Mad cartoonist Mort Drucker, in 1974, encouraged him to consider cartooning as a career, and the following year, he began work on Joe Simon's humor magazines. Along with pages for Marvel Comics, Reiner did freelance advertising art, humorous illustrations and political caricatures. In 1984, he was an assistant[citation needed] on the comic strip Benchley, which Jerry Dumas and Drucker created to satirize the Washington political scene.
The Hoest studio
Bill Hoest needed an assistant for his strips and cartoons, and in 1986, he hired Reiner to help on The Lockhorns, Agatha Crumm and What a Guy! Eventually, he was assisting on all the Hoest cartoons and strips. After Hoest's 1988 death, his widow Bunny Hoest kept the family business going, and Reiner remained as the artist, working in the turret studio of the Hoest mansion in Lloyd Neck, Long Island.
Reiner commented, “We get ideas for The Lockhorns from everyday observation, from interesting people, funny situations, driving or even at dinner.”[3]