Al Capp

Alfred Gerald Caplin ( born September 28, 1909 in New Haven, Connecticut; † November 5, 1979 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, according to other sources: South Hampton, New Hampshire) was an American cartoonist and author. When Al Capp, the older brother of comic strip artist Elliot Caplin and creator of the strip Li'l Abner became world famous.

Capp lost in the age of 10 his left leg in an accident. He attended several art schools and was an assistant to Ham Fisher, whom he supported as a ghost - artist at the Joe Palooka series. There he developed a hillbilly character, an idea that should be the basis for Li'l Abner. The first days of strip Li'l Abner was released on August 20, 1934, the Sunday page, which additionally contained the well -drawn Capp Strip Washable Jones in the first 16 weeks, followed on 24 February 1935. Protagonist was Abner Yokum, a handsome but simple-minded young man who always tried to defend themselves against marriage and work. The strip was continued by Capp until the year 1977, the last day Strip was released on November 5, 1977, the last Sunday page on 13 November 1977.

More strips of Capp were Col. Gilfeather and Fearless Fosdick. Col. Gilfeather was sold by Capp 1927 Associated Press and some time later continued by Milton Caniff. The Dick Tracy parody Fearless Fosdick was born in 1942, although as a separate series, but appeared at irregular intervals in Li'l Abner as a favorite reading of the title character on. Capp supplied the texts for the Comics Abbie an ' Slats (drawings: Raeburn Van Buren ) and Sam Long (drawings: Bob Lubbers ). Both author activities were later taken over by his brother Elliot.

After Milton Caniff Al Capp in 1947 was the second artist, who received the Reuben Award, awarded by the National Cartoonists Society since 1946 price. John Steinbeck, who described him as the best writer in the world, beat Capp in 1953 before the Nobel Prize in Literature. In some German Adventures of Li'l Abner appeared in Carlsen Verlag.