Pursuing art.

I took art classes in the mean time and became a pretty 

good oil painter. Offered to do free sketches for any girl I was hot for. Great way to get them to spend time with you. 

Then I learned that there were comic strip artists based in Chicago. Like Dale Messick, who drew Brenda Starr, Girl Reporter. So I went to interview her. Her studio was cramped, cluttered, uninviting, and she had an assistant do a lot of the work for her. It was not inspiring, but she gave me this piece of art as a token. It was a start.

Next.