Wee Pals

ComicStripFan.Com

Wee Pals, by Morrie Turner

Strip run: 1965 - present

Morrie Turner first started drawing cartoons while serving with the famous all-black 477th Bomber Group during World War II. His illustrations appeared in Stars and Stripes, the magazine of the United States Air Force. He later freelanced cartoons for various publications, including the Saturday Evening Post and Argosy. In addition to doing other cartooning stints, Turner worked for over a decade as a clerk for the Oakland Police Department, when he achieved success in 1965 with his most famous series, Wee Pals. The cast consisted of a group of children from various cultural backgrounds, and Turner's goal was to encourage racial harmony by depicting it in his strip. On his Sunday pages, Turner and his wife Letha devote a portion of the page to "Soul Corner", where he discusses minority historical figures and current leaders who often do not receive the recognition they deserve in mainstream media. Also in Turner's credits is an illustrated biography of Martin Luther King entitled Prophet of Peace.

Example of Wee Pals daily by Morrie Turner, date and year unknown. Bristol board size: 16" x 5". There is a crease in the center of the strip where it was once folded vertically.