Bill Mauldin's cartoons to be auctioned

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Two dozen original editorial cartoons created by Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist and World War II veteran Bill Mauldin are set to hit the auction block for the first time this week.

The work will be offered as part of a major comic art auction in Beverly Hills, California.

The offerings include a 1974 sketch of former President Richard Nixon done while Mauldin worked for the Chicago Sun-Times and an original “Willie and Joe” cartoon from 1951.

A native of New Mexico, Mauldin became known during World War II for his Willie and Joe characters. He lifted the spirits of U.S. soldiers through the cartoons, which used edgy humor to depict the horrors of war.

In 1945, Mauldin won his first of two Pulitzer Prizes for distinguished service as a cartoonist.