Archie Comics cartoonist Tom Moore dies at 86

Tom Moore, the cartoonist who brought to life the escapades of the red-freckled character from 1953 through 1988, has died in Texas. He was 86.             

Moore got his start as an artist in the navy during the Korean War. There is an interesting story behind how Moore got his break.

During his stint, his captain found a caricature he had drawn, but instead of pulling Moore up like things usually were in those days, he assigned him to be staff cartoonist.

Moore’s comic strip, the Chick Call, was carried in military publications. Soon after he quit the navy, he signed up with Archie Comics. Bob Montana had created the ‘Archie’ character in 1941, and Moore took over in 1953, drawing one comic book a month until 1961. He left cartooning for a public relations job.

He returned to cartooning in 1970, drawing Snuffy Smith, Underdog, and Mighty Mouse, and then went back to Archie to help reboot Jughead, staying on until his retirement in the late 1980s.

Image: A cover from one of the Archie Comics. (inset) Tom Moore.