R. O. (Bob) Blechman, a master of animation and illustration, celebrated his 90th birthday on October 1, 2020. Whether on animation cels or as ink on paper Blechmans lines are instantly recognizable (and much imitated).Steven Heller, at Print, joins in the celebration of his friend. above: covers for The New Yorker and StoryFrom 2009 is […]
Famed cartoonist Ernie Bushmiller was struggling until he took over Larry Whittington’s Fritzi Ritz in 1925. That led to a comfortable living, made much more comfortable when he introduced Nancy to the world in 1933. If any comic is mentioned about Ernie’s pre-Fritzi career it his Mac the Manager. But there were a few other […]
“He is one of the all-time great cartoonists because he makes the craft integral to the entire endeavor look so easy, even enjoyable,” the theoretician and practitioner of comics, Ivan Brunetti, writes in the introduction to an upcoming collection of Gross’s work, “Gross Exaggerations: The Meshuga Comic Strips of Milt Gross.”The New Yorker previews a […]
Forget Cherry, now Jules Rivera is the woman in charge of Mark Trail. I was contacted by editors who follow my comic on social media. Once I learned about Mark Trail, I saw there was a huge opportunity in this for me and my skill sets: art, science, and drawing dudes punch each other in […]
above: Tom Toles for The Spectrum April 28, 1969 and for The Washington Post April 28, 2019Washington Post editorial page editor Fred Hiatt has announced that Tom Toles will be retiring with November 1, 2020 being his last contribution to The Post. From WaPo media reporter Paul Farhi:As of this writing Tom has not yet […]
Among the many articles celebrating Peanuts 70th anniversary is the Nashville Tennessean telling the story behind Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron. No, not the Charles Schulz comics, rather the Dick Holler/Royal Guardsman song. From The Tennessean interview with songwriter Dick Holler: A long time ago, there was a huge hit record called “The Battle […]
Wall Street Journal cartoon editor Charles Preston has passed away.Charles M. PrestonNovember 6, 1921 – October 2, 2020 Instigator, idea man, and long-time editor of the Wall Street Journal cartoon panel “Pepper … and Salt” Charles Preston passed away Friday.From the Wall Street Journal: Seventy years ago a Columbia undergraduate named Charles Preston pitched a daily […]
The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists announced Rob Rogers, and his “Brewed on Grant” in the Pittsburgh Current, has won the 2020 Rex Babin Memorial Award for Excellence in Local Cartooning. From the Pittsburgh Current notice: “Brewed on Grant,” a strip with musings on local politics and current events, originally ran for more than 20 years […]
The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists announced its 2020 award winners during its (delayed and cancelled and now smaller and virtual) “convention” held the first weekend of October.The John Locher Memorial Award, for promising young cartoonists, was announced last month but made official this month.© Catherine Gong The AAEC/John Locher Memorial Award — Congrats to Catherine […]
Vulture presents one hundred animation sequences chosen by a knowledgeable group that deemed these worthy of showcasing the magic of animation. “[A]nimation is the art of manipulating the invisible interstices between frames.” Animated cartoons fool the brain into believing that static images can move; characters are “brought to life” by putting pen to paper or […]
above: Seth Boyes, Dickinson County NewsFrom NationalNewspaperWeek.com: This year’s observance will be held Oct. 4-10. This 80th annual National Newspaper Week is a recognition of the service of newspapers and their employees across North America and is sponsored by Newspaper Association Managers. Among the editorial and graphic material available to newspapers are cartoons. The cartoons […]
Thatababy © Paul TrapCongratulations to Paul Trap on ten years of Thatababy.The entire 10 year archive is available at GoComics. Bringing Up Father © King Features SyndicateIn the vintage section of Comics Kingdom Jiggs is running for mayor. Two days after our September 29 Presidential Debate the 1946 vintage rerun seemed as current as any editorial […]
Garfield © Paws, Inc and distributed by Andrews McMeel SyndicationIf you think Garfield is just a gag-a-day comic strip you don’t know Garfield. The Garfield comics reek of a dogmatic ideology. They formulate and endorse a brand of lazy cynicism that not only encourages readers to accept the status quo, but also frames the concept […]
UW–Madison’s Lynda Barry is the recipient of the Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year, which is chosen by a secret ballot of the members of the National Cartoonists Society. This recognition is considered by many to be the cartooning profession’s highest honor.The University of Wisconsin – Madison celebrates one of its own getting […]
Famed cartoonist Quino has passed away. Joaquín Salvador Lavado (“Quino”) July 17, 1932 – September 30, 2020 From the Buenos Aires Times:“Quino has died. All good people in the country and in the world will mourn him,” Daniel Divinsky, the head of Buenos Aires publisher Ediciones de la Flor, wrote on Twitter. Under his pen-name “Quino”, […]