Originated by George Swanson (1897-1981), Salesman Sam (more properly, $alesman $am) was one of the first strips to feature that wild action and those overly exaggerated reaction shots which make screwball strips so timelesly wonderful. Swanson (who typically signed his work as simply ‘Swan’) also is one originators of background signs and jokes decorating the strip. In this way, he is a direct precursor to the wonder that was Smokey Stover; and can also be seen as a more distant ancestor to Kurtzmann and Elder’s eyeball kicks.
Like so many other comic artists of that period, Swanson was lured away by Hearst with the offer of more money in 1927, and left Salesman Sam behind. Sam was placed, however, in the capable hands of C.D. Small, who was able to perform a nealry perfect imitation of Swanson in both artistic style and screwball content. The strip finally came to an end in 1936. [Some early sources state that the strip ended when Small (b. 1882) suddenly died; but other, more recent and presumably more accurate, sources say that small lived until 1953.]
Thanks to Jeff Nelson
Salesman Sam 1921
Salesman Sam 1922
Salesman Sam 1923
Salesman Sam 1924
Salesman Sam 1925
Salesman Sam 1926
Salesman Sam 1927
Salesman Sam 1928
Salesman Sam 1929
Salesman Sam 1930
Salesman Sam 1931
Salesman Sam 1932
Salesman Sam 1933
Salesman Sam 1934
Salesman Sam 1935
Salesman Sam 1936
Newspaper Comic Strips 
Hi, your group of King Comics with #s 16, 17… has #27, not 17.
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Thanks for letting me know, i’ve corrected that.
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