Frank King, born in Cashton, Wisconsin, and raised in nearby Toman, is best known as the creator of Gasoline Alley. He was also the first to show the aging of comic strip characters. After high school, King spent four years working with newspapers in Minneapolis. He then studied for two years at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts while working Saturdays at the Chicago American. Following a short stint at an advertising agency, he joined the art department at the Chicago Examiner for three years.

In 1909, King went to work at the Chicago Tribune in search for a better salary. In 1911, he started a daily cartoon feature called Motorcycle Mike, and a Sunday color comics page, Bobby Make Believe. He later filled in for John T. McCutcheon w...