Ralph Hagen

Ralph Hagen sold his first comic at the age of 17, but made his money for 25 years working in the oilfields. He did, however, continue to draw, his work appearing in many publications such as "Readers Digest" and "The Saturday Evening Post." He left the fields and took up cartooning full time in 2004. His resulting comic, "The Barn," follows the exploits of a group of far animals -- not surprising, as Hagen was raised on a Northern Alberta farm and now lives close to two others west of Edmonton, Alberta.