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Do
you have any information or material on the character, "Major Hoople" in
the comic strip "My Boarding House?"
Major Amos B. Hoople was the central character in "Our Boarding House,"
created by Gene Ahern, which ran from September 1921 to
Your site says that Major Amos B. Hoople was the central character in "Our Boarding House," created by Gene Ahern, which ran from September 1921 to December 22, 1984. The originator, Eugene Ahern, died in 1960. who continued drawing it? Know where on the web, I can see some examples of it? According to "The Encyclopedia of American Comics" by Ron Goulart, Ahern left "Our Boarding House" to do the similar strip "Room and Board" for King Features Syndicate in early 1936. The art chores on "Our Boarding House" were taken over by Wood Cowan, then later by Bill Zaboly. In September 1939, Bill Freyse (see panel below) became the new artist, and continued until his death in 1969. The strip changed hands a number of times after that, and Les Carroll was the artist when the strip ended its run (which Goulart says was on March 29, 1981... I'll have to reconcile it with my source that said it was December, 1984).
I came across your web site while I was searching for information about Maj. Hoople from the "Our Boarding House" series. I have just started a search for information about that comic. I used to read it as a kid, and I was trying to explain it to some younger people a while ago, but without the actual cartoons it was near impossible to describe what antics went on in the Hoople home. Do you have any idea if there are collections of the "Our Boarding House" series in publication? Is there a web site, or other information about that really nutty comic? Is there somewhere a compilation of the old cartoon/one-panel comic strip 'Our Boarding House' with Major Hoople? Currently, no. I've been told that there was a compilation published once that's long out of print. However, I've looked in the Library of Congress catalog and can't find any evidence that such a book ever existed. The Michigan State University library claims to own a one-of-a-kind scrapbook of 'OBH' panels This is actually more of an answer to a question already asked. On your webpage devoted to Our Boarding House no one seemed to know for certain if a compilation had ever been published. Yes, one has, and as far as I am aware, it is still available. Lee Valley Tools (of all outfits!) sells one in their Classic Reprints Series of books. Paperbound, 286 pages, and costs $8.95 (CDN) It can be ordered through their website at: http://www.leevalley.com/gifts/page.aspx?c=2&p=52771&cat=4,104,53216&ap=2 Thank you very much for that info! I'm going to have to order a copy for myself. Some of your readers have wondered about a collection of the Major's cartoons. Wood Cowan (my father) left most of his cartoons to the University of Syracuse. I don't know if the collection contained many Hoople cartoons, but it may have a few. -- Thad Cowan
© 2003 Robert A. Buethe |
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December
22, 1984. The overweight, balding Major had a bushy black mustache and
always wore a fez. Compared by some to W.C. Fields and Shakespeare's Falstaff,
he considered himself an expert on every subject, and was always on the
lookout for a new get-rich-quick scheme. His wife, Martha, was the owner
of the boarding house that was home to the strip's cast of characters.
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