Morrie Turner “Wee Pals” Cartoon Exhibit

Sometime back I blogged about ToonSeum, the new Pittsburg area cartoon museum that opened last fall. It looks the the museum has been busy with several great exhibits since it’s opening. A new one has just opened this month featuring the work of cartoon legend Morrie Turner of “Wee Pals” fame.

The exhibit, Drawn in Black and White: Wee Pals and the Work of Morrie Turner will run until February 27th at the ToonSeum, located in at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, 1o Children’s Way, Pittsburgh, PA. If you are in the Pittsburgh area be sure to view the special feature on WQED’s “OnQ” airing Monday, February 4th at 7:30 PM.

There will be an invitation only panel discussion featuring Morrie, Robb Armstrong (“Jump Start”) and editorial cartoonist and illustrator Don Peoples discussing African Americans in cartoons and comics on Feb. 16th along with a private reception that evening.

The exhibit not only is in honor of Morrie, but also in celebration of Black History Month.

Morrie was honored by the National Cartoonists Society at the 2003 Reuben Awards with the “Milton Caniff Award”, a lifetime achievement award for cartoonists in honor of a lifetime of outstanding and accomplished work to a cartoonist who has not won a Reuben.

Editorial cartoonist Michael Ramirez and
Morrie Turner at the 2003 Reuben Awards.

Seeing Morrie win that award was very touching. He is truly a pioneer in cartooning, having started “Wee Pals” in 1965 at the insistence of Charles Schulz when Morrie questioned the lack of minorities in comics. It was the first syndicated comic strip that featured an ethnically diverse cast of characters. He also created the strips “KID Power” and “Rainbow Club“. That took a lot of courage back in the mid-sixties. I got a chance to meet Morrie when I visited and spoke at the Charles M. Schulz Museum a few years ago… that was a real pleasure.

This would be a great exhibit to visit if you find yourself in Pittsburgh before Feb. 27th. For mor einfo visit the Toonseum website or email museum curator/founder Joe Wos.