'Father And His Jobs'.
Jack Gallagher was an early 20th-century U.S. newspaper cartoonist, about whom not much is known. He is most notable for his long-running gag comic 'The Hippo and the Monks' (1906-1914). Most of his comics were continuations of series by other artists, which he ghosted, making identification of his work difficult. If he signed his work, he used the pseudonym 'Gal' (not to be confused with two later cartoonists who als signed with 'Gal', namely French cartoonist Georges Langlais and Belgian cartoonist Gerard Alsteens).
Life and career
John Leo Gallagher, nicknamed 'Jack', was born in 1879 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the son of a stonemason of Irish descent, who was also active as an artist in his spare time. From 1904 on, Gallagher started publishing in various newspapers in his city of birth. The same year, he also married. In 1917, the U.S. got involved in the First World War and he was drafted on 12 September 1918, a mere three months before the conflict would come to an end. In the 1910s and early 1920s, he worked respectively for 'Harry L. Cassard' and 'Feature Co', but later developed his own commercial art studio. In 1933, he livened up the pages of the book 'John Barleycorn: His Life and Letters' (1933). According to comics historian Cole Johnson, Gallagher apparently lost both his legs by the 1930s, which comics historian Alex Jay (of Stripper's Guide) suggests may have been caused by diabetes. Nevertheless, Jay also uncovered that Gallagher was drafted on 22 April 1942, to serve his country during World War II, which cannot have been active service if he was legless at that point. Further adding to the many mysteries in Gallagher's life is the fact that his year of death is also unknown.
Comics career
Most of Gallagher's comics ran in The Philadelphia Evening Telegraph from 1904 on. He is credited with the gag comics 'Dusty Dinks' (1904), 'Farmer Judkins' (5 May - 22 December 1907), 'Hank Hinkle' (1907-1909), 'Plumbing Pete' (1908), 'Father and his Jobs' (1909-1916), 'Mr. George and Wifey' (1914), and, his longest-running, 'The Hippo and the Monks' (11 November 1906- 13 December 1914). 'The Hippo and the Monks' was a gag comic starring a hippopotamus and a group of monkeys.
Gallagher was mostly a ghost artist, assigned to continue other artist's series and mimick the graphic look close enough that readers wouldn't notice the original artist was no longer creating them personally. In December 1912, Gallagher continued Charles M. Payne's 'The Little Possum Gang' (originally launched in 1909), about anthropomorphized opossums, and 'Little Kid Trubbel' (originally launched in 1910), about a little boy who (usually unintentionally) causes wacky antics and mayhem. Under his pencil, both series ran until October 1918. Gallagher is also believed to have ghosted O.P. Williams' 'Gasoline Gussie' (1913-1914), about an automobile enthusiast.
In 1914, Gallagher and Joe Doyle were given the task to continue two gag comics by Harold Knerr. 'The Fineheimer Twins', launched by Knerr in 1903, was basically a rip-off of Rudolph Dirks' 'The Katzenjammer Kids', again starring two boys of German descent playing pranks on adults. Gallagher and Doyle continued it until 4 October 1914. 'Mr. George and His Wifey', launched by Knerr in 1904, dealt with a henpecked husband and his constantly nagging and angry wife, heavily inspired by both James Swinnerton's 'Mr. Jack' and, later, George McManus' 'Bringing Up Father'. Gallagher continued it alone until 25 October 1914.
Allan Holtz of Stripper's Guide observed that Gallagher really shined when he could draw anthropomorphic animals and slapstick scenes, but wasn't a great storyteller or humorist. Many of his comics have interesting premises, yet Gallagher doesn't really do much with them. Instead he often relies on standard comedic situations that could've easily been used in any other gag comic. Holtz went so far to assume that Gallagher effectively borrowed gags from other series: "(...) Usual for GAL, he was cribbing gags from any and all sources, so you have strips (...) that really don't have any real connection to the character."
'Hank Hinkle'.