Ryan created the town of Grimy Gulch and filled it with Cowboys and Indians of all sorts, including Little Pigeon, the beautiful daughter of the Chief of the Poohawks. Horatio Curmudgeon Frump is the crooked judge, Deputy Knuckles is the goofy deputy. (He is reminiscent of Don Knotts, the deputy on The Andy Griffith Show).
Any good Western must have bad guys. Snake-Eye and Snooky McFoul play their parts, even if their success is limited. There is an Undertaker, a barkeeper and miners. The cast is rounded out with Hildegard Hamhocker, the desperate husband-hunter who is always on the make for Tumbleweeds but never quite catches him.
Ryan's drawing skills are not limited to people and pioneer buildings. There are several quirky animals in the Tumbleweeds strip. Blossom is Tumbleweed's fine horse and Pyjamas is a rather lethargic dog who provides much straight-man humour, just to name a couple.
Tom K. Ryan was born in Anderson, Indiana on June 6, 1926. He began cartooning as a nine-year-old youngster and what he calls "an illness" has stayed with him throughout his life. Ryan received basketball scholarships, but instead attended Notre Dame University and the University of Cincinnati.
Ryan dropped out of university after three years and began working. His first jobs were unsatisfying but necessary to take care of his new wife and growing family. He was also drawing editorial and sports cartoon work for local newspapers. He found a position in commercial art and learned on-the-job skills from the bottom up.
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