David Breger
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David Breger (April 15, 1908 - January 16, 1970) was the American cartoonist who created the term and comic strip "G. I. Joe" during World War II.
Growing up in Chicago, where he was born, Breger had encounters with the local gangsters while he was working in his father's sausage factory. Breger graduated from Northwestern University where he was honored in 1946 with an Alumni Merit Award for distinguishing himself in his field of endeavor. During the 1930s, Breger began selling his cartoons to several newspapers. By the time he entered the United States Army during World War II he was a nationally recognized cartoonist through his contributions to The Saturday Evening Post.
King Features syndicated Breger's gag panel, Private Breger, but this syndication meant that when he began doing the character for Yank, the Army Weekly, a new name was necessary. He came up with the title G.I. Joe from the military reference Government Issue, and it began June 17, 1942 in Yank. He immediately became one of the most famous and widely read of the WWII cartoonists, and the term "G.I. Joe" was adopted first by soldiers and then the homefront as the popular term for the American foot soldier. Breger also produced GI Jerry, satirical cartoons about Adolf Hitler and others in the Nazi regime.
Private Breger was also seen on post cards. The character remained a private throughout WWII while Breger himself was promoted through the ranks to corporal, sergeant and eventually lieutenant. Returning to civilian life after WWII, Breger became a founding member of the National Cartoonists Society in 1946, and Private Breger was altered to become Mister Breger, a gag panel for King Features. Breger and his wife Dorathy settled in West Nyack, New York where they had three children -- Dee, Lois and Harry.
Mister Breger continued to run daily until 1969. In one cartoon, Breger predicted that since television showed so many old movies, the day would come when movie theaters would turn to vintage television for product. This prediction came true with the advent of such TV-based films as Mission: Impossible and Star Trek.
His 1955 book, But That's Unprintable!, provided an inside look at the taboos faced by cartoonists who contributed to newspaper syndicates and magazines. When Breger died in 1970, he was cremated at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.
Hasbro's G.I. Joe is a different character, trademarked as "G.I. Joe, A Real American Hero."
[edit] Books
- Private Breger, His Adventures in an Army Camp (1942)
- Private Breger's War; His Adventures in Britain and at the Front (1944)
- Private Breger in Britain (1944)
- G.I. Joe (1945). Garden City, New York: Blue Ribbon Books.
- But That's Unprintable! (1955)
- How to Draw and Sell Cartoons (1966)
[edit] References
- Strickler, Dave. Syndicated Comic Strips and Artists, 1924-1995: The Complete Index. Cambria, CA: Comics Access, 1995. ISBN 0-9700077-0-1.
