Cartoon Limbo Reception Friday, January 5, 2007

A week from today is the Cartoon Limbo opening night reception with lots of great cartoonists and illustrators eating wine and cheese and talking shop.

More here.

Justin Bilicki Blog

Editorial Cartoonist Justin Bilicki has a blog.

If you like to know more about the cartoon process (idea --> sketch --> finish), then this is a treasure trove of off the cuff information from a rising star.

Justin, get well soon!

Hat tip AAEC site.

2 National Cartoonist Society Get Togethers in One Day

OK, usually I put some hyperlinks and more comments in the next couple of blogs, but it's getting late ....

It's been a really exhausting, but fun day -- with a cartoony confluence of two NCS get togethers -- but now it's time to go to bed. More anon.

Berndt Toast Gang Meeting December 28, 2006

Last month I asked for a show of hands: "Who's gonna be around in December? Who wants to have lunch?" I figured maybe 6-8 people would show for a get together that took place between Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year's.

I figured wrong!

We got 45 people to the Berndt Toast Gang lunch! Wow!


Mike Lynch, Adrian Sinnott, John Reiner and Stan Goldberg. (Look for linkies to most of these guys at our Berndt Toast Gang members page.)


On display: Early 1960s King Features Archie strips, courtesy of the collection of Joe Vissichelli.

An example of the lushness of these strips. Bob Montana is credited, but I have no idea if this was his work, or the product of a King Features ghost.


More Betty. See how the Zip-a-tone adhesive has stained the original.


Joe Edwards signs some Archies while Tony D'Amato looks on.


Marty Macalusco, Ray Alma, Ed Steckley and Steve Duquette

More items on display: a card that Al Scaduto did for his girlfriend Claire.


One of many recent model studies that Stan Goldberg shared.

Jerry Jurman: His hat can beat up your hat.


Question: Who is wearing THIS?


Answer: The guy on the right, Sy Barry; pictured with Sandy Kossin


Al Scaduto sings while Claire looks on.

Bill Kresse plays Auld Lang Syne. Bill's career will be the focus of a Hogan's Alley article in 2007.


Yukking it up from left to right: Adrian Sinnott, Stan Goldberg, Jeff Fisher, Sandy Kossin, Don Orehek


A couple of toughs: Arnie Levin and John Reiner.

NYC NCS Get Together 12/28/06

The NYC Chapter of the National Cartoonists Society got together the night of December 28, 2006, at the Society of Illustrators on East 63rd.

Dan Piraro adds a page to the NYC NCS sketchbook.

Mike Lynch, Irwin Hasen, Arnold Roth.

Chari Pere looks on as Nina Paley reads one of her own comics in front of her.

Tony Murphy and Dan Piraro

The SI has been around for many years, and the walls are full of wonderful items. Above, what looks like a program from April 17, 1917.

Some great WWII era cheesecake.

No ID on the above photo. My guess is that that's Osborn in the middle. I think there's a "loose lips" kinda message going on -- but that's just a guess.

Another piece in the hallway on your way to the bathrooms. Like I said, everywhere you turn there's a great piece of art.

Illustrators were better dressed back then.

And here's the gang at the SI bar/restaurant.

Cartoonist Tax Deductions

I read this on a colleague's blog (which has now myseriously disappeared, otherwise I would link to it):

"I've heard that if you play your cards right, you can enjoy many benefits come tax season. I've heard you can write off supplies, rooms in your home, costs of printing, etc..."

These are good questions. I deduct these items from my US taxes that I need for my cartooning:

• travel expenses (subway, cab fare, mileage) to and from any pro cartoon-related event;
• related media (cable, newspapers, cartoon books, movies);
• supplies;
• subscriptions;
• dues;
• any meals that are had during a meeting with a cartoonist (unless the other cartoonist picks up the tab);
• software/hardware;
• postage;
• a percentage of the square footage of my apt; same portion of utilities.
  

I think that those are the main things.

Sticking points:

• travel expenses for mileage can be written down and kept in a calendar for that purpose. I use Google to figure out the mileage to my home and the cartoon-related event since I'm always forgetting to look at the odometer;
• related media is a sticking point. Since I track trends and what people are talking about, anything from a newspaper to a movie is fair game IN MY OPINION. I am prepared to argue this if I am challenged;
  
• supplies -- and I deduct the mileage to and from the office supply store as well;
  
• subscriptions -- for instance, I deduct a PLAYBOY subscription since it's one of my markets. Yeah, I only read it for the cartoons, etc;
• dues (to professional and affiliated groups -- for instance, I take out my dues for the NCS as well as the Freelancers Union and so on);
  
• meals are OK, as long as they're business-related -- but you can only deduct a portion of the actual expense on your taxes -- if you're doing your taxes with a tax program, the tax program will do it for you;
  
• software/hardware related to your cartoon drawing -- I really could not figure out a valid way to deduct an iPod;
• postage for submissions, invoices, etc., natch;
  
• a percentage of the square footage of my apt. & utilities (any tax program/professional can easily guide you thru this and it's a lot easier than you think).

I have no idea if this will help you. This is all stuff I've been doing for years and I am no tax expert. Remember that! If you want a tax expert, go get one!

Regardless, it's easy to do. Or, I should say, easier than I thought it was. And the tax programs -- at least the Tax Cut from Kiplinger that I use -- can guide your through this and are available now.

There were always 2 reasons why I did not go freelance for many years: fear of no health care and fear of dealing with the paperwork. Those were dumb reasons.

Oh, and if I or this blog mysteriously disappears one day, then, well, heh heh -- I was all wrong.

Stephan Pastis Interview

"Q: You’re very upfront about not being able to draw. What made you think you could make a living as a cartoonist?

"A: I was crazy. I was nuts. I don’t know what I was thinking."

Good interview with PEARLS BEFORE SWINE comics strip creator (and lawyer) Stephan Pastis by Mindie Paget at the Lawrence (KS) Journal-World.

Hey, I went to elementary school in Lawrence! Good ol' Deerfield Elementary!

Kindly Midwestern hat tip to The Daily Cartoonist.

Chad Vader Day Shift Manager

Episode 5 of the Chad Vader (Darth's dumb brother) Day Shift Manager is up. Take a look here for all the episodes.

Cartoon Finishes for Wall Street Journal

This is one of these "process" blog entries, wherein I tell you in rather plodding step-by-step detail how a Wall Street Journal cartoon gets sold. Or, in this case, a couple of cartoons. And then, once a cartoonist gets the good news that their creation is sold to a big-time publication, what happens next.



Step 1: the batch is sent to WSJ. A batch is 10-15 cartoons, printed on typing paper, with my contact info. on the back, mailed in a 9x12 envelope. I always send photocopies. I enclose a self addressed stamped envelope. The first year, I sent a cover letter, telling them who I was, my Web site address and contact info. As the months went by, and I was getting published, I would tweak my cover letter, going from:

"My cartoons can be seen in publications such as 'Wankel Rotary Engine Quarterly' and 'The Dumpsville Picayune;'"

to:

"My cartoons can be seen in 'The New York Daily News' and 'Harvard Business Review;'"

-- thus letting the editor know that I was some kinda serious up and coming cartooist, and that I was making progress from regional to national sales. Now, I don't bother.



The editors pulled 5 cartoons. When I say "pull," I mean that they took some cartoons that they were interested in, and mailed the rest back. After 2-6 weeks, they mailed me their buys. Above are a couple of the buys, with the editors' "OK" in the lower right-hand corner.

