Whatnots and Wherefores
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Jeff Kinney and his Wimpy Kid rule; Detroit is now a kinda, sorta a one newspaper town with two newspapers; some real life inspirations behind some animated characters.
300,000,000
Above are the Amazon Best Sellers in Children’s Humorous Comics & Graphic Novels as of this posting. Jeff Kinney and Dav Pilkey rule. Especially Kinney.
From The Guardian:
Today Kinney is signing copies of Partypooper, the 20th book in his blockbuster Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Every copy bears the phrase “Over 300 million books sold”. To put that into perspective, Kinney has sold more books than Led Zeppelin have sold albums. If you’ve had – or been – a child of reading age at any point over the last couple of decades, Kinney is a rock star. And nowhere is that clearer than at his sold-out event later that evening, as he is custard-pied while a crowd of 800 children and parents scream with excitement.
Stuart Heritage at The Guardian profiles and interviews best selling author/cartoonist Jeff Kinney.
Gannett Owns Detroit
The Detroit News and The Detroit Free Press have been unbound by their 36-year Joint Operating Agreement, but there are now closer ties that bind the two newspapers as Free Press owner Gannett/USA Today has bought The News.
USA TODAY Co., owner of the Detroit Free Press, will acquire The Detroit News and continue to publish it separately, it announced Monday.
The company said it has agreed to a binding letter of intent to acquire The News from MediaNews Group, a transaction it expects to complete by month’s end. Terms of the deal will not be disclosed, the announcement said.
From Sandy Mazza at The Detroit Free Press:
USA TODAY Co., Inc. announced Jan. 26 that it plans to expand its network of more than 200 newspapers by acquiring The Detroit News, strengthening its foothold in the Motor City.
USA TODAY Co. owns the Detroit Free Press, one of the nation’s longest‑operating daily newspapers and the company’s largest local publication. The Free Press has competed editorially with The Detroit News for 153 years.
From Nathalie Eder and the Detroit Metro Times:
MediaNews Group, which owns The Detroit News, is controlled by hedge fund Alden Global Capital. The companies did not disclose why the newspaper was offered for sale, though MediaNews Group has reduced its newspaper holdings in recent years as print advertising revenue continues to face pressure.
We await the comics page shake out.
The True Stories Behind Iconic Cartoons: Frank Fiegel’s Life As Popeye, Helen Kane’s Influence On Betty Boop And Maurice Tillet’s Shrek Connection
Eshita Bhargava for Times Now provides a look at some people that inspired some cartoon characteristics.
From Popeye to Shrek, several beloved cartoon characters were inspired by real people. This article uncovers the fascinating true stories of Frank Fiegel, Helen Kane, and Maurice Tillet, revealing how real lives quietly shaped animation history.
A recent viral Instagram Reel rekindled public curiosity around this very idea: that some of our most cherished animated characters are, in fact, creative reflections of real people. Not carbon copies, but echoes — faces, style, gestures, temperaments, and lived experiences translated into ink, paint, and pixels. This overlap between reality and animation doesn’t dilute the magic; it makes it deep. From small-town strongmen to jazz-age performers and misunderstood athletes, these inspirations reveal how closely animation has always observed the world around it.
Unfortunately the article reproduces a photo purported to be the Popeye inspiration that is not Frank Fiegel.
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