Camera-ready comic art drawing for Henry

This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Henry comic strip shows the title character becoming excited when he thinks a window painting reads free ice cream. But after telling his friends and bringing them back to enjoy the ice cream, he realizes the painter hadn’t finished painting the sign.

Carl Thomas Anderson (1865-1948) was a carpenter before he was an artist. He received formal art training in Philadelphia and in 1890 was offered a job with The New York World, where he launched a strip for the Sunday comics called Little Filipino and the Chick. William Randolph Hearst then hired Anderson to work for the New York Journal. Anderson transitioned into freelancing and carpentry during the Great Depression. In 1932 Anderson's work on Henry was accepted by the Saturday Evening Post. The strip was an immediate success, and Anderson continued drawing the strip until his death in 1948.

Henry (1932-1995, dailies, 1935-2005, Sundays) had its beginnings as a successful Depression-era comic strip, especially because of its recognizable lead character. Henry's childlike characteristics including his large, bald head, round belly, and stocky limbs were strengthened by his limited script. Henry was seen in a Fleischer Studios' short film, where Henry actually spoke, and in color comic books between 1946 and 1961. Henry is still shown in classic reruns across the country.

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