I have to do redraws. This is step 2. I hate redraws.

They bought 3 cartoons out the batch. (That's a real good ratio of rejects to buys. See "Rejection, Rejection, Rejection" for more on this.) The good news was that I did not have to redraw the "it's the maintenance I hate" cartoon at the top up there, by simple fact of its shape: it's square.

The WSJ prints their cartoons in a square format. So, that's why they asked for redraws for the more rectangular-shaped ones. The cartoon is published about 1.5 inches square, so having a "bold line" is good advice that they give you in their pre-printed acceptance note.


The reason I dislike redraws is that I've all ready drawn them. I mean, it's just not interesting to draw them over again. The helium's outta the balloon, if yaknowhuddImean. Regardless, he who takes the king's money is the king's man. So, the cartoons are redrawn:

Step 3: Print clean copies of the redraws, put them in an envelope, along with the "OKs," and mail them to the editors. If they meet with their approval, a check is forthcoming.

WSJ is a kindred market. I made on of my first ever national sale to them. But it took at least 6 months of sending in a batch every month (you do the math) before they bought one.

End of lesson.

DIY FREAKOUT! Groovy '70s Stuff

Yeah, OK, I'll admit that in 1970, when I was a kid, I had a black light and a couple of black light posters. But, that's where my cool act stopped, baby.

I gotta admit ,I was an ordinary suburban Midwestern elementary school kid who took a Peanuts lunchbox to school and collected Hot Wheels cars, and, therefore, pretty much a wee juvenile pimply poser when it came to being cool in the 70s.

Go and look at Johnny C's blog Hole in the Head, which nostalgically showcases a bunch of cool catalog pages from the whacky 1972 lifestyle. Black light Tweetie & Cool Cat posters that I get to paint myself?! Where's Mom's Mastercharge?! And look at the cool the inflatable furniture!

PS For more 70s fun, check out The Strata Action Team page from Adult Swim. It's a fun preview. Maybe not as good as the funny cheesy Tenacious D clip, but pretty retro hipster-doofus cool if you're into parodies of bad live-action kiddie shows of the 1970s.

Saturday Lunch with Frank Bolle, Orlando Busino, Ron Goulart, Lowell Hess, Bob Weber

Hey, let's all take the Metro North train from Grand Central to Westport, CT to hang out with some great cartoon artists, OK? OK!

Pretty much every Saturday, these guys get together for food and shop talk in this commuter town. This was my second visit with these guys since I've been blogging. More about them in this August entry.

Nice thing about Westport is that it's only about an hour from NYC, and the restaurant is an easy walk from the station. Over the years, many cartoonists moved to CT, commuting to "the city" in the 1950s, 60s and 70s to do the rounds. The Famous Artists School, a seminal learn-to-draw-by-mail course, was founded here.


Here's Walt Needham, Stephen Shoff, and Frank Bolle.

Frank Bolle, a veteran cartoon artist, is known for so much: comic books (Doctor Solar, Flash Gordon, all those Gold Key scary books I liked as a kid: Grimm's Ghost Stories, Boris Karloff's Tales of Mystery and Rod Sterling's Twilight Zone), Winnie Winkle, The Heart of Juliet Jones, Apartment 3-G, Golden Books -- well, you get the idea.

Above -- brazenly taken from his excellent Web site -- one of Frank Bolle's "Scouts in Action" pieces for Boy's Life. I grew up with these kinda features.


Ron Goulart, Mike Lynch, Bob Weber, Walt Needham.

Bob Weber pointed out that one of the cartoonists he admires is Bob Weber. Not HIM, but another guy with the same name as him: Bob Weber of the New Yorker. There are actually 3 Bob Webers in pro cartooning if you add Bob's son Bob Weber, Jr, whose Slylock Fox feature was launched by King Features in 1987.

Bob asked me if cartoonists still did the rounds. No, no magazine has those "look days," when cartoonists were welcome to come in and show their roughs in person to the editor. Except, maybe, New Yorker. But you gotta get their OK to get past the security phalynx at the Conde Nast building.


Frank Bolle, Orlando Busino, Ron Goulart.

I have a lot of books on the history of comics, but Ron Goulart's THE FUNNIES is one of my favorites. A list of some of his work is here. At more than 180 books to his credit, chances are that you've read his work as well.

Orlando brought in a couple of Boy's Life covers painted by Lowell Hess. Hess did 22 covers to this magazine. These 2 were pretty wonderful and so I grabbed my digital camera, plunked the covers on a clean nearby table and took as good a picture as you can in a restaurant. Thanks for bringing these in, Orlando!


Above: a November 1960 Hess cover. Click for the large size.



Above is a fun example from April 1959. This is a rebus-filled cover. Clicking on the it will get you an XXL view.

And above is the key. Click for a bigger version.

Here's Lowell Hess and Mike Lynch.

He told me that he wanted to be a cartoonist. He started out as a gag cartoonist, but couldn't sell. So, he went into illustration. "But really, illustrator or cartoonist or whatever -- we're all the same; wandering thie city with our portfolio -- alone -- looking for acceptance," added Lowell.

Illustrator Leif Peng has written about Mr. Hess. Here's one of his blog entires about him. If you do a search at Leif's site, you'll find more! Bookmark his Today's Inspiration site.

Double thanks to Orlando Busino. 1) For bringing in those great Boy's Life cover and 2) for shoving a couple of his (Orlando's) cartoon collections in my hands (Good Boy! and Oh, Gus!) as I raced out to catch the train back to NYC.

1947 Dick Tracy "Be a Cartoonist" Record

eBay has an auction for a near-mint 1947 2-record set of Dick Tracy. It ends by tomorrow. Bidding starts at $69.00. Not owning a record player, this intrigues me and it would be fun to have -- but how would I listen to it?


The fun thing is that you, the listener, get to "be a cartoonist." You get to:

1. LISTEN TO THE RECORDS

2. WRITE THE STORY

3. COLOR THE COMICS

Click the above graphic for a super-size version!

Wouldn't it be fun to hear this and see some more of the graphics? Well , doing a quick ol' search, I found that Kiddie Records has done just that. You can download the MP3s, or stream it, and you can also download the graphics. Have fun!

The Great Ham Caper

The Great Ham Caper
Words by Stacy Lynch
Pictures by Mike Lynch

’Twas the week before Christmas
When Rufus and Sam
Hatched a devious scheme
To make off with the ham!

The ham that would grace
The holiday table!
Roo was the brains.
Sam, wiry and able.







They devised a plan
Of Goldbergian proportions
With pulleys and weights
And kitty contortions.

And on Christmas day
They’d eat until stuffed
(The very idea
Made their tails slightly puffed!)

’Til then, they’d lay low,
Little angels to see.
But that made us suspicious –
Wouldn’t you be?



So we snooped and we sleuthed
And uncovered their caper -
“The Ham-Stealing Plan”
Diagrammed on a paper!

“No silly cat’s gonna
Steal my roast beast,”
Exclaimed Mike. “Just watch,
I’ll ruin their feast!”





So he countered their scheming
With mad plans all his own
And all I could do
Was inwardly groan!

Who’d win this contest
Of wits they were planning?
Would Mike, Roo or Sam -
Be last man or cat standing?



As Christmas day dawned
The four of us waited
For the ham to be served
With breaths that were bated.

