The Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) is an editorial column and

comic strip 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 ...

newspaper

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

service based in the United States and established in 1902. The oldest syndicate still in operation, the NEA was originally a secondary news service to the

Scripps Howard News Service The E. W. Scripps Company is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a media conglomerate. The company is h ...

; it later evolved into a general syndicate best known for syndicating the

comic strips 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 c ...

Alley Oop ''Alley Oop'' is a syndicated comic strip created December 5, 1932, by American cartoonist V. T. Hamlin, who wrote and drew the strip through four decades for Newspaper Enterprise Association. Hamlin introduced a cast of colorful characters an ...

'', '' Our Boarding House'', '' Freckles and His Friends'', ''

The Born Loser ''The Born Loser'' is a newspaper comic strip created by Art Sansom in 1965. His son, Chip Sansom, who started assisting on the strip in 1989, is the current artist. The strip is distributed by Newspaper Enterprise Association. The Sansoms won th ...

'', '' Frank and Ernest'', and ''

Captain Easy '' Captain Easy, Soldier of Fortune '' is an American action/adventure comic strip created by Roy Crane that was syndicated by Newspaper Enterprise Association beginning on Sunday, July 30, 1933. The strip ran for more than five decades until it ...

'' / ''

Wash Tubbs ''Wash Tubbs'' is an American daily comic strip created by Roy Crane that ran from April 14, 1924 to 1949, when it merged into Crane's related Sunday page, ''Captain Easy''. Crane left both strips in 1943 to begin ''Buz Sawyer'', but a series of ...

''; in addition to an annual Christmas comic strip. Along with

United Feature Syndicate United Feature Syndicate (UFS) is a large American editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1919. Originally part of E. W. Scripps Company, it was part of United Media (along ...

, the NEA was part of

United Media United Media was a large editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States, owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, that operated from 1978 to 2011. It syndicated 150 comics and editorial columns worldwide. It ...

from 1978 to 2011, and is now a division of

Andrews McMeel Syndication Andrews McMeel Syndication (formerly Universal Uclick) is an American content syndicate which provides syndication in print, online and on mobile devices for a number of lifestyle and opinion columns, comic strips and cartoons and various other ...

. The NEA once selected college

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

teams, and presented awards in professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

and professional BA basketball.

Corporate history

On June 2, 1902, the Newspaper Enterprise Association, based in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S ...

, started as a news report service for different Scripps-owned newspapers. It started selling content to non-Scripps owned newspapers in 1907, and by 1909, it became a more general syndicate, offering comics, pictures and features as well. NEA moved headquarters from Cleveland to Chicago in 1915, with an office in San Francisco. NEA rapidly grew and delivered content to 400 newspapers in 1920. At that time, it had some 100 features available. From 1918 to 1928,

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per' ...

Billy Evans William George Evans (February 10, 1884 – January 23, 1956), nicknamed "The Boy Umpire", was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the American League from 1906 to 1927. He became, at age 22, the youngest umpire in maj ...

served as NEA's sports editor and produced a syndicated sports column titled ''Billy Evans Says''. His staff featured well-known sportswriters Jimmy Powers and Joe Williams.

Alfred O. Andersson Alfred Oscar Andersson (1874–1950) was the publisher of the '' Dallas Dispatch'' and, briefly, of the ''Dallas Dispatch-Journal'', daily afternoon newspapers of general circulation published in Dallas, Texas. Growing up and career Andersson w ...

was general manager of the NEA from 1919 to 1921. By 1930, NEA had about 700 client newspapers. In 1934 and 1935, Mary Margaret McBride was the

women's page The women's page (sometimes called home page or women's section) of a newspaper was a section devoted to covering news assumed to be of interest to women. Women's pages started out in the 19th century as society pages and eventually morphed into ...

editor for the NEA. Boyd Lewis became the executive editor of the NEA service in 1945; he was president in 1968. Writer

Russell R. Winterbotham Russell Robert Winterbotham (August 1, 1904 – June 9, 1971) was an American writer of western and science fiction genre fiction, and the author of instructional pamphlets and several Big Little Books. He also wrote crime stories and one sci ...

was fiction editor of the NEA throughout the 1940s and 1950s. Sports cartoonist and writer

