Bill Mauldin

Mauldin's first army cartoon, the forerunner to his Willie and Joe cartoons, appeared in the four-page tabloid newspaper, the 45th Division News, on October 25, 1940. The strip was entitled, Star Spangled Banter. It ended its run there during November 1943. In July 1943, the 45th Division of the U.S. Army landed in Sicily and Mauldin soon also began doing the strip, "Up Front...with Bill Mauldin", which later changed to "Up Front...by Bill Mauldin". It would appear in the newspaper Stars and Stripes Mediterranean edition and later in other Stars and Stripes editions, from about November 29, 1943, to about June 15, 1945. On April 17, 1944, the cartoon began syndication with United Feature Syndicate as Up Front. It changed its name to Sweatin' It Out on June 11, 1945. On July 30, 1945, it became Willie and Joe. The cartoon panel ended its syndication on April 8, 1948.