Video: Cartoonist's Tour of Hamburg

Let me start out in New York. We'll get to Hamburg shortly.

This was in the early '90s; I remember looking up at a bunch of caricatures, all originals, all hand-drawn on 11" x 14" bristol, hanging along a wall of the Horseheads, NY Town Hall.

"If you knew them, you would know how much the drawings look like them." The woman who told me was a member of the local historical society. The caricatures, from the 1920s, were of local people: a mayor, a barber, etc. She had met the man who drew them, the cartoonist ZIM, when she was a little girl. The well preserved drawings were a point of pride, even if most people did not now recall the subjects.

Horseheads was the home of Eugene "ZIM" Zimmerman (1862-1935), a cartoonist whose name was synonymous with Puck and Judge magazines. He retired there, built a home (the ZIM house, which you may tour if you make an appointment) and became part of the community.

Wouldn't it be nice if every town had a resident cartoonist? Here's one who gives you a tour of where he lives:

German cartoonist Calle Claus, whose THE SCHANZEN BABES series is set where he lives, in Hamburg, may be in that mold. In this short Deutsche Welle segment, he shows us

"the more unconventional side of Hamburg. He recommends a visit to the Schanze neighborhood, the"Saal II"bar and the Millerntor Soccer Stadium."

So nice to see a TV show include a cartoonist in its program. It made me wish for more like this in the future.Who wouldn't want to see Mark Anderson's Chicago, Richard Thompson's Washington, DC, Al Jaffee's New York or Rina Piccolo's Toronto?

How's That GHOST RIDER Protest Going?

Marvel is suing the man who created its GHOST RIDER property, Gary Friedrich, for $17,000. The movie opened this weekend. For the background on this, please take a look here. You may give to Gary Friedrich here.

Conversation I had Friday at the bank. Maybe I should change banks. That's me in the circle there:

You may give to Gary Friedrich here.

Ink and watercolor on butcher's paper.

Video: 22 Bonds for One Minute

Above: all of the James Bonds from the Retro Active Critiques blog.


Here is the first minute of all 22 of the James Bond films all at once from MJCJMJCJM:

"The first minute of all the James Bond films at once. This is a section of a larger project (i.e. all the Bond films at once) designed to give a feeling for the entire experience.

"It is also quite odd."

Yes, pointless, odd ... but time-wasting Web intrigue. Thank you MJCJMJCJM!

A big flying bowler tip to John Klossner!

Related: List of All James Bond Actors.

Court bans cartoon character name for child

A couple who wanted to name their son after a popular French cartoon character have been told they cannot, in the interests of the child.

Matthew Warren reports for The Local:

Regional newspaper Ouest France reported that judges described the cartoon character as "a sympathetic caricature designed to make people laugh on the grounds of his naivety and the ridiculous situations he finds himself in."

As a result, giving this name to a child would "attract mockery" and could risk "constituting a real handicap for a child becoming an adolescent and then an adult, as well as his personal and professional relationships."

The child has been given the more sober name of Grégory in the meantime.

The entire story is here.

1986 NEW WOMAN Calendar Part 3

Part one is here.

Part two is here.

The last bunch of cartoons from the NEW WOMAN Magazine calendar for 1986, copyright 1985 by New Woman Magazine.

Part one is here.

Part two is here.

Video: STAR WARS PHANTOM MENACE 3-DISAPPOINTMENT

From TheSecondCityNetwork:

Otto Soglow Adverts

Ger Apeldoorn shows us a series of unseen Soglow advertising drawings.

Video: Walt Disney on The Jack Benny Hour, 1965

From http://www.nostalgoteket.se/ 



Hat tip to Nancy Beiman via John Cawley

John Severin: 1921-2012

Above: Harvey Kurtzman, John Severin and René Goscinny from the iFanboy site. 
 

Veteran comic book artist John Severin, know for his work for EC, Marvel and CRACKED Magazine, died on Sunday, February 12, 2012 in Denver, CO. He was 90 years old.

His family has released the statement below, which appeared at the ComicMix site:

Internationally acclaimed illustrator-­cartoonist, John Powers Severin (1921-­2012), passed away Sunday, February 12, 2012 at his home in Denver, Colorado with his family by his side.

He was 90 years old.

Throughout his sixty plus year career in comic illustration and cartooning, Severin gained world-­wide notoriety and is regarded by many fans, friends, historians, and colleagues as a truly distinctive and brilliant artist.

Long-time friend and former president and chairman of Marvel Comics, Stan Lee states, “He had an art style that was uniquely and distinctly his own.The minute you looked at his artwork you knew you were looking at a John Severin illustration; it could be no one else. Besides his inimitable style, there was a feeling of total authenticity to whatever he drew, whether it was a Western, a crime story, a superhero saga or a science fiction yarn. Not only was his penciling the very finest, but his inking, too, had a distinctive Severin touch that made every strip he rendered stand out like a winner”.