But before the main course
Could even be plated
Their plans took a turn.
Some say it was fated...

What happened to stop them
So cold in their tracks?
Why, cat-nip and husb-nip
(in big canvas sacks)

Was all that it took
To stop their foul warring.
And they rolled and purred
And drooled on the flooring.

And as long as I kept
My fingers and toes
Away from a hubby and two cats
In nip’s throes -















My own Christmas day
Turned out merry and calm;
The ham moist and succulent,
The champagne, a balm.

When they “awoke”,
hostilities abated,
We all ate some ham
And went to bed sated.







And such peace we wish
To you and to yours:
An end to fighting;
An end to wars.

Happy Holidays!

Mike and Stacy and Rufus and Sam

Tove Jannson

Tove Jannson was, according to what I've heard, not so big in the U.S., but really big in Europe. This is our loss.

Artist Adam McCauley posts at the Drawger site about Jannson's influence, with a couple of great scans. Go look!

A collection of Moomin strips has been translated and Fantagraphics has published them. Are these all actually drawn by her?

Watch 101 Classic Christmas Videos Online

From BoingBoing:

101 Christmas Videos Online

I think we all feel a tug at our hearts with such programming as the Mythbusters Christmas Special, The Ali G Christmas Message, and The Naked Chef: Christmas Comes Early.

Seriously, did anyone see the Charlie Brown Christmas Special on network TV this year? Be glad if you did not! They had an hour block for the special (it's padded out with some new Peanuts animation). From Wikipedia:

"Since airtime versus commercial has decreased since the 1960s, it became impossible for all of A Charlie Brown Christmas to be aired in a half-hour time slot. Thus, in order for it to be possible for all of the original special to be aired, it was given an hour block. However, this left about eighteen extra minutes to be filled, so this program was created to fill in that space."

That's the new animation. And, so, even though they had this whole hour, some network idiot with digital scissors CUT one of my fave scenes that runs under a minute: Sally's letter to Santa! Grrr. Dialogue below:

"Dear Santa Claus, How have you been? Did you have a nice summer? How is your wife? I have been extra good this year, so I have a long list of presents that I want. Please note the size and color of each item, and send as many as possible. If it seems too complicated, make it easy on yourself: just send money. How about tens and twenties?"

Aaugh! How I missed that bit.

A Visit to Al Hirschfeld's Studio

Mark Evanier posted about this, so I figure everyone saw it. But, hey, EVERYONE loves Hirschfeld -- is there such thing as TOO MUCH HIRSCHFELD?

If you haven't seen this, then take a look.

Ike Eisenmann on William Shatner

An undated interview with Ike Eisenmann (the kid on the left, pictured with his FANTASTIC JOURNEY co-stars), who worked with Shatner as a kid actor in STAR TREK II and T.J. HOOKER. Ike appeared in a number of movies and TV shows, including the short lived show FANTASTIC JOURNEY. Title sequence from the 1977 show here. A clip from an episode here.

Lots more on the 10-episode series, which a number of original TREK people worked on, here.

Dick Van Dyke, Computer Graphics Animator?!

Dick Van Dyke -- ANIMATOR?!?! LA Times story here.

"When I wasn't filming [Mary Poppins] I was hanging out with the animators."

And he's been into doing animation since!

(Use BugMeNot if registration is required)

Huge hat tip to Cartoon Brew.

New Look for Archie

OK, if you've been reading the comics blogs then you all ready know that there is an overwhelming reaction to Steven Butler's "reimagining" of Archie. At left, a pencilled page that was posted at The Beat (and much more info. there as well).

The reaction is that this idea is like New Coke or it's like redesigning Charlie Brown. It just ain't done.

Archie has all ready have manga-ized Sabrina, and I hear it's sellling well. Regardless, this seems jarring and wrong on the part of Archie executives.

Cartoon Limbo

Sometimes cartoons go into limbo. Some are forever there, others get a reprieve.

Below are a few cartoons that I'm putting together for the Cartoon Limbo gallery exhibit in NYC. It's at the Venu Gallery, and runs from January 5, 2007 to Ground Hog's Day. Curated by Lewis Matheney, this is going to be a fun show!

The exhibit is all about cartoons and cartoon art projects that got rejected. Well, some got rejected, and then published. Some did not. A partial list of cartoon artists:

Jon Agee, Carl Barks, Dick Briefer, Art Cumings, Jeff Danziger, Stan Goldberg, Woody Guthrie, Bunny Hoest, Crockett Johnson, Mike Lynch, Ruth Marcus, Lewis Matheney, John Reiner, Charles Schulz, Jay Stephens, Maurice Sendak, Dr. Seuss, James Thurber, Mort Walker

And, below, are a couple of my cartoons that may be in the show. (It's up to Lewis to pick what gets in and what doesn't.)

"Ahh! The arbitration team is here."

Ink on typing paper. Originally appeared in Reader's Digest.

Sometimes, I doodle a strange picture in my sketchbook and try to come up with a gag line for it. It's a little like painting yourself into a corner. That's what I was doing when I drew a rock, a piece of paper, and a pair of scissors walking into a conference room. It took some time for the words to come. When the anthropomorphic rock, paper and scissors became "arbitrators," it all came together.

This cartoon was submitted and rejected 13 times, before the 14th market, Reader's Digest, picked it up.

"If there's a lucite award thingie at the end of the job, I'm your man."

Pen and ink on paper. Originally appeared in Barron's

Rejected by 13 markets. Barron's bought it. A professional magazine cartoonist is considered successful when he or she is able to sell consistently one cartoon out of a batch of ten. Yeah, for real. So, rejection is a way of life.

Most of the business awards I've seen look alike; a bit of wood, acrylic, a plate with a name and something like "4th Annual Mergers and Acquisitions Most Merged and Acquired Person of the Year Award." I wondered why some people decorate their offices with them. And then I remembered that an individual is motivated by different things: money, power, fear, love and ... well ... some can be prodded by lucite award thingies.

"How the hell am I going to spin THIS?"

Ink and wash on paper. Originally appeared in Reader's Digest (UK edition)

"What kind of cartoons do you do?" is a question I get asked. "Editorial cartoons?" No, not editorial cartoons. My cartoons may comment on cultural trends, but they are not topical. This is because my clients put out magazines every month, and there is significant lag time. Rejected by 25 markets, some high profile (like The New Yorker and Barron's), some not so (The Spectator (UK), Counterpunch). It finally saw print in the UK version of Reader's Digest magazine. It has not been published in the US.

Alison Bechdel's Sketch Diary

Alison Bechdel is trying out a diary cartoon -- the first one is here -- just a rough kinda thing about her life that she's draw up and share with all of us. I laughed out loud at this one.

Hat tip to Dirk Deppey at Journalista!

Toles vs. Toles

At the Washington Post site, you can view 2 Tom Toles editorial cartoons: the finished one in the newspaper, as well as a rough for another, unused cartoon.

"Which cartoon works best for you? Is one funnier, more newsworthy, more original? Would you have chosen a different one to "ink out" and publish in the Washington Post?"

And you can post a reply at the site.

Mimi Fae Duffy & Austin Goetz

Today, I want to talk about some talented people from my family. And, of course, there are some cartoons in the mix. But first a bit of the past. "Long past?" "No, your past."



Above, my great grandmother on my Mother's side, Mimi Fae Duffy. She was a Vaudeville performer in the teens and 20s. This is one of a series of photos of her in various costumes.

