Lawrence Lariar
Encyclopedia
Lawrence Lariar was an American novelist, cartoonist and cartoon editor, notable for his Best Cartoons of the Year series of cartoon collections. He wrote crime novels, sometimes using the pseudonyms Michael Stark, Adam Knight and Marston la France.
Born in Brooklyn
, Lariar studied illustration at the New York School of Fine and Applied Art but then switched to cartooning. After graduation, he teamed with two of his friends, and they started a cartoon agency, selling their own work under a dozen different pseudonyms.
In 1927, they moved the operation to Paris, selling to British magazines and Fleetway
. Two years later, they were back in New York looking for work, as Lariar recalled, "To make a living, we did everything. We had a service for printers, drew cartoons for calendars, played messenger and did some of the first work for the slicks." They scored with a series of cartoon postcards which Boy Scouts could use to write home, selling over a million cards in a direct-mail campaign.
From 1930 to 1938, working in an office on 45th Street, Lariar did freelance gag cartoon
s, comic strip
s and spot drawings, including political cartoons
for the New York Journal American
and pages for some of the earliest comic book
s. In 1935, he married his agent, Susan Mayer, one of the first cartoon agents in the magazine gag panel field. They had two children.
.
Beginning in 1942, Lariar was the cartoon editor of Liberty, where he started The Thropp Family, the first comic strip to run as a continuity in a national magazine. From 1943 to 1946, he was president of the American Society of Magazine Cartoonists. In 1953, he created Yankee Yiddish Cocktail Napkins, which featured cartoons illustrating puns on Yiddish words and expressions.
). His Best Cartoons of the Year series ran from 1942 to 1971, featuring work by Stan Fine
and other leading gag cartoonists. In 1961, Lariar interrupted the series to do The Best of Best Cartoons: 20th Anniversary Edition.
Lariar wrote at least nine mystery and crime novels, including four with his character Homer Bull. For Kill-Box (1946), he wrote as Michael Stark, his only novel under that name. Now mostly forgotten, this unusual novel, praised by John W. Campbell
, had an Ace paperback edition in 1954 and was published in the UK as Run for Your Life! Anthony Boucher
's mention of "atomic murder" in the cover blurb indicates Lariar's innovative locked room mystery
premise: The killer rents an apartment beneath the victim, opens a box with radioactive materials and leaves. After the death of the victim in the overhead apartment, the killer returns and departs with the box.
Born in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, Lariar studied illustration at the New York School of Fine and Applied Art but then switched to cartooning. After graduation, he teamed with two of his friends, and they started a cartoon agency, selling their own work under a dozen different pseudonyms.
In 1927, they moved the operation to Paris, selling to British magazines and Fleetway
Fleetway
Fleetway, also known as Fleetway Publications and Fleetway Editions, was a UK publishing company which mainly produced comic magazines. For a time owned by IPC Media, they are now a division of Egmont Publishing....
. Two years later, they were back in New York looking for work, as Lariar recalled, "To make a living, we did everything. We had a service for printers, drew cartoons for calendars, played messenger and did some of the first work for the slicks." They scored with a series of cartoon postcards which Boy Scouts could use to write home, selling over a million cards in a direct-mail campaign.
From 1930 to 1938, working in an office on 45th Street, Lariar did freelance gag cartoon
Gag cartoon
A gag cartoon is most often a single-panel cartoon, usually including a hand-lettered or typeset caption beneath the drawing. A pantomime cartoon carries no caption...
s, comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
s and spot drawings, including political cartoons
Editorial cartoon
An editorial cartoon, also known as a political cartoon, is an illustration containing a commentary that usually relates to current events or personalities....
for the New York Journal American
New York Journal American
The New York Journal American was a newspaper published from 1937 to 1966. The Journal American was the product of a merger between two New York newspapers owned by William Randolph Hearst: The New York American , a morning paper, and the New York Evening Journal, an afternoon paper...
and pages for some of the earliest comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
s. In 1935, he married his agent, Susan Mayer, one of the first cartoon agents in the magazine gag panel field. They had two children.
Liberty
In 1941, his Comicard Company in Roosevelt, New York, produced a set of postcards that soldiers could use to write home, similar to Dave Breger's line of Private Breger postcards also available during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Beginning in 1942, Lariar was the cartoon editor of Liberty, where he started The Thropp Family, the first comic strip to run as a continuity in a national magazine. From 1943 to 1946, he was president of the American Society of Magazine Cartoonists. In 1953, he created Yankee Yiddish Cocktail Napkins, which featured cartoons illustrating puns on Yiddish words and expressions.
Books
During the 1940s, Lariar began writing and published at least 16 books, including Careers in Cartooning (Dodd MeadDodd, Mead and Company
Dodd, Mead and Company was one of the pioneer publishing houses of the United States, based in New York City. Under several names, the firm operated from 1839 until 1990. Its history properly began in 1870, with the retirement of its founder, Moses Woodruff Dodd. Control passed to his son Frank...
). His Best Cartoons of the Year series ran from 1942 to 1971, featuring work by Stan Fine
Stan Fine
Stan Fine , a prolific American gag cartoonist who contributed to major magazines, signed his work with his full name but sometimes reversed his last name to submit cartoons under the signature Enif....
and other leading gag cartoonists. In 1961, Lariar interrupted the series to do The Best of Best Cartoons: 20th Anniversary Edition.
Lariar wrote at least nine mystery and crime novels, including four with his character Homer Bull. For Kill-Box (1946), he wrote as Michael Stark, his only novel under that name. Now mostly forgotten, this unusual novel, praised by John W. Campbell
John W. Campbell
John Wood Campbell, Jr. was an influential figure in American science fiction. As editor of Astounding Science Fiction , from late 1937 until his death, he is generally credited with shaping the so-called Golden Age of Science Fiction.Isaac Asimov called Campbell "the most powerful force in...
, had an Ace paperback edition in 1954 and was published in the UK as Run for Your Life! Anthony Boucher
Anthony Boucher
Anthony Boucher was an American science fiction editor and author of mystery novels and short stories. He was particularly influential as an editor. Between 1942 and 1947 he acted as reviewer of mostly mystery fiction for the San Francisco Chronicle...
's mention of "atomic murder" in the cover blurb indicates Lariar's innovative locked room mystery
Locked room mystery
The locked room mystery is a sub-genre of detective fiction in which a crime—almost always murder—is committed under apparently impossible circumstances. The crime in question typically involves a crime scene that no intruder could have entered or left, e.g., a locked room...
premise: The killer rents an apartment beneath the victim, opens a box with radioactive materials and leaves. After the death of the victim in the overhead apartment, the killer returns and departs with the box.