Fred Kelly (comics)


Frederick George "Fred" Kelly was a comic book writer and artist known for his contributions to the "Canadian Whites" era during the Second World War.
Kelly worked for Bell Productions in Toronto, where his creations included the original version of the character "Mr. Monster". He also worked for the Montreal-based "Educational Projects", where he illustrated non-fictional comics about Canadian historical figures.
In 1946, Kelly briefly worked with Damon Runyon on "The Other Half", a comic strip based on Runyon's Prohibition-era stories; however, this project collapsed with Runyon's death. Kelly subsequently left comics, and worked in various fields including medical illustration and real estate.
In 2003, Michael T. Gilbert wrote a tribute to Kelly, and — in the process of researching Kelly — befriended comics historian Robert Pincombe; the next year Pincombe notified Gilbert that he had located Kelly, who was still alive. Kelly subsequently appeared as Gilbert's invited guest at the June 2004 Toronto Comic Con.