And this is her husband, and partner in her act, Austin Goetz. Yeah, a German name, but he was black Irish. Now, these were a couple of handsome people!

In 1916-17, they were part of the Billy Allen company. Information on this group is pretty much nonexistent on the Web, but I did find out that Billy Allen's son grew up to be comedian/original TONIGHT SHOW host/writer Steve Allen.


Goetz & Duffy (or "Getz & Duffy" as they were sometimes billed), went out on their own, creating a musical comedy act billed as a "matrimonial oddity." Above: an undated newspaper advertisement from one of Mimi Fae's thick books of clippings that my Mom has. This was back in the day of staff cartoonists.

Above: detail from the clipping.

Above: detail on what may or may not be a signature on the art. It looks like "Einar Vitalis Quist," and that is all I know.

Life on the road was lonely. Above, an original watercolor by a guy I assume was a friend named Fred Page. I'm guessing here, but the silhouette may be Austin's, and the warmly colored Auditorium Cafe Chicago in the left hand inset (with a lovely woman offering a nice glass) must've been far away from that town of "Dumpsville," where Austin waits for the train to come in.

Above: an undated Evening Standard cartoon rating some of the local acts. The cartoons of my great grandparents josh:

Austin: Yes - I believe in divorce - it keeps women in circulation.

Mimi Fae: I wear my sweetie's picture on my knee - he likes to hang around joints.

Some comedy ages well. Some doesn't.

This dialogue gave Goetz & Duffy, "funsters - steppers," a whopping 85% approval rate from the reviewer. Since there's also a caricature of Rudolph Valentino there at the bottom, I put this ad at circa. 1926.

Above, Virginia, my grandmother, daughter of Goetz & Duffy. She was raised by relatives while her parents were on the Vaudeville circuit. When my grandmother grew up, she married Charles Powell. Even though she was a housewife, she still wrote and directed, ending up at the Grand Rapids Playhouse as business manager many years later. It was there that my parents met. Both of them drifted away from theatre, but that's another story.

In later years, Austin Goetz retired from acting and became a playwright. STAR TREK's Deforest Kelley was in one of them when he was a kid, and it helped propel him into acting. Mimi Fae became a staunch Christian Scientist.

I know that they did their act, which was about 12 minutes long, for a long time. It was typical for a Vaudeville performer to hone an act over a lifetime -- and those 12 minutes were their bread and butter for a long time.

I did not find a script for the act. This is too bad. But I found a lot of music, some from a revue they later headlined titled "Listen to Me." There was some other music as well. Maybe it was from their act. (By the way, my thanks to my Mom, for showing me their scrapbooks and photos when I visited this past Thanksgiving.)

I never knew them well. Austin passed away, but Mimi Fae was still around when I was a kid.

In 1977 -- before Mimi Fae had passed away -- I remember writing and performing in a little high school comedy skit (with, among others, then-aspiring funster-stepper, and now-current NY Times columnist, David Pogue). My Dad phoned my great grandmother at her home in California, letting her know that I was doing this little skit with some other kids at school. She was very happy to hear that finally, at long last, someone of the family was getting back into show business.

"Heroes" TV Show

I haven't seen it. I've heard it's good. Some friends have said it's great. Sounds a lot like the X-Men comic book concept: young, good looking teens get super powers but still have problems.

And NBC is giving away all the episodes for free at their site.

So (after a Maybelline ad), you can watch all of the shows, in order, from episode one to episode eleven.

Happy streaming!

Rarely Seen James Thurber Drawings from The New Yorker Offices

One of the nice things about living in NYC and poking around places is that you find, every once in a while, a real lovely surprise worth shouting about.

Here on the 20th floor of the Conde Nast building in Times Square, as one walks from the New Yorker cartoon editor's office to the men's room, is such a surprise. I've been walking by it for years. Yesterday, I took some photos to share this month since it is, after all, Mr. Thurber's birthday month. (He was born December 8, 1894.)


Some James Thurber originals -- pencil on aging plaster. Rarely seen. Transported from the old New Yorker building on 43rd Street to the Conde Nast building.


From a descriptive paragraph posted by these originals:

"James Thurber and The New Yorker were made for each other. Soon after he joined the magazine in 1927, he was flooding its pages with casual essays, memoirs, fables and formless, insistently disarming drawings that bore his unique stamp and frame of mind.



"When he died in 1961, William Shawn, the magazine's editor, wrote of him: 'His work was largely unclassifiable (it was simply Thurber) and by the end it gave him a place in history as one of the great comic artists and one of the great American humorists.... . His tremendously original point of view, his literary style, his peculiar kind of vision and restlessness all went into the magazine and became part of its tradition.'

"The drawings preserved here were pencilled on an office wall in the 1930s -- an extempore mural that includes come sinuous football players, a couple of his amiable, flop-eared hounds, a mysterious dozing figure in a chair, and, on the right, the artist himself: Thurber to the life."

FUN HOME is Time Mag's #1 Book

Congratulations to Alison Bechdel's autobio graphic novel FUN HOME, which is in the #1 spot of Time Magazine's 10 Best Books.

"Forget genre and sexual orientation: this is a masterpiece about two people who live in the same house but different worlds, and their mysterious debts to each other."

Hat tip to the ever vigilant Dirk Deppey Journalista!

Joe Sinnott

Comic book artist Joe Sinnott has a wonderful site that always warrants a visit.

This month's monthly feature is The Nativity from Atlas Publishing's BIBLE TALES FOR YOUNG FOLK #1, August 1953.

The Stan Lee-helmed series lasted 5 issues, with work from Jerry Robinson (who drew most of the covers), Krigstein, Everett, Colan, Kida, Shores. More at Comicartville.

As many fans and colleagues know, Joe lost his wife Betty last month. There is a wonderful photo of the two of them from their wedding day there, as well as a poem of remembrance on the site by grandaughter Erin Sinnott.

Mark Sinnott, Joe's son, has been kind enough to post his email there. You can reach Joe Sinnott at belmark44@yahoo.com

Please consider sending Joe a note wishing him and his family a Merry Christmas. Even though I read comics 20 years after BIBLE TALES, it was the Buscema drawn/Sinnott inked FANTASTIC FOUR comics that I loved when I was a kid. Just thinking about those old Fantastic Fours fills me with that eggnoggy kinda nostalgia.

Minuscule Animation

"Minuscule," a series of some 75 computer animation shorts, has some great writing and sound design -- but, better yet, they are really funny.

The Cartoon Brew blog has the story of who's behind it, along with some clips. This is a French production, and it's being distributed on TV by Disney. Each clip is a whole episode; about 3-5 minutes apiece.

I laughed out loud at a lot of these.

Mike Lynch Cartoon in FUNNY TIMES

OK, we're going to go from Michael Stivic to James Bond here, and then connect it to a cartoon I drew. readyt? Then let's begin.

I have a new cartoon in the latest FUNNY TIMES issue. FUNNY TIMES, by the way, has a new and improved Web site.

I always remember that gag from an ALL IN THE FAMILY episode where Michael Stivic (Rob Reiner) rants about how all the stuff you buy is labeled "new and improved."

"What was the old stuff?" he rhetorically implores. "OLD AND LOUSY?!"

