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Vic Herman
(1919 - 1999)

By Richard Strell

Created Winnie the Wac, Elsie the Cow, Reddy Kilowatt, 7-UP Sam, Lernda Lesson, Roscoe, Al Vann, Keg and Case, Sad Shad, Mike Master, Two Dollar Joe, Will Selmore, Hy Proof, Mr Magic Motion Mojud Man, The Phillips 66 man, Bert Brew. Comic book characters include Little Dot, Winnie the Waitress, Midge, Dusty Dawn, Polly Pigtails, Kid Science, Dirinda, Tizzie, Twinkle, and Hector, Teenage Detective.

Advertising campaigns include 7-up, Pepsi Cola, Borden's, Reddy Kilowatt Public service annoucements, Phillips 66 gasoline, Tip Top Bread, General Food Post Cereals, Schick, Allied Van Lines, Schaefer Beer, Cosco, Gotham Stockings, Falstaff Brewing Co., Pabst and Blatz Beer, Pfizer Drugs, Lipton Soup, Hiram Walker,  N.Y. Central Railroad, Nucoa margarine, Noxema, Vitalis, Waterman's Pens, Horton's Ice Cream, Shell Oil, Mojud stockings, American Bicycle, New York Telephone, Drakes Cakes, Kellogs Pep, Shinola, Metal textile Co., Oralon toothpaste, Wellwood glue, Graybar Appliances, M.J. Saks shoes, Jayson Sportswear, J.M. Mathes coffee, Snowcrop Frozen foods, Norco Chemicals, Sitroux tissues, Wissco clothes. Also contributed to numerous Public Service and Public Safetey campaigns. During WWII, the US Army assigned him cartoons for the "Don't spread rumors" campaign.

His Illustrations and cartoon art appeared in newspapers throughout the USA and in top level slicks: The Saturday Evening Post, Colliers, Liberty, Life, Look, Redbook, and Argosy. He received multiple entries in the "Best of Cartoons of the Year" in the 1940's and 50's

In his later life, he became interested in "serious" art and fell in love with the people south of the border. He was known as the "Norman Rockwell of Mexico" and "Ambassador With A Brush."

Vic's father was in the Paul Whiteman band and Vic became the youngest Pupeteer when he was 12. His development of "Winnie The Wac" for World War 2 morale effort brought him his greatest fame. He kept Winnie going throughout the Korean and Viet Nam wars.

Lost Button (19??) Herman - 001A

Harvey Comics, First Romance (19??) Herman - 002A

New York Times Book Review (1947) Herman - 003A

Fridge (19??) Herman - 004A

Cartoon, "What A Life. Here Today, Gone Tomorrow" (19??) Herman - 005A

American Weekly, "Tut, Tut. Seven Years Bad Luck, You Know." (1945) Herman - 006A

Argosy, "Dangerous Curves Ahead!" (19??) Herman - 007A

New York Times Book Review, "I'd Approach Him Again, Trilby. When A Person Stays More Than A Day, We No Longer Consider It Browsing" (1947) Herman - 008A

Sitroux Tissues (1947) Herman - 009

Saturday Evening Post (1943) Herman - 010

Cartoon done at Aberdeen (c. 1941) Herman - 011A

Cavalier (1952) Herman - 012

Life Magazine (1945) Herman - 013
The March 19 issue Life feature, "Speaking of Pictures," showed Herman's spunky specialist in the soldier/artist's popular cartoons of WW2.

Life's copy reads, "In U. S. Army newspapers all the way from Washington’s Pentagon Building to the front-line trenches, a pert young figure known as "Winnie the Wac" serves as a combination cartoon-character and GI pin-up girl. Winnie is an Army Ordinance Wac who appears in 1,200 member papers of the Army's Camp Newspaper Service.

Although she has been a Wac for one and a half years, her attitude toward soldiers is far from military, as the cartoons below suggest. This spring, she will be the heroine of a book to be published by David McKay Co. Winnie the Wac is drawn by Cpl. Vic Herman who learned cartooning by copying comics at age 3 and at 25 is now attached to the pictorial branch of the Army's ordinance school. In peacetime he was an illustrator for Borden's "Elsie the Cow."