Johnson, Russ

Mister Oswald was a monthly, Sunday page-style comic strip, which appeared in the pages of the "Hardware Retailer". Starting in 1927, Russ Johnson (1893-1995) went on to draw Mister Oswald for 62 years, finally handing over the reigns of the strip to Larry Day in 1989, at the age of 95. Russ' tenure on the strip is a record for a comic strip done by the original creator.

Mister Oswald detailed the trials and tribulations of a hardware store owner, and mirrored Russ Johnson's own experiences, as he took over the family hardware business after his father passed away, and continued operating the store until 1963. He simultaneously operated a shoe store which his brother-in-law started, all the while drawing Mister Oswald, as well as other strips for different trade publications.

Mister Oswald was all about gentle humor and observations, done in Johnson's bigfoot style. Russ studied under Billy DeBeck and Carl Ed in Chicago, and longed for his own newspaper strip. His real strength, besides the ability to draw huge quantities of nuts and bolts over 62 years, was his build-up to the gag. As Mel Casson would later put it when describing Jay Irving's ability to build-up a gag, Russ knew how to sell it. He knew how to sell the gag after the build-up.

But Mister Oswald also presents a good slice of our country's social history. It is a time-capsule of the retail trade through Depression and wars. Through good times and bad. All reflected in the life of Oswald S. Oswald.

I was lucky enough to conduct the last interview Russ ever gave, back in July 1995. He was 101 years old at the time, and passed away two months later. the interview was published by Hogan's Alley and can be read at the Hogan's Alley website. One of the things that really struck me during the interview, was that I was interviewing a WWI vet! I don't know how many WWI were with us in 1995, but it couldn't have been many. It was great to hear about Russ' experiences during the war.

ADDENDUM - May 26, 2021: I've created a website devoted to Russ Johnson and Mister Oswald! To check it out just click HERE.