The gag line came about because we are getting used to changing the way media is delivered. Once or twice every decade, we all are told by large companies that will profit from the change, hat we need to get the new and improved format. Writer/blogger Mark Evanier has blogged extensively about his fave movie GOLDFINGER, and the fact that he has bought it over and over, in all the formats: 3/4" tape, Beta, VHS, laser disc, and now DVD. Here's Mark:

As I explained here, I think the entire science of improving home equipment is just a sneaky plan to see how many times they can get me to buy Goldfinger. (Which reminds me: There hasn't been a new, upgraded release of that in over a month. What the hell is wrong with these people?)

-- Mark Evanier, NewsFromMe.com

The idea that you GOTTA get the upgrade is prevalent. And the progression from paper to pixels (or, in this cartoon, love letters to txt msgs) is seen as a GOOD thing.

This picture is drawn in a more realistic style, and I think there is one good thing and one bad thing about it.

The good thing is the action: the woman is slaving over the stove, cooking food. (Food being the first of those 3 basic needs: food, clothing, shelter.) The guy's been playing with a gadget, selfishly not helping meet their needs.

The bad thing is that they look too specific. The woman in particular looks like she's meant to be someone in particular, when she is not. If I did a redraw, I would've made her more generic.

Welcome Back, ARF LOVERS BLOG!

Craig Yoe's Arf Lovers Blog, which has been quiet of late, is now back again with all sorts of just great, fun things. Craig is a very busy working artist and writer. It's our good fortune that he's returned with some gift suggestions, old cartoon art goodies and his own "Whacky Wonder Woman Wednesday" feature.

Above: "I Want to Be a Commercial Artist;" a page from an British pamphlet advising youngsters about careers. Young artist Adrian gets browbeaten by teacher after teacher, each of them apparently embittered by not making it in the real world as professional full time artists and having to return to the art school womb. It's as if the whole thing was scripted by the bleak and sardonic Chris Ware:

"... You realize that you need more than a gift for drawing to make a success of your career."

"I'm willing to learn sir."

"You are going wrong with the proportions there, Adrian."

"I see what you mean."

The fulfillment of all this is being able to sell ideas for breakfast cereal and soap companies.

It's a laff riot.

And don't forget to order Craig Yoe's books -- all great reads. It's all at his blog. Welcome back, Craig!

Shatner on the new STAR TREK movie

For all you cheeky wee monkeys: Shatner talking about the new STAR TREK movie on the Craig Ferguson show. The clip runs one minute.

Darwyn Cooke

Darwyn Cooke's NEW FRONTIER slipcase edition book is stunning. Look here for more samples.

Last week, I wasn't even sure who Darwyn Cooke was. And now that Alex from Rocketship turned me on to his great work, I'm hooked on him. Cooke did, among a great many other things, the graphics for the Shuster Awards, as well as the recent Toronto Comics Art Festival. Some amazing work here, and if you haven't heard of him, then please take a look at the link above.

And I just picked up his version of WIll Eisner's SPIRIT this week. The Belleville News Demoscrat has the story. (Hat tip to Dirk Deppey's JOURNALISTA! site.)

Thank You, Stan Goldberg

A long time ago -- ten years ago -- when I was in my last year as a career college administrator (although I didn't KNOW it was my last year just then), I went to a professional college administrator conference. It was like all those conferences: you get a folder of papers, you say hi to your colleagues, grab a bagel & coffee, and then you sit and listen in a big auditorium to people talking about higher education all the live long day. Ho hum.

And it just didn't feel right. I looked around at everyone there -- all smartly dressed and pretty smart people to boot -- and I felt upset. The feeling increased during the day.

By the end of the conference I knew that I didn't feel at home with any of these people. Heck, I flat out didn't like any of these people -- despite the good looks and smartness I mentioned in the second paragraph. I also knew that I wanted to cartoon for a living.

So -- long story short -- I quit.

So now it's 2006. I've gone from full-time administrator to full-time freelance cartoonist. My cartoons are in media all over the world. I'm an active member of the National Cartoonists Society, a group of people I had only read about when I was younger.

Today, I look around at a gathering of my cartoonist colleagues -- and I feel very much at home. A lot of these people are like family now.

One of the nicest, most sweet things that has happened to me - as well as my wife -- is this cover of the current issue of Archie, pencilled by my fellow Berndt Toaster Stan Goldberg.

Stan's been drawing Archie for over 200 issues. He is considered the seminal Archie artist. If you wanna know how to draw Archie, he's your go-to guy.

When I first met Stan, I called him "Mr. Goldberg." To which, he replied, "Don't call me Mr. Goldberg. 'Mr. Goldberg" is my father's name. Call me Stan."

Since then, we've become friends and he's invited me to his studio, which overlooks Eastchester Bay. He showed me some of his originals, all set to be mailed to Archie. He's let me look at his amazing collection of original cartoon art. Basically, I was a kid in a candy store and he let me behave like one.

On the cover of the current issue of Archie, to my surprise, he put my wife's name near the end of Santa's list. I thought maybe it was a fluke. "Stacy" is a common name. But when I asked him if that was "MY Stacy" on Santa's list, he grinned slyly and added that, yes, it was her. (The first couple of names are his grandkids, by the way.)

This is the second time that her name's been used by a writer or artist. There's one of those FEAR STREET books with her name in it as well. But that's another story.

Anyway, such a sweet thing for Stan to do.

Obligatory Jib Jab Link

"Nuckin' Futz" is the new short from Jib Jab.

Say it with me: Not as good as the THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND one. (Which you can view by clicking by on that same page.)

Battlestar: Coolest Scene Ever

Just for fun ...

From the BIG RESCUE SCENE from New Caprica in the beginning of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA Season 3. So cool!

It runs under a minute. Mark, this is for you. Click here.

And this piece of art is by "vector artist" Arne from Ratscape. There's a great "Fight 'em til we can't" recruiting poster with Starbuck. Go look!

Fred Waring and the Cartoonists

It's Christmas, and Christmas means Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians! There are Fred Waring Christmas songs at the Check the Cool Wax blog here. And read on to see the Waring/cartoonist connection, OK? OK!



"Fred Waring," Lone Ranger cartoonist Tom Gill once told me, "would hire these buses and we would get onboard in Times Square and they would take us through the Holland Tunnel, along Route 80, to his house in Pennsylvania. We spent the whole weekend there. Ping pong, golf, tennis, swimming -- he had it all."

Really, it wasn't a house. It was an estate, which Fred called The Shawnee Inn. It had many rooms and rolling grounds, located 75 miles west of the city. For many years, Mr. Waring, a successful band leader and cartoon-fan, opened his place up gratis for an annual Spring outing for the NYC cartoonists. And they reciprocated by drawing him lots of cartoons.


A link to the Fred Waring cartoon collection here. And some of Waring's original cartoon art collection for auction here.

Below from Ed Cunard's writing in The Low Road blog. His grandmother managed The Shawnee Inn:

"You see, my grandmother was always a career woman. She started out working with Fred Waring at the height of his popularity (so, yes, this is going back quite a way). When she decided to settle down and marry, she left his music enterprise and went to manage the resort he owned in the Poconos. This much, I knew. I knew that she had met all sorts of celebrities and quasi-celebrities through these jobs, but there was one section that stood out to me:

"It's the only autograph I have of all the celebrities I have met, except for autographed sketches by a couple of cartoonists. They came to Shawnee for an annual outing which Mr. Waring hosted every June to celebrate his birthday.

