Asbury Park Press from Asbury Park, New Jersey • Page 108

ASBURY PARK PRESS, Nov. 2, 1975 E25 Artist Follows Trends, Freelancing 40 Years HILLSIDE For more These days. Hammer Dro- 4 3' 1.1 iT comic strip in 1938, and somewhat of a counterpart to Walt Disney's famous "During the comic book boom I was riding the gravy train and thought it was never going to Hammer recalled. "I was making about $30 for writing and drawing each page, and that was great money then," he said. The "gravy" dried out in Hammer, 61, of 525 McMi-chael created many comic characters and stories during and after World War II, when comic books were the most popular reading material among youngsters as well as many adults.

Some of his better-known characters were "Sniffy," "Frisky Fables," and "Young King Cole." "Sniffy" was a dog, first known as "Sloopy" in a newspaper than 40 years Milt Hammer has used Ws varied artistic talents doing the 'in thing" "as a freelance contributor to the publishing industry. When Hammer answered a newspaper ad for a cartoonist in 1942, he had no idea that he would be launched on a profitable, although limited, tareer as part of an 'American entertainment craze, the comic-book. duces a variety of puzzles for magazines and just had his Bible quiz series accepted for publication in a book. "The Bible is very popular now. The Baker Book House, in Grand Rapids, contacted me after one of their executives saw my quiz in a magazine.

We are hoping the book will be published next summer," Hammer said. lil) 1 he estimates there were 1,200 titles and insertion of sex and violence into "one-shot" books. The latter brought the wrath of clergymen 'and psychiatrists. Soon the comics were subject to review by a new group, the Comic Code Authority, before they could display an approved seal on the cover. With the decline in comics, Hammer, a bachelor, returned to work for a weekly newspaper that gave him his first chance to draw.

At the Irvington Herald he did sports cartoons at age 12 after completing a $2 correspondence course. After a short stint on the Irvington paper, Hammer decided that he would freelance again. For more than 30 years he wrote a column, "Station a review of radio, television and music records for a chain of suburban papers. The artist, a polio victim since he was 2, settles down to work at 7:30 each morning and puts in a full day between drawing and writing. Comic-book nostalgia is on the increase, Hammer said.

He said that 'recently National Periodical Publications, publishers of Superman, and the publisher of Captain Marvel, Fawcett Publishing, agreed to revive the superheros on a competitive basis as an attempt to boost comics sales, now only half what they were at the end of World War II. The artist said a comic- book collector might pay as much as $150 for a copy of an early book, for instance, "Famous Funnies," which 1951 when Curtis Publishing his biggest buyer, dissolved its comic book division, Premier Group. of Comics, shortly after Ham- -mer and other contributors received an 8 per cent pay increase. Hammer feels the reversal in the comics business was due to increased competition Candidate Outlines His Record FREEHOLD Assemblyman Walter cited his support of the citizens' right to sue laws, the Green Acres bond issue, and voter registration bills as examples of the "strong, positive accomplishments which marked his term in office." He said it indicates "the guts to tackle the issues," which he claims his "Republican opponents clearly lack." Kozloski also cited the economic development authority, his support of the public advocate law, legislation to eliminate sex discrimination, and the Equal Rights Amendment among his accomplishments. "I stand on my record of personal representation with honesty and integrity," he said.

"My opponents have not come out with any concrete criticisms or proposals for better ways to represent the (11th) district they have hidden behind personal slurs and flagrant misinterpretations of the issues." if I Asbury Park Press Milt Hammer holds cartoon by Robert It or Ripley awarded as a cartoon contest prize. Cartoon is about ex-baseball great Ty Cobb. It or Not" fame hangs on a wall of his work den. As a youth, Hammer won a drawing contest and was awarded the cartoon as a prize. For many years Hammer contributed to the "Treasure Chest," a comic-style religious book distributed in Catholic grammar schools.

In 1967 he wrote a quiz book on the Bible. Hammer is the author of two other books, "Kiddie Cartoonist" and "So You Want to Be a Cartoonist." Many of Hammer's stories have been translated into other languages, one quite by accident. In 1956 he drew a book entitled "National Childrens Activities." A copy somehow got to Hong Kong where a missionary group expressed interest in the story and style. They wrote to Hammer who granted them permission to translate it into Chinese. appeared in the late 1930s.

Hammer reminisced about other comic characters. "There were 'Crisco and a couple of Seabees, who I had running around the Pacific in a two-marl submarine sinking Japanese ships during the war," Hammer remembered. "I made them New York City cab drivers after the war," he said. An autographed original cartoon by Ripley of "Believe Vour SPECIALLY TRAINED EXPERTS WILL CHECK OUT HEATING DUCTS 0 HOW EFFICIENT IS YOUR HEATING SYSTEM? REMEMBER, A CHECK IN TIME SAVES NINE NINE OR MORE COLD HOURS WAITING IN SUB-FREEZING TEMPERATURES BECAUSE YOU FAILED TO LET AGGRESSIVE'S EXPERTS ASSURE YOU OF CLEAN, WARM-AIR FLOW HUMIDIFIERS AGGRESSIVE ASSURES PROPER ADJUSTMENT OF YOUR HUMIDIFIER TO REPLACE THE MOISTURE IN YOUR HOME WITH HEALTHIER AIR, WHILE ELIMINATING STATIC ELECTRICITY. IF YOU DON'T HAVE A HUMIDIFIER, CALL AGGRESSIVE TODAY FOR A DESCRIPTION OF UNITS AND SIZES AVAILABLE.

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