Editorial Cartoonists of the Atlanta Journal and Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) :: MISCELLANEOUS - WW2

WWII Cartoon Sketchbook & Postwar Career - Master Sergeant Ralph Duzan Pollard (1911–1992) _Page 6

Artist: ralph pollard (Penciller)

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WWII Cartoon Sketchbook & Postwar Career - Master Sergeant Ralph Duzan Pollard (1911–1992) _Page 6 Comic Art

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Artwork Details

Title:	WWII Cartoon Sketchbook & Postwar Career - Master Sergeant Ralph Duzan Pollard (1911–1992) _Page 6
Artist:	ralph pollard (Penciller)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views:	34
Likes on CAF:	0 1
Comments:	2
Added to Site:	9/8/2025
Comic Art Archive:

Description

Artwork Details

Top cartoon (Mud / Oil Strike)
Dialogue (verbatim):
Soldier (running): “CAPTAIN! SGT. POLLARD HAS STRUCK OIL!”

Reading notes:
Pollard twists the misery of wallowing in mud into a mock triumph. The gag equates a soldier’s soaked crawl through swampy terrain with the excitement of discovering oil. The absurdity lies in the contrast: what is in reality an exhausting, filthy situation is framed as a moment of wealth and glory. Pollard captures the relentless wetness of patrol life, converting discomfort into a joke that soldiers could share to lighten the load.

Bottom cartoon (Bees / Chocolate Rations)
Dialogue (verbatim):
Soldier 1: “WHY DO THOSE BEES KEEP STINGIN’ SGT. POLLARD?”
Soldier 2: “I THINK HE’S GOT CHOCOLATE SMEARED ON HIS FACE.”

Reading notes:
Here Pollard lampoons the universal soldier’s craving for chocolate rations. The humor plays on GI culture—precious sweets from home could become both comfort and liability. In this case, Pollard exaggerates the consequence: bees swarm and sting the hapless sergeant, turning indulgence into comic suffering. The cartoon highlights the scarcity of treats in the field and the lengths soldiers would go to enjoy them, even at personal risk.

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About the Owner

	Alan E Premium Gallery Owner
Joined:	May 2025
Last Login:	September 2025
Country:	UNITED STATES
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Marcus Wai
Member Since 2005

Posted on 9/9/2025

These should have been used within military only periodicals if Pollard found an artist to fully refine the gags.

Alan E
Member Since 2025

1 - Posted on 9/9/2025

Marcus Wai wrote:

These should have been used within military only periodicals if Pollard found an artist to fully refine the gags.

I think Pollard drew these more for himself than for publication. He graduated with an arts degree, worked as a commercial artist before the war, and later became Marketing Director for Procter & Gamble. Before the war he was rising in professional circles, but in uniform he’s a sergeant crawling in the mud, eating rations, and taking orders under fire. The sketches feel like a coping mechanism that eventually grew into a recurring character—part self-commentary, part survival outlet.

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