Friday Event
Liza Donnelly explores [the New Yorker women cartoonists] in her new book, Very Funny Ladies (with foreward by David Remnick and Emma Allen) that celebrates the increase in gender, racial and ethnic diversity among cartoonists today at The New Yorker. Female cartoonists Roz Chast, Amy Hwang, Emily Flake will talk — and laugh — with Liza about their work and the importance of diversity in the field of humor.
In-person and on-line attendance. Details here.
Yesterday Memories
above: a redistributed Memories of a Former Kid from February 2021 © Mugwump
I thought Memories of a Former Kid by Bob Artley stopped being published in newspapers years ago. But a letter from the editor of Eau Claire, Wisconsin’s Country Today disabused me of that notion.
I want to take a couple minutes to talk about some reader concerns about the “Memories of a Former Kid” cartoon that ran …
It seems Bob’s descendants (children? grandchildren?) continue to distribute the cartoon to various newspapers and publications. Mugwump Marketing continues under the auspices of Andrew and Ann Artley (Route 2, Box 95A, Claremont 55924) still in Minnesota.
New Alternative Comic Strip?
© Ben Horak
I don’t know if cartoonist Ben Horak will have a regular spot in Seattle’s The Stranger but he’s contributed a comic strip in February and in March of this year. Here’s hoping he continues – I enjoyed his two comics in the archive.
Heathcliff Trivia
© Creators Syndicate/Heathcliff Enterprises
“Heathcliff” creator George Gately launched the comic strip in the 1970s. He chugged along with the daily strip on his own for a while, but was eventually joined by his brother John Gallagher. The pair shared an office in New Jersey where they would collaborate on the strips. Their nephew Peter Gallagher remembers seeing his uncles at work, which inspired him to follow his dreams of becoming an artist.
As he grew older, Peter started helping out in the studio and even pitching ideas. His uncles would remind him that they’d been doing “Heathcliff” for decades and he was likely to pitch ideas they’d already explored, but he stuck with it. By 1998, he had proven himself to George and John enough that they passed the reins of “Heathcliff” to him, and he’s been in charge ever since.
Looper lists a dozen trivia facts about Heathcliff mostly about his animated career, but a couple about his syndicated newspaper panel.
Ending with a Combination of the First Two Items of This Post – Women and Memories
This year, comics publisher Drawn & Quarterly is rereleasing three out-of-print Barry titles. In February, they dropped Come Over Come Over, which originally came out in 1990. The book is dedicated to Robert Roth and the city of Chicago—that is, to a cofounder of the Chicago Reader, and the city where Barry made her name.
The Chicago Reader reviews Lynda Barry.
© Lynda Barry
