Camera-ready comic art drawing for Dondi

This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Dondi comic strip shows Baldy and Dondi talking about how the bike they thought was missing was actually secretly purchased by Baldy's parents for his birthday. The reader then sees a man sitting in a jail cell.

Irwin Hasen (1918-2015) started his career in comic book illustration for titles such as The Green Hornet and The Flash. After service in the U.S. Army Hasen returned to comic book production, but while on holiday in Europe he met Gus Edson, with whom he later collaborated on Dondi. The strip, written by Edson and drawn by Hasen, debuted in 1955. After Edson’s death in 1966, Hasen continued drawing and writing the strip.

Dondi (1955-1986), the title character, was the inspiration of cocreator Gus Edson after a USO trip to Europe during World War II. The young, orphaned Italian boy was found by an American soldier named Ted Willis, who took him back to the United States. The early comic strip story discussed Dondi's Italian history and new American life. Later, during and after the Korean and Vietnam wars, Dondi's heritage in the strip changed to fit a similar story in the later wars. A film adaptation of Dondi premiered in 1961.

Currently not on view