What will life be like in the 21st century? Over fifty years ago, here's Walter Cronkite with some retro speculation:
Friday, January 17, 2020
Thursday, January 16, 2020
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
1980s Video: Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons on Watchmen
From the Canadian 1980s comic book interview show "Prisoners of Gravity:"
Tuesday, January 14, 2020
A Milt Gross Cartoon: "Jitterbug Follies" 1939
Here is an animated MGM short in which Milt Gross' characters Count Screwloose and J.R. The Wonder Dog organize
a talent contest in hope of snagging the prize money.
Monday, January 13, 2020
Jim Rugg " ... [I]t's like I'm looking for something. I don't find it, so I'm going to try to make it myself."
Comic book artist Jim Rugg and Cecil Castellucci talk to NPR about the release of the new hardcover edition of "The Plain Janes." The comic book series started as a graphic novel about female high school girls in 2007. One of the first popular graphic narratives about teen girls, the series was ahead of its time. Bill O'Driscoll interviews them.
JIM RUGG: I had just grown very dissatisfied with what I was seeing at the comic book store, which was mostly, you know, Punisher, Batman, 30 or 40-year-old white male protagonists. And they all just felt like the same.
O'DRISCOLL: This was around 2003.
RUGG: A lot of the stuff I make tends to be that way, where it's like I'm looking for something. I don't find it, so I'm going to try to make it myself.
The audio and transcript are here.
Friday, January 10, 2020
From the Dick Buchanan Files: The Old Joke Cemetery
From the amazing cartoon clip file of Dick Buchanan, here is a selection of moldy oldies. There are over two dozen of these old bon mots, these groaners, these dreadful old jokes. You have been warned! But, hey, if you haven't heard these before, then they are all new to you. Thanks and take it away, Dick:
---
THE OLD JOKE CEMETERY
Laugh In Peace
In 1922, Fred Allen commissioned comic-strip artist Martin Branner (Winnie Winkle) to cover a theater curtain with an elaborate mural painting depicting a cemetery with a punchline on each gravestone and crypt. This was the "Old Joke Cemetery," where overworked gags go to die.
Sadly, Fred Allen’s curtain no longer exists. But, thanks to the Old Joke Recovery Act of 1953, the Old Joke Cemetery has been revived by the Cartoon Clip File. Today it consists of an assemblage of vintage gag cartoons clipped from old magazines and haphazardly pasted on the walls of Cartoon Clip File headquarters.
These are the gag cartoon versions old jokes now interred in the Old Joke Cemetery. No one recalls when or where these gags first appeared but they did and they’ve been with us ever since.
Here’s a chance to say goodbye to some favorite old jokes now interred in the Old Joke Cemetery . . . and keep in mind, some of these old jokes are merely resting and will likely re-appear now and again.
1. AL JOHNS. The Saturday Evening Post December 22 – 29, 1962.
2. SYD HOFF. True Magazine June, 1952.
3. WALTER GOLDSTEIN. The Saturday Evening Post October 16, 1951.
4. PHIL INTERALNDI. Look Magazine December 31, 1962.
5. KAZ. Larry Katzman’s Nurse Nellie cartoons appeared in magazines, book collections and greeting cards. The Saturday Evening Post May 27, 1961.
6. MARTHA BLANCHARD. Look Magazine May 9, 1961.
7. GLEN BERNHARDT. Bernhardt was a West Coast cartoonist who founded the Northern California Cartoon & Humor Association in 1954. Collier’s May 20, 1950.
