'Fearsome Forest' (Mickey Mouse #119, November 1968).
John N. Carey was U.S. animator who worked for Warner Brothers on 'Looney Tunes' cartoons between the late 1930s until the late 1940s. Between 1950 and 1984, he drew numerous comics for Dell/Western Publishing, featuring the Looney Tunes stars, 'Woody Woodpecker', Hanna-Barbera and Disney characters.
Early life and animation career
John Nelson Carey, nicknamed "Jack", was born in 1915 in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1936, he went into animation, starting out in Ub Iwerks' studio, which closed down that same year by lack of success. Carey went to Warner Brothers, working his way up from in-betweener to assistant-animator. Between 1937 and 1941, he worked in Bob Clampett's unit, drawing character lay-outs and model sheets for various Looney Tunes cartoons. In 1941, Carey moved to Norm McCabe's unit, but in 1943 signed up with the U.S. Navy for the remainder of World War II. In 1945, back in civilian life, Carey returned to Warner Brothers, animating in the units of respectively Art Davis, Bob McKimson, Friz Freleng and Chuck Jones until 1950. During the Korean War (1950-1953), Carey also went on a USO tour, making various drawings for wounded soldiers in military hospitals.
Dell/Western Publishing
Through Bob McKimson's brother Tom McKimson, Carey got interested in drawing comics for Dell/Western Publishing on the side. From January 1950 on, Carey became a regular penciller, inker, letterer and cover illustrator for their comics department, eventually giving up animation altogether. Naturally, he drew mainly stories starring the familiar Looney Tunes characters Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd and Tweety & Sylvester. From 1952 on, he also created comics with characters from other animation studios, like Walter Lantz' 'Woody Woodpecker', 'Andy Panda', 'Oswald the Rabbit' and 'Windy & Breezy'. In the 1960s, Carey concentrated on comics based on Hanna-Barbera's 'Yogi Bear', 'Huckleberry Hound' and 'Pixie and Dixie'. He also designed coloring books and published two books under his own name, 'Aunt Doggie Camps Out' and 'Pixie, Dixie and the Make-Believe Mouse' (Whitman's Top Top Tales, 1961).
Disney comics
From 1966-1967 on, Carey became a Disney comics artist. He concentrated mostly on gags and short stories featuring side characters like 'April, May and June', 'Chip 'n' Dale', 'Gyro Gearloose' and 'Junior Woodchucks'. He also drew the 'Goofy' spin-off 'Super Goof'. Between 1977 and 1984, Carey collaborated with scriptwriter Vic Lockman on 'Winnie the Pooh' stories.
Final years and death
In 1984, Western Publishing discontinued their comic book production. Carey took the opportunity to retire. He passed away in 1987 in Sepulveda, California.
'Junior Woodchucks'. Dutch-language version.