'Mickey Finn'.
The American cartoonist Lank Leonard is best remembered for his police comic strip 'Mickey Finn' (1936-1976), which ran uninterrupted for 40 years. This light-hearted newspaper humor comic was a rare example of a police series that was more preoccupied with showing the regular, everyday life of its protagonist than any sensational action-packed stories. Its friendly, wholesome and heartwarming tone guaranteed popularity with the general public, as well as respect from fellow cartoonists such as Charles M. Schulz, who named it one of his favorites.
Early life
Frank E. Leonard was born in 1896 in Port Chester, New York. Inspired by Rudolph Dirks' 'The Katzenjammer Kids', Winsor McCay's 'Little Nemo in Slumberland', Frederick Burr Opper's 'Happy Hooligan' and Richard F. Outcault's 'Buster Brown', he wanted to become a cartoonist himself. His first steps into that direction was his work as art editor of his local school newspaper. As a bookkeeper at a local factory, Leonard found time to draw cartoons for their in-house magazine. Between 1914 and 1915, Leonard studied at a business college. When in 1917 the United States entered World War I, he got drafted. Back in civilian life, his design of a new type of suction sole basketball shoe got him a job as a salesman for a sportswear company.
'Hector Hicks'.
Early comics career
Leonard worked as a traveling salesman for many years until a meeting with famous newspaper cartoonist Clare A. Briggs - best known for 'A. Piker Clerk' - changed his life. While traveling by train from Sioux City, Iowa, to Omaha, Nebraska, Briggs took a look at Leonard's drawings and confirmed he had talent. He brought Leonard in contact with Carey Orr, a political cartoonist for The Chicago Tribune, who advised him to take a correspondence course in cartooning. Leonard did this, later following it up with evening courses at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Student League in New York. By 1925, Leonard quit his job and became a full-time cartoonist. Leonard was an animator at John Randolph Bray's animation studio, J.R. Bray Productions, for a while and drew sport-themed cartoons for a baseball magazine, the George Matthews Adams Syndicate, The New York Telegram and the New York Sun. In 1933, he had a gag-a-day comic named 'Hector Hicks', about a wrestler. The strip ran through the George Matthew Adams Syndicate, but it is unknown in which papers.
'Nippie'.
Mickey Finn
On 6 April 1936, Leonard's best-known comic strip, 'Mickey Finn', made its debut. It was distributed by the McNaught Syndicate and appeared in more than 300 newspapers for more than four decades. 'Mickey Finn' was a daily comic strip about a New York police officer of Irish descent, Michael Aloysius Finn. The character was based on a real-life Irish-American police officer, Mickey Brennan, whom Leonard once observed helping children cross a street. Originally, Finn worked at the Schultz Soap Company, but lost his job. On his way home, he happens to rescue a runaway steer with his bare hands and is afterwards offered the chance to take a physical exam to become a police officer. On 26 May of that year, Finn effectively receives his uniform and badge. Mickey still lives at home with his widowed mother, Ma, and her brother, Uncle Phil, but also has a steady girlfriend, Kitty Kelly, whom he eventually marries. His superior is Sergeant Halligan, while Mickey sometimes teams up with fellow patrolman, Tom Collins. Most of the inspiration came from Leonard's own background and life. Just like him, Mickey is a decorated war veteran who enjoys doing and watching sports. Leonard gave several real-life sports champions guest appearances in his comic, including baseball player Lou Gehrig and boxers Jack Dempsey and Joe Louis. Many of Finn's family members were based on the creator's own relatives.
The series had a homely atmosphere. Unlike other police comics, 'Mickey Finn' never touched upon violence or any serious crimes for that matter. Finn is a bumbling but well-meaning, sympathetic cop who helps out everybody in his neighborhood. He gets along with everybody, even other patrolmen. 'Mickey Finn' also offers a look at the protagonist's family life. When Mickey isn't at his mother's house reading his newspaper, he chats with Sergeant Halligan at the office or with bartender Clancy. Such recognizable everyday events and overall nice, wholesome image did well with readers and allowed 'Mickey Finn' to remain a mainstay of "the funnies" for four decades.
'Mickey Finn' strip starring Uncle Phil (from Feature Comics #51).
Spin-off and companion strips
Much of the comedy in 'Mickey Finn' came from Uncle Phil, who became the series' break-out character. Uncle Phil is a joyful, but naïve man who frequently says and does stupid things that get him in trouble. He is an easy target for con-men and practical jokers. Only a month after the series' debut, on 17 May 1936, he already received his own Sunday spin-off comic, 'Uncle Phil'. The character proved so popular over the years that Mickey eventually became a side character in his own series.
'Mickey Finn' also ran with a moralistic topper strip, 'Nippie: He's Often Wrong!' (1936-1946). As the title suggests, it dealt with a stubborn young boy who always ignores warnings from his parents, relatives, teachers and friends and thus inevitably hurts himself badly in the process. Other educational toppers which came with 'Mickey Finn' were 'Know Your Navy' (1943-1945), 'Know Your Merchant Marine' (1945) and 'Know Your Sports' (1945-1946).
'Mickey Finn' from Famous Funnies #28.
Assistants
'Mickey Finn' ran in many newspapers and was also collected in comic books, such as 'Famous Funnies' (Eastern Color Printing), 'Feature Funnies' (Quality Comics) and 'Big Shot' (Columbia Comic's Corporation). During his long career, Leonard often worked with assistants. First in line was Morris Weiss, who helped him out until 1943. A string of brief assistants followed: Ray McGill, Johnny Vita (early 1940s), Allie Vita and Larry Tullapano. From 1945 to 1950, Tony DiPreta worked for Lank Leonard, followed by Mart Bailey between 1950 and 1959. When Bailey became the victim of a mugging, his head injury was so bad that he couldn't continue the feature any longer. Weiss took his place and eventually became Leonard's successor on the comic.
Final years and death
Severely ill, Leonard retired in 1968 and passed away two years later. His signature series outlived him for another six years until Morris Weiss called it quits on 31 July 1976. The Sunday 'Mickey Finn' strip had already ended on 21 December 1975.
Some sources have claimed that the term "mickey finn", or "slipping someone a mickey" originated from the 'Mickey Finn' comic, just like the gin, lemon and juice drink "Tom Collins". In reality, these nicknames were already in vogue decades before Leonard's newspaper comic debuted.
'Mickey Finn' comic from Big Shot #90.