The Booth Centennial By George! A First and Last Celebration
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Cartoonist George Booth was born 100 years ago today – on June 28, 1926.
A beloved cartoonist Lambiek Comiclopedia has a fine biography. Both Hogan’s Alley and The Comics Journal have extended interviews with the man from 2018 and 2013 respectively. More personally there are entries tagged “George Booth” from cartoonists Michael Maslin and Mike Lynch.
There is not much we can add to all that so we’ll do a first and last edition for George Booth. While he made his fame as magazine cartoonist he did try his hand at newspaper syndication. Early in his cartooning career George’s first stab at newspaper success was with, fittingly, a daily panel about a dog. The short-lived Spot ran from April 2, 1956 to February 10, 1957.
Thirty years after Spot George was a famous magazine cartoonist when his second, and last, attempt at entertaining newspaper readers was syndicated this one lasted only half as long as his first go-round. Local Item was a daily and Sunday panel (technically a two panel strip with the first panel being a block of text) that ran from July 21, 1986 to January 31, 1987.
Of course George Booth’s main claim to fame was his cartoons and drawing for The New Yorker from 1969 to 2022.
George Booth’s first cartoon appeared in the June 14, 1969 issue of The New Yorker and last in the July 4, 2022 issue. Those and hundreds of other George Booth New Yorker cartoons can be seen at the Conde Nast store, along with a couple dozen George Booth covers for the magazine.
If you run across any of his collections of cartoons in your local used or new bookstore pick it up, all are recommended.
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