Gus Mager was a newspaper cartoonist for much of the first half of the century. He drew both humor strips and straight adventure strips, and Hawkshaw the Detective was his most famous feature. In addition, he was a painter and contributed to the naming of the Marx Brothers.

Charles Augustus Mager was born in Newark, New Jersey, and remained there all his life. He is thought to be a self-taught artist, and, according to comics historian Bill Blackbeard, "German humor magazines featuring the cartoon art of Wilhelm Busch, Karl Arnold, and other continental giants of the time influenced his developing graphic style as a boy." After selling cartoons to magazines while in his teens, Mager went to work for Hearsts t...