Gus Mager


Charles Augustus Mager, better known as Gus Mager, was an American painter, illustrator and cartoonist during the first half of the 20th century. He was the creator of several comic strips, notably Hawkshaw the Detective and Sherlocko the Monk.

Early life

Mager was the son of German immigrants, and comics sent to his parents by their European relatives prompted his interest in cartooning. He began drawing sports cartoons which he sold to newspapers. By the age of 20, he already had a following when he expanded his repertoire to include clownish animals, and his cartoons soon appeared daily as In Jungle Land, or occasionally, In Jungle Society.

''Monk'' series

In 1904, he created the first of his successful Monk comic strips featuring monkey-like characters. Knocko the Monk was soon followed by new figures such as Rhymo the Monk, Mufti the Monk, Freshy the Monk, Henpecko the Monk, Groucho the Monk and the most popular, Sherlocko the Monk.

''Hawkshaw the Detective''

In 1913, Mager humanized Sherlocko into his Hawkshaw the Detective strip, which appeared in The New York World. During the 1920s, Mager worked as an assistant on Rudolph Dirks' Captain and the Kids. Other comics by Mager included And Then Papa Came, Main Street, Oliver's Adventures, Obliging Otto and Millionbucks. Mager continued Sherlocko and Hawkshaw until his retirement in the late 1940s.

Paintings

Mager's paintings are in many collections, including the Whitney Museum and the Newark Museum of Art. He was widely exhibited during his lifetime, showing at the Whitney, the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He was a member of the Salon of Independent Artists and the Salons of America. In 1913, he was included in the famous Armory Show. Mager said: "I try to paint with my heart and with my senses without worrying about style."
Mager, his wife Matilda and his son Robert lived for years in Newark, New Jersey, with a summer home in SandBrook, New Jersey, where he loved to hunt with his hound dog, Sport. Eventually, they moved from Newark to Millburn, New Jersey. SandBrook storeowner Clint Wilson recalled:
After his wife's death, Mager went to live with his son in Pennsylvania. At age 77, he died of cancer in 1956.