"When the National Cartoonists came to Shawnee, it was a time they all came together for a busman's holiday - golf and tennis during the day. After the evening entertainment provided by Mr. Waring, they charmed all of us with their inimitable style of humor and talent demonstrations. All the greats in that art field were there - Mort Walker, Stan Drake, Milt Caniff, Charles Schulz and many others. I can still visualize Hal Foster, on one of their trips, standing before a large easel in the lobby of the Inn drawing his famous "Prince Valiant." In fact, I treasure a copy of that drawing which is truly more art than cartoon. We were so fortunate to witness such talent."

The Shawnee Inn is still around. Link here.

SOUTH PARK and Free Downloads

Reason Magazine interviewed Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of SOUTH PARK, at a 3-day conference on free speech in Amsterdam.

They're in favor of giving their stuff away.

Reason: When it looked like Comedy Central wasn’t going to rerun the Mary episode, people were still able to download it illegally online. Did you see that as a victory for free speech, or did you think, “My God, these people are stealing our intellectual property”?

Stone: We’re always in favor of people downloading. Always.

Reason: Why?

Stone: It’s how a lot of people see the show. And it’s never hurt us. We’ve done nothing but been successful with the show. How could you ever get mad about somebody who wants to see your stuff?

Hat tip to the site where I saw this -- and I can't find where that was right now.

National Cartoonists Society Holiday Party December 9, 2006

A sea of soup and fish. Above: the way it was: The Society of Illustrators, Hotel Brevoort, May 8, 1912. By the 1939, the SI had bought its own establishment on East 63rd Street. This year, the Society graciously hosted their brother cartoonists for the 2006 NCS Holiday party -- cartoonists not having the wherewithal to buy a piece of NYC real estate back in the day.

Here, in the Society of Illustrators cloak room, hangs one of the many, many pieces of original commercial art. One every floor, in every corner, down every stairwell and hallway, you'll see the work of so many masters of illustration: Cornwall, Pyle, Christie, Rockwell, Wyeth, and more.

Just as you walk in: one of Stephanie Piro's cats welcomes everyone to the NCS Holiday party. Cocktails from 6pm to 7:30. And when is dinner? The kitty knows.

NCS President Rick Stromoski addresses the assembled cartoonists and loved ones. On the agenda: the 2007 Reuben Awards convention. Yeah, we got the inside poop.

Mike Lynch and Rina Piccolo. I think she is very angry at the left side of my head. No reason. Just indiscriminate rage.

King Features' Jay Kennedy gets an autograph from Stephanie Piro. The book is her new solo collection: MY CAT LOVES ME NAKED available in bookstores nationwide.

Irwin Hasen sings FALLING LEAVES by Johnny Mercer. Backup combo (way in the back and way too dark to see them properly): Mort Gerberg on piano and Arnie Roth on sax. Mort and Arnie continued playing for some time, and are very good musicians. As the hours went by, a number of other cartoonists had singalongs. The fact that the piano was next to the bar helped.

Trade Loeffler and his wife Annalisa enjoy Irwin's singing. In early 2007, Trade's first Zip & Bit Web comic adventure will be finishing. I look forward to the conclusion. I can never tell where the beautifully executed story will go next!

Irwin Hasen and his lovely date for the evening whose name I forgot. I'm sorry, Irwin! But she sure looks liked she enjoyed his singing.

The New Jersey contingent: Pam & Doug Bratton, Kevin McVey, Mr. & Mrs. Tom Stemmle, Dan Wetzel & his sweetie, Amber. Each and every one of them were stuck for a long time in the Holland Tunnel getting to the Upper East Side. Hey, EVERYONE wants to come to Manhattan on a Saturday night!

Papercutz' main man Jim Salicrup, humble host Mike Lynch and writer/cartoonist Marc Bilgrey.

"Guess what I just did," asked Jim. "You write about TREK on your blog, It's TREK-related." I couldn't guess. Jim told me he had just tried out for that new William Shatner game show. "They'll call me before midnight tonight." Doesn't it all sound kinda Cinderella-ish? Good luck, Jim!

Marc Bilgrey is working on a number of projects: new short stories, a new secret novel in the works, as well as keeping up a regular output of gag cartoons. Of course, I want to hate him -- but he's such a nice guy he makes it very difficult for me. Very frustrating and it makes me want to indiscriminately yell at people's heads.

Randy Jones draws in Stephanie Piro's sketchbook. She bought a blank book, and wrote "Anyone Can Draw a Cat" on its front page. She carries it with her all the time, and there are all sorts of great cats by great cartoonists, young and old, known and unknown.

Sam Gross and Stephanie Piro. It looks like they are amused by a funny comment and my guess is it's John Nolan, Stephanie's husband, proffering some rude wisecrack off-camera.

Rick Stromoski, with Mssrs. Salicup & Bilgrey in the background. Did I mention that Rick told us all this insider news about the NCS that I can't tell you about?

Cutest couple: Sina, and her beau Tony Murphy.

Here and there, are drawings and paintings. This is a detail shot from a series of tiles on the second floor wall. I took this on my way to the bathroom.

Bill Woodman, Mike Lynch, Randy Jones. Bill Woodman is one of the best gag cartoonists around. I was so pleased that he came down from Maine just to be a part of this.

The nice thing about the night was that there were cartoonists and illustrators and editors and all sorts. I got to chat with Charlie Kochman for a while. Charlie's now a Senior Editor with Harry N. Abrams Books and is responsible for (among other things) bringing Brian Fies' MOM'S CANCER to print. We chatted about Brian, and Charlie had all this insider news about Brian's new project -- NONE of which he shared with me. But it's gonna be good, he says.

Caroline Dworin, Sam Gross, Rina Piccolo, with Randy ("Look at me! Look at me!") Jones looming in background. Sam is always palling around with the ladies!

These are just a few photos from a terrific evening. This was a big event to put together. I appreciate Caroline Roth and Tom Stiglich for all their support. You guys are great. My thanks to house manager Michael Sysyn and staff of SI for making the evening a comfortable and fun one for all.

Is Old STAR TREK Best?

I think it is. So does Mark A. Altman at Trekmovie.com, the site that tracks the progress of slated director J.J. Abrams' new STAR TREK movie. It's rumored he will recast the original crew to create a prequel to the old show.

"Ironically, while it’s nearly impossible to watch Next Generation or Deep Space Nine these days, both which seem hopelessly dated relics of the bland 90s; Classic Trek, with its 60s fuelled New Frontier zeal, despite its Styrofoam sets and dated visual effects, remains amazingly potent largely because of the inter-personal dynamics of its troika of leading men; Kirk, Spock and McCoy. It’s because of them I’d rather watch the worst episode of Classic Trek than the best of Enterprise or Voyager."

Video and screenshots of the new and old versions of the latest refurbished original TREK. "The Corbomite Maneuver" here.

Above image from the Star Trek Inspirational Poster site.

Nancy Beiman Presents an Evening of Animation at MoCCA

7 Mondays from now, animator/instructor Nancy Beiman presents work from her Rochester Institute of Technology animation students at The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art in Soho.


Check out MoCCA Monday, January 29th - The RITe Stuff

This complements the Museum's current Saturday Morning Cartoons exhibit.

Golden Age Comics Artist Martin Nodell 11/15/15-12/9/06

Some sad news.

Martin Nodell, best known as the co-creator (with Bill Finger) of the original DC Comics's Green Lantern, passed away yesterday.

Martin Evanier has more here. And he links to a video here.

