Never Was Comic Strips – Jean Shepard

Jean Shepherd was a writer, humorist, satirist, actor, radio raconteur, TV & film personality and an American original. He was a master story teller in the league of Mark Twain, S.J. Perlman and P.G. Wodehouse. Taking bits and pieces from his own life, he weaved tales of the joys, humor, intrigue and angst of growing up.

And Jean Shepard was almost a comic strip.

[Cartoonist John Roman] had been listening to the audios of some Shep’ short commentaries for CBS radio and recording them. He drew some strips based on them and Shep agreed to the idea of a strip based on his monologs. John drew a couple of dozen strips and sent them to many strip syndicates, at least one of which sent a contract.

With contract signed and everything ready to go, why didn’t the strip happen?

…the syndicate wanted the right to alter some of Shepherd’s words in the strips–as one can imagine, Shep would not allow it–and the connection was terminated.

While Jean Shepard never became a comic strip creator, ten years after this effort cartoonist John Roman was in the funny papers with his Biography comic strip (1986-1991).