KEN ERNST

The Sickles-Caniff School No. 3 

KEN ERNST

Kenneth Frederic Ernst nasce il 10 gennaio 1918 a Stanton, Illinois, da Fred W. e Jeanette M. Ernst. Ha una sorella maggiore di due anni, Frances. Nel 1920 gli Ernst risiedono a St. Louis, Missouri. Nel 1930 si sono trasferiti a Chicago, dove Ken frequenta il Chicago Art Institute e la Chicago Academy of Fine Arts.

Ha appena 18 anni quando inizia a lavorare presso il Chesler Studio nel 1936. Debutta quello stesso anno nei comics con The Sapphire Eye of Sekhmet per Funny Pages Vol. 1 n. 6 (novembre) della Comics Magazine Company . Contribuisce poi agli albi della Centaur Star Ranger, Star Comics e Keen Detective Funnies (1938-39) e inizia a collaborare con la Dell Publishing, scrivendo e disegnando Buck Jones per Crackajack Funnies (1938-40),
Jim Ellis e Magic Morro per Super Comics(1940-43), e Whitey Harrison per The Funnies (1940). Con Magic Morro, in particolare, mostra il suo stile chiaroscurato evidentemente ispirato dalla "linea scura" di Noel Sickles e Milton Caniff. Inoltre Ernst lavora brevemente per la DC/National con Larry Steele, Private Detective e Red Logan (su Detective Comics, 1939-40) e per la Columbia (Tom Kerry District Attorney su Big Shot Comics, 1940).

Nel frattempo Ernst ha preso a collaborare anche ai fumetti per I quotidiani. Nel 1937-38 assiste l'animatore Charles "Nick" Nichols' per la tavola settimanale Adventures of Peter Pan, poi Charles Raab per Adventures of Patsy (1940) e Leon Beroth per Don Winslow of the Navy (1940-42). Nel maggio 1942 gli vengono affidati i disegni di Mary Worth, che continuerà a realizzare per 43 anni su testi di Allen Saunders, John Saunders e di suo figlio Ken Ernst Jr., nato nel 1947 dal matrimonio con Jeanne. Negli anni, Ernst abbandonerà lo stile "scuro" per un tratto più sintetico, vicino a quello di Alex Kotzky.

Ernst insegna per diversi anni presso la Cartoon School del suo amico Nick Nichols. Scompare il 6 agosto 1985 aMarion, Oregon. La sua ultima strip di Mary Worth appare il 23 settembre. È sepolto presso il Myrtle Crest Memorial Gardens a Coquille, Oregon.

Kenneth Frederic Ernst was born January 10, 1918 in Stanton, Illinois to Fred W. and Jeanette M. Ernst. His sister Frances was two years his elder. In 1920 the Ernsts were residing in St. Louis, Missouri. By 1930 they had moved back to Chicago, where Ken attended the Chicago Art Institute and the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts.

He was just 18 when he started working at the Chesler Studio in 1936. He made his debut in comics that year with The Sapphire Eye of Sekhmet in Comics Magazine Company's Funny Pages Vol. 1 #6 (November). He then contributed to Centaur's Star Ranger, Star Comics and Keen Detective Funnies (1938-39) and started a collaboration with Dell Publishing, where he wrote and drew Buck Jones in Crackajack Funnies (1938-40), Jim Ellis and Magic Morro in Super Comics (1940-43), and Whitey Harrison in The Funnies (1940). Especially Magic Morro established his chiaroscuro
style, which was clearly inspired by Noel Sickles' and Milton Caniff's "dark line". Ernst also briefly worked for DC/National on Larry Steele, Private Detective and Red Logan (Detective Comics, 1939-40), Columbia (Tom Kerry District Attorney in Big Shot Comics, 1940), and Progressive Publishers (Rick Masters Foreign Correspondent in Bang-Up Comics, 1941-42).

