Genesis of Buck O'Rue: After having been laid-off by Disney's in 1948, Dick Huemer sought other ways to support his family. His projects included Animated Video Films (in partnership with Ace Gamer), a TV show starring Roy Williams, and a Western-style comic strip which he initially called Buck Carew. He drew a few sample strips for his friend Art Lafave, who ran a newspaper feature syndicate in Cleveland. Lafave recommended having the strip drawn by a second party, so Dick selected Paul Murry because of the latter's facility with "wonderful hillbilly characters." Murry proved adept at Western characters, as well, as these examples make abundantly clear. In its use of dialect and a naive central character, plus a touch of satire, the strip superficially resembles "L'il Abner"; however Buck is less gullible and more resourceful than Al Capp's bumpkin. Lafave's one-man operation was not able to distribute Buck as widely as all had hoped. After being rehired by Disney in 1951 (ironically, the year the strip finally got published), Dick gradually lost interest in it.
