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Morrie Turner

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Artist

The Resume

    (December 11, 1923-January 25, 2014)
    Born in Oakland, California
    Created the comic strip 'Wee Pals' (1965)
    Strip was animated as 'Kid Power' by Rankin-Bass (1972-73)
    Received the Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Cartoonists Society (2003)

Why he might be annoying:

    While in the army, he was almost court martialed for falling asleep at his post.
    His initial strip 'Dinky Folks' was an all-black version of 'Peanuts': 'I used to complain about comics being all white, then I saw that mine was all black.'
    'Wee Pals' went from running in six newspapers before the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., to over 100 after, prompting Turner to say that 'guilt' made the strip a success.
    At its most saccharine, his strip comes off as an integrated 'Family Circus.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    He got his training in cartooning via a home study course.
    He was the first black cartoonist with a nationally syndicated strip.
    His strip was described as 'multicultural before multiculturalism was cool.'
    He was co-chair of the White House Conference on Youth (1970).
    He lost about a third of his original artwork in a fire at his home.
    He said, 'You make 'em laugh, then you make 'em think. They might even change their mind.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 11 Votes: 72.73% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 73 Votes: 56.16% Annoying