In the meantime Ernst had also been working on newspaper strips. In 1937-38 he assisted on animator Charles "Nick" Nichols' Adventures of Peter Pan Sunday page, then on Charles Raab's Adventures of Patsy (1940) and Leon Beroth's Don Winslow of the Navy (1940-42). In May 1942 he took over the artwork on Mary Worth, which he continued drawing for 43 years on scripts by Allen Saunders, John Saunders, and his own son Ken Ernst Jr., born in 1947 from his marriage with Jeanne. Ernst eventually relinquished his "dark" style for a slicker approach, similar to Alex Kotzky's.

Ernst taught at his friend Nick Nichols' Cartoon School for several years. He passed away August 6, 1985 in Marion, Oregon. His last Mary Worth strip appeared on September 23. He is buried at Myrtle Crest Memorial Gardens in Coquille, Oregon.

FUMETTOGRAFIA / COMICOGRAPHY

A) COMIC BOOKS

Editore/Publisher: ARGO PUBLICATIONS

Copertina / Cover - Mary Worth #1 (1956).

Editore/Publisher: CENTAUR

Gabby Flynn - Keen Detective Funnies Vol. 2 #6-10 (1939).

King's Revenge - Star Comics Vol. 1 #10 (1938); Keen Komics #3 (1939) [R].

The Rifle Riders [Text Story] - Star Ranger #10 (1938).

Rubber Plantation - Star Comics Vol. 1 #11 (1938).

Editore/Publisher: COLUMBIA

Tom Kerry District Attorney - Big Shot Comics #1-4 (1940).

Editore/Publisher: COMICS MAGAZINE COMPANY

The Sapphire Eye of Sekhmet - Funny Pages Vol. 1 #6 (1936).

Editore/Publisher: DC COMICS (aka NATIONAL COMICS)

Larry Steele, Private Detective - Detective Comics #31-33 (1939).

Red Logan - Detective Comics #38-40 (1940).

Editore/Publisher: DELL

Buck Jones - Crackajack Funnies #3-8 (1938-39).

Copertine / Covers - Super Comics #22, 25 (1940).

Jim Ellis, Adventurer - Super Comics #57 (1943).

Magic Morro - Super Comics #21-58 (1940-43); The Adventures of Little Orphan Annie #1, 2 (1941).

Whitey Harrison - The Funnies #42, 43 (1940).

Editore/Publisher: EC COMICS

Comic Strips They'd Really Like to Do - Mad #89 (1964).

Editore/Publisher: PROGRESSIVE PUBLISHERS 

Rick Masters Foreign Correspondent - Bang-Up Comics #1, 2 (1941-42).

B) FUMETTI PER QUOTIDIANI / NEWSPAPER COMIC STRIPS

Editore/Publisher: ASSOCIATED EDITORS

Adventures of Peter Pan - Tavole settimanali / Sunday page 1937-Mar 13 1938 [Assistente / Assistant].

Editore/Publisher: ASSOCIATED PRESS (aka AP)

Adventures of Patsy - Strisce quotidiane / Daily strip 1940 [Assistente / Assistant].

Editore/Publisher: BELL SYNDICATE

Bos 'n Hal, Sea Scout - Tavole settimanali / Sunday page 1940-1942  [Assistente matite / Assistant pencils].

Don Winslow of the Navy - Strisce quotidiane e tavole settimanali  /  Daily strip and Sunday page 1940-1942 [Assistente matite / Assistant pencils].

Editore/Publisher: PUBLISHERS NEWSPAPER SYNDICATE/PUBLISHERS-HALL SYNDICATE/FIELD ENTERPRISES/NEWS AMERICA SYNDICATE

Mary Worth - Strisce quotidiane e tavole settimanali  /  Daily strip and Sunday page May 18 1942-Sept 23 1985.

BIBLIOGRAPHY / BIBLIOGRAFIA

ILLUSTRAZIONI PER LIBRI E RIVISTE / BOOK AND MAGAZINE ILLUSTRATIONS

Editore/Publisher: ESQUIRE, INC.

Esquire - Illustrations for Bob Burns' column.

Editore/Publisher: WHITMAN

Better Little Books - Buck Jones and the Killers of Crooked Butte #1451 (1940); Buck Jones and The Rock Creek Cattle War #1461 (1940) [con / with Al Lewin].