Robert Leslie Barnes (March 8, 1913 – November 12, 1970)"Cancer Kills Cartoonist Bob Barnes,"
''Montreal Gazette'' (Nov. 14, 1970). was an American

comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...

artist most notable for his marriage-themed gag panel ''

The Better Half ''The Better Half'' is an American comic strip created by Bob Barnes. It follows the lives of a married couple, Stanley and Harriet Parker, and the usual annoyances couples have with one another after years of marriage. In 1958, the strip won Bar ...

''. Barnes' first syndicated panel was ''Laugh of the Week / Laff of the Week'' from 1947 to 1951 succeeded by ''Double-Take'' from 1952 to 1957. Barnes launched ''

'' with the

Register and Tribune Syndicate The Register and Tribune Syndicate was a Print syndication, syndication service based in Des Moines, Iowa, that operated from 1922 to 1986, when it was acquired by King Features to become the Cowles Syndicate affiliate. At its peak, the Register a ...

in 1956, doing the strip until his death from cancer on November 12, 1970. A few strips appeared after his death, continuing until 1971. He received the

National Cartoonists Society The National Cartoonists Society (NCS) is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the ...

Newspaper Panel Cartoon Award for ''The Better Half'' in 1958. NCS Awards
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Personal life

His wife, Ruth, collaborated with him on his work, and took over writing ''The Better Half'' upon his demise.

References

Sources

*Strickler, Dave. ''Syndicated Comic Strips and Artists, 1924–1995: The Complete Index.'' Cambria, CA: Comics Access, 1995. .

External links

Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum Art Database
1913 births 1970 deaths American comic strip cartoonists Artists from Portland, Oregon Deaths from cancer in California {{US-cartoonist-stub