'The Life of Pope Pius XII' (The Circleville Herald, 6 March 1939).
Clifton H. Crittenden was an early 20th-century American newspaper artist. He flourished in the 1930s, affiliated with the King Features division Central Press Association. Crittenden mostly made biographical text comics about 20th-century celebrities from the world of politics, religion, royalty and sports.
Life and career
Not much is known about Crittenden's personal life. He was born in 1883 as Clifton Harold Crittenden in the Ruggles Township of Ashland, Ohio, and later moved to Cleveland. Around the turn of the century, he attended the Cleveland (Cuyahoga) School of Art. He signed most of his work with "Crit". He was one of the illustrators for the syndicate's short biographical comics features about famous people who were in the news. The series was published in text comics format, with text appearing underneath the images. All drawings were done in a realistic style, sometimes featuring actual photographs. Known installments drawn by Crittenden are at least 'The Story of James J. Braddock' (about boxer James J. Braddock, June 1935), 'Life of King Edward VIII' (British king Edward VIII, February 1936), 'The Saga of Mrs. Simpson' (American socialite Wallis Simpson and wife of Edward VIII, December 1936) and 'The Life of Pope Pius XII' (March 1939). Other artists for these types of features during the 1930s were Alfred Buescher and Roland Jack Scott.
'The Saga of Mrs. Simpson', about Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, 8 December 1936.
Crittenden also drew the original 'The Story of Stalin' (1939), but it is unknown if this version was ever published. The feature was updated in 1952 by Alfred Buescher and William Ritt in anticipation of Stalin's eventual death, and ready for use when the Soviet dictator would pass away. The strip was syndicated from 7 through 13 April 1953, although the News Journal from Mansfield, Ohio ran it in its entirety on 12 April 1952... about a year before Stalin's actual death! By then, Clifton Crittenden had already passed away - he died in 1946.
Panels of 'The Story of Stalin' illustrated by Crittenden (1939/1952).