8. GARDNER REA. Look Magazine April 9, 1963.
9. NED HILTON. Collier’s March 11, 1950.
10. WILLIAM von RIEGEN. Collier’s November 4, 1950.
11. GLEN BERNHARDT. American Magazine June, 1953.
12. BORIS DRUCKER. The Saturday Evening Post June 11, 1949.
13. MICHAEL BERRY. Collier’s December 21, 1946.
14. BRAM. Martin Brammier, Jr. The Saturday Evening Post June 11, 1960.
15. JERRY MARCUS. Here! December, 1951.
16. SYD HOFF. Collier’s March 19, 1949.
17. HERB GREEN. The Saturday Evening Post July 20, 1957.
18. CHON DAY. Collier’s July 18, 1953.
19. PETER WYMA. The Saturday Evening Post April 18, 1959.
20. KATE OSANN. Collier’s April 15, 1950.
21. TUP. Bob Tupper was a popular “men’s interest” magazine cartoonist. a-Laugh-a-Minit January, 1956.
22. GARDNER REA. Collier’s June 26, 1948.
23. JEFF MONAHAN. 1000 Jokes Magazine March-May, 1958.
24. BILL KING. American Legion Magazine May, 1949.
25. JOHN NORMENT. The Saturday Evening Post June 15, 1957.
---
THE OLD JOKE CEMETERY
Laugh In Peace
In 1922, Fred Allen commissioned comic-strip artist Martin Branner (Winnie Winkle) to cover a theater curtain with an elaborate mural painting depicting a cemetery with a punchline on each gravestone and crypt. This was the "Old Joke Cemetery," where overworked gags go to die.
Sadly, Fred Allen’s curtain no longer exists. But, thanks to the Old Joke Recovery Act of 1953, the Old Joke Cemetery has been revived by the Cartoon Clip File. Today it consists of an assemblage of vintage gag cartoons clipped from old magazines and haphazardly pasted on the walls of Cartoon Clip File headquarters.
These are the gag cartoon versions old jokes now interred in the Old Joke Cemetery. No one recalls when or where these gags first appeared but they did and they’ve been with us ever since.
Here’s a chance to say goodbye to some favorite old jokes now interred in the Old Joke Cemetery . . . and keep in mind, some of these old jokes are merely resting and will likely re-appear now and again.
1. AL JOHNS. The Saturday Evening Post December 22 – 29, 1962.
2. SYD HOFF. True Magazine June, 1952.
3. WALTER GOLDSTEIN. The Saturday Evening Post October 16, 1951.
4. PHIL INTERALNDI. Look Magazine December 31, 1962.
5. KAZ. Larry Katzman’s Nurse Nellie cartoons appeared in magazines, book collections and greeting cards. The Saturday Evening Post May 27, 1961.
6. MARTHA BLANCHARD. Look Magazine May 9, 1961.
7. GLEN BERNHARDT. Bernhardt was a West Coast cartoonist who founded the Northern California Cartoon & Humor Association in 1954. Collier’s May 20, 1950.
8. GARDNER REA. Look Magazine April 9, 1963.
9. NED HILTON. Collier’s March 11, 1950.
10. WILLIAM von RIEGEN. Collier’s November 4, 1950.
11. GLEN BERNHARDT. American Magazine June, 1953.
12. BORIS DRUCKER. The Saturday Evening Post June 11, 1949.
13. MICHAEL BERRY. Collier’s December 21, 1946.
14. BRAM. Martin Brammier, Jr. The Saturday Evening Post June 11, 1960.
15. JERRY MARCUS. Here! December, 1951.
16. SYD HOFF. Collier’s March 19, 1949.
17. HERB GREEN. The Saturday Evening Post July 20, 1957.
18. CHON DAY. Collier’s July 18, 1953.
19. PETER WYMA. The Saturday Evening Post April 18, 1959.
20. KATE OSANN. Collier’s April 15, 1950.
21. TUP. Bob Tupper was a popular “men’s interest” magazine cartoonist. a-Laugh-a-Minit January, 1956.
23. JEFF MONAHAN. 1000 Jokes Magazine March-May, 1958.
24. BILL KING. American Legion Magazine May, 1949.
25. JOHN NORMENT. The Saturday Evening Post June 15, 1957.
Thursday, January 09, 2020
How to Draw Graphic Novels Class
The graphic novel class that I taught at the Conway (NH) Public Library has come to an end. We started in September and ended just this Wednesday, meeting once a week (except for holidays). This class was in addition to the History of Comics class I was teaching at the Institute of Art and Design at New England College.
It was an honor and great fun to teach the talented cartoonists who attend the Kennett Middle School. The three students created about sixty pages of sequential narrative with their own plots and characters.
There are stories about
- a playground that brings friends together,
- a battle between housepets and squirrels, and
- a lonely doll who finds love.
All of these stories will soon be on display in the library.
Yes, there is talk of doing another class this fall!
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