theuniquedrawings1940s

1946

This drawing was made for comic strip artist Al Capp's contest to draw the world's ugliest woman. In his comic 'Li'l Abner', Capp introduced a woman named Lena the Hyena whose face was never seen but who was referred to as the world's ugliest woman. Readers got more and more curious as to what she looked like, so Capp invited various artists to draw their version of the elusive character. Barks was one of them but he didn't win. The judges of the contest were Salvador Dali, Boris Karloff, and Frank Sinatra.

1948

This cartoon appeared on the front page of the local newspaper 'San Jacinto Valley Register' in October 1948.

The explanatory text reads:
See the original at the Farmer's fair and festival! Here is the Register's new combined thought-extracting machine, linotype and printing press. A time and labor saving marvel, it permits the editor to enjoy an additional eight hours of undeserved sleep. Invented by Senor Don Carlos Barkos, professor of higher mathematics at the University of Madrid, the device is the greatest contribution to the health and happiness of mankind since Al Capp discovered Shmoos. It is the Register's answer to the Hemet News, which recently announced the purchase of a linotype. The Register already had a linotype.

1949

Barks drew two political cartoons for a former Hemet resident who had a dispute with the town's mayor about the legality of landing helicopters in the city of Palos Verdes, California. The mayor is portrayed as a stubborn goat.

The poster text reads:
This hangar condemned as unsightly! Keep our community beautiful!

(The second cartoon was published the following year.)