Johnson, Ferd, 1905-

American cartoonist and illustrator; d. 1996.

From the description of Ferd Johnson collection, 1933-1968. (Boston University). WorldCat record id: 70973779

Ferdinand Johnson (1905-1996), commonly known as Ferd Johnson, was an American cartoonist. He was Frank Willard's assistant and eventual successor on the comic strip Moon Mullins .

Born December 18, 1905, in Spring Creek, Pennsylvania, Johnson became interested in cartooning after winning the Erie (Pa.) Dispatch-Herald cartoon contest at the age of 12. After finishing high school in 1923 he attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts but left school after only three months to take an assistant's job at the Chicago Tribune with Frank Willard who had recently created the Moon Mullins comic strip.

While assisting on Moon Mullins, Johnson remained active with other Tribune projects. He created several comic strip features for the Syndicate- Texas Slim (1925-1928) and Lovey-Dovey (1932)-did sports illustration work and produced advertising cartoons. In 1940 he revived Texas Slim in Texas Slim and Dirty Dalton (with the companion strip, Buzzy ), which ran for 18 years. After Willard's death in 1958 he took over full responsibility for Moon Mullins, which he continued to draw (assisted in later years by his son, Tom) until his retirement in 1991.

From the guide to the Ferd Johnson Cartoons, 1946-1965, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)