 Urban Sereno Abell was born on 10 March 1876 in Minnesota, USA. Abell went to the Pacific Garden Mission (PGM) in Chicago, Illinois USA in 1897 where he received Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour. Abell was the first convert of PGM founder Walter G. Taylor who went on to become a superintendent of the Mission. At that time, Abell was taking classes at the Chicago Art Institute. He created Christian cartoons for Moody Monthly from circa 1921 until 1948. He lived in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, throughout the 1930s, according to adverts he placed in Moody Monthly. These ads promoted his availability for doing "chalk talks" at "Sunday School, Young People's Societies, or Church Services" in the Chicago area. During this time he supported himself, his wife and his three children working as a commercial advertising artist. His artwork for Moody Monthly was collected together into a book entitled Gospel Cartoons, published by Polzin Press in 1937. In 1946 he drew the cover for The Sword Book of Treasures and the frontispiece for The Power of Pentecost, both published by The Sword of the Lord in Wheaton, Illinois. Abell died in January 1965. (from the Christian Comics International Website) |
