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John M. Hix, Jr.

John M. Hix, Jr. Hugh, Fielding, & Morgan. 1908-1944. Early Years. John Hix originally started his newspaper career as a newsboy to help with family expenses. He graduated Greenville High School in 1926. He acquired a job at The Greenville News as a cartoonist. After Greenville.

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John M. Hix, Jr.

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  1. John M. Hix, Jr. Hugh, Fielding, & Morgan 1908-1944

  2. Early Years • John Hix originally started his newspaper career as a newsboy to help with family expenses. • He graduated Greenville High School in 1926. • He acquired a job at The Greenville News as a cartoonist.

  3. After Greenville • After The Greenville News, Hix was drafted by The Washington Herald (now The Washington Post) as a staff artist. • Later, he moved to New York and began working at McClure’s Newspaper Syndicate. • Hix contributed his drawings in a few comic series including O Henry’s Short Stories (1928) andYoung Frank Merriwell (3/26/1928 - 9/28/1928).

  4. His most well known comic, entitled Strange As It Seems, ran in McClure’s Newspaper Syndicate along with Ripley’s Believe it or Not! comics by Robert L. Ripley. • Although it was very similar to Ripley’s idea, Hix added enough of his own trademarks to make it unique. • The comic was hand drawn and included strange but true facts about the ordinary and extraordinary. • The strip ran beginning in 1929 and increasingly gained popularity. • There were 313 daily and 52 colored strips per year that it was in press.

  5. Hix v. Ripley A TIME Magazine article appeared comparing Hix’s and Ripley’s comics. For nine years Robert L. Ripley has been producing a newspaper feature (TIME, March 26, 1928). At the head are the words "Believe It or Not—by Ripley." Below are cartoons and descriptions of astounding freaks, seeming impossibilities. At the bottom appears the legend: "On request Robert L. Ripley will send proofs and details of anything depicted by him." Recently a volume of selections from the series was produced by mass-production-publishers Simon & Schuster. Last week, McClure Newspaper Syndicate put out a "new" feature. At the head are the words "Strange as It Seems—by John Hix." Below were cartoons and descriptions of astounding freaks, seeming impossibilities. At the bottom appears the legend, "If you doubt this, write for proof to the author." Cartoonist Hix does not seem quite so able with his pencil as Cartoonist Ripley. Astounder Ripley, after nine years, does not seem quite so astounding as fresh Astounder Hix. Monday, May. 20, 1929

  6. World’s Fair 1939 • Hix gain a position in the 1939 World’s Fair over Ripley. Because of his loss Ripley went on to create his “Odditoriums”.

  7. Other Media • As a result of the popularity of the newspaper feature “Strange as it Seems” branched out into other media. Including: • A radio show by the same name which featured many of the same oddities found in the comic. It had two runs. One in the 1930’s and one from 1947-1948. • A series of short films (around ten minutes) also titled Strange as it Seems. The films were directed by Jerry Fairbanks and produced by Universal Pictures in the early 1930’s. Some of the titles of these films include: • Emperor Norton • Gold and Man • Silver Threads • Fifty Years Barter • Star Gazers • Layfayette, Champion of Liberty • Little Jack Horner

  8. Strange as it Seems Radio Show Excerpts from an episode of Strange As It Seems: The Most Valuable Book In The World.

  9. Later Years • Hix died of a heart attack at 36 in 1944. • In 1948-1949, the radio versions of Strange As It Seems returned. This time they were sponsored by Palmolive Shave Cream. The printed comic continued to thrive in his absence as well. • His brother Ernest Hix, sister-in-law Elise Hix, and his nephew Ernest Hix, Jr. each headed the comic at one point after John’s death. The comic ran until around 1970.

  10. Interview Allen Holtz Comic Book Historian • 1. How does Hix’s work compare to other artists of the same period both in drawing skill and in quality of content? • Assuming you mean how does it compare with other Ripley's-type features, I would say that it was better than most. Many such features were real bargain-basement jobs trying to trade off the success of Ripley. While Hix's was no different in that respect, my impression is that Hix was at least seriously interested in the subject of oddities, not just working for a paycheck. The artwork I would have to say is middle-of-the-pack. Ripley's, This Curious World and a few others had better art. Ripley was a real showman, especially on his Sunday pages. Hix didn't quite measure up in that respect. His artwork was functional and not much more.

  11. Interview • 2. After Hix died in 1944 Dick Kirby took over the feature for which Hix was best known, “Strange as it Seem.” Kirby was succeeded by Ernest Hix then Elsie Hix and finally Ernest Hix, Jr. To the best of your knowledge what was the affect of these different artists on the feature if any? • Well, by the 60s the feature had lost most of its clients, so that speaks for itself. However, the people working on it in the 40s and 50s seem to have pleased newspaper editors enough to keep it in plenty of papers (albeit usually a city's #2 paper, since Ripley was usually snapped up by the biggest fish). And SAIS suffered from the slow demise of multi-newspaper cities -- why take Hix if you could have Ripley?By the way, you're missing a few creators there -- also Doug Heyes and Geoge Jahns. Kirby, Heyes and Jahns were all darn good cartoonists, better than John Hix.

  12. Interview • 3. What are your personal feelings regarding the fact that “Strange as it Seems” is basically a copy of Ripley’s “Believe it or Not” feature? What do you think made Hix’s feature able to compete with such a similar and long running adversary? • See #32 -- multi-newspaper cities are the main reason SAIS did good business. Not to throw stones, but Hix was definitely what you settled for if you couldn't get Ripley. The syndicate may well have offered it cheaper than BION, too, also contributing to the success. • 4. Are there any other comics besides “Strange as it Seems” for which Hix was responsible that I Should be aware of? • John Hix did two short-lived series in 1928 titled O. Henry's Short Stories and Young Frank Merriwell.

  13. Bibliography • Greenville High Wall of Fame Plaque, Greenville High School. • http://www.ebay.com/ (some images were taken form auctions) • http://www.archive.org/index.php • http://www.pbase.com/csw62/john_hix • http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,723676,00.html • http://www.otrcat.com/strange-seems-p-48598.html • http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7064/1685/1600/youngmerriwell2.jpg • http://strippersguide.blogspot.com/2006_05_01_archive.html • http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7064/1685/1600/ohenry.jpg • http://www.sparehed.com/2008/03/19/not-ripley/#more-1881 • http://lambiek.net/artists/h/hix_john.htm • Music: Art Tatum playing Humoresque by Dvorak

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