Murray Olderman Murray Olderman (March 27, 1922 – June 10, 2020) was an American sports cartoonist and writer. His artwork often accompanied the sports stories he authored. His art also has been used by the Pro Football Hall of Fame and hung above the Hall of F ...

had a long association with NEA. Firstly, his columns and cartoons were syndicated by the agency.Horgan, Richard
"SO WHAT DO YOU DO, MURRAY OLDERMAN, ICONIC SPORTS JOURNALIST AND CARTOONIST?,"
''Media Bistro'' (May 21, 2014). He officially joined the company in 1952; becoming its sports editor in 1964; executive editor in 1968; and a contributing editor in 1971. He was the founder of the

Jim Thorpe Trophy The Jim Thorpe Memorial Trophy was an American football award presented by the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) to the most valuable player (MVP) of the National Football League (NFL) from 1955 to 2008. It was the only NFL MVP award whose w ...

, for the National Football League's Most Valuable Player, and distributed by the NEA. He also founded the NEA All-Pro team in 1954, which ran through 1992. Although Olderman "retired" in 1987, he was active until the news service was overtaken by a larger corporation. In 1968, the NEA was offering about 75 features to more than 750 client newspapers.Maley, Don. "Super Roads to Riches are Paved with Comics," ''Editor & Publisher'' (Nov. 30, 1968)
Archived at ''Stripper's Guide''
Accessed Nov. 12, 2018. In the 1970s, Ira Berkow was sports editor for the NEA. In May 1978 the Scripps Company merged its two syndication arms, NEA and

(established by Scripps in 1919), to form United Media Enterprises. On February 24, 2011, the Scripps Company struck a distribution deal with Universal Uclick (now known as

) for syndication of United Media's 150 comic strip and news features, which became effective on June 1 of that year. While United Media effectively ceased to exist, Scripps still maintains copyrights and intellectual property rights.

Comic strips

The NEA's earliest successful comic strip was A.D. Condo & J. W. Raper's ''

The Outbursts of Everett True ''The Outbursts of Everett True'' (originally titled ''A Chapter from the Career of Everett True'') was an American two-panel newspaper comic strip created by A.D. Condo and J. W. Raper that ran from July 22, 1905 to January 13, 1927, when Condo ...

'' (launched in 1905). Early on,

Charles N. Landon Charles Nelson Landon (December 19, 1878 – May 17, 1937) was an illustrator for ''The Cleveland Press'', art director for the Newspaper Enterprise Association and art editor of ''Cosmopolitan''. He is most notable as the founder of the Landon ...

(1878–1937) joined NEA as art director. Founder of the Landon School of Illustration and Cartooning, a mail-order correspondence course that trained a generation of cartoonists, Landon personally hired some graduates to draw features at the syndicate. Counted among these successful students were

Roy Crane Royston Campbell Crane (November 22, 1901 – July 7, 1977), who signed his work Roy Crane, was an American cartoonist who created the comic strip characters Wash Tubbs, Captain Easy and Buz Sawyer. He pioneered the adventure comic strip, establi ...

, Merrill Blosser,

V. T. Hamlin Vincent Trout Hamlin (May 10, 1900 – June 14, 1993), who preferred the name V. T. Hamlin, was an American comic strip cartoonist. He created the popular, long-run comic strip ''Alley Oop'', syndicated by the Newspaper Enterprise Association. ...

, Bill Holman,

Chic Young Murat Bernard "Chic" Young (January 9, 1901March 14, 1973) 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 an ...

, and Ethel Hays. (In the case of Hays, Landon taught her by mail and then brought her to NEA to draw syndicated features.) Cartoonist Gene Ahern moved to Cleveland in 1914 to work on staff for the NEA as a sportswriter and artist, initially inking comic drawings for $18 a week."Hoople v. Puffle"
''Time'' (May 11, 1936). He worked on such strips as ''Dream Dope'', ''Fathead Fritz'', ''Sporty Sid and his Pals'', ''Taking Her to the Ball Game'', and ''Ain't Nature Wonderful''. In 1915, he introduced ''Squirrel Food'', later known as ''Otto Auto'' and then ''Balmy Benny'' before returning to its original title.Holtz, Allan