Tad Dorgan

(January 13, 1911: George Herriman: At the New York Evening Journal with Gus Mager, Charles Wellington, George Herriman, Harry Herschfield, Ike Anderson, Tad Dorgan)

Tad Dorgan gets into the Boxing Hall of Fame, so reports Heidi MacDonald at the Publisher's Weekly blog.

Tad Dorgan, a NY World staff sports cartoonist, guided the early careers of a number of cartoonists -- pretty much all of the greats: Herriman, Segar and -- Walter Berndt. There;s a few more than this -- but I have about 5 minutes to write before I run out this morning.

And Berndt's signature incorporated Tad's stylized "T" signature in his own. Years later, when Frank Springer drew up the Berndt Toast Gang logo, he incorporated Mr. Berndt's signature in the logo.

More about the BT Gang at our history page here.

David Tennant's Doctor Who Video Diary

During the Doctor Who series, star David Tennant made a video diary -- beginning with his first day in July 2005. Here are the 9 YouTube links:

Diary 1

Diary 2

Diary 3

Diary 4

Diary 5

Diary 6

Diary 7

Diary 8

Diary 9

In the US, the second season is winding down. It's on the same night as my fave show Battlestar Galactica, so it's easy to get started in on Dr. Who.

Of course, it helps that both actors in the revised Dr. Who are good looking, right? Well, it doesn't hoit!

Comic Book Sells 2 Million Copies

2 Million. That's a lot.

FRUITS BASKET, a manga series, has sold over 2 million copies sold, according to Heidi MacDonald's THE BEAT blog.

I was in a very nice comics shop over Thanksgiving. I bought some manga, and the guy was telling me that manga is over, dead, fugghetaboutit. "It's swinging back to superheroes," he informed me. Looking at the shelf space that manga is getting at my local bookstore, and comparing it to all of the other comics -- I just don't see it that way.

FRUITS BASKET Official Site here.

Dary Cagle on the Drawing Process

Editorial cartoonist (as well as a previous NCS president) Daryl Cagle writes about the process of drawing political cartoons. Lots of art, lots of tips.

"I get lots of e-mails from aspiring cartoonists asking questions about how I draw my cartoons: 'What kind of pen do you use?' 'What kind of ink do you use?' 'What kind of paper do you use?' 'Do you draw your cartoons on the computer?' I get so many of the same questions that I thought it was time for me to put something in the blog about the particulars of how I draw a cartoon. This is just about drawing, no politics here, so if you visit our site for the politics, you can go to another site now and read no more.

Hat tip to Journalista!

Mark Anderson: Creativity Q&A

My pal Mark Anderson's blog talks about creativity this week. He was asked 10 questions from a student, and these are worth thinking about regardless of your profession.

A couple of my favorite queries:

Do you believe that each person has the capacity to be creative? Why?

Do you believe that it is important to be accepted by others as being creative or is just doing what you love to do enough to justify your work? Explain.

Mark has some thoughtful, thorough responses.

My take:

Everyone is creative, but, like your baby teeth, this creativity can fall out, and you can get a dime for it. Um, no, wait. I mean, that everyone can fingerpaint in kindergarten, but the number of people who feel they can create like that diminishes as they become teenagers. A few people (like Mark and me) continue to draw.

Since I do commercial work, my work needs to be accepted so I can make my landlord happy. I mostly show business cartoons here since most of the markets are business-related.

Go and take a look at Mark's answers ....

Today's Inspiration Blog by Leif Peng

Leif Peng, an Ontario illustrator, continues to dispense information and images about illustrators of the 1940s and 50s at his Today's Inspiration blog.

Some great stuff here. I love those old ads, especially the one of Santa smoking. "... Smoke PALL MALL the cigarettes whose mildness you can measure," testifies Santa. This is a thoughtful site and I always learn something when I go there. This is obviously a labor of love.

Leif has his own illustration site here.

Mike Lynch Cartoon in the Wall Street Journal

I was running up until last winter. I really was. Thanks to my wife (who was also running with me), I was getting better and better. I remember running through ice and snow in Red Hook, in the dark (any time after 4pm this time of year it's dark). It was crazy!

And then I fell out of the habit. Bad, bad Mike.

So that's the background behind this little cartoon. This is one of those "wrong cartoons," a cartoon that's sent out in a batch that has a different look and a different kinda comment on life than a business publication may be looking at. I always include a "wrong cartoon" or 2. Sometimes, like this time, they sell.

So, yeah, this one sold, for some reason, to the Wall Street Journal. And I say "for some reason" because the WSJ rarely buys a lifestyle cartoon. Usually it's guy at desk or woman addressing board meeting or something.

The concept behind a "wrong cartoon" is this: I figure that the editors must get tired of "person at desk" and "board meeting" cartoons.

Like David Sipress, you can see I love to draw fire plugs. (We had a conversation a while back. Every chance he gets, he'll draw a hydrant. Me too.)

I also never know when the cartoon will run. It could be in the WSJ today -- or a month from now. I never know. I did ask the editor about this, who told me he never knew either!

So, if you see this, please let us know. Thanks.

What to Watch on the Web

BBC News has a good piece about all those sites where you can watch video on your computer.

I know I'm able to watch video on my computer, but there isn't anything like a TV Guide to what's on the Internet. This article comes close.

Center for Cartoon Studies Auction

The Center for Cartoon Studies -- the so-called "school for graphic novel artists" -- holds an auction this Saturday. Publisher's Weekly has the story.

PW's THE BEAT also reports on a grant for Joe Sacco, among others, here. I'm a fan of Sacco's work.

NY Times Cartoon Book Reviews

(Above: the Nixons and Mr. Disney)

Registration required ....

An Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, and True Stories Edited by Ivan Brunetti

Charles Addams: A Cartoonist’s Life by Linda H. Davis

Walt Disney by Neal Gabler

Holiday Book Suggestions: Comics

Theories of Everything: Selected, Collected, Health-Inspected Cartoons 1978-2006 by Roz Chast

Hat tip to dear ol' Dad!

BARNABY Lives!

BARNABY by Crockett Johnson was a comic strip about a little kid who had a ne'er do well fairy godfather that only he (Barnaby) could see. My friend Philip Nel has the best place on the Web for all things Crockett Johnson here.

The strip did not last a long time, and few papers carried it. It's only been reprinted a handful of times. But some people, particularly some cartoonists, remember it. There was a collection of the strip, and it's been getting reprinted here and there.

Anyway, I had a BARNABY moment on Sunday.

It's December 3, 2006: My wife and I were walking in Wawayanda woods, along an unfamilar and muddy path, when we came upon over a rise, into a clearing and I saw a big, rusted out steamroller. Well, not a steamroller per se, but one of those big roller things, used for rolling out asphalt.

"It's Trilby!" I said, running over to it. "Take my picture! Take my picture!"

I recalled sequence in the BARNABY comic strip immediately! You see, Barnaby is in a competition to find scrap metal . . .







It's been years since I read these strips, but as soon as I saw that rusty thing in the woods in 2006, I remembered that BARNABY sequence.

A wacky comic strip moment that I thought, at first, I wouldn't share. But ever since I told Tony Murphy that night about "the Trilby incident," I thought maybe I would share it. So, Tony, even though I said no way on Sunday night, I've changed my mind.

Barnaby should be -- and is -- remembered. And so are Mr. O'Malley and McSnoyd in this, the 100th year of Mr. Johnson's birth!

