Issue #2 December 1963
Photo from the exhibit, Tales from the Strip
Pete Millar is another BIG! hero of mine. He started Car toons for Peterson Publishing and later his own publication, Drag Cartoons. He was the best in his field.
#15 May 1965 One of Pete's most popular covers
I collected Drag Cartoons as a kid and was very influenced by his work. My interest in Choppers was partly fueled by Ed Roth's ads that appeared in them.
Pete collaborated with Ed on projects and put stories about him in Drag Cartoons. In 1964 he even created a comic devoted solely to Ed. Only four issues were produced, but, afterwards he continued to feature Roth in Drag cartoons.
Issue #1
After finding Pete's website, I sent an email to him explaining how much he had influenced me as a kid and artist. He was kind and flattered. Sometime later I found out he had passed away. I now regret not printing out his email (lost on a downed computer), or making the effort to meet him, as he lived very near by.
This last summer I was jazzed to see some of Pete's original art at the exhibit: Tale s from the Strip at the Pasadena Museum of California Art .
For more on Pete's work, go to:
http://www.laffyerasphalt.com/
I'll post more from the exhibit in the future.
