Signe Wilkinson, Anne Morse Hambrock, Zach Hansen, NCS Reubens, AAEC/ACC Conference, George, John, and Peter – the Gallaghers of Bergen County
Signe Wilkinson retired a few years ago but returns occasionally when issues dear to her heart arise.
Signe reacted when recently in Philadelphia:
With the death of another toddler who accidentally shot themselves after discovering a relative’s gun, Signe Wilkinson endorses a must-have item for parents in Philadelphia.
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A new addition to our Support Your Local (or Distant) Cartoonist …
Anne Morse Hambrock engages in pithy monologues with herself and with God.
Anne The Passive Aggressive Poet
For people who need a laugh. Sometimes funny, sometimes inspirational always true. Tune into Anne’s conversations with whatever is steering us through the universe.
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Zach Hansen, young comic strip creator
A four-panel strip by Hansen, 23, was selected for Mercyhurst’s Patricia S. Yahn ‘50 Juried Student Art Show, which was held last month at the school’s Cummings Art Gallery in Erie.
Mike Crowley at The Meadville Tribune profiles twenty-three year old Zach Hansen.
“I was pretty amazed and awestruck when they chose my comic strip to be in the gallery,” Mercyhurst University senior Zach Hansen said last week. “I feel like it’s partly because most of them were digitally created in Photoshop and Illustrator, but with my comic strip I did it all by hand — I used pencil and ink.”
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Register for the 78th Annual NCS Conference and Reuben Awards
A professional conference for cartoonists and the Society’s annual Reuben Awards, honoring excellence across the profession.
Register early to secure discounted tickets and hotel rates, and watch for announcements with more programming details, guest speakers, and this year’s award nominees.
Details at the National Cartoonists Society site.
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Save The Date: 2024 AAEC/Canadian Convention Announced
If you haven’t used them in a few years, dust off those passports and brush up on your French: This year’s AAEC Convention will be a joint confab with the Association of Canadian Cartoonists in Montreal from Oct. 3-6, 2024.
This is the first time the AAEC has been back to Quebec since <checks watch> 1978, and coincides with the “Symposium de Caricaturistes” at the Université du Québec à Montréal.
More details to follow soon.
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Heathcliff, a Bergen County family affair
The image [below], from the cover of a 1989 Heathcliff comic book, is a classic take on the original fat cartoon cat. Unlike his portly peer Garfield, who arrived after him on the comic strip scene, Heathcliff chose raw fish over lasagna, milkman over postman, street over house. Gruff, sarcastic and adorable, the hellion-turned-icon found joy in mischief, pain in baths and satisfaction in thwarting the boisterous neighborhood bulldog, Spike
All of it was conceived by George Gately, a former Bergen County resident of rare talent. Born on Dec. 21, 1928, George Gately Gallagher was raised in Bergenfield. After graduating from the town’s high school, he attended the Pratt Institute in New York City with a view to profiting off his creativity through advertising.
Doodling was encouraged by his parents. Arguably, it was in his blood. His older brother, John Gallagher, was also a well-known cartoonist and would help him pen “Heathcliff” in its heyday (George may have dropped his last name professionally to avoid confusion). After Gately’s 1998 retirement, his nephew, Peter Gallagher, picked up the pencil and ensured the strip’s survival.
David M. Zimmer of northjersey.com profiles the cartooning Gallaghers of Bergen County.
Thanks so much for mentioning my move to Substack!