Ed Dodd
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| Ed Dodd | |
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| Born | November 7, 1902 Lafayette, Georgia |
| Died | May 27, 1991 Gainesville, Georgia |
Edward Benton Dodd (November 7, 1902 - May 27, 1991) was a 20th-century American cartoonist known for his Mark Trail comic strip.
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[edit] Early years
Born in Lafayette, Georgia to Rev. Jesse Mercer Dodd and Effie Cook Dodd (the artist Lamar Dodd was his first cousin), Ed Dodd went to work for Dan Beard, founder of the Boy Scouts of America, at the age of 16. Dodd worked at Beard’s camp in Pennsylvania for thirteen summers, where he honed his writing and illustration skills under Beard’s guidance. In 1926 Dodd became the first paid Youth and Physical Education Director for the city of Gainesville, Georgia.
[edit] "Back Home Again"
After studying architecture at Georgia Tech and at the Art Students League of New York, he purchased a ranch in Wyoming in 1926. In 1930, while working as a guide in the national parks, he created Back Home Again, a moderately successful single-panel daily strip which included characters from Gainesville and North Georgia. The strip, about a hillbilly family, was distributed nationally by United Feature Syndicate until 1945.
[edit] "Mark Trail"
On April 15, 1946, he launched Mark Trail as a daily comic strip distributed by The New York Post to 45 newspapers. Mark Trail centers on environmental themes and its title character, a wildlife photographer and author whose assignments inevitably lead to adventures. At its peak in the 1960's, the strip enjoyed distribution to about 500 newspapers through North America Syndicate. Today, Mark Trail is syndicated to 175 newspapers through King Features.
Mark Trail was drawn by Dodd until his retirement in 1978, then continued by his long-time assistant, Jack Elrod.
Dodd died in Gainesville, GA in 1991. He was survived by his wife, Rosemary.
[edit] Bibliography
- Mark Trail's 2nd book of animals: (North American mammals), by Ed Dodd, 1959
- Mark Trail's Book Of Animals (North American Mammals), by Ed Dodd, 1965
- Flapfoot, (Carousel book), by Ed Dodd, 1968
- Chipper the beaver, (A See and read beginning to read book), by Ed Dodd, 1968
- Mark Trail's Hunting Tips, by Ed Dodd, 1969
- Careers for the '70s: conservation (Crowell-Collier careers), by Ed Dodd, 1971
- Mark Trail's Cooking Tips, by Ed Dodd, 1971
- Mark Trail's Camping Tips, by Ed Dodd, 1971
- Mark Trail in the Smokies!: A naturalist's look at Great Smokey Mountains National Park and the Southern Appalachians, by Ed Dodd, 1989