''Stripper's Guide'' (January 22, 2009).Holtz, Allan

''Stripper's Guide'' (July 17, 2008). In May 1915, Landon hired Merrill Blosser to work at NEA. Blosser was 23 when he began in the NEA art department, initially doing cartoons based on news events and then drawing five daily panels. One of these, titled ''Freckles'', began as a one-column daily gag panel on August 16, expanding into a full comic strip on September 20 when it was retitled '' Freckles and His Friends''. One by one, each of the other panels were dropped. In July 1916, Blosser started another strip, ''Miniature Movies'', which evolved into ''Chestnut Charlie'', continuing until early in 1918 when Blosser concentrated exclusively on ''Freckles and His Friends''.''The Albertan'', October 3, 1945.
/ref> Cartoonist

Edgar Martin Edgar Everett Martin (July 6, 1898 – August 31, 1960), known to his family and friends as Abe Martin, was an American cartoonist, who kept his comic strip, ''Boots and Her Buddies'', running for decades, eventually reaching an audience of 6 ...

joined the NEA in 1921 as a cartoonist.University of Missouri: MU Libraries Special Collections
Retrieved October 18, 2015Reynolds, Moira Davidson. ''Comic Strip Artists in American Newspapers, 1945-1980''. McFarland, 2003.
/ref> While working in NEA's art department, Martin experimented with several strips: ''Efficiency Ed'', ''Fables of 1921'', ''Taken from Life'', and ''Girls''. In 1924, NEA was looking for a "girl strip," and several artists who had previously submitted strips were asked to resubmit them. Martin's sample was unsigned. When an editor examined Martin's strip and asked, "How soon can we get this artist?", the art director responded, "In one minute. He works here." Thus, ''Girls'' became ''

Boots and Her Buddies ''Boots and Her Buddies'' was an American comic strip by Edgar Martin that ran from 1924 to 1968, syndicated by the Newspaper Enterprise Association. Some newspapers presented the strip under the shortened title ''Boots''. The character of Boots ...

'' on February 18, 1924, although some newspapers continued to use the first title. NEA became a successful distributor of newspaper comics in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1921 Gene Ahern introduced the Nut Brothers, Ches and Wal, in the new strip ''Crazy Quilt''. That same year, NEA General Manager Frank Rostock suggested to Ahern that he use a boarding house for a setting. '' Our Boarding House'' began September 16, 1921, scoring a huge success with readers after the January 1922 arrival of the fustian Major Hoople. ''The Nut Bros: Ches and Wal'' ran as a topper strip above ''Our Boarding House''. Other long-running NEA strips that launched during the 1920s included Martin's ''

'',

's ''

'', Ethel Hays' '' Flapper Fanny Says'', and J. R. Williams' '' Out Our Way''. Popular NEA strips that originated in the 1930s include

's ''

'', Crane's ''

'' , and

Stephen Slesinger Stephen Slesinger (December 25, 1901 – December 17, 1953) was an American radio, television and film producer, creator of comic strip characters and the father of the licensing industry. From 1923 to 1953, he created, produced, published, develo ...

& Fred Harman's ''

Red Ryder Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

''. Bela Zaboly started at NEA as an office boy and eventually was a staff cartoonist. During the early 1930s he created the Sunday strip ''Otto Honk'' about moon-faced, dim-bulb Otto, who was variously employed as a private eye, movie stunt man and football player. ''Otto Honk'' lasted until 1936. Zaboly was an assistant to Roy Crane on ''Wash Tubbs''.Zaboly entry
Lambiek's ''Comiclopedia''. Accessed Dec. 13, 2018. Cartoonist

Herb Block Herbert Lawrence Block, commonly known as Herblock (October13, 1909October7, 2001), was an American editorial cartoonist and author best known for his commentaries on national domestic and foreign policy. During the course of a career stretchi ...

("Herblock") moved to Cleveland in 1933 to become a staff cartoonist for the NEA, which distributed his cartoons nationally. While there, he won his first

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...

in 1942 for " British Plane".

Dell Publishing Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and so ...

's ongoing

comic book 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 ...

series '' The Funnies'' (launched 1936) utilized a number of NEA strips to start out, including ''Alley Oop'' and ''Captain Easy''.Goulart, Ron. "The Funnies: II" ''Comic Book Encyclopedia'', p. 163 By 1936 Gene Ahern was making an annual $35,000 at NEA, and

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, editori ...

offered to double that figure. Ahern left NEA in March 1936 for King Features, where he created ''

Room and Board Room and board is a phrase describing a situation in which, in exchange for money, labor or other considerations, a person is provided with a place to live as well as meals on a comprehensive basis. It commonly occurs as a fee at higher educatio ...

