Nat Gertler: Comics Show and Tell episode 7: Transformation of the Wolf

 

Leonard Sansone (1917 - 1963) was a cartoonist whose perhaps most well-known work is "The Wolf" or "G.I. Wolf." After graduating from the Massachusetts College of Art, he moved to New York City, where he freelanced, drawing advertising art, and creating comic book pages during the Golden Age of Comic Books. During this time, he married Emily Stone, whom he had met while at art school. Leonard was then

"... drafted and first stationed at Ft. Belvoir (Virginia). It was there he worked on the publication DUCKBOARD and created his famous cartoon The Wolf (also called G.I. Wolf, Pvt. Wolf). It was so popular he was transferred to NYC to join the staff at Camp Newspaper Services (CNS) a division of YANK magazine where he worked as art director and cartoonist for the duration of the war.

"His famous and wonderfully funny Wolf cartoons appeared in over 3000 Camp Newspapers. Sansone was featured in LIFE magazine in 1941 and his cartoon book The Wolf was released in 1945. During this period at CNS Lenny’s colleagues were artists, cartoonists and writers such as Sgt George Baker, Bill Mauldin, Marion Hargrove, Milton Caniff, Walter Farley.

"Leonard moved to Miami in 1948 created his popular syndicated comic strip 'Willie' ( a family oriented cartoon strip), co-owned Florida Advertising Art Agency located in Coral Gables, Florida. He died in a tragic car accident in 1963. He was 46 years old and survived by his wife Emily and their two children Peter and Maggie who now live in Maryland (USA)." -- from his web site, maintained by his daughter Maggie.

 

Eisner Award-winning author Nat Gertler talks about Sansone and The Wolf in this informative video that's just out this month -- part of a series of shorts titled About Comics, each one about an aspect of comics history. He has also put together a reprint of Sansone's famous The Wolf book that you can purchase. 

Here's his video about The Wolf. And do check out some of Nat's other great videos.