'Catfish'.
Fred Wagner was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee and attended the Memphis Academy of Art. Early in his career, he spent five years living as a sculptor in Memphis. He was the final artist of the comic panel 'Grin and Bear It', originally created by George Lichty. Wagner drew the series with scriptwriter Ralph Dunagin. Between 1986 and 1994, he drew the 'Catfish' strip for Tribune Media Services. This strip was previously drawn by Rog Bollen. Wagner has also worked at The Orlando Sentinel as an artist in their electronic information and art departments. In 1994, he took over the popular 'Animal Crackers', another strip created by Rog Bollen. In September 2016 he passed the pencil of 'Animal Crackers' to Mike Osbun.
Fred Wagner passed away in 2016, from pancreatic cancer.
'Animal Crackers'.