Associated Newspapers, Inc. was a

print syndication Print syndication distributes news articles, columns, political cartoons, comic strips and other features to newspapers, magazines and websites. The syndicates offer reprint rights and grant permissions to other parties for republishing content o ...

service of columns and

comic strips A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often 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 ter ...

that was in operation from 1912 to c. 1966. The syndicate was originally a cooperative of four newspapers: '' The New York Globe'', the '' Chicago Daily News'', '' The Boston Globe'', and the ''

Philadelphia Bulletin The ''Philadelphia Bulletin'' was a daily evening newspaper published from 1847 to 1982 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the largest circulation newspaper in Philadelphia for 76 years and was once the largest evening newspaper in the United ...

''. Associated Newspapers was led by Henry Herbert McClure (1874-1938), a cousin of

S. S. McClure Samuel Sidney McClure (February 17, 1857 – March 21, 1949) was an Irish-American publisher who became known as a key figure in investigative, or muckraking, journalism. He co-founded and ran ''McClure's Magazine'' from 1893 to 1911, which ran n ...

, founder of the McClure Syndicate, the first American newspaper syndicate. In 1930, Associated Newspapers was acquired by and became a subsidiary of the Bell Syndicate. The syndicate's most successful, long-running strip was

Gladys Parker Gladys Parker (March 21, 1908 – April 28, 1966) was an American cartoonist for comic strips and a fashion designer in Hollywood. She is best known as the creator of the comic strip ''Mopsy'' (1929-1965), which had a long run over three decades ...

's ''

Mopsy ''Mopsy'' was a comic strip created in 1937 by Gladys Parker, who was one of the few female cartoonists of the era. The strip had a long run over three decades. Parker modeled the character of Mopsy after herself. In 1946, she recalled, "I got t ...

''.

History

H. H. McCure joined the staff of the McClure Syndicate in 1899, bringing the writing of Willa Cather to the McClure Syndicate. Eventually becoming managing editor, he left in 1906 when the writing staff of '' McClure's Magazine'' defected over disputes with S. S. McClure and formed '' The American Magazine''. That same year, he founded his own syndication service, H. H. McClure and Co.. In 1912, he resigned his interest in H. H. McClure and Co. and joined the newly formed Associated Newspapers Syndicate. Associated Newspapers jumped into the comic strip syndication business immediately; strips the company distributed beginning in the period 1912–1913 included William James Sinnott's ''Dickey Dippy's Diary'', Leo O'Mealia's strips ''Wedlocked'' and ''Little Pal'', and the syndicate's most notable strip, Arthur R. "Pop" Momand's '' Keeping Up with the Joneses''. Columns syndicated by Associated Newspapers included the columns of ''

New York Globe ''The New York Globe'', also called ''The New York Evening Globe'', was a daily New York City newspaper published from 1904 to 1923, when it was bought and merged into ''The New York Sun''. It is not related to a New York City-based Saturday fami ...

'' publisher Jason Rogers, H. H. McClure, J. G. Lloyd, and the Rev. Dr. Frank Crane. From 1924 to c. 1926 the syndicate distributed a semi-weekly series of "human interest" cartoons by a rotating cast of artists, including

C. D. Batchelor Clarence Daniel Batchelor (April 1, 1888 – September 5, 1977), better known as C. D. Batchelor, was an American editorial cartoonist who was also noted for painting and sculpture. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1937.Sid Greene, Frank Moser, Robert Ripley, and John Terry. Associated Newspapers syndicated ''

Ripley's Believe It or Not! ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' feat ...

'' panel from 1924 to 1929, when he was lured away by

King Features Syndicate King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editoria ...

. The

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

brought hard times to Associated Newspapers (among many others). In 1930, Associated Newspapers was acquired by John Neville Wheeler's Bell Syndicate to become part of the Bell-McClure Syndicate,Saunders, David
"SAMUEL S. McCLURE (1857-1949),"
Field Guide to Wild American Pulp Artists. Accessed Nov. 1, 2018. although it continued to syndicate material under the Associated Newspapers name. In 1933, just as the concept of "

comic books A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

" was getting off the ground,

Eastern Color Printing The Eastern Color Printing Company was a company that published comic books, beginning in 1933. At first, it was only newspaper comic strip reprints, but later on, original material was published. Eastern Color Printing was incorporated in 1928 ...

published ''

Funnies on Parade ''Funnies on Parade'' is an American publication of 1933 that was a precursor of comic books. The eight-page publication featured reprints of such popular syndicated comic strips as '' The Bungle Family'', '' Joe Palooka'', ''Keeping Up with t ...

'', which reprinted in color several comic strips licensed from the Ledger Syndicate, the

McNaught Syndicate The McNaught Syndicate was an American newspaper syndicate founded in 1922. It was established by Virgil Venice McNitt (who gave it his name) and Charles V. McAdam. Its best known contents were the columns by Will Rogers and O. O. McIntyre, the ' ...

, the Bell Syndicate, and Associated Newspapers' '' Keeping Up with the Joneses'' and ''Holly of Hollywood'', both by Arthur R. "Pop" Momand. Eastern Color neither sold this periodical nor made it available on newsstands, but rather sent it out free as a promotional item to consumers who mailed in coupons clipped from Procter & Gamble soap and toiletries products. The company printed 10,000 copies, and it was a great success.Brown, Mitchell. Eventually, Gaines and Eastern Color collaborated in 1934 to publish the ongoing title '' Famous Funnies'', which ran for 218 issues using a mixture of newspaper strip reprints and some original material, and is considered the first true American comic book. The Associated Newspapers division continued to syndicate material, the last major comic strip being

's ''

'' (1939–1965), which appeared in 300 newspapers by the end of the 1940s.

Associated Newspapers strips and panels

* ''Dickey Dippy's Diary''Markstein, Don
"Reg'lar Fellers,"
''Toonpedia''. Accessed Nov. 1, 2018. by William James Sinnott (1910–1927) * ''Holly of Hollywood'' by Arthur R. "Pop" Momand (c. 1933–c. 1938) * ''Keen Teens'' by Stookie Allen (1950s) * '' Keeping Up with the Joneses'' by Pop Momand (March 31, 1913–April 16, 1938) * ''Little Pal'' by Leo O'Mealia (1913–1928) * ''Miss Cairo Jones'' by Jerry Albert &

Bob Oksner Bob Oksner (October 14, 1916 in Paterson, New Jersey – February 18, 2007) was an American comics artist known for both adventure comic strips and for superhero and humor comic books, primarily at DC Comics. Biography Oksner's early wo ...

(1945–1947) * ''

'' by

(1939–1965) * ''

Reg'lar Fellers ''Reg'lar Fellers'' is a long-running newspaper comic strip adapted into a feature film, a radio series on the NBC Red Network, and two animated cartoons. Created by Gene Byrnes (1889–1974), the comic strip offered a humorous look at a gang ...

'' by

Gene Byrnes Eugene Francis Byrnes (March 18, 1889 – July 26, 1974) created the long-running comic strip ''Reg'lar Fellers'', which he signed Gene Byrnes. His humorous look at suburban children (who nevertheless spoke like New York street kids) was syndica ...

(1942–1949)George Carlson entry
''Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999''. Accessed Nov. 1, 2018. — came over from

* ''

'' by Robert Ripley (1924–1929) * ''Wedlocked'' by Leo O'Mealia (1912–1929)O'Mealia entry
Lambiek's ''Comiclopedia''. Accessed Nov. 1, 2018.

References

{{reflist Comic strip syndicates Companies based in New York City Mass media companies established in 1912 The Boston Globe