'Napoleon & Uncle Elby'.
Clifford McBride spent most of his school days drawing cartoons. He was expelled twice for publishing artwork in the school paper that upset the principal. He sold his first cartoon in 1917 to The Los Angeles Times. In 1923, he got a job at this paper, and moved to the Chicago Tribune in 1924, where he illustrated humorous fiction. In 1925, he found a syndicate that sold his gag strips nationally.
'Napoleon & Uncle Elby'.
The strips lacked recurrent characters until McBride created 'Uncle Elby', who was soon accompanied by a dog named Napoleon. The public immediately asked to see more of them. In 1932, McBride launched the daily strip 'Napoleon', which was an instant success that brought him riches and fame. After his death in 1951, the strip was continued for a while by his second wife, Margot Fischer (script) and the following artists Roger Armstrong (1950-1953), Joe Messerli (1953-1956), Ed Nofziger (1956-1960) and Roger Armstrong again (1958-1960).
Clifford McBride was a strong influence on Hy Eisman.
Gag comic by Clifford McBride, from Dutch magazine Stuiversblad, 1935 (originally from Life).