News Briefs for June 23, 2009

Comic Strips

» A humorous story about Ernie Harwell who in 1953 conceived of a comic strip featuring a baseball country boy named Amby Dexter. The strip was written at the request of his neighbor who was the head of national sales at United Media. They liked Earnie’s writing, but needed an illustrator. Unfortunately the strip never saw print because Earnie’s neighbor rejected all the applicants including the legendary Jack Davis.

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Editorial Cartoons

» The Daily Universe (campus paper for Brigham Young University) is typically quite clear why it makes certain decisions regarding the cartoons it runs (or doesn’t). This time, they explain why they dropped editorial cartoonist Clay Jones in favor of Steve Sack.

» Jeff Koterba, editorial cartoonist for the Omaha World-Herald, takes first place prize in the inaugural Great Plains Journalism Competition.

Interviews

» Scott Nickel interviews Todd Clark.

Museums

» The Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco will host freelance artist and cartoonist Briana Miller on Saturday, July 18, 2009 from 1pm to 3pm.

Newspapers

» Fifty thousand copies of a prison newspaper were pulled after “diversity chiefs” became “extremely concerned” over a cartoon sketch of a sneezing, bearded pig wearing a turban was found accompanying an article by an inmate who “suggested that swine flu was the result of a failed plot by Osama Bin Laden to â??eradicate every pig in Christendomâ??.” (Hat Tip: Rob Tornoe.)

Webcomics

» David Reddick has announced the pre-ordering is now available for his Legends of Bill webcomic. The collection featurs 60 color strips, a five-page original story, guest strips, and sketches. Fans can pick the regular edition or artists edition which also includes a sketch card.

6 thoughts on “News Briefs for June 23, 2009

  1. Amby Dexter …illustrated by Jack Davis and written by Ernie Harwell…Wow! It would have been something good.
    Our loss. I admire them both. Er..who was that salesman
    at United Media?

  2. Being talented and successful in one field doesn’t necessarily mean it will work in another. For instance, a good columnist doesn’t mean they’d be a good novelist… and vice versa. There have been several terrific and very successful comic illustrators, writers and cartoonists from another field who tried their hand at comic strips and failed miserably. You just never know what will hit… and what won’t. If we did, then every strip a syndicate picks up would be successful. It’s all a big crap-shoot.

  3. The ironic part of this story, though, is that the writing was accepted. It was the illustration that resulted in the constant rejection. You don’t hear about that too often.

  4. Mort Drucker, Arnie Roth, Jack Davis, Jerry Robinson all phenominal cartoonists amnd illustrators all had syndicated features that went nowhere

  5. It sounds like it was an “Adventure” strip…which were
    quite popular in the 1950’s. I apologize for giving a dig to
    Mr. Gilburt…and thank him for bringing us PEANUTS.

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