Today’s MazeToons features one of the characters from the classic comic strip Wee Pals by Morrie Turner. It was a ground breaking comic strip featuring a diverse cast.
Morrie famously asked Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz why he didn’t feature more diverse characters, Schulz responded by telling Morrie that HE should create such a strip. With Schulz’s encouragement and the confidence it instilled Morrie created Wee Pals. It was the most diverse and empowering strip up to that date and perhaps ever to appear on the funny pages.
I got to know Morrie many years ago. When I founded the ToonSeum, he was one of the first guest I invited to exhibit his work. It was an exhibit called “Drawn in Black and White” and is an exhibit I remain proud of.
I collected Morrie’s work for many years before finally donating my collection of his work to the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco. As Morrie’s hometown museum I knew they were the right place to preserve his remarkable legacy.
