Toon Town Tidbits
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Comics Kingdom subscription bargain, Cartoon Brew changes hands, Kevin Kallaugher on TV, San Diego Comic-Con panels of interest, Comics Revue ends after 42 years, seeking lost Eartha comic strips by John M. Burns, what some of those strange items advertised in old comic books really were, and a reminder to get your Reuben Playbill ad.
Comics Kingdom 4th of July Weekend Sale
Until July 7, 2025 get full access to Comics Kingdom for the old price of $19.99! Or 90 days free trial!
I hope you can find the subscription offers. I’m already a subscriber which disallows me access them I guess.
Jamie Lang Acquires Cartoon Brew From Amid Amidi
The Cartoon Brew animation news site, along with Cartoon Research history site, are must bookmark sites. Now Amid Amidi has turned over Cartoon Brew to Jamie Lang.
From Animation Magazine (another bookmark-able site):
Veteran editor and journalist Jamie Lang has acquired the full assets of animation site, Cartoon Brew from co-founder Amid Amidi, becoming the site’s sole owner, publisher, and editor.
Lang, who is based in Madrid, began his career in entertainment journalism in 2016 as a freelancer for Variety. In April 2022, Lang joined Cartoon Brew as editor-in-chief. Over the next two years, he authored nearly 1,500 articles and commissioned, edited, and published hundreds more. Following a brief return to Variety as an international features editor, Lang was presented with the opportunity to acquire Cartoon Brew’s assets and lead the site, beginning today.
From Cartoon Brew and Jamie Lang himself:
It’s a big week for Cartoon Brew. Yesterday, co-founder and long-time owner, publisher, and editor in chief, Amid Amidi, announced that, after more than 21 years at the helm, he had sold the company’s assets to me, former site editor in chief, Jamie Lang.
Today, I assume the roles of owner, publisher, and editor-in-chief. I’m extremely proud, slightly terrified, but most of all, excited about the future. As people have learned about this transition, the number one question asked has been, “What are you going to do differently?” The answer, for now, is “not much.” At least not intentionally. My background is in B2B trade journalism, and that may show in some of my writing. I also aim to up our output to four to five stories daily, but that will take time.
On the horizon for Amid Amidi is a biography of animation legend Ward Kimball.
Maryland political cartoonist talks after being let go by Sun
As reported here The Baltimore Sun dismissed cartoonist Kevin Kallaugher, aka KAL.
We’re hoping KAL gets the same boost from his firing as Ann Telnaes got from her resignation.
Kevin Kallaugher, who made his often humorous, or frustrating to some, political cartoons for more than 30 years for the Baltimore Sun and Sun newspapers, was recently let go.
In the current climate, there are only a handful of political cartoonists still employed by newspapers. Kallaugher stopped by the WJZ newsroom to discuss why political cartoonists are becoming a thing of the past.
“It started with newspapers failing, and so around the country and the world, as newspapers contract, they are going to lay off people,” Kallaugher said.
KAL appeared for a four minute segment at WJZ, the CBS News station in Baltimore, with an accompanying story by Adam Thompson and Denise Koch (and a gallery of selected cartoons).
San Diego Comic-Con 2025 List of Announced Panels
The official San Diego Comic-Con schedule is normally released exactly two weeks before the convention (which would put this year’s release dates on July 10-13), but many properties reveal long before then that they’ll be attending the convention. This is where you can find all of our compiled announcements in one handy master post.
The San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog has a list of 2025 panels announced for the popular gathering. Preliminary and subject to change here are some of the listed programs:
100 Years of Comics in The New Yorker: Pantheons, Panels & Perspectives (2pm, Room 10). Paul Krasik (Paul Auster’s The New York Trilogy).
The Birth of Comics: How Anarchy and Innovations Led to the Comics of Today (11:30am, Room 10). Paul Karasik (Paul Auster’s The New York Trilogy) and more.
Make ‘Em Laugh: Using Jokes, Puns, and Goofy Ideas to Hook Reluctant Readers (12pm, San Diego Central Library, Shiley Special Events Suite). Max and Suzanne Lang (Grumpy Monkey School Stinks!) and more.
MAD Rewind Podcast Panel. Expected to Appear: Brandee Stilwell.
Great Cartoonists and Comedians We Have Known. Expected to Appear: Mark Evanier, Leonard Maltin.
Comics Revue Ends with December 2024 Issue
Sad news is that Rick Norwood who has been in charge of the comic strip reprint magazine Comics Revue for over 35 years is now too ill to continue publishing the magazine, now bookazine.
From Steve Kempton at the Comic Revue Facebook page:
Rick is not able to continue publishing Comics Revue. At age 82 he no longer has the ability. While he did have assistants feeding him material it was Rick assembling the book. Nobody else is trained to do the job and without him it won’t continue.
… we are dealing with memory loss problems beyond his control.
February and April, 2025 issues were solicited but will not be published barring some miracle.
We wish Rick and his family and friends the best.
Lost ‘Eartha’ newspaper strip art by John M. Burns
“Eartha” was a colour weekly strip, the tale of a Stone Age cave girl preserved in ice for 10,000 years, revived in 1981 when a nuclear waste site in the north of England is excavated.
The strip appeared in Britain’s News of the World “Sunday” magazine from September 1981 to July 1982. Written by Donne Avenell and illustrated by John M. Burns, 52 full colour instalments were commissioned following her adventures, but only 45 were published.
“Eartha” was developed through the Bardon agency, who often used Donne Avenall as a writer. Originally conceived as a daily, much like “Axa”, “Eartha “ was also syndicated abroad, appearing in the Yugoslavian title, Spunk, as “Erta”.
John Freeman at downthetubes has the story of comics historian David Roach trying to gather all 52 episodes so he can publish a complete collection of the Eartha strip drawn by famed cartoonist John M. Burns.
Still being sought are Episodes 9, 10, 11, 13, 18, 25, 28, 31 and 44… and they must be out there somewhere! Altogether, John drew 52 episodes, only 45 of which were published.
8 Bizarre Items We Really Got From Comic Book Ads
Flip through the old comics and you’ll find ads for all kinds of mail-order oddities. The pitches were bold and involved tiny pets, “working” submarines, magic tricks—just send in a few bucks and wait by the mailbox. What actually showed up, however, was usually a letdown. The stuff was often flimsy or just strange, but those items really did get shipped out to kids across the country.
Owen Chase at Moms Who Love describes some of those strange offerings in old comic book ads – pet monkeys, nuclear submarines, x-ray spex, sea monkeys, Charles Atlas bodybuilding, hypno-coins, toy soldiers, and more.
Reminder – NCS Reubens Playbill Ads are on Sale!
The NCS Conference and Reuben Awards Playbill is the perfect way to give a shout out to your peers, promote your work, or highlight your business! The 6×9 full-color collectible booklet – with a feature on every nominee and conference session – is given to every attendee at the Conference and Reuben Awards dinner and an interactive digital edition is distributed digitally to over 1500 industry contacts.
By purchasing an ad, you not only showcase your work but also support the NCS community and the mission of the NCS Foundation. As nonprofit organizations, both the NCS and the Foundation appreciate your contribution to help foster creativity and camaraderie among cartoonists worldwide.
Go to the National Cartoonists Society for details.
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