Wayback Weekend – Booked, Archived
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Alan Dunn architectural cartoonist; Brian Fies graphic medicine artist, U of Missouri cartoon archives.
Alan Dunn Architectural Cartoonist
Last year we noted a Gabriele Neri article for Architectural Record about cartoons relevant to that magazine and the profession it spotlights. There was a note mentioning New Yorker cartoonist Alan Dunn.
Little did we suspect that Neri was writing a book: Alan Dunn: The Cartoonist as Architectural Critic.
Will Wiles reviews the book for Apollo magazine (or here).
One of the artists who guided the evolution of the New Yorker cartoon was Alan Dunn, who first sold a drawing to the magazine in 1926 [the year after that magazine’s debut].
His themes were often architectural – inevitably, perhaps, in a city where building was reaching unprecedented heights and concentration. In 1937 a more suburban cartoon of a prefab house prompted an invitation to contribute to Architectural Record. From 1937 until his death in 1974, Dunn published more than 450 cartoons in that magazine.
Mom’s Cancer First Printing
In 2005 The San Diego Reader contracted with Brian Fies to serialize his Mom Cancer webcomic in The Reader’s pages. The alternative newspaper began by running the first couple dozen Mom’s Cancer comics surrounding an interview with the newly celebrated cartoonist. Then the paper ran a couple strips a week to the end of the story.
And now?
The Reader has started this series of its best stories from the past 52 years — 2600 cover stories and some remarkable interior features — to help make up for the loss of its physical edition, which was once large enough to hold whole oceans of print. These stories will feature all the original illustrations and photos (plus easy-to-read typography).
Twenty-one years after that interview and initial series of Mom’s Cancer pages The San Diego reader re-presents both interview and strips. Possibly inspired by the 20th Anniversary Edition of Mom’s Cancer book.
It an intriguing look back at Brian’s early thoughts about his cartooning career and Mom’s Cancer, ending with:
Contino: What plans do you have — if any — to release a comic book print version of this volume?
Fies: As I mentioned earlier, I do want as many people as possible to read Mom’s Cancer. I’d very much like to see it in print and have begun working toward that. I think it’d make a swell trade paperback. Some of the usual publishing suspects have already told me thanks but no thanks, but I’m encouraged that a couple have actually contacted me first. Just feelers, nothing firm. I’m not sure I have the skills or temperament to self-publish, but it’s certainly something I’d consider. I’m pretty sure I could sell a few copies to some Australian nurses.
A year later Mom’s Cancer would be published as a book.
University of Missouri Comic Art Collection
While researching Frank Stack I stumbled across the University of Missouri Comic Art Archives which contain work by and “biographical sketches” of Mort Walker, Ralph Barton, George Fett, Edgar Everett Martin, and more, including Frank Stack. While most are light on samples there are some decent items displayed, particularly by V. T. Hamlin and John T. McCutcheon.
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