Mabel Francis Taylor (1866 in Kingswood – 1947 in Surrey; also M. F. Taylor) was an English cartoonist most well known for illustrating the comic strip "Jungle Jinks," which was the longest-running British comic series until 1954. [1]
Taylor was born to an Anglican clergyman and his wife in 1866 in Kingswood, Surrey. [1]
In the 1890s, Taylor illustrated many children's books with her sister Edith M. Taylor. [1] [2]
Taylor started the comic "The Little Sparrowkins," in The Playbox (1905). [3]
"Jungle Jinks" was the first comic in Britain whose main characters were animals. [1] The comic was started by cartoonist Arthur White in 1898 in The Playbox, a supplement for children that came with the British women's journal Home Chat. [4] However, White worked on the comic for a short time before Taylor took over and began to write and illustrate it. [5]
The comic was about group of anthropomorphic animals who attended school: Jacko the monkey, Hippo the hippopotamus, Bertie and Billie Boar (twin pigs), the headmaster Dr. Lion, and others. [1] [5] The comic contains racist and stereotyped caricatures of Africans. [1]
Between 1923 and 1925, Jungle Jinks was published as a standalone magazine for sixty-two issues. [6] The strip was famous enough to serve as a catchphrase in popular culture during the 1920s. [7]
The comic was also serialized in Home Chat during the 1940s. [3]
"Dr. Lion's Boys," published in Happy Families (1938), was a spinoff of "Jungle Jinks." [3]
Mabel Francis Taylor (1866 in Kingswood – 1947 in Surrey; also M. F. Taylor) was an English cartoonist most well known for illustrating the comic strip "Jungle Jinks," which was the longest-running British comic series until 1954. [1]
Taylor was born to an Anglican clergyman and his wife in 1866 in Kingswood, Surrey. [1]
In the 1890s, Taylor illustrated many children's books with her sister Edith M. Taylor. [1] [2]
Taylor started the comic "The Little Sparrowkins," in The Playbox (1905). [3]
"Jungle Jinks" was the first comic in Britain whose main characters were animals. [1] The comic was started by cartoonist Arthur White in 1898 in The Playbox, a supplement for children that came with the British women's journal Home Chat. [4] However, White worked on the comic for a short time before Taylor took over and began to write and illustrate it. [5]
The comic was about group of anthropomorphic animals who attended school: Jacko the monkey, Hippo the hippopotamus, Bertie and Billie Boar (twin pigs), the headmaster Dr. Lion, and others. [1] [5] The comic contains racist and stereotyped caricatures of Africans. [1]
Between 1923 and 1925, Jungle Jinks was published as a standalone magazine for sixty-two issues. [6] The strip was famous enough to serve as a catchphrase in popular culture during the 1920s. [7]
The comic was also serialized in Home Chat during the 1940s. [3]
"Dr. Lion's Boys," published in Happy Families (1938), was a spinoff of "Jungle Jinks." [3]