''. Similarly, in 1943

exited the NEA (abandoning his strips ''

'' and ''

'') for King Features to begin ''

Buz Sawyer ''Buz Sawyer'' is a comic strip created by Roy Crane.Ron Goulart, ''The Funnies : 100 Years of American Comic Strips''. Holbrook, Mass. : Adams Pub, 1995. (pp. 149-50) Distributed by King Features Syndicate, it had a run from November 1, 1943 to ...

'', a strip he would own outright. NEA's ''

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring roles in the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merr ...

'' strip launched in 1942 and was syndicated for 51 years.

Al Vermeer Albert Hermann Vermeer (1911–1980), known as Al Vermeer, was an American cartoonist. Vermeer created the comic strip ''Priscilla's Pop''.

's ''

Priscilla's Pop ''Priscilla's Pop'' was an American gag-a-day comic strip drawn by Al Vermeer. Syndicated by the Newspaper Enterprise Association, it ran from July 7, 1946, until September 11, 1983. Vermeer drew the strip from July 7, 1946, to July 17, 1976; E ...

'' was a long-running strip that launched in 1946.

Dick Cavalli Richard A. Cavalli (September 28, 1923 – October 16, 1997)Richard A. Cavalli
at the Winthrop'' (originally called ''Morty Meekle'') debuted in 1955 and lasted 39 years. Three strips that debuted in the 1960s and 1970s are still in syndication via the NEA: ''

'' (launched 1965), '' Frank and Ernest'' (launched 1972), and Kevin Fagan's ''

Drabble A drabble is a short work of fiction of precisely one hundred words in length."Winners ...

'', which debuted in 1979. The Newspaper Enterprise Association brand has persisted both under the United Media umbrella and now Universal Uclick/

Sports All-America team selections and awards

All-America team selections

From 1924 to 1996, the NEA was the selector of college football All-America teams. It was a granting institution in the selection of the

NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans The NCAA Men's Basketball All-American teams are teams made up of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball players voted the best in the country by a variety of organizations. History All-America teams in college basketball were ...

teams in 1938 and from 1953 to 1963.

NFL awards

Beginning in 1955, the Newspaper Enterprise Association, under the guidance of

, poll NFL players annually for an

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

team. In addition, the NEA awarded a Rookie of the Year, a

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a partic ...

(1955–2008), and a

Defensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY or DPOTY) is the name of an award given in sports for outstanding Defense (sports), defensive play by a single player over the course of a season. Many sports leagues award this type of award. League awards for D ...

(George Halas Trophy; 1966–1998). All were published in the ''NFL Record and Fact Book'' alongside the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 2 ...

, and the

Pro Football Writers Association The Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA), sometimes known as Pro Football Writers Association, is an organization that purports to be " heofficial voice of pro football writers, promoting and fighting for access to NFL personnel to best serve ...

All-Pro teams and awards. The NEA last announced an All-Pro team in 1992, ending a 38-year tradition of the "player's All-Pro Team". (The NEA list's successor, the ''

Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'' All-Pro team, currently polls players along with coaches and managers for its teams.) From the early 1980s the NEA All-Pro team was released in the '' World Almanac'' which was an NEA publication. The NFL MVP award was called the

and began in 1955. The Defensive Player of the Year was named after Chicago Bears founder George S. Halas and its inception was 1966, the Rookie of the Year award was named after NFL commissioner Bert Bell and began in 1964. In the early 1960s the NEA began awarding the Third Down Trophy that symbolized each team's MVP. That began in the American Football League and included the NFL after the 1970 AFL-NFL merger and ran through 1979. The Jim Thorpe Trophy was discontinued following Kurt Warner's win in 2008. Olderman, the driving force behind the Players' All-Pro teams and awards, was also a fine artist and cartoonist. When the NEA news service released its stories on the annual NFL awards they were accompanied by artwork provided by Olderman to illustrate the stories.

Syndicated columns

* ''Andrews McMeel Almanac'' — daily feature offering notable historical events, interesting birthdays, phases of the moon and intriguing quotes, facts and statistics *

Ann Coulter Ann Hart Coulter (; born December 8, 1961) is an American conservative media pundit, author, syndicated columnist, and lawyer. She became known as a media pundit in the late 1990s, appearing in print and on cable news as an outspoken critic of ...

