Who would have guessed that Chicago was the birthplace of comics? The exhibition focuses on the origins of the comics in popular publishing, the immeasurable importance of African-American cartoonists and publishing, the first woman cartoonists and editors, the first daily comic strip, and finally the art and comics of undeservedly forgotten Frank King, who with […]
Magazine cartoonist Will McPhail has a new book out and is making the rounds. Which was scarier? Sending your first cartoon to the New Yorker or sitting down to work on your debut graphic novel? Definitely The New Yorker. I had no idea that I was supposed to be scared of doing the graphic novel […]
You’re not supposed to lead off with the sports, but, when the Supreme Court goes 9-0 on anything, that qualifies as news, and their slapdown of the NCAA is a rebuke to fat cats, which counts for something beyond sports.Matt Davies (AMS) indeed points out the phognus-bolognus element of that high-toned shamateurism.Here’s a snippet from […]
Sparky and Peanuts seems to be in the news a lot these days.Most of it is because of the June 25 debut of a new Schulz documentary.From the Tales Buzz review:Apple TV+ is now the home of all-things-“Peanuts” — so it’s the logical place home for a new documentary about Charles Schulz, who created the […]
Paresh Nath (Cartoon Arts Int’l) posted this cartoon before the elections in Iran, but that’s an irrelevant detail, since everyone already knew the results before the elections took place. He may have been taking artistic advantage of the term being used in Iran, that the election was “engineered” by the hardliners of the Guardian Council.It’s […]
A couple Warren, Ohio newspapers felt the need to let their readers know that the Crankshaft story line last week was not indicative of the state of their newspapers. Tom Batiuk, author of the syndicated comic strip “Crankshaft” published regularly in the Tribune Chronicle, often strays from humor in his comic strips to bring attention […]
First: this is not about Father’s Day. Second: apologies for the profanity in the hed. Though comic fans should be used to such.Newspaper comics have been accused of being coarse and rude since their beginningsandVulgar then did not mean sex and bodily functions, rather the low humor of the comics – the physical activity, the […]
Sorry for anyone who came here expecting a Swedish pop group.“Abba” is Aramaic for father, with a touch of both affection and respect. We’ll get into the Biblical aspect in a minute, but, first, a salute to Edison Lee (KFS) for rising above the usual Father’s Day cartoon, or, more specifically, daring to break the […]
Newspaper cartoonist and illustrator Ron Rice has passed away. Ronald Maburn (Ron) Rice January 31, 1933 – March 15, 2021 newspaper illustrator, graphic artist, caricaturist, cartoonistFrom the obituary: By profession Ron Rice was an artist for almost sixty years until the onset of Alzheimer’s prevented him from creating his art. He worked in almost […]
That didn’t take long.Less than a month after the Alden acquisition the Chicago Tribune exodus began. Mary Schmich is the latest to accept a buyout offer. With the wisdom, humility and grace that shined through every column she wrote, Pulitzer Prize winner Mary Schmich bowed out Saturday after 36 years with the Chicago Tribune. In […]
Clay Bennett (CTFP) is not the only observer to suggest that our newest federal holiday is a gesture without substance.A welcome gesture, certainly, though, as noted here yesterday — and with more depth here — our wage-slave structure doesn’t observe half the holidays we’ve already got, and I would note that, if you go back […]
A couple months ago we reported that the Tarzan comic strip, after ninety years, would no longer be appearing in newspapers.After 92 years the Tarzan comic strip will no longer be offered as a syndicated comic strip. Andrews McMeel Syndication (AMS) has confirmed that it will halt distribution on June 20, 2021.That remains true.We ended […]
Cartoonists Gary Huck and Mike Konopacki were honored by The Labor Heritage Foundation with the presentation of the “lifetime achievement” Joe Hill Award. The Joe Hill Award honors leaders and artists who have contributed to the successful integration of arts and culture in the labor movement. Every year at the Great Labor Arts Exchange, the […]
I’m pleased with the recognition, but I agree with Bill Bramhall that it ought not to be the end of the process.I’ll admit my first reaction was “There’s another day the post office and the banks will be closed,” because American wage slaves don’t get many of our federal holidays off.Here’s the current list:New Year’s […]
Little Orphan Annie and the Melting Pot Harold Gray has been derided as a conservative, and that he was, but he had a complicated relationship with ethnic figures. He both painted them with limiting stereotypes at the same time as elevating them to heroic status that few other comic strip creators of the era […]