Smilin' jack goes Global
Zack Mosley was actively involved in WWII aviation both in the Civil Air Patrol, the subject of last month’s story, and in the entertainment of troops overseas. Few readers of the comic strip Smilin’ Jack ever knew that its creator was so involved. Mosley and a friend could be found entertaining troops in large theaters, GI Privates’ Clubs, non-commissioned Officers’ Clubs and Officers’ Clubs. It didn’t matter; Mosley wanted to bring a smile to whomever, whenever and wherever he could.
During July 1943 the last show scheduled in a tour took him to Beane Field, St. Lucia in the Caribbean. A general saw their show and asked them to continue the tour visiting other bases in the Caribbean and South America. Literally, on the back of an envelope the general wrote orders that a PBY aircraft would be allocated to ferry Mosley and Brock to several bases including Atkinson Field, British Guiana, South America, Curacao, Jamaica and then back to Florida. It proved to be quite an adventure, both in visiting the troops and seeing life in the military.
After WWII ended, Mosley soon retired from CAP because of the pressures of being an officer in CAP and running a comic strip. One of his comrades, Colonel Earle Johnson, remained with CAP and served in special military operations. One role was posing as a magazine writer to interview civilians and military prisoners. He told a story about how he managed to interview a “Wolfpack” commander of Nazi submarines that operated off the coast of Florida. He asked the Commandant, “What do you consider the most outstanding factor of your defeat off the Atlantic coast of America?” The Commandant irritably replied, “It vos dose blank/blank/blank red and yellow airplanes!” Mosley and Colonel Johnson both knew that CAP played at least a small part in defeating the submarine menace, but it was music to hear that directly from their former enemy.
With the war ended, Smilin’ Jack needed new adventures and Mosley decided to include comic adventures featuring funny, scary and just plain stupid flying experiences. He chose to draw upon his logbook world adventures from Germany, France, Italy and Israel to name a few. When visiting a new location, Mosley was regularly asked, “Where do you get your inspirations for all those cute, sexy, ‘lil’ de-icer’ girls that you draw?” His answer was, “It’s taken a hell of a lot of personal research and a dammed good memory!” Fortunately, cartoonists were often asked to be a judge at beauty contests across the U.S. and Mosley found ample opportunity for Smilin’ Jack characters.
In June 1950, the Dothan Eagle newspaper reported on Mosley’s continued civic pride and participation. “The Aviation Division of the Florida State Chamber of Commerce will meet at Miami June 17 to discuss plans for providing public information regarding the magnitude of aviation activities in Florida,” Chairman Zack Mosley said today. “Another item on the agenda,” Mosley said, “will be how the chamber can work most effectively toward obtaining the proposed new air academy for Florida.”
Mosley continued following the advice given to him early in his career to keep the comic stories based on real flying adventures. The San Antonio Express featured a story about Mosley visiting Randolph Field announcing a clear intention of capturing material for an upcoming series of Smilin’ Jack. “The genial, ruddy Stewart, Florida, Cartoonist is visiting Randolph to gain background information for a future series of comic strips this fall. A stickler for detail, Zack wants to get his information ‘first-hand.’”
In 1952, the El Paso Herald-Post announced, “Cartoonist Flies with Border Patrolman; Hunts Aliens, Gets Ideas for ‘Smilin’ Jack.” The feature story went on to tell readers, “To gather background data for his El Paso series, Mr. Mosley flew with Border Patrolman Walter Hatfield low over the desert looking for aliens. Then he made a flight into Mexico to get a first-hand look at some of the terrain that will be in the background. He has a folder of pictures which he will use as models to get an authentic skyline over which Smilin’ Jack will be flying while he assists the Rangers and Border Patrol to flush out a criminal.” Mosley said, “Everyone associates the Rangers and Border Patrolmen with horses, instead of flying horsepower. They don’t realize the Old West has become air-minded.”
The comic strip continued to grow and Mosley was working nine weeks ahead of the publishing dates and had hired two staff artists to add backgrounds to his creation. Two years earlier he only needed to stay six weeks ahead of his publishers. Either way, his readers knew that if the adventure was taking place in some strange place, the creator had been there.
John Cilio is an aviation historian and freelance writer. You can contact him via: questions@vintageflyer.com