Tom Moore

EL PASO, Texas — Tom Moore, the “Archie” cartoonist who brought to life the escapades of a freckled-face, red-haired character, has died in Texas. He was 86.

Moore, who began drawing cartoons while in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, died early Monday morning.

Moore drew Archie Andrews and his friends on and off from 1953 until he retired in the late 1980s. Annual sales of the comic regularly surpassed half a million during the 1960s.

After the war, Moore used funding available through the GI Bill to attend a school in New York for cartoonists. He studied under “Tarzan” comic strip illustrator Burne Hogarth.

Soon after, Moore signed up with Archie Comics. Bob Montana created “Archie” in 1941, and Moore took over in 1953.