Industry news for the professional cartoonist
Thirty years ago, mid-1993, a Flash Gordon story comes to an end. And with the end of the story comes the end of the daily syndicated Flash Gordon comic strip. So on July 3, 1993 the daily Flash Gordon by Thomas Warkentin and an Argentina Art Studio ended: (note: Argentina Art Studio = Andrés Klacik;…
Hogan’s Alley was a famous (now and then) Sunday comic that began in Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World. It was created by Richard Felton Outcault and continued by George Benjamin Luks. It ran from May 5, 1895 to December 5, 1897. Here is the last Hogan’s Alley that ran 125 years ago today (from Pulitzer’s…
Mark Trail dailies went rerun earlier this year, Sundays go rerun with August 23, 2020. No word has been forthcoming from King Features Syndicate, so for the nonce Mark Trail has ended. Mark Trail, created by cartoonist and outdoorsman Ed Dodd, debuted on April 15, 1946 along with Andy and the signature ball: A few…
With the (temporary) end of new Amazing Spider-Man comic strips it seems a good time for this. Stan Lee had a few runs at comic strips earlier in his career. In the early 1950s he wrote My Friend Irma and Hoody Doody. Later in The Fifties and stretching into the early Sixties he was…
I believe comics can be educational without being educational comics, and today’s Rubes (Creators) brought to mind a visit to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo when my boys were about three and seven. We had a family membership and visited often, and I think the boys learned something every time, but never so much as the…
Chicagology present a fully illustrated history of Sidney Smith‘s career as a Chicago Tribune cartoonist. From Old Doc Yak to The Gumps Sidney Smith was arguably the most popular cartoonist in America during the 1920s until his death in 1935. Certainly The Gumps gave Mutt and Jeff a run for the money. Smith was the…
San Marcos Daily Record columnist Jerry Hall opens his Sunday column about Peanuts reminiscing: Let us depart from topics of nature and consider something that has given me a great deal of enjoyment — newspaper comic strips. Down through the years, I have perused lots of different strips, ranging from Major Hoople and the Katzenjammer…
Garfield, FurBabies, Calvin and Hobbes, Bliss/Not Bliss/Bob Mankoff Presents, The K Chronicles, Flash Gordon, The Phantom, Popeye, caption contests, and Mike Peterson captioned. The LIFE Story of Garfield Ever since Garfield swaggered onto the pages of 41 American newspapers on June 19, 1978, the rotund feline famous for his love of lasagna, naps, and sarcastic…
Mad Cave has signed a deal with King Features to publish new comic book stories starring Flash Gordon. The partnership also permits Mad Cave to publish collections of Flash Gordon comic strips and the first volume has been announced. Flash Gordon: Classic Collection Volume One is due in July 2024. This is all fine and…
Comics Kingdom is now running three Tribune Content Agency (TCA) comics on its website. From the Comics Kingdom blog: We’re thrilled to announce the arrival of three beloved classic comic strips to our Comics Kingdom family: Dick Tracy, Broom Hilda, and Pluggers. Whether you’re a lifelong fan or new to these iconic series, something special…
William Hamilton and The New Yorker, the animated adventures of Prince Valiant, Bill Gallo, Romero’s Axa, Jay Stephens interview, the dark side of book publishing, Brian Fies, and why cartoons are still worthwhile. I may have some doubts about the cartoons that have appeared in The New Yorker for the past quarter century as to…
Kevin Necessary’s cartoon must surely seem an exaggeration to anyone who hasn’t been following the real-world case, but this argument is not simply being advanced in earnest but appears to have some traction with a substantial portion of the Supreme Court. And about that court: As Ann Telnaes points out, even having his wife active…
Start with an explainer from Brewster Rockit (Tribune). The strip is usually an absurdist laff-fest, but it breaks from time to time for an explanation, which goes to show that humor is funnier when the joker understands the topic. And, boy, would I like to carve that in stone. The cartoons that work are the…
I had to look up Celeste Maloy, but I already know who Pat Bagley is, and already I knew who’s picking our fruits and vegetables, and I know who isn’t. There are two ways of looking at this: One is to emphasize the racism, because Maloy has come out in support of Trump’s promise to…
King Features Syndicate has released Digital Press Kits for two new comics offered to digital and print publications. Dumplings by Victor Van Acker first appeared on Comics Kingdom last Summer. The King Features (KFS) press kit says the comic strip is now/will be available to hard copy newspapers daily and Sunday. KFS describes the strip:…