Comics maven, historian, archivist, dealer, and publisher Russ Cochran has passed away. above: Russ Cochran portrait by Frank FrazettaRussell Vance (Russ) Cochran July 3, 1937 – February 23, 2020Self-described as “Ph.D. in Physics, 1964, Professor at Drake University 1964-1974, Publisher of collector books, 1971-date, lover of all apes.”The news of Russ’ passing was posted by […]
James Thurber‘s first drawings appeared in the The New Yorker dated ninety years ago today.In the New Yorker issue dated February 22, 1930 a short James Thurber contribution included two illustrations, the first Thurber drawings to appear in the magazine.[James Thurber’s words first appeared in the February 26, 1927 New Yorker, but since prose and […]
Ed Hall offers a commentary on an item from Dear Leader’s budget, which eliminates funding for Stars and Stripes, the newspaper that has kept the military informed since the Civil War, operating out of the Department of Defense but with full First Amendment rights and a separate congressional ombudsman to protect them.It is, of course, […]
MAD #12 comes out tomorrow and does not contain NEW material from Dick DeBartolo. That ends a streak going back to the June 1966 dated MAD and lasting to the February 2020 dated MAD, encompassing 459 issues!As Tom Richmond notes:It’s also very much worth noting that this issue of MAD magazine is the first one […]
above: Régis LoiselAn exhibit of original European comic art in New York City gives Forbes a reason to look at the collectors market for original comic art.Philippe Labaune, founder of Art9, has a few ideas explaining why American collectors are getting into original comics art right now. “The American collector is moving steadily towards the […]
Pia Guerra comments on the return of Hope Hicks to the White House, and I’m not sure if she’s just perceptive or if she’s heard the rumors, too, but there’s something running around that the old man is starting to slip a few cogs and they’re trying to keep him patched up.Which would not only […]
Seems Dennis is right:I love books. The problem is that my book-buying habit outpaces my ability to read them. This leads to FOMO and occasional pangs of guilt over the unread volumes spilling across my shelves. Sound familiar? But it’s possible this guilt is entirely misplaced. According to statistician Nassim Nicholas Taleb, these unread volumes […]
The National Cartoonists Society is noting that Garry B. Trudeau will be presented the Society’s the Gold T-Square.From NCS President Jason Chatfield:On behalf of the board of directors of the National Cartoonists Society, It is my great pleasure to announce that Garry Trudeau will be awarded the Gold T-Square award at the 74th Annual Reuben […]
Jerry Craft and his New Kid graphic novel make history.The School Library Journal reports:History was made at the 2020 Youth Media Awards in Philadelphia. A graphic novel has won the John Newbery Medal for the first time in its nearly 100-year history [emphasis added] as Jerry Craft earned the honor for New Kid.The Caldecott Medal […]
Lynn Johnston has a new outlet for her licensed products. What Would Mary Do? Washington Post on the current Library of Congress comics exihibit. Perks of Being Short – A Brisa Cartoon and Commentary Gallery. Who’s the caricaturist? Kevin Cooley Wins 2020 Lucy Shelton Caswell Research Award. Hollywood’s Lalo Alcaraz talks #OscarsSoWhite (scroll down) The […]
400 acres of what used to be the Dogpatch USA (1968-1993) amusement park, based on the Li’l Abner comic strip (1934-1977) by Al Capp, is going on the auction block.The abandoned Dogpatch theme park will be sold at auction outside the courthouse in Jasper on March 3 if the current owners don’t come up with […]
The 2020 Judges’ Choices for automatic inclusion into the Eisner Hall of Fame are Nell Brinkley and E. Simms Campbell.Comic-Con International (Comic-Con) has announced that the Eisner Awards judges have selected two individuals to automatically be inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Awards Hall of Fame for 2020. These inductees are pioneering newspaper cartoonist Nell Brinkley (creator […]
Happy Birthday John Romita, born January 24, 1930. John now becomes a member of our Senior Strippers Club.John is famous, of course, for being a premiere romance comic book artist for DC and Marvel. John’s long comic book career saw him do everything from western heroes to super heroes. He even managed to find time […]
Comics author, historian, and translator Wolfgang J. Fuchs has passed away.Wolfgang J. Fuchs September 16, 1945 – January 20, 2020author, journalist, film historian comics author, historian, translator From Karen Green, Curator for Comics and Cartoons at Columbia University Libraries:Just seeing the news, posted by his daughter Anna, that Wolfgang Fuchs passed away this morning. Wolfgang was […]
In the January 15, 1870 issue of Harper’s Weekly Thomas Nast published his first Democratic Donkey cartoon. The repeated use of the image by the Dean of American Editorial Cartooning insured that the symbol would become lasting. By the 1880s it was understood by all that The Donkey equaled The Democrats.The above cartoon is often […]