down in history as one of the geniuses of the industry."
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