Psychopathic Ward
Herb Block attacked the isolationist policy of the United States government long before Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941, because he understood that the fascists in Europe were an international issue. Block’s cartoons attacking Francisco Franco in Spain, Benito Mussolini in Italy, and Adolf Hitler in Germany demonstrated his matured style, with his deliberate and assured use of ink brush and pencil. The Depression and the war in Europe politicized Block, and he developed opinions that, at times, were at odds with those of his publishers. His editor at Scripps-Howard, Fred Ferguson, took exception to some of his cartoons and summoned him to New York in 1942. While he was en route, news broke that Block had won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning, which effectively prevented Ferguson from firing his star cartoonist. In 1943, Block left his NEA position for service in the Army, where he drew cartoons and wrote articles before mustering out in 1945.
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