Stories about people getting fired before landing great success or fame are interesting to hear. As it turns out, The Oconee Enterprise has such a story. In 1978, Peter Steiner was fired from this newspaper for cartoons about a controversial school bond referendum. He went on to draw for The New Yorker and is well […]
Anne Morse Hambrock (Ind) asks a troubling question in “Anne and God,” one that we should all ponder.Okay, that was long enough.Thing is, once something is established as a holiday dish, it doesn’t matter what it tastes like or how it’s made.Many a young bride (well, one I know of) has made green bean casserole […]
[Jules] Rivera says that as she researched the strip to prepare her audition portfolio she realized that despite their age differences she and Mark Trail had some key similarities. “I really liked that at its core Mark Trail was about something very pure that I can get behind,” Rivera says. “It’s about a dude who […]
Humor writer and copywriter John Brinkerhoff has passed away. John Scott Brinkerhoff August 16, 1944 – November 23, 2020 From the obituary:After graduating from Newbury High School in 1962, he went to Ohio University to study journalism. In his junior year, he was the recipient of a William Randolph Hearst National Journalism Award for his eyewitness […]
In the Spring of 1954 newspaper readers were offered, for the price of a self-addressed stamped envelope, “The Peanuts Album.” a twelve page booklet featuring the then stars of Charles M. Schulz‘s comic strip. As the promo above notes there were 10,000 of the items printed, now a rarity.But now the original art for the […]
A whole lot of cartoons just went obsolete, including this one by Mike Luckovich (AJC). But others spring up to take their place, and this Pat Byrnes (Cagle) piece makes a lovely companion piece to Luckovich’s earlier cartoon, the pair, taken together, offering a reasonable perspective on the past several weeks.Even yesterday’s concession was half-hearted at […]
From NBCWashington: A man who was known throughout the D.C. area for his satirical comics was struck and killed by a car in Old Town Alexandria Friday. Justin Benedict, 55, was crossing South Washington Street at the intersection of Wilkes Street about 4 p.m. when a car struck him, police said. Justin Cascaden Benedict1965 – […]
King Features’ Flash Forward, with cartoonists creating Sunday pages featuring Flash Gordon, reminds me of another Sunday(-ish) page project of 50 years ago. In 1970 Union Carbide licensed Flash Gordon to promote their plastic product Bakelite. They hired Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson to produce a half dozen one-page adventures that were placed in various […]
There’s not much new going on in the political realm, so I thought I’d clean up a few things that either could have run this past Friday but didn’t, or that won’t wait until the next.In his weekly wrap-up blog, Wayno noted that he could have put a sash on the traditional Old Year figure […]
Gag writer Choc Hutcheson has passed away. Charlie Robert “Choc” Hutcheson March 13, 1926 – November 19, 2020 From the obituary:As a high school student at Monument, Choc became a reporter for the Hobbs, New Mexico, Daily News Sun, and found a calling as a journalist that would spur a career in print and television news […]
Flash Gordon © King Features SyndicateJim Keefe noted that the monster introduced last week (above left) and continuing this week (above right) in Flash Gordon was an Easter Egg referencing the first inhabitant that Flash had met upon landing on Mongo.Little Easter Egg in today’s strip. The monster in the last panel is the […]
Editor’s Note: I brought “My Cousin Vinny” into the conversation two weeks before Rudy did, and hardly in the same context:Poor Fred Gwynne was a decent judge stuck between nitwits from both sides of the cultural divide, with (spoiler alert!) the outcome decided by a blue-collar city girl who knew an awful lot about things […]
It Ain’t The Stanley But…In a year in which horrible news has been replaced by more horrible news, the job of a political cartoonist is more important than ever. That’s according to the Museum of Australian Democracy, which has named The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age’s Cathy Wilcox the political cartoonist of the year. […]
Early Daily Peanuts Comic Strip Auctions for $192,000From Bleeding Cool: Charles Schulz‘s Peanuts syndicated comic strip began its 17897 strip, 50-year run on October 2, 1950. Snoopy first appeared just two days later on October 4, 1950. An earliest-days Peanuts comic strip from November 17, 1950 has just hammered at Heritage Auctions for $192,000 — […]
Riding Mike’s coattails (again).Over The Hedge © MFry & TLewisThe Four Horsedudes of the $#!+show is my favorite comic art this week (though the jokes are laughable; wait..what?). The Over the Hedge sequence starts on the 17th and ends today. Shoe © MacNellyLet’s also take note of the extra effort into lush scenery at Shoe. Zippy © […]