| Ken Emerson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Kenneth Albert Emerson 9 July 1927 |
| Died | 12 February 2010 (aged 82) |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Area(s) | Cartoonist |
| Notable works | The Warrumbunglers On The Rocks |
| Awards | Stanley Award |
Ken Emerson (9 July 1927 – 12 February 2010) was an Australian cartoonist and comic strip creator.[1] He is best known for writing the comic strips The Warrumbunglers[note 1] and On The Rocks.[2] Emerson was the son-in-law of cartoonist Eric Jolliffe.[3]
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After leaving school, Emerson experienced a wide range of jobs including greaser, surveyor's assistant, barman, stagehand, boilermaker's assistant and builder's labourer.[4]
Emerson subsequently became a fulltime artist. His began as a commercial artist and photograph retoucher, then went on to television animation and advertising.[4]
In 1967 Emerson began drawing the outback comic strip The Warrumbunglers, originally for The Sunday Telegraph[4] and subsequently for The Sun-Herald. The Warrumbunglers became Australia's second-longest running comic strip; Emerson completed his last strip shortly before his death.[2]
A second long-running comic strip, the pseudo-colonial convict On The Rocks, was published from 1974 to 2001.[4]
In 1986 Emerson was awarded the Stanley Award for best comic strip by the Australian Cartoonists' Association.[5]
Ginger Meggs is an iconic Australian comic strip. Following the deaths of its creator Jimmy Bancks in 1952 and his replacement Ron Vivian in 1973, Emerson was one of several artists who submitted drawings to take over the strip. The role, however, went to Lloyd Piper. When Piper died in 1984 Emerson again applied for the job and was appointed. As he already had two strips published in The Sun-Herald, he was asked to drop either The Warrumbunglers or On The Rocks in favour of Ginger Meggs. He declined, and the role was offered instead to James Kemsley.[6]