Dick Kulpa facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dick Kulpa |
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Kulpa at the Magic City Comic Con in 2016
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| Born | Richard Allen Kulpa January 12, 1953 Loves Park, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | January 3, 2021 (aged 67) Boynton Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Area(s) | Cartoonist, Editor, Publisher |
| Pseudonym(s) | Alder-Man County-Man Captain Cartoon |
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Notable works
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Double Eagle & Co. Ghost Story Club Bat Boy Cracked |
Richard Allen Kulpa (born January 12, 1953 – died January 3, 2021) was an American cartoonist. He was best known for his funny drawings and stories in magazines like Cracked and the newspaper Weekly World News.
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Becoming a Cartoonist
Dick Kulpa started his cartooning journey on Christmas Day in 1969. His hometown newspaper, the Loves Park Post, published his first cartoon strip. It was called Double Eagle & Co. This cartoon was about a young man who really loved his 1960 Chevy car. The Double Eagle strip helped Dick Kulpa become well-known. He continued to work as an independent cartoonist and graphic artist.
Sharing Cartoons with Many People
In 1983, Dick Kulpa's cartoons started appearing in many newspapers. This is called syndication. He drew Star Trek and Bruce Lee newspaper comics for the Los Angeles Times Syndicate. Kulpa even met Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek. He gave Roddenberry one of his original Star Trek cartoons.
From 1982 to 1988, Kulpa worked as a graphic arts manager for the Testor Corporation. This company made model kits. He designed cartoon instruction sheets for their popular Weird-Ohs models. He also illustrated the Ghost Story Club comic strip and the weekly cartoon panel Draw Play. These were seen in many places across the country.
Working at Weekly World News
For over ten years, Kulpa was the art director for Weekly World News. This was a famous supermarket tabloid newspaper. He helped create the very famous Bat Boy character. Bat Boy first appeared in Weekly World News on June 23, 1992.
Leading Cracked Magazine
In 2000, Kulpa bought the national humor magazine Cracked. He became its editor and publisher. Cracked faced some challenges with its funding and how it was distributed. Kulpa sold the magazine in 2005.
Public Service and Fun Characters
Kulpa was also involved in local government. In 1977, he was elected to the Loves Park City Council in Loves Park, Illinois. He would sometimes wear a red, white, and blue costume with a cape. He called himself Alder-Man, a "crusader for justice." People in the town really enjoyed this!
In 1984, he became County-Man after being elected to the Winnebago County board. He wore maroon and gold tights for this role. Even as an elected official, Kulpa continued to draw cartoons about local issues and other politicians.
Later, Kulpa changed his "superhero" look. He dressed like a sea captain and called himself Captain Cartoon. As Captain Cartoon, he worked as a caricature artist (someone who draws funny pictures of people) at different events in South Florida.
His Passing
Dick Kulpa passed away from cancer on January 3, 2021. He was 67 years old.
