Editing Al Taliaferro (section)

==Early career==
After his family moved to [[Glendale, California]], Taliaferro studied at the [[Art Institute of Los Angeles]], California. Following his graduation, Taliaferro was hired as a [[designer]] for [[light fixture]]s. In January 1931, Taliaferro was hired by [[Walt Disney Studios (division)|Walt Disney Studios]] as an animator, but soon transferred to the comic strip department.<ref name="lambiek.net">{{cite web|url=https://www.lambiek.net/artists/t/taliaferro.htm |title=Al Taliaferro; Lambiek Comiclopedia |website=Lambiek.net |access-date=October 27, 2018}}</ref>

At the time, [[Disney comics]] were limited to the [[Mickey Mouse (comic strip)|''Mickey Mouse'' comic strip]], with [[Floyd Gottfredson]] as its main artist. Taliaferro was hired as an [[inker]] for Gottfredson's drawings. Taliaferro also served as the inker for a [[model sheet]] for the Mickey Mouse character. The model sheet would later be featured in Disney merchandising.<ref name="lambiek.net"/>

Disney soon launched a [[Silly Symphony (comic strip)|''Silly Symphony'' comic strip]] (1932–1939), based on the ''[[Silly Symphony]]'' short film series. The strip debuted on January 10, 1932, as a Sunday comic strip. It would appear on a weekly schedule, in full color. The original writer and penciller for the comic strip was [[Earl Duvall]], with Taliaferro serving as his inker. In 1933, Duvall quit the strip and the Disney studio, as he was hired by [[Warner Bros. Cartoons|Leon Schlesinger Productions]]. Taliaferro replaced him as the comic strip's penciller. The new main writer of the comic strip was [[Ted Osborne]], but the comic strip also featured a number of stories written by [[Merrill De Maris]].<ref name="lambiek.net"/>

The comic strip had started by introducing a new character, not based on any previous Disney animated short. The character was [[Bucky Bug]], an [[Anthropomorphism|anthropomorphic]] [[insect]] whose creation is credited to Duvall and Taliaferro. Bucky Bug would continue to be the star of the comic strip until March 4, 1934. He was the second Disney character (after Mickey Mouse) to become the star of his own comic strip series.<ref name="lambiek.net"/> The Bucky Bug stories were typical for a [[talking animals in fiction|talking animal]] series, though every character was 
either an insect or another type of [[invertebrate]].<ref name="lambiek.net"/>

The initial storyline of Taliaferro's comic strip was a [[coming-of-age story]]. Bucky Bug is introduced as a boy, the only son of his family. He has 16 sisters. He departs the family home to see the world, eventually settles down in the city of insects called "Junktown", and marries a local girl, called June Bug. June is the daughter of the town's [[mayor]]. The city which Bucky inhabits was built on human [[garbage]], every building or structure was once an item discarded by humans.<ref name="lambiek.net"/> Besides Bucky and June, the most prominent character of these stories was Bo Bug, Bucky's best friend and [[sidekick]]. Bo was depicted as a [[hobo]] and always wore a [[top hat]].<ref name="lambiek.net"/>

While Taliaferro did not draw more Bucky Bug stories after 1934, the Bucky Bug series would eventually be revived in comic book form by [[Western Publishing]]. Bucky and his supporting cast have since appeared in Disney magazines and newspapers in many countries.<ref name="lambiek.net"/>

In the 1930s, the ''Silly Symphony'' film series was at the height of its popularity, due to its innovations in storytelling and professionalism in production methods. Other [[animation studio]]s launched imitations with similar names, such as ''[[Looney Tunes]]'', ''[[Merrie Melodies]]'', and ''[[Happy Harmonies]]''.<ref name="lambiek.net"/> Taliaferro and Ted Osborne started producing comic strip adaptations of specific short films, as a [[tie-in]] to whichever ''Silly Symphony'' the Disney studio was trying to promote. In 1936, the comic strip started featuring the main cast of the hit short ''[[Three Little Pigs (film)|Three Little Pigs]]'' (1933). Taliaferro was the first artist to adapt [[Big Bad Wolf]] and the Three Little Pigs into comics, as characters of serial fiction. While in animation the characters soon faded away, in comics they had staying power. The Big Bad Wolf series would be continued by other artists, long after Taliaferro stopped producing new stories for it.<ref name="lambiek.net"/>