Cartoons

Ripley's early cartoons, a collection of oddities found on his journeys, were first published in book form by Simon & Schuster in 1929. Believe It or Not! by Ripley, sold over a half million copies and was on the bestseller list for months. In 1929, Ripley signed on as a syndicated cartoonist with King Features, part of the William Randolph Hearst newspaper empire. At the height of his popularity, the Believe It or Not! feature was carried in over 360 newspapers around the world, was translated into 17 different languages and had a daily readership of 80 million people! Currently, the Ripley's Believe It or Not! cartoons are drawn by the talented John Graziano. ABOUT THE ARTIST: As a teen, John Graziano had a dream. For years he studied the Ripley's Believe It or Not! cartoons in his daily paper. The cartoons, first created by Robert Ripley, depicted fascinating stories from around the world. In 1979, Graziano heard a search was underway for a new cartoonist. "I immediately grabbed my materials and created sample drawings, sent them in and hoped for the best," says Graziano, who was then a teenager in Union, New Jersey. "A few weeks later I had my answer - a polite no." Graziano continued drawing, first as a student at Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art and later as a freelance artist. His passion for Ripley cartoons never changed; in fact, Graziano continued to study the cartoons and the company. In early 2004 John Graziano heard that another search was underway for a new cartoonist. With an application dated 25 years after his original, Graziano sent off his samples and finally landed his dream job, Believe It or Not! John Graziano is only the fifth person to draw Ripley's Believe It or Not! cartoons since its inception in 1918. - Release provided by John