Smilin’ Jack - Initially - Touch and Go
The evolution of the comic strip, Smilin’ Jack began as an idea in the early 1930s. Zack Mosley, its creator, was an aviation enthusiast building aircraft models and drawing aircraft since being a teenager. Taking his first job after college in Chicago he experienced the real thrill of flying in a Curtis Condor at a Chicago air show. Later that same year he flew home for the holidays in a Ford Tri-motor.
The first flight was short and exhilarating. The second flight tossed the Ford Tri-motor about the sky forcing a temporary landing in a farmer’s field. They finally arrived at their destination but it was one of those flights where everyone applauds the pilot on a safe landing. The flight was thrilling as well as frightening and created a thought for a comic strip. The comic strip idea was based on “scared pilot” experiences and Mosley gave it the name of “On the Wing”. Having an idea and making time to act on the idea is a challenge most of us experience. Life in the 1930s was busy and Mosley didn’t have time to develop the idea either. Chet Gould, the creator of “Dick Tracy” was a friend of Mosley and prodded him to take action on the aviation comic strip. Gould mentioned that his boss, Joe Patterson, the founder of the huge New York News/Chicago Tribune News Syndicate was learning to fly. He like Mosley was a little afraid of flying after cracking up a few aircraft. Gould suggested that if Mosley started to take flying lessons and penned the experience into the comic strip the boss might like the idea. It took a few anxious days of consideration before Zack arranged his first flying lesson and student pilot license. He was now a scared pilot.
Did you ever hear someone recall a serious run-in with a poison-ivy plant as a good thing? Zack Mosley, was playing beach ball along the beaches of Lake Michigan in the early summer of 1933 when he tangled with a then, unrecognized serious patch of poison-ivy. It didn’t take long and the evil vine delivered its infamous itch. We are not talking about a little rash on the legs or cheek, it was all body experience for Mosley and it would be weeks before he would wear clothes or leave his apartment again. Zack’s job at the time was working behind the scenes on the famous Buck Rogers comic strip coloring artist sketches. A co-worker helped Mosley keep his job by delivering ink and letter work to his apartment while he recovered. There wasn’t a lot to do beyond work while he recovered and he soon realized he had the time to write and draw samples strips of his scared pilots, “On the Wing” comic. The timing of the brush with poison-ivy couldn’t have been better. The New York News/Chicago Tribute Syndicate was expanding its comic section from eight to sixteen pages. A contest was underway and 400 aspiring cartoonists had already submitted their comic strip samples. Mosley needed to supply drawings quickly and without having had the time to develop the initial characters during his convalescence he could not have competed.
In a rather unconventional approach Zack set out to New York to win the opportunity of presenting “On the Wing” to Joe Patterson, the syndicate’s boss, personally. Turned out meeting with Joe as almost as difficult as “trying to get a private audience with President Franklin D. Roosevelt,” but, Mosley accomplished the mission. Mosley’s passion, artistic skills and good fortune prevailed and he won a temporary position in the new pages with “On the Wing”. But now he had to tell his Chicago employer he had a new comic strip and that it would start appearing soon. He offered to work two weeks or three weeks while they found a replacement. They didn’t finish the conversation and replied, “you are out – NOW”. Suddenly he was out of a job during the Depression with a few months outlook before the next paycheck would arrive. Even more unnerving, his livelihood was now bet on the success of his comic strip idea, he wasn’t an associate artist, he was the artist. Would the public like it, how many panels could he really create around his characters, how long would the temporary placement of the strip last and how would he pay his bills? Fortunately one benefit of the Depression was that credit was easy and living costs low.
On the Wing appeared October 2, 1933. Within a few issues Mosley was told to change the name to Smilin’ Jack by the boss, Joe Patterson. Mosley pointed out the main character was named Mack not Jack – it didn’t matter and he tepidly changed the comic strip name to Smilin’ Jack. The new name appeared in December 1933. Not long after the name changed there was more turbulence in the flight of Smilin’ Jack. Mosley heard that the captain, Joe Patterson was not happy with the storyline development and the comic strip would most likely be cancelled. Smilin’ Jack was sold based on true life, “scared pilot” flying experiences. Unfortunately Mosley’s flying experiences were not yet very deep and he was becoming imaginative in the comic.
Mosley talked to Joe Patterson when he heard that the comic strip was in danger of being cancelled. Joe, a matter of fact boss, told him that the imaginative ideas about flying were not going to cut it and suggested Mosley continue his flying lessons and start flying with the aerial photo crews of the newspaper. The advice was pivotal and Mosley followed it in earnest. He began flying in the newspapers Privateer, a flying-boat converted amphibian with wheels. New life was injected into the comic strip. After the first syndication of Smilin’ Jack to another newspaper Mosley had enough money to start flying lessons 45 minutes a week.
Wally Jackson was his flying instructor and they flew a two cylinder Aeronca C-2. It was a tiny aeroplane with “a lot of wires and fabric” but the rates were reasonable and on March 26, 1935 they took off for the first time together. Mosley commented in his book Brave Coward Zack about the flight, “if I make it through some training, what th’ hell will I do if he ever tells me to SOLO this, fugitive from a bailin wire factory”? Zack Mosley kept his pilot log book from that day forward. Wally Jackson became the inspiration for the character Downwind Jaxon.
Next month - Zack solo’s, earns a private pilot’s license, Smilin’ Jack soars and more about that handsome sidekick Downwind and a few other Smilin’ Jack characters. By the way - why didn’t Downwind ever have a face in the comic strip?
By John Cilio a freelance writer and aviation historian. You can contact John at: questions@vintageflyer.com