* ''Ask Dick Kleiner'' by Dick Kleiner (1975–2001) * ''Ask the Doctors'' by Eve Glazier, M.D., Elizabeth Ko, M.D, and Robert Ashley, M.D. * ''Astro-Graph'' by Eugenia Last — astrology * ''Billy Evans Says'' by

(1918–1928) * ''Celebrity Cipher'' by Luis Campos — decoding famous quotes * ''Do Just One Thing'' by Danny Seo — eco-friendly ways to save money and the planet * Georgie Anne Geyer *

Erskine Johnson Erskine Johnson (December 14, 1910 - June 14, 1984) was a Hollywood gossip columnist who worked for the Hearst newspaper chain and appeared on the radio and in motion pictures. Career His column "Hollywood Notes" was syndicated by the Newspap ...

Morton Kondracke Morton Matt Kondracke (; born April 28, 1939) is an American political commentator and journalist. He became well known due to a long stint as a panelist on ''The McLaughlin Group''. Kondracke worked for several major publications, serving for twen ...

Donald Lambro Donald Lambro (born July 14, 1940) is an Albanian American journalist. He is the chief political correspondent of ''The Washington Times'' and a columnist formerly nationally syndicated by United Feature Syndicate and now by the Newspaper Enterp ...

Kathryn Jean Lopez Kathryn Jean Lopez (born March 22, 1976) is an American conservative columnist who is nationally syndicated by the United Feature Syndicate. She is also the former editor and currently an editor-at-large of ''National Review Online''. Her nicknam ...

* Gene Lyons * Mary Margaret McBride * ''NEA Bridge'' by Phillip Alder — on

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

* ''NEA Crossword Puzzle'' by Dan Stark * ''On Religion'' by Terry Mattingly *

Cokie Roberts Mary Martha Corinne Morrison Claiborne "Cokie" Roberts (née Boggs; December 27, 1943 – September 17, 2019) was an American journalist and author. Her career included decades as a political reporter and analyst for National Public Radio, PBS, ...

and

Steven V. Roberts Steven V. Roberts (born February 11, 1943) is an American journalist, writer, and political commentator. Life and career Roberts was born in Bayonne, New Jersey, and graduated from Bayonne High School.Rahman, Sarah"Author Steven V. Roberts pays a ...

* ''Sense & Sensitivity'' by Harriette Cole * David Shribman * ''Sudoku Daily'' * ''TasteFood'' by Lynda Balslev * ''The Village Idiot'' by Jim Mullen * Joe Williams on sports (1938–1940s) *

Byron York Byron York (born December 5, 1955) is an American conservative correspondent, pundit, columnist, and author. Education York holds a B.A. from the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa and an M.A. from the University of Chicago. Career York ...

Newspaper Enterprises Association strips and cartoons

NEA Christmas strip

From 1936 to 2010, NEA produced an annual Christmas-themed daily comic strip for its subscribing newspapers as a holiday bonus. They typically ran for three to four weeks before Christmas, with the concluding installment on December 25 or a nearby date. Strip historian

Allan Holtz Allan Holtz () is a comic strip historian who researches and writes about newspaper comics for his Stripper's Guide blog, launched in 2005. His research encompasses some 7,000 American comic strips and newspaper panels. In addition to his contribu ...

notes that over the years these strips featured regular NEA characters, adapted classic Christmas stories, and original stories with single-appearance characters. Cartoonist Walt Scott was responsible for the Christmas strip for many years, starting in 1937, and then from 1950 to 1962. He illustrated the strip in 1937, 1949, 1960, and 1961; and wrote & drew it from 1950 to 1959 (with 1954 being a reprint) and in 1962. Hal Cochran wrote the strip from 1937 to 1943. The 1942 strip, "Santa's Victory Christmas," had a World War II-era theme of conserving raw materials to further the war effort, and was drawn by Superman ghost artist Leo Nowak. The 1967 entry, ''Bucky's Christmas Caper'', was written and drawn by famed comic book creator

Wally Wood Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as '' Weird Science'', '' Weird Fantasy'', and ''MAD Magazine'' fr ...

. Phil Pastoret wrote the Christmas strip in 1971, 1974, and 1977. The Joe Kubert School was responsible for the strip in the years 1982 to 1985.

