A tip o' the hat to Hatlo

As a kid I loved reading Jimmy Hatlo's "They'll Do It Every Time." Much of it was about adult foibles I didn't understand, but his drawings and his varied characters always caught my attention. I also found it funny that he continued to use his famous "a tip o' the Hatlo hat" tag well into the hatless era of the late 50s and early 60s. I never wore a hat, but I find myself using his tag on many occasions. Here's a tip o' the hat to Hatlo:

James Hatlo was a sports cartoonist at The San Francisco Call-Bulletin. He had to draw a cartoon when a package of cartoons from the syndicate failed to arrive. He chose the little ironies of everyday life as his topic. The first 'They'll Do It Every Time' appeared on 5 February, 1929. For seven years, Jimmy Hatlo did the comics series for just that one paper. In 1936, King Features Syndicate gave it national distribution. It was an immediate hit.

Read more about Jimmy Hatlo.



I stand corrected. Above is a later example of Hatlo without his "tip of the hat" - maybe he stopped wearing hats.



Many of Hatlo's strips were published in comic book form later in his life.
I don't recall seeing any of these books, but I do remember reading his Little Iodine series (based on his daughter).



[Artwork © 1963 James Hatlo]

[Images via lambiek.net, rocketjones.mu.nu and 3900club.com]