Stan Drake; Illustrated ‘Blondie’ Comic Strip

Stan Drake, 75, who illustrated the comic strip “Blondie.” Drake also created the classic romance strip “The Heart of Juliet Jones,” a collaboration with writer Elliott Caplin launched in 1953. Drake’s work on the romance strip, which at its peak appeared in 600 newspapers, earned him the story strip cartoonist of the year award from the National Cartoonists Society in 1969, 1970 and 1972. Drake turned “Juliet” over to artist Frank Bolle in 1989 in order to devote more time to illustrating “Blondie.” The older strip featuring a blond housewife who has now started a catering business was created in 1930 by writer Chic Young and is seen in thousands of newspapers worldwide. Drake, who worked from photographs to achieve realistic effects, studied at the Art Students League in New York. He opened a studio there in 1949. His other work included a rock star feature titled “Pop Idols,” the “Kelly Green” series of books and freelance work for Marvel Comics. On Monday in Norwalk, Conn.