Severin’s professional career was launched early in high school when he contributed cartoons for the Hobo News. Early in his career, his works were also published by Jack Kirby at Crestwood Publications’ Prize Comics. He co-created the long-running Native American feature American Eagle and continued drawing stories for Prize Comics through 1955.
Called an “artist’s artist”, Severin gained a reputation for his historical knowledge and detail in all genres, most notably war and western. Sharing a Manhattan studio with fellow classmates Harvey Kurtzman and Bill Elder from New York’s famed High School of Music and Art; Severin began drawing for EC Comics. His illustrations graced the covers and inside pages of several EC comic series’ including Two-fisted Tales and Frontline Combat. It was also during this time Severin’s colleagues, Harvey Kurtzman and William Gaines co-created MAD Magazine. Severin was one of the five original artists who played a part in launching the infamous magazine, illustrating features for MAD Magazine between 1952 and 1954.
Upon leaving EC Comics, Severin was sought after to help launch CRACKED Magazine, a new publication that would become the prime competitor to MAD Magazine. Severin, using the pseudonyms “Nireves”, “Le Poer”, and “Noel”, was the lead artist for CRACKED Magazine for an unprecedented 45 years.

Following the cancellation of EC’s comic book line in the mid-1950’s, Severin began working for Atlas Comics, the company that would eventually become Marvel Comics. After the transition to Marvel Comics, Severin contributed his illustrations to several popular titles including The Incredible Hulk, The Nam, Kull the Conqueror, Captain Savage, What The?!, and Semper Fi.

In 2003, Severin revived an outlaw character he created fifty years prior, for Marvel’s controversial Rawhide Kid in the groundbreaking edition Slap Leather. Also in the 2000’s, Severin contributed to Marvel’s The Punisher; DC Comics’ Suicide Squad, American Century, Caper, and Bat Lash; and Dark Horse Comics’ Conan, B.P.R.D. and Witchfinder. Severin’s final illustrations were for Witchfinder: Lost and Gone Forever, published in early 2012.

“One of my greatest regrets, as an editor, was the fact that John was so busy doing other things that I couldn’t give him as many assignments as I would have wished. If it were up to me, I’d have kept him busy drawing for Marvel seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year,” states Lee.

Throughout his life, Severin received numerous honors, recognitions, and awards for his illustrations and contribution to the comic book industry. In 2003 he was inducted into the Eisner Comic Industry Awards – Hall of Fame. His other accolades include:
Best Western – Desperadoes
1967 Alley Award – Sgt. Fury
1968 Alley Award – Sgt. Fury of Shield
1998 American Association of Comic Book Collectors – Hall of Fame
1998 National Inkpot
Marvel Shazam – Conan
2000 American Association of Comicbook Collectors Hall of Fame – Historical Contribution
2000 International Inkpot
2001/2002 Charles M. Shultz “Sparky” Lifetime Achievement
Jules Verne Estate Lifetime Achievement
Marvel Shazam – Kull

“John Severin’s distinguished work is personified by the quality of the man himself. “John Severin was one of the nicest, most decent, honorable, straight-shooting men you’d ever hope to meet,” states Lee. “Truly, the art world has suffered a great loss with John’s passing – but so has the human race. To John’s friends and fans worldwide, he has been greatly loved and will surely be greatly missed.”

John Powers Severin was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. After attending the High School of Music and Art he enlisted in the United States Army where he served in the Pacific Theater during World War II. He moved to Denver, Colorado in 1970. As a freelance comic illustrator and cartoonist, thousands of Severin’s illustrations have been published and admired by fans worldwide. John Severin is survived by his wife of 60 years, Michelina, 6 children, 13 grandchildren, 8 great grandchildren, a step great granddaughter and Severin’s sister, Marie Severin, who is also a comic illustrator and cartoonist.

Love Cartoons

Here are a few cartoons I've drawn about love. Dating cartoons, love cartoons, marriage cartoons. courting cartoons, lover's quarrel cartoons, married cartoons, penguin love, people loving people, spousal love spats, geriatric love, urban love ...

 Above: a cartoon from Reader's Digest. The penguin in love with a bowling pin cartoon is the one I use on my business card.

"I look forward to growing old with you. It's the maintenance I hate."

I actually said this while jogging along Pacific Street in Brooklyn. Every once in a while I say something that becomes a cartoon. The fact I remembered it, drew it up and sent it out is a testament to my concentration. Usually when I say something funny, it disappears into the ether. I forget it. The cartoon was published in the Wall Street Journal.

"Breaking up is hard to do. So how 'bout I just send an e-mail?"

"I won't know how I really feel about him til I hack into his Netflix queue."

"This is all very romantic, but I can't see my fork."

"I accept. But there may be some monitoring for quality assurance."

"If you get half the closet for shoes, then I get a drawer for my old rock concert t-shirts."

"Do you know I haven't eaten a pie tip since before we were married?"

"I converted all our old love letters to text messages."

"Let's quit this exhausting dating routine and get married all ready."

"I'd be glad to accept your invitation to come in cutie -- if your kids have grown up and left."

"Why do all my inner demons look like you?"

"I'm emotional. It's just that yours scare mine into hiding."

"We're in the tub together. But not like it used to be."

"Remember when we were young and fancy free -- back before everything had to have coasters under it?"

"No, you're not interrupting a damn thing. We're just having our usual argument about who came first."

1986 NEW WOMAN Calendar Part 2

Part one is here.

some more cartoons from the NEW WOMAN Magazine calendar for 1986, copyright 1985 by New Woman Magazine.

These cartoons tend to encompass the older, post-war pros (Stan Fine, Ed Arno and Lo Linkert to name some) and the new cartoonists on the block (Leo Cullum, P.C. Vey, Michael Maslin, etc.).