NEA comic strips

Current NEA strips

* ''

'' originally by

; currently by Jack and Carole Bender (launched 1932) * '' Arlo and Janis'' by Jimmy Johnson (launched July 29, 1985) * ''

Big Nate ''Big Nate'' (stylized as ''big NATE'' in the comic collections and ''BiG NATE'' in the books) is an American comic strip written and illustrated by Lincoln Peirce, syndicated since January 7, 1991. The strip follows sixth-grader Nate Wrigh ...

'' by Lincoln Peirce (launched January 7, 1991) * ''

'', originally by

Art Sansom Arthur Baldwin Sansom Jr. (September 16, 1920 – July 4, 1991), better known as Art Sansom, was an American comic strip cartoonist who created the long-running comic strip '' The Born Loser''. He was born in East Cleveland, Ohio. After graduat ...

(launched May 10, 1965) * '' Frank and Ernest'' originally by Bob Thaves (launched 1972) * '' The Grizzwells'' by

Bill Schorr Bill Schorr is an American cartoonist of syndicated editorial cartoons and comic strips. Early life Schorr was born in New York City, and was raised in and grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and California. Career Schorr has been an editorial ...

(launched 1987) * ''

Herman Herman may refer to: People * Herman (name), list of people with this name * Saint Herman (disambiguation) * Peter Noone (born 1947), known by the mononym Herman Places in the United States * Herman, Arkansas * Herman, Michigan * Herman, Min ...

'' by Jim Unger (1975–1992 with

; now in reruns through NEA) * '' Moderately Confused'' by Jeff Stahler (launched 2003) * ''

Monty Monty is a masculine given name, often a short form of Montgomery, Montague and other similar names. It is also a surname. Notable people with the name or nickname include: First name Nickname *Bernard Montgomery (1887–1976), British Second ...

'' by Jim Meddick (launched 1985, as ''Robotman'' with

, now syndicated through NEA) * '' Shortcuts'' by Jeff Harris (launched 1999) The following strips were inherited from

Universal Uclick Andrews McMeel Syndication (formerly Universal Uclick) is an American content syndicate which provides syndication in print, online and on mobile devices for a number of lifestyle and opinion columns, comic strips and cartoons and various oth ...

in 2011 and added to the NEA lineup: * '' Cul de Sac'' by Richard Thompson (2004–2012 with Universal Press Syndicate/Universal Uclick; now in reruns through NEA) * '' Heart of the City'' by Mark Tatulli (launched November 23, 1998) * '' Reality Check'' by

Dave Whamond Dave Whamond is a Canadian cartoonist and children's book author/illustrator who draws the newspaper comic strip ''Reality Check'', which has been published daily since 1995. As of 2010, ''Reality Check'' was being distributed by United Feature S ...

(launched 1995) * '' Thatababy'' by Paul Trap (launched 2010)

Concluded NEA strips

* ''The Affairs of Jane'' by

(September 26, 1921 – March 18, 1922) * '' Annibelle'' by Dorothy Urfer (1929 – 1939) * ''

Ben Casey ''Ben Casey'' is an American medical drama series that aired on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols "♂, ♀, ✳, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member Sam Jaff ...

'' by

Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a Creator ownership, creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and re ...

and Jerry Capp (November 26, 1962 – July 31, 1966) * ''Benjy'' by Jim Berry (1974–1975) * ''The Bicker Family'' by Robert W. Satterfield (c. 1921–1922) * ''Biff Baker'' by Ernest "East" Lynn and Henry Schlensker (1941 – 1945) * ''Brenda Breeze'' by Rolfe Mason (1939 – 1962) * ''

'' by

(1924 – 1968) * ''

'' (1942–1993) primarily by writers Albert Stoffel (1947–1979) &

Carl Fallberg Carl Robert Fallberg (September 11, 1915 – May 9, 1996) was a writer/cartoonist for animated feature films and T.V. cartoons for Disney Studios, Hanna-Barbera, and Warner Brothers. He also wrote comic books for Dell Comics, Western Publishi ...

(1950–1969) and artist Ralph Heimdahl (1947–1979) * ''

'' by

Jeet Heer Jeet Heer is a Canadian author, comics critic, literary critic and journalist. He is a national affairs correspondent for '' The Nation'' magazine and a former staff writer at '' The New Republic''. As of 2014, he was writing a doctoral thesis at ...

