Like many syndicated cartoonists of the past, Bud Blake (1918-2005) honed his skills while working at an advertising agency. Returning to the agency after military service during World War II, Blake grew tired of the travel and responsibility of being an executive art director and decided to pursue a career as a cartoonist. King Features hired him to do a panel strip to fill the vacancy left by the death of popular cartoonist H.T. Webster. Blake’s series, which ran from 1954 to 1965, appeared under a variety of different titles. In 1965 Blake created Tiger, King Feature’s answer to the popularity of Charles Schulz’ Peanuts.

Tiger ran until 2004. Tiger, a beautifully rendered strip, was perhaps not as pithy as Peanuts, but maintained a gentle humor that endeared it to many readers.

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