Comic strip from Simplicissimus, #19, 1914.
Karl Arnold was trained as a painter. His first cartoons appeared in German magazines such as Die Jugend and Die Illustrierte Presse. In 1907 he started contributing to Simplicissimus. He soon became a staff artist and a shareholder in the magazine. The magazine gave its full support to the World War I effort and the magazine led the campaign against the Versailles Treaty.
Comic strip from Simplicissimus, #34, 1934.
Arnold didn't only produce cartoons and illustrations, but also some comics. Fully opposed against Adolf Hitler, many of the German artists of the time portrayed Hitler as dangerous. Arnold however just made him look silly.
Simplicissimus covers of 15 May 1932 and 5 February 1933.
When the Nazis gained power in 1933, stormtroopers arrived at the offices of Simplicissimus and some of the cartoonists, such as Thomas Heine and Walter Trier left the country. Yet Arnold carried on working at the magazine and during the Second World War produced pro-Hitler cartoons. After the war he emigrated to the United States where he lived until his death in 1953.
Karl Arnold was a strong influence on Gus Mager.
Comic strip from Simplicissimus #16, 1914.