, "Crane's Great Gamble", in Roy Crane, ''Buz Sawyer: 1, The War in the Pacific''. Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics Books, 2011. (July 30, 1933 – 1988) * ''Chris Welkin—Planeteer'' by

and

(1952 – 1964) * ''

Dark Shadows ''Dark Shadows'' is an American gothic soap opera that aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966, to April 2, 1971. The show depicted the lives, loves, trials, and tribulations of the wealthy Collins family of Collinspo ...

'' by Ken Bald ("K. Bruce") (March 14, 1971 – March 11, 1972) * ''The Doings of the Duffs'' originally by Walter R. Allman, then

Ben Batsford Ben Batsford (June 5, 1893 - February 11, 1977) was an American cartoonist. He is best known for a celebrity comic based on the puppet duo Mortimer Snerd and Charlie McCarthy. Biography Batsford worked for the Winnipeg Free Press as an editoria ...

& Buford Tune (1925 – 1928; moved to

until 1931) * '' Eek & Meek'' by Howie Schneider (1965 – 2000) * ''Efficiency Ed'' by

(January 2, 1922 – March 18, 1922) * ''Fables of 1921'' by

(1921) * '' Flapper Fanny Says'' by Ethel Hays (c. 1924 – 1940s) * '' Freckles and His Friends'' originally by Merrill Blosser (1915 – 1971) * ''Herky'' by Clyde Lewis (1935 – 1941) * ''J. Rabbit, Esquire'' by Bill Holman (1922) * ''Kevin the Bold'' by Kreigh Collins (October 1, 1950 – October 27, 1968) * ''

Kit 'n' Carlyle Larry Wright (February 2, 1940 - May 21, 2017) was an American cartoonist, known for his conservative editorial cartoons published in ''The Detroit News'' from 1976 to 2009. He received the National Cartoonist Society The National Cartoonists So ...

'' by Larry Wright (1980–2015) * ''The Little People'' by Walt Scott (1952 – 1969) * ''Miniature Movies'' / ''Chestnut Charlie'' by Merrill Blosser (July 1916 – early 1918) * ''Mitzi McCoy'' by Kreigh Collins (November 7, 1948 – September 24, 1950) * ''Mom 'n Pop'' (later ''The Newfangles'' from 1932 to 1936) by Loron Taylor and Wood CowanRon Goulart,''The Funnies : 100 years of American comic strips''. Holbrook, Mass.: Adams Pub., 1995. . (pp.66 72,117,148-9,159,176,189,194-5,211) (1924 – 1936) * ''

Morty Meekle ''Morty Meekle'' is an American syndicated newspaper comic strip that was published between 1956 and 1966, created and produced by cartoonist Dick Cavalli. The series featured the title character dealing with office and dating situations, and, l ...

'' (later '' Winthrop'') by

Dick Cavalli Richard A. Cavalli (September 28, 1923 – October 16, 1997)Richard A. Cavalli
at the (February 10, 1936 – August 31, 1941) * ''The Nut Brothers'' (December 19, 1921 – October 14, 1922) by Gene Ahern and then

— later became a topper for '' Our Boarding House'' * ''Otto Honk'' by Bela Zaboly (early 1930s – 1936) * '' Our Boarding House'' by Gene AhernHorn, Maurice. ''100 Years of American Newspaper Comics'' (Gramercy Books : New York, Avenel, 1996), , . ''Our Boarding House'' entry, pp. 230-231 (1921 – 1984) * '' Out Our Way'' by J. R. Williams (1922 – 1977) * ''

'' by A.D. Condo and J.W. Raper (1905 – 1927) * ''

'' by

Al Vermeer Albert Hermann Vermeer (1911–1980), known as Al Vermeer, was an American cartoonist. Vermeer created the comic strip ''Priscilla's Pop''.

(1946 – 1983) * ''

Raising Duncan Raising Duncan was a partly autobiographical, syndicated gag-a-day comic strip by Chris Browne Christopher Kelly Browne (May 16, 1952 – February 5, 2023) was an American comic strip artist and cartoonist. He was the son of cartoonist Dik Bro ...

