Ed Dodd, Creator Of Mark Trail Comic Strip That Emphasizes Nature, Conservation

GAINESVILLE, Ga. - Cartoonist Ed Dodd, creator of the comic strip "Mark Trail," died yesterday at 88.

Hospital spokeswoman Blanche Barrett said he had been ill for some time, but she declined to release a cause of death.

Mr. Dodd started the comic strip in 1946. Its title character is an outdoor writer and its theme is the outdoors, wildlife and conservation. In 1978, as his eyesight failed, Mr. Dodd turned the comic strip over to Gainesville artist Jack Elrod, who continues to draw it under both their names. It is carried by more than 200 newspapers.

Mr. Dodd, whose full name was Edward Benton Dodd, was a native of LaFayette, Ga.

He began his career as a cartoonist in 1929 in New York and drew a humor panel, "Back Home Again," from 1930 to 1945.

Among his books were "Mark Trail's Book of North American Mammals," "Mark Trail's Outdoor Tips" and "Today's World of Conservation."

Mr. Dodd is survived by his wife, Rosemary, four stepchildren and two grandchildren.