Doug Wildey Draws on Reality

 What's the first thing that pops into your head when you think of Jonny Quest? Most likely, it's the artwork of Doug Wildey. Born on May 2nd, 1922, Wildey may have been the most influential member of the original Jonny Quest crew. Not only did he design many of the characters (save for Bandit, who was designed by Dick Bickenbach), but he also worked on designing the technology and look of the Quest world. You really can't think of Jonny Quest without thinking of his characters and vehicles, accompanied by the show's iconic shadows. 

Wildey had a colorful career that spanned over around fifty years. He worked for virtually every major comic book publisher, from DC Comics to Atlas (you may know them better by their later name, Marvel Comics). He also had a long career in animation, starting with Space Angel in 1962 and continuing into the eighties with titles like Mister T and Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos. Wildey would pass away at the age of 72 on October 4th, 1994. The TV movie Jonny Quest vs. The Cyber Insects, released a year later, was dedicated to his memory.

Seeing as this is Questember, it would feel wrong if I didn't feature something on Wildey, and I've got something that does that and more. On January 9th, 1973, the Thousand Oaks Star sat down and had an incredible discussion with Wildey. The piece is primarily focused on his then-currently-running newspaper strip Ambler, but it also includes some great insight into Wildey's life and artistic sensibilities. Enjoy!

In a youth-oriented world, He illustrates reality

    "Youth today are the smartest, brightest, sharpest people to come along. They know where their heads are at concerning politics, morality, and the general state of the world as a whole—not just their own backyard."
    Believe it or not, the person making the above statement is well over 30 years of age. Born and raised in Yonkers, N.Y, Doug Wildey is a professional illustrator-writer-cartoonist and he's pretty positive when it comes to how great the youth of today really are.
    "What people really don't understand, they figure has to be bad," Wildey said. He feels that today's young people are misunderstood.
    This type of thinking prompted Wildey to create the first realistic comic strip taken on by a major syndicate in five or six years. "Ambler," syndicated by the Chicago Tribune - N.Y. News Snyidcatye, Inc. is the new adventure panel beginning today in the News-Chronicle.
    "There seemed a long time between new story strips, and there was seemingly a gap in subject matter," Wildey observed.
    He added "It's not only the kids, but people interested in the youth movement generally," that prompted him to action. 

    Ambler is a 29-year-old folk-rock singer who travels the expanse of America in search of the songs of the people at their source. He knows no roots and in his travels, he meets real people—explores a real world.
    Though "Ambler" is not a complete personal reflection of the cartoonist's life, several things about the young man mirror Wildey's life. Several times, like Ambler, Wildey has pulled up stakes and ventured into a world of varying jobs. Before becoming a professional illustrator, he was a mailboy, chauffeur, warehouseman, and oil salesman.
    The Woodland Hills resident portrays "Ambler" as the ideal of what many of today's youths are searching for. Seeking to be in line with the world and themselves, "something the older generation never had the freedom or the desire to do," is the quest which Wildey unfolds.
    In a way, he draws upon his own personal experience in traveling around the country. In doing so he can expand upon areas not covered before in American comics.
    In doing so, Wildey explains, he follows the theme of a real world—not a fantasy world—a world that young people today can associate with. Ambler is not a super hero, but a real guy in the real world.
    Picking the characters for his comic panel has evolved in several ways. For the main character -- the name Grayson Ambler just seemed to fit the character he wanted. In some cases characters mirror people that Wildey has known. 
    Above all, Wildey is attempting to get away from stereotyped individuals. An example is the panel character "Jock" Black, Negro, pro-football player.
    "Most things on television or in novels portray the Negro as being downtrodden, from the ghetto. But there are plenty of blacks in this country who have not had a tough time. Jock Black is one of them," Wildey said.
    Prior to Ambler WIldey's one previous experience in newspaper comics was as illustrator of Leslie Charteris's "The Saint."
    Moving to Los Angeles in 1962 from Tucson, Ariz., Wildey was staff art director at the Hanna-Barbera studio in Hollywood. During this time he created the Jonny Quest cartoon series for television.
    His enthusiasm for cartooning-illustrating came "because it seemed the best way to write, direct, and cast a show all myself," Wildey grins.
    Always working at home, he considers himself the "reverse of the traveling salesman—I'm always around and underfoot."
    Well-known in the field, Wildey is often recognized at conventions and serves on cartoonist panels. He feels the Ambler strip is "a reasonably big one" and hopes it is a little bit more on the "cerebral side" than others of today.
    The adventure strip created purely "for entertainment," is currently being run in some 50 nationwide newspapers, including: Costa Mesa; Houston and San Antonio, Tex; Buffalo, N.Y.; Montreal, and Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.