Biden’s decision to cancel a portion of student loan debt is top of the news, and Kevin Siers makes the point that, while it’s not a cure-all, lot of people wanted it to happen.It’s a sign of the times that doing something a lot of people wanted you to do carries a tinge of partisan […]
In 16 months Mickey Mouse‘s official debut* animated cartoon, Steamboat Willie, will go public domain, but The Mouse will remain very much a Disney property.© Disney The iconic character that has come to define the entire Disney brand made his first appearance as the title character in 1928’s Steamboat Willie, which will lapse into the […]
Book publishers just spent 3 weeks in court arguing they have no idea what they’re doing On August 22, oral arguments ended in the Justice Department’s antitrust trial to block the book publisher Penguin Random House from merging with rival Simon & Schuster. The result of the trial, which is expected to be decided later […]
Can a caricaturist sell copies of his caricature of Jack Nicholson or any celebrity on T-shirts at some store or over the internet? How about all those caricature prints selling daily on eBay and Etsy? Each case has its own individual facts and facets, but the underlying law that allows public figures to protect the value of their […]
When last we checked in with Bud Fisher he had created the first successful daily newspaper comic strip* Mr. A. Mutt, which debuted on November 15, 1907 in the San Francisco Chronicle.The daily was an instant San Francisco treat and proved to be a great circulation booster for M. H. de Young‘s newspaper, which really […]
Today’s Zits (KFS) illustrates the problem I have with podcasts. It’s not that they’re a collection of belches and farts, exactly, but they tend to be just about that rigorous in the way they’re set up and planned out.There’s already a certain amount of ego involved in thinking people want to know what’s on your […]
When “Peanuts” cartoonist Charles M. “Sparky” Schulz died in Santa Rosa in 2000, his wife of 27 years already was deeply involved in the world of cartooning. Since then, Jeannie Schulz has emerged as an ambassador not only for her late husband’s work, but also for the art of cartooning worldwide. “She’s one of the […]
There has been a dark side to newspaper comics from the very beginning.Death and dismemberment from Hogan’s Alley to Terry and The Pirates to Doonesbury.© Tribune Content AgencyTom Batiuk’s Funky Winkerbean seems to have become the default fall strip for the present embodiment of tragedy in the “funny” papers. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of […]
Max Beerbohm was born 150 years ago.A Catalogue of The Caricatures of Max Beerbohm (1972)From Wikipedia: Sir Henry Maximilian Beerbohm (24 August 1872 – 20 May 1956) was an English essayist, parodist and caricaturist under the signature Max. He first became known in the 1890s as a dandy and a humourist. He was the drama […]
This Jason Chatfield piece could be a gag or a political cartoon, but, either way, it’s an exaggerated look at how I shop these days.I recognize that my refusal to buy Arizona Iced Tea is a personal crotchet: They’ve changed hands several times since trying to use Crazy Horse’s name on a malt liquor and […]
The Comics Journal released its obituary of Paul Coker, Jr. today.Comics historian and Cartoon Art Museum curator Andrew Farago does a great job by Coker. This has perhaps the best accounting of Paul’s early career at Hallmark Cards. One of his first clients, the Kansas City-based Hallmark, hired him as a staff designer in 1955. […]
Counterpoint Licensing and Syndication (aka Counterpoint Media) has expanded their roster of editorial cartoonists with the recent addition of Eric Allie and Mike Beckom.Their profiles and cartoon galleries join the original five (scroll down). Counterpoint Syndication now has seven – The Magnificent Seven?
Cracked Mazagine no longer prints its issues but it does maintain an active website and … This week on Cracked we’ll be talking all things Calvin and Hobbes A Short History Of ‘Calvin and Hobbes,’ The Last Great Newspaper Comic Well, none other than the authoritative voice of Slate calls Calvin and Hobbes “the last […]
Apparently he doesn’t, Loretta.Netiquette has seemingly vanished since the Good Old Days when people knew that all-caps was SHOUTING and stupid and the sign of a troll, and when we all knew better than to feed the trolls.And there were only a half dozen emoticons and none of them looked like little cartoons.Now the little […]