New Age (04/26/1959) by Athelstan Spilhaus and Earl Cros

New Age (04/26/1959)
Artist Earl Cros (1903-1971)
Writer Athelstan Spilhaus (1911-1998)

Athelstan Spilhaus wrote “Our New Age” from its inception until 1973, but it went through three different illustrators: first Earl Cros (I have 8 of his), then E.C. Felton, then Gene Fawcette (some of the other examples I have).

Earl Cros (1903-1971) Cros was a pseudonym of American cartoonist Carl Rose, who was mainly known for his cartoons for The New Yorker, which he had made since the beginning in the 1920s.

As Spilhaus tells it, he was inspired to start the comic strip in October of 1957 after the Soviets launched Sputnik — the first human-made satellite — into space. He was concerned that American kids weren’t showing enough interest in science and technology. “Rather than fight my own kids reading the funnies, which is a stupid thing to do, I decided to put something good into the comics, something that was more fun and that might give a little subliminal education,” he said.