The scans are from a 1943 collection of the strips. Thanks to my Dad who gave me his copy circa 1970.

Mike Lynch Cartoon in PHILOSOPHY NOW Magazine

After attending the inaugural day of the Big Apple Comicon a couple weeks ago, I walked from the hotel, across the Seventh Avenue to Penn Station. I went into one of those big newsstands in the basement, right by the A and C trains. I picked up a copy of PHILOSOPHY NOW magazine. I remembered sending them a couple of batches of cartoons over the past year. Maybe longer. I had only heard about the magazine. Never seen a copy. It's based in the UK, with limited US distribution.

And I opened the mag up and saw what I didn't not expect to see: a cartoon of mine.

I bought the magazine, and on the subway ride home, tried to remember if I had sold the cartoon, and then forgotten about the sale. Well, I am getting older and maybe I'm forgetting things like sales, money, names of cats, etc. I'm gonna have to go out and tattoo my body with words reminding me of what's going on ala Guy Pearce in MEMENTO.

I sent a polite email to the editor, asking if we had an agreement to buy. It took a couple of emails, but we sorted it out. We were negotiating a buy. He had sent me an email a couple of months ago that I did not receive, letting me know that we had an agreement. As far as he could tell, I had never responded.

Mike's point (and I do have one) is this: I had 3 choices when I saw my cartoon in that magazine:

• ignore, shrug shoulders, and let it slide;
• accuse the editor of theft and raise hell;
• politely query the client about their version of events.

I say, make sure both of you got your stories straight. No leaping to conclusions! Since this was politely resolved, I might have a shot at selling some more here. And steady income for freealncers is always a very, very good goal!.

The gag is an OK one. I've seen this in other houses, where the kids' older art is shuttled to another location. I wasn't sure when I drew it if it resonated at all. This issue is all about art, and that's why the gag appealed to the editor.

Postscript: When I say PHILOSOPHY NOW, I want to SHOUT IT. This is because the title reminds me of Frank Costanza shouting, "SERENITY NOW!" on the old Seinfeld show. Here's a 45 second clip that explains all ....


Yeah, that's a fun Seinfeld scene. But still, the best bit is the car reservation one. If you saw it only once in your life, you know the scene ....

Wawayanda State Park

A cold and clear sky today, Sunday. A nice day to bundle up and go for a walk in Wawayanda. But the ground is pretty wet, so there are some muddy bits here and there.

Ted Goff's Drawings on YouTube

My colleague and all around swell cartoonist Ted Goff is on YouTube -- or rather a nice moleskin sketchbook of his drawings is on YouTube. This is a fun little story about a half a minute long. I don't know what the backstory of all this is -- I just fell across it while peeking at YouTube. I had to stop the image to read all the panels. This seems to be part of a series of people showing drawings in moleskin pads.

The Cartoonist Who Faked a Rockwell

Remember that story about the HENRY cartoonist? Cartoonist Don Trachte hid a Rockwell painting from his wife. He was a friend of Rockwell's, and had bought the below painting, titled "Breaking Home Ties," from Mr. Rockwell in 1960 for $900.


(Above: "Breaking Home Ties" by Rockwell)

Then Trachte secretly painted a copy of it, passing it off as the original when he and his wife divorced. This ruse went undiscovered for something like 40 years, until this past spring when his son came upon a hidden room in Trachte's house. And there, in this tiny, dark space between walls, was the real Rockwell. Mr. Trachte also did this with a bunch of other paintings.


(Above: "Breaking Home Ties" by Trachte)

Now the formerly hidden Rockwell has been sold at auction for a record $15.4 million.

THE BEAT has the story.

And there's the story here at the Norman Rockwell Museum site, as well as many more photos and some video of the hidden room.

Saul Steinberg

Steinberg is in 3 gallery shows this month. The NY Sun has the story.

This is all kinda serendipitous. I got a copy of The Sun delivered to my door. I don't subscirbe to it, so it was a surprise. This happens from time to time, since my neighborhood has a lot of new people moving into it (I guess).

I don't usually read it. So, it was nice to see a Steinberg drawing above the fold of this, NY City's newest paper.

ADDENDUM: The NY Times has a review in today's paper.

Berndt Toast Gang Meeting November 30, 2006

Unseasonably warm weather this, the last day of November, with high, hazy clouds and a temperature of 68. We had more than three dozen cartoonists, loved ones and friends come together for our monthly luncheon of the National Cartoonists Society Long Island chapter (the "Berndt Toast Gang").

Like all our get togethers, we begin with a toast to a famous cartoonist. This time we toasted Alex Raymond, who died in a tragic car accident in Westport, CT fifty years ago.

A Reuben winner, former NCS president, and the man behind FLASH GORDON, Mr. Raymond developed what Harvey Kurtzman described as a sensual dry brush technique during the 1930s. He worked on 3 comic strips before the war: FLASH GORDON, JUNGLE JIM and SECRET AGENT X-9. After serving in the Marines in the Pacific theatre, now-Major Raymond, created RIP KIRBY. An example here.

He passed away in a sudden auto accident at the age of 46.

"During the accident which led to his untimely demise, he was said to have remarked (by the surviving passenger of the accident) on the fact that a pencil on the dashboard seemed to be floating in relation to the plummet of the vehicle." -- Wikipedia entry




Emilio Squeglio (above) brought in some real out of this world art.

"GALAXA QUEEN OF THE GALAXIES" was a proposal for a TV show that Emilio and his brother put together in 1980. Galaxa can change into anything. "She could 'metamorphisize,'" explained Emilio. The Squeglio brothers had a producer convinced and ABC was ready to greenlight the shooting of a live action pilot -- but the project got scrubbed. "We were unknowns, and they didn't want to risk the millions it would cost on a couple of unknowns."

Emilio brought in a couple of presentation paintings that he had saved. "My brother had no sense of where to place things. So, I would lay them out and he would paint the figures, the planets, the ships."

(Joe Giella, Emilio Squeglio, Don Orehek)

Joe Giella signed some DC Comics sets of postage stamps. Don Orehek showed me some photos of his grandkids -- all of whom are getting bigger. Look for his terrific cartoons in PLAYBOY.

Here's Adrian Sinnott and Mike Lynch. Adrian's a prolific childrens book illustrator and teacher. We were wearing the same blue shirt, as I am ever so obviously pointing out.

And here is Bunny Hoest, Lewis Methany and Art Cumings. Lewis is putting together a NYC gallery exhibit titled Cartoon Limbo. More about that when it opens in January 2007. The Long Island Museum's Lisa Cuomo joined us as well. She would like to put together a Spring 2007 exhibit showcasing some of our members' work. More anon!

Two ARCHIE artists: Joe Edwards makes a point to Stan Goldberg.

Mike Lynch, Stan Goldberg, and Joe Giella. I was trying to convince them to LAUGHTER THE BEST MEDICINE, with lots of my cartoons in it, now out in paperback for $14.95 at all the bookstores.

Not pictured: Al Scaduto sang a Neopolitan song, and Bill Kresse played his harmonica in a holiday song sing-a-long. He then surprised his wife Lorraine -- and we all joined in -- in playing (Bill) and singing (the rest of the Gang) a happy birthday tune to her. Many happy returns, Lorraine!

Another great couple of hours talking shop with cartoonists.

More about the Berndt Toast Gang at the BTG Web site.