Frank King (cartoonist)

Frank King (cartoonist)

Frank Oscar King (April 9, 1883 – June 24, 1969) was an American cartoonist best known for his popular, long-run comic strip Gasoline Alley. In addition to innovations with color and page design, King introduced the concept of real time continuity to comic strips by showing his characters changing with age over generations.

Born in Cashton, Wisconsin, King was the oldest of the two sons of mechanic John J. King and his wife Caroline. When Frank was four years old, he moved with his parents to 1710 Superior Avenue in Tomah, Wisconsin, where they operated their family general store. He started drawing while growing up in Tomah, where he graduated from Tomah High School in 1901.

He entered country fair drawing competitions; a sign he drew for a hotel bootblack earned him only 25 cents, but it was seen by a traveling salesman who learned it had been drawn by the son of one of his customers. The salesman arranged an interview for King with a Minneapolis newspaper editor. King began earning $7 a week at the Minneapolis Times, and during his four years there, he doubled his salary while creating drawings and doing retouching. On March 17, 1905, he gave a chalk talk at a Minneapolis St. Patrick's Day celebration.