Perhaps one of the biggest names in the newspaper comic strip industry, Tribune Media Services was established in 1919 by "Captain" Joseph Patterson. Patterson had a very influential hand in many comics, having suggested the idea of Walt from Gasoline Alley finding a child (Skeezix) left on his doorstep which turned Gasoline Alley into a long running soap opera comic.
He also had a hand in changing Little Orphan Otto into Little Orphan Annie and he came up with the basic idea for the comic strip The Gumps, which is what eventually drove him to establish Tribune Media Services. The Gumps was a very popular strip and to syndicate it nationally, Patterson opted to create a whole new media wing for the distribution of that one comic.
As for why he was called "Captain?" He reached the rank of Captain while fighting in World War I.
