Updates: Frank Jacobs, Mark Trail, Matt Bors

Updating some items that were posted here earlier.


photo via Doug Gilford

The New York Times has printed their obituary for Frank Jacobs.

Frank Jacobs, an inventive satirist who in his 57 years at Mad magazine mocked popular culture and politics, often in pitch-perfect verse and lyrics, died on April 5 in Tarzana, Calif…

Mr. Jacobs brought a quick wit, a deep well of ideas and a love of rhyming to Mad in 1957, becoming one of that smart-alecky humor magazine’s most prolific contributors, especially during the 1960s and ’70s, when it was at the peak of its irreverence and its cultural influence…

Mr. Jacobs was, a former colleague said, “the best writer Mad magazine ever had.”

 


© North America Syndicate

We marked Trail’s 75th anniversary early, Comics Kingdom marks it on the right day.

Mark has been through a lot in 75 years! He moved to the Lost Forest, finally married the love of his life, Cherry Davis, in 1993– 47 years after they first met!– adopted our favorite orphan, Rusty, punched out an incalculable number of poachers, polluters, and other anti-conservationists, all while teaching his readers about important issues impacting nature and the environment!

The Gainesville Sun, Mark Trail‘s home paper, also celebrates – with a Jules interview.

“There was a hero who cared about nature and science under here who values his connection to the world around him,” Rivera told The Times. “This is a guy who cares about nature so much he’s willing to throw hands about it. Mark Trail became my perfect project, and I decided to fight for him as hard as I could.”

 


© Matt Bors

The alternative Portland Mercury caught up with Matt Bors to interview him about his now-in-the-past editorial cartooning career and what he plans for the future.

I was motivated from the beginning to say something political about what was going on—originally, that was the Iraq war, and that turned into other things over the years. I had grown tired of it at various points in time, because following the news and social media constantly can be pretty draining. But I was pretty successful and fairly good at it, so it became automatic for me to do it every week.

I had a lot more clients back in the day, too. A lot more papers ran me in the early 2000s, and it’s been kind of a steady decline. In the last 10 years, I’ve probably had more success in my career in a way—certainly more visibility online and all that—but fewer paying outlets where my stuff was running.

The Nib has become a huge part of my career and work life. I’m running The Nib almost full-time—that needs my attention, and I love publishing it.

 

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