'' by

Chris Browne Christopher Kelly Browne (May 16, 1952 – February 5, 2023) was an American comic strip artist and cartoonist. He was the son of cartoonist Dik Browne and brother of cartoonist Chance Browne. From 1989 to 2023, Browne wrote and drew the comic s ...

(August 16, 2000 – January 2005) * ''

'' by

and Fred Harman (November 6, 1938 – September 30, 1965) * ''Robin Malone'' by

Bob Lubbers Robert Bartow Lubbers (January 10, 1922 – July 8, 2017) was an American comic strip and comic book artist best known for his work on such strips as ''Tarzan'', ''Li'l Abner'' and '' Long Sam''. Biography Born Robert Bartow Lubbers in 1922, he ...

(1967 – May 1970) * ''Salesman Sam'' by George Swanson (September 26, 1921 – 1936) * ''Short Ribs'' by

Frank O'Neal Frank O'Neal (May 9, 1921 – October 10, 1986)
at the

George Clark,''Sandusky Register'', February 11, 1934.
/ref> later by "Galbraith" (William Galbraith Crawford) * '' Snake Tales'' by Allan Salisbury (1970s) * ''

Soup to Nutz ''Soup to Nutz'' is a daily comic strip drawn by Rick Stromoski. It centers on the Nutz family, particularly the three children in the family. The comic launched in March 2000, went into reprints on March 5, 2018, and ended its run on May 28, 20 ...

'' by

Rick Stromoski Rick Stromoski (born December 25, 1958)
Lambiek's ''Comiclopedia''. Accessed Dec. 22, 2018. is an American

(2000–2018) * ''Squirrel Food'' / ''Otto Auto'' / ''Balmy Benny'' by Gene Ahern (1915–1921) * '' Star Hawks'' by Gil Kane and

Ron Goulart Ronald Joseph Goulart (; January 13, 1933 – January 14, 2022) was an American popular culture historian and mystery, fantasy, and science fiction author. He published novelizations and other work under various pseudonyms: Kenneth Robeson, Co ...

(October 3, 1977 – c. 1979; moved to United Features, where it ran until May 2, 1981) * ''The Story of Martha Wayne'' by Wilson Scruggs (May 1953 – November 1962) * ''Taken From Life'' by

(July 24, 1922 – February 16, 1924) * ''Up Anchor!'' by Kreigh Collins (November 3, 1968 – February 27, 1972) * ''Vic Flint'' by Ernest "East" Lynn and Ralph Lane

Maurice Horn Maurice Horn (born 1931) is a French-American comics historian, author, and editor, considered to be one of the first serious academics to study comics. He is the editor of ''The World Encyclopedia of Comics'', ''The World Encyclopedia of Cartoon ...

, ''The World Encyclopedia of Comics'', Chelsea House, New York, 1976. (p. 686) (Jan. 6, 1946 – March 1967) * ''

'' by

(April 14, 1924 – 1949; merged into ''

'')

Syndicated editorial cartoons

* Robert Ariail * Bill Crawford * Matt Davies *

John Fischetti John R. Fischetti (September 27, 1916 – November 18, 1980) was an editorial cartoonist for the ''New York Herald Tribune'' and the ''Chicago Daily News''. He received a Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 1969 and numerous awards f ...

(1951–1962) *

Herblock Herbert Lawrence Block, commonly known as Herblock (October13, 1909October7, 2001), was an American editorial cartoonist and author best known for his commentaries on national domestic and foreign policy. During the course of a career stretch ...

(1933–1943) * Jerry Holbert * Drew Litton's '' Win, Lose, Drew'' (sports) *

(on sports) * Rob Rogers *

Jeff Stahler Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form (hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson or Jeffrey, which comes from a medieval variant of Geoffrey. Music * DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ/turntablist record producer Jeffrey Allen Townes * ...

References

External links

*
List of NEA Christmas strips (1936–2010), with credits
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newspaper Enterprise Association American football mass media College football mass media Comic strip syndicates Former E. W. Scripps Company subsidiaries Mass media companies of the United States Mass media companies established in 1902 1902 establishments in Ohio

Corporate history

Comic strips

Sports All-America team selections and awards

All-America team selections

NFL awards

Syndicated columns

Newspaper Enterprises Association strips and cartoons

NEA Christmas strip

NEA comic strips

Current NEA strips

Concluded NEA strips

Syndicated editorial cartoons

See also

References

External links