Archie and Li'l Jinx artist dead at 85

Comics artist Joe Edwards died Feb. 8 at his home after years of treatment for heart problems. Edwards was born in Manhatten and learned to draw at the Hastings Animation School and the Rome Academy of Art. He illustrated training manuals while serving in the Army during World War II and, while in Italy, he drew animated cartoons warning of minefields around Naples. Following his service, Edwards worked for Demby Studios, Dell Comics, and Timely Comices, then went to work for MLJ Comics, the precursor to Archie Comics. He worked on the December 1941 debut of Archie, Jughead, Betty, and the rest of the gang in issue #22 of Pep Comics. Edwards also worked on Super Duck, Squoimy the Woim, Captain Sprocket, and in 1947 created Li'l Jinx, a troublesome scamp whose stories were based on Edwards' experiences with his three children. Li'l Jinx stories could be found in the back pages of Pep Comics, and she briefly had her own title from 1956-57, but the comic was discontinued in the late 1970s. Edwards was also a member of the Berndt Toast Gang, the nickname for the Long Island chapter of the National Cartoonists Society. He was 85.

Sources: ArchieComics.com, Associated Press, Don Markstein's Toonopedia, berndttoastgang.com/