The most memorable legacy of Mark Harris’s classic baseball novel, “Bang the Drum Slowly” — which was made into a movie with Michael Moriarity and Robert De Niro — are the games of Tegwar, a ridiculous scam in which the object is to fleece some rookie or star-struck fan who doesn’t realize that “T.E.G.W.A.R.” stands […]
I have gotten way past the point of thinking anyone owes me anything. I’ve done OK with what I’ve been given and won’t bitch because I didn’t get a cherry on my free ice cream Sundae. But I can get pissed off on someone else’s behalf. The Pulitzer Prize is a subjective award; it’s not […]
Sherman’s Lagoon is in a story arc about visiting retirement homes, which included this “No Kidding” strip. I’m always amused by the phishing ads that want to manage money for old folks, or get them to sign over their houses or insurance policies or whatever.But I think the retirement homes are playing an interesting numbers […]
It started with an interview, during which old-timer Robert Mankoff claimed about cartooning:It’s a young person’s game. The idea that creative comic art goes on forever. It doesn’t. Not quite as old-timer Michael Maslin took issue with that statement:We’re reminded every so often that nothing lasts forever; I’ve found, however, that cartoonists are most often young […]
Nonprofit status has become a common business model for many news organizations just starting out. That magic “501(c)(3)” on an About page doesn’t solve all a publisher’s problems by any means — but it opens up new avenues of funding, communicates intent to audiences, and orients the organization toward a common cause. Now that appeal […]
Philadelphia attorney Joe Dworetzky went west to begin a new career in the creative arts. One of his new career choices was cartoonist, becoming a regular in The Stanford Daily with political cartoons.Now he has become a bicoastal resident and a bicoastal cartoonist.Today, we introduce a new cartoon and cartoonist to the fold of the […]
I saw Ann Telnaes‘ latest last night and wished she’d done it a day earlier, since it would have fit yesterday’s rant so well.And then I realized, this isn’t going out of style and it’s not like we’re not going to have this conversation over and over.The people who bet on Maximum Security will never […]
Next week is the NCSFest highlighted by The Reuben Dinner. The Huntington Beach Art Center is starting a wee bit earlier.Public Opening Reception: May 11th | 6–9pm Festival: NCSFest: May 17th–19th | www.ncsfest.com Art for Lunch: May 23rd | 11:30am–1:30pmThree free major exhibitions demonstrate the incredible range of comic art. Thought-provoking, fascinating and funny, these […]
The Kenosha News and The Brilliant Mind of Edison Lee are together again! A comment on John Hambrock’s Facebook page yesterday broke the news.From Kenosha News editor Bob Heisse dated May 7:Thanks for your note. Edison Lee will be back in the paper as early as Thursday. Kenisha News readers did not rank it in the […]
Easy warm-up to start: Today’s Zits happens to come the day after 1A had a program about alternative school calendars, and also as I’m realizing my kid-reporters in Colorado will be out of school in about three weeks, a granddaughter will be graduating in four and some kids I work with in New York won’t […]
The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization has announced the winners of its annual awards.Cartoon “Family Separation in Cartoons” KQED News and online news outlets Mark FioreMark Fiore won the cartoon category for his series of child separation animations. Mark will receive the award at a ceremony on Thursday, May 23 at 6:30 pm at the […]
The gag cartoon is in a category by itself: standing alone to evoke a reaction. Is it funny? Is it understandable? Where do we go from here?Comics historian Maggie Thompson discusses gag cartooning. Among single-panel newspaper gag creators was H.T. Webster, who provided gags on a series of topics. “The Timid Soul” was Caspar Milquetoast, whose […]
Rowland B Wilson (1930-2005) was an animator, an ad agency art director and a cartoonist. He is probably best known to the general public (of a certain age) for the cartooning, and that’s what I’ll feature in this post.I was “of a certain age” for the Rowland magazine cartoons.Once upon a time magazines were very […]
Ann Telnaes puts a fun spin on the hoo-hah over the latest royal baby with a cartoon about a baby who is not only American but has a lot more authority than little Goober, who is, I guess, seventh in line to the British throne, ever will.Harry and Meghan haven’t announced the name, and so […]
Led by sales of the graphic novel format, total sales of graphic novels and periodical comics in the U.S. and Canada was approximately $1.09 billion in 2018, according to a joint estimate by trade news sites ICv2 and Comichron.From Publishers Weekly:Although sales via the direct market (aka the comics shop market) were slightly down from […]