Jack Kent

Jack Kent (1920-1985) had two distinct and successful careers: newspaper cartoonist and author of children's books. For each of these he drew upon different aspects of his personality and life experiences. From 1950 to 1965 he wrote and drew <i>King Aroo</i> a nationally syndicated comic strip beloved by fans for its combination of absurdity fantasy wordplay and wit. The strip's DNA was comprised of things Kent loved--fairytales nursery rhymes vaudeville <i>Krazy Kat</i> foreign languages and puns. In 1968 he published his first children's book <i>Just Only John</i> and began a career in kids' books that would result in over sixty published works among them such classics as <i>The Fat Cat</i> and <i>There's No Such Thing as a Dragon</i>. Kent's stories for children were funny but often arose from the dark parts of his life--an itinerant childhood an unfinished education two harrowing tours of duty in World War II and a persistent lack of confidence--and tackled such themes as rejection isolation self-doubt and the desire for transformation. <p/><i>Jack Kent: The Wit Whimsy and Wisdom of a Comic Storyteller</i> illuminates how Kent's life experiences informed his art and his storytelling in both <i>King Aroo</i> and his children's books. Paul V. Allen draws from archival research brand-new interviews and in-depth examinations of Kent's work. Also included are many <i>King Aroo</i> comic strips that have never been reprinted in book form.