SAAKEL Ross

SAAKEL Kenneth Ross

There is very little known about this cartoonist. Ivan Kocmarek estimated he was born about 1922. If true he was one of the many teenagers who were hired by Cy Bell to fill his publications with content. On the other hand, the skill shown in some of his work suggests Ross was a more mature and experienced cartoonist.

The adventure characters “Ace Barton“, “Active Jim” and “Captain Wonder” of whom only “Captain Wonder” had extraordinary powers all appear to have been created by him. “Ace Barton” is introduced in Triumph Comics 10 and is attributed to him. His is the first name to be credited with “Active Jim”. For the first story using this character no creator is credited. “Captain Wonder” first appears in the numberless Triumph Comics which was the first issue of this periodical published by Bell Features, and is credited to Ross.

He created the humorous character “The Noodle” which parodied Leo Bachle’s adventure character “The Brain”. This character is the one most closely associated with Ross. He initiated it near the start of his time at Bell Features and it remained his till Bell Features stopped producing original material. His other major funny feature was the team of hobos “Spike & Mike”. Initiated by John O’Henly, this pair were taken over by Ross in Joke Comics 4 and remained with him till issue 24, only two issues short of the periodical’s demise. It’s popularity is attested to the fact that “Spike & Mike” stories in the various Bell Features’ periodicals were collected into book form.

Ross’ importance in the Bell stable is shown in his work load. He was during his stay there, cartooning serials “Ace Barton”, “Active Jim”, “ The Noodle”, “Spike & Mike” and “Captain Wonder” while also cartooning and illustrating games, features and stories. Humour was his strength and apparently what he enjoyed most. In the adventure serials, one can see the humour straining to be released. His best work appears in “The Noodle” and “Spike and Mike” where he seems to be enjoying himself. Probably due to the heavy work load most of Ross’ work suggests a workman like competence but there are times like the story shown below where we get a glimpse of what he was capable of achieving.

WORK:

CARTOONIST:

BOOK GRAPHIC COLLECTION:

Content story:

Spike And Mike, no number, no date: A collection of Spike and Mike stories from Joke Comics, including “Box Car Tourists” and “Trip To The Moon”.

PERIODICAL GRAPHIC ANTHOLOGY:

Content:                                                                                                                            All published by Bell Features & Publishing

Advertisement:

Active Comics, 12, no date: “Joke Comics.” 23.

History:

Active Comics, 20, no date: “Revolt”: 31-33.

Information:

Active Comics, 22, no date: “It’s A Fact.” 51.

Active Comics, 24, no date: “It’s A Fact.” Inside back cover.

Story:

Triumph Comics,23, no date: “Web Of Guilt”: 18-22.

Serial:

“Ace Barton”: Triumph Comics, …, no date: Black & white.
09: 61-64.

10: 60-63.

11: 58-63. 12: 59-63. 13: 52-56.

14: 52-56.

15: 52-56.

16: 51-55

19:14, 15, 32-35* 20: 32-37. 23: 43-48.

*For this story some pages were not printed others out of sequence.

“Active Jim”: Active Comics, …,no date: Black & white.
04: 35-37. 05: 29-31. 06: 13-15. 07: 48-50. 08: 35.
“Captain Wonder”: Triumph Comics, …, no date: Black & white.
No number: 54-63.

 

08:54-62.

09: 53-59.

10: 51-56.

11: 49-57.

12: 48-57.

13: 44-50.

14: 45-51.

15: 44-50.

16: 43-49.

19: 22, 24, 25* 20: 19-25. 23: 11-17.

*For this story some pages were not printed others out of sequence.

“The Noodle: The Mighty Mite.” Active Comics, …, no date: …. Black & white.
04: 12-14.

05: 12-15.

07: 14-17.

08, no date: “The Misadventures of Mild will:” 29-31.

09: 30-31.

10: 39-42.

12: “The Noodle vs. The Red Skeleton.” : 35-38

13: 12-15.

14: No story

15: No story

16: 12-15.

17: 9-12.

18: No story

19: 9-12.

20: “The Noodle For Mayor”: 9-12.

21: 9-13.

22: 43-46.

23: “… And The Log Cabin Mystery”: 30-33.

24: 46-49

26: 30-33.

27: 28-31.

“Spike ‘n’ Mike.” Commando Comics, …no date. Black & white.
“Spike ‘n’ Mike.” Joke Comics, …, no date. Black & white.
8 23

ILLUSTRATOR:

PERIODICAL GRAPHIC ANTHOLOGY:

Content:

Activity:

Cartoon bodies drawn to which the reader pastes photos of faces and hands
Active Comics, 16, no date. Active Comics, 20, no date.: 8.

Cut-out face mask:

“Spike and Mike.” Active Comics, 21, no date: inside front & back cover.

“Captain Wonder” Active Comics, 22, no date: inside front & back cover.

SOURCE:

Article book:

Heroes Of The Home Front. Writ., Ivan Kocmarek. North End Books, 2018: “Saakel Kenneth Ross”: 231- 238.

GALLERY:

C:\Users\Robert\Documents\CARTOONING ILLUSTRATION ANIMATION\IMAGE BY CARTOONIST\S\SAAKLE Ross, Triumph Comics, 23, 18_0001.jpg Triumph Comics 23: 18

C:\Users\Robert\Documents\CARTOONING ILLUSTRATION ANIMATION\IMAGE BY CARTOONIST\S\SAAKLE Ross, Triumph Comics, 23, 18_0002.jpg Triumph Comics 23: 19.

C:\Users\Robert\Documents\CARTOONING ILLUSTRATION ANIMATION\IMAGE BY CARTOONIST\S\SAAKLE Ross, Triumph Comics, 23, 20.jpg Triumph Comics 23: 20.

C:\Users\Robert\Documents\CARTOONING ILLUSTRATION ANIMATION\IMAGE BY CARTOONIST\S\SAAKLE Ross, Triumph Comics, 23, 21.jpg Triumph Comics 23: 21.

C:\Users\Robert\Documents\CARTOONING ILLUSTRATION ANIMATION\IMAGE BY CARTOONIST\S\SAAKLE Ross, Triumph Comics, 23, 22.jpg Triumph Comics 23: 22.