Editing Al Taliaferro (section)

==''Donald Duck''==
In 1934, Taliaferro and Osborne adapted the short film ''[[The Wise Little Hen]]'' (1934) into comic strip form. Their adaptation was published in newspapers between 16 September and 16 December 1934. The most prominent character introduced in the film was [[Donald Duck]], and Taliaferro was the first artist to depict him in comics.<ref name="lambiek.net"/> Taliaferro's depiction of Donald preceded Donald's appearances as a supporting character in the ''[[Mickey Mouse (comic strip)|Mickey Mouse]]'' newspaper comic (under Floyd Gottfredson and Ted Osborne), the adaptation into a British comic strip by William A. Ward (in 1937), and the adaptation of Donald into a full-length Italian comic book by Federico Pedrocchi (in 1937).<ref name="lambiek.net"/>

Between August 30, 1936, and December 5, 1937, Taliaferro and Osborne depicted Donald in gag-a-week comic strips for the ''Silly Symphony'' series. The strips were in [[American pantomime|pantomime]] style. Taliaferro came up with the idea of a solo comic strip for Donald Duck, but had trouble convincing his bosses to support his idea.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kaufman |first1=J.B. |last2=Gerstein |first2=David |title=Walt Disney's Donald Duck: The Ultimate History |date=2024 |publisher=[[Taschen]] |isbn=978-3-8365-5280-6| page=58}}</ref> He initially pitched the idea to [[Roy O. Disney]], who rejected it. Taliaferro then produced three weeks-worth of episodes for a Donald Duck comic strip, brought them to Roy Disney, and asked him to offer the strip to [[King Features Syndicate]] for publication. King Features had syndicated all Disney comic strips up to this point. Roy Disney was not particularly interested in the project, but his brother [[Walt Disney]] could see potential in the project. Taliaferro's original sample stories were rejected due to having "weak gags". Taliaferro co-operated with writer [[Merrill De Maris]] to create new sample stories, but these were also rejected. Taliaferro then co-operated with writer [[Homer Brightman]], and this time the sample stories were approved. Taliaferro's idea was greenlighted and the new Donald Duck comic strip was about to begin.<ref name="lambiek.net"/>

On February 2, 1938, ''[[Donald Duck (comic strip)|Donald Duck]]'' started appearing in daily newspapers. A Sunday version was added on December 10, 1939. Taliaferro's was the strip's main penciller, while Homer Brightman was its writer and came up with the gags. But Brightman was mostly a [[screenwriter]], and soon quit the comic strip and returned to writing plots for animated short films. Brightman was replaced by [[Bob Karp]], who would serve as Taliaferro's main creative partner for the rest of his career.<ref name="lambiek.net"/> The inkers for the comic strip included Karl Karpé, [[Dick Moores]], George Waiss, and Bill Wright. Taliaferro also relied on a number of assistant artists, including Ellis Eringer, Frank Grundeen, Al Hubbard, and Kay Wright.<ref name="lambiek.net"/>

While the ''Mickey Mouse'' comic strip was an adventure series, the ''Donald Duck'' comic strip continued to be a daily comedy series. Each episode featured Donald dealing with problems and humorous situations. Most of the strips featured stand-alone gags, although some ongoing plots were introduced. The strips often lacked [[dialogue]].<ref name="lambiek.net"/>