Sometime in early 1919, Jimmy Hatlo left Los Angeles behind and traveled north up the California coast. His name next appeared in print in the March 23rd edition of the
Oakland Tribune. Referred to as "CARTOONIST HATLO," he reported on the Santa Monica Races, once again pursuing his interest in automobiles. Hatlo would be credited for cartoons at the
Tribune nine more times through the end of that year.
In the Hogan's Alley article, Ed Black reports that after World War I, Hatlo worked briefly as a movie publicist before moving to an agency that represented automobile dealers. His Tribune material was comprised entirely of automobile related content, with a particular focus on Chevrolet, supporting the notion that Hatlo was working for an outside interest and not necessarily on the Tribune staff. In fact, one of Hatlo's Tribune cartoons showcased a Chevrolet branch manager and "his aggressive sales organization," further reinforcing the publicist nature of his work there.
In January of 1920, it is noted in multiple bay area newspapers that Hatlo was working for the Elliot Pabst Company while acting as an official observer of a Fageol-manufactured truck test run between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Hatlo would ultimately write an article on the Fageol demonstration for the
Tribune. Throughout much of 1920 and into early 1921, he would continue to produce "publicity" cartoons that appeared in various California newspapers.
Black reports that Hatlo became the automobile page editor of the
San Francisco Bulletin in 1923, but that actually occurred earlier in 1921. The Automotive Section was a weekly feature of the
Bulletin, published every Saturday. Hatlo assumed his editorial duties on May 7, 1921. Cartooning immediately took a back seat (pun intended) and his bylines became attached to articles, not art. In July of 1923, he started his own weekly column entitled Gasoline Gossip, that featured a cartoon self portrait in the header. On May 28, 1924, Hatlo was featured in a front page in-house advertisement showcasing five
Bulletin staffers. The ad described him as a "former cartoonist" who is now one of the "best-liked automobile writers on the Pacific coast."
In September of 1924, two significant things happened. First, Hatlo was elected to the position of vice president of the San Francisco Press Club, further reinforcing his newspaper reporting credentials. But then ironically, he returned to his artistic roots and created a new cartoon for the Automobile Section. It was his first large scale, full panel effort in three years. It was especially significant in that it would foreshadow material Hatlo would produce some three decades later for Sunday editions of TDIET. Entitled "If There Be Hell Then Pity These," it could easily be considered the very first episode of
Hatlo's Inferno. Hatlo produced one more auto-themed cartoon for the
Bulletin in late October. It was his last printed work for the paper. It can be assumed that this was when he left the
Bulletin to become the automobile editor at the
San Francisco Call. His first byline for the
Call appeared on January 3, 1925.
UP NEXT: The sports cartoon that set everything in motion.
History of Hatlo
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