Cartoonists Around the Comic Scene
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With Patrick McDonnell, Emma Allen, Jim Keefe, Patrick O’Connor, Tatiana Gill, Dan Dare, and the NCS.
A Note from Patrick McDonnell
In anticipation of a new MUTTS Treasury being released later this month Patrick McDonnell sends a note:
There’s something special about sharing our precious time with the beings we love…
That spirit is at the heart of my newest MUTTS treasury, You and Me, which will be released on April 21. The book’s cover features best friends Earl and Mooch with their arms around each other. It’s an image that has taken on a life of its own over the years. Some of you may recognize it from the New Jersey animal-friendly license plates, where a portion of the proceeds helps fund low-cost spay and neuter programs. I’ve always loved that this MUTTS image has helped real animals in the world.
And, inside the book is something especially meaningful to me: the complete seven-week Guard Dog rescue story told in its original format….
It includes a bookplate that has been hand-signed by Patrick (exclusive to MUTTS). Preorders are available now.
Emma Allen Talks Cartoon Editing
Caroline Mimbs Nyce at The New Yorker Newsletter recently interviewed that magazine’s cartoon editor.
Emma Allen has a weird job. For nearly a decade, she has served as The New Yorker’s cartoon editor, which means she decides which funny drawings run alongside the words in our pages, and which are incinerated upon arrival, never to see the light of day…
How many cartoon submissions do you get per week? And how many are actually purchased?
By noon every Tuesday, more than a hundred cartoonists have e-mailed me their weekly “batches” of approximately ten cartoons each. I’m thankfully bad at math so my brain just beep-boop shuts down while computing how many cartoons that is—but it’s a lot. I look at all those sketches in essentially one sitting, and then scream and scream, which none of my co-workers mind. From the thousand-ish roughs I get each week, I pick around sixty to show the magazine’s editor, David Remnick, and, of those sixty, we buy around fifteen. So, as I understand it—beep-boop—great odds!
And so on.
Jim Keefe on Comic Strips Past and Present
Sally Forth cartoonist Jim Keefe gives short history of the incredible shrinking comics (size and market).
In the early 1900s onwards comic strips reigned supreme. By the 1940s comic books had taken off. In the 1960s indie comics/undergrounds entered the fray. In the 1980s self-published/alternative comics joined in at the same time graphic novels were just getting their sea legs. In the 1990s online content joined the mix. And now in the 21st century graphic novels and manga have taken flight.
And that’s not to say comic strips and comic books have been replaced and have gone away, it’s just that they aren’t the only game in town anymore…
Out of the Past: Patrick O’Connor, Student Editorial Cartoonist
Andrew Dolph and The Akron Beacon Journal present a photo revue of the exhibit of editorial cartoons by Patrick O’Connor from his days as a student at Kent State. The exhibit will remain on display in Franklin Hall through the end of the spring 2026 semester as part of a special event to commemorate the 100th anniversary of its student newspaper, the Daily Kent Stater.
Tatiana Gill on Barriers to Healthcare
From Meredith Li-Vollmer at Seattle’s Public Health Insider:
Comics artist Tatiana Gill interviewed Christine Lindquist, director of an organization that supports free clinics, to find out what kinds of barriers people face when trying to get healthcare…
[Cartoonist] Tatiana Gill has been self-publishing comic books for 30 years and makes comics for various organizations and publications. See more of her work at tatianagill.com [link added].
Reuben Weekend 2026 Events
The National Cartoonists Society is inviting everyone to a free public event during The Reuben Weekend.
Join the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum on Saturday, August 8 [1:00-6:00 PM] for a day of free public programming with the National Cartoonists Society!
What’s Happening
1:00-5:00 PM
MEET CARTOONISTS
Sketching and signing opportunity for fans with over 60+ guest cartoonists.
Attendees will receive a commemorative print for collecting signatures
KIDS CARTOONING WORKSHOPS
Kids programming led by some of the great YA cartoonists in the field.
EXPLORE THE MUSEUM
Exhibition exploration in the BICLM galleries including Chris Ware: Life is Complicated and the newly renovated permanent collection exhibit, The Story of Comics.
5:00-6:00 PM
CATHY GUISEWITE IN CONVERSATION
Celebrating 50 years of the groundbreaking Cathy comic strip with the legendary creator herself.
Limited seating for this special presentation, RSVP required.
Public tickets will be available JULY 2nd.
The Return of… Dan Dare
David Barnett for The Guardian reports on the return of the science fiction comic star Dan Dare.
Sufferin’ satellites! The quintessential British space hero Dan Dare is back, 76 years after he first appeared in iconic comic magazine the Eagle.
With the blessing of the Dan Dare Corporation, which owns the rights to the comic strip – originally written and drawn by the Manchester-born illustrator Frank Hampson – the comic writer Alex de Campi and artist Marc Laming have reinvented the beloved characters for the 21st century in a graphic novel to be published by B7 Comics.
John Freeman has more and The Dan Dare: First Contact Project is here
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