'Teddy Tail' (Daily Mail, 2 May 1945).
Arthur Potts was a mid-20th century British political cartoonist and comic artist, who signed his work with the nickname "Spot". He drew various political-themed and sports-themed cartoons in the 1930s and 1940s, alongside his own comic strip 'Pickles' (1933-1936), but is best remembered as the fourth artist to continue Charles James Folkard's 'Teddy Tail'.
Early life and career
Not much is known about Potts' life, neither about his birth or death. What is known is that he started creating sports cartoons in 1933 for the Bristol Evening World. He mainly depicted local football teams Bristol Rovers and Bristol City and the county cricket team Gloucestershire. He also had a comic strip named 'Pickles' (1933-1936) in the paper's juvenile supplement, The Boys and Girls Own Evening World. During World War II, Potts changed from sports cartoons to political cones, in order to raise the morale of the newspaper's readership.
Teddy Tail
By 1945 Potts moved from the Bristol Evening World to The Daily Mail. He is best remembered as the fourth artist to continue the popular comic strip 'Teddy Tail', which was originally created by Charles James Folkard in 1915 and then continued by Harry Folkard (1926-1933) and Herbert Sydney Foxwell (1933-1943). Potts rebooted 'Teddy Tail' from 5 March 1945 on. His stories were also reprinted in six comic booklets (1950-1951) and in the 'Teddy Tail's Annual' adventure book series (1948-1955). The young cartoonist and future TV scriptwriter Tony Hawes (1929-1997) was hired as his assistant on the strip. When Potts passed away, he was succeeded by William St. John Glen, with Roland Davies doing the annuals.
