Howie Schneider Remembrance [Updated]

My friend and colleague Paul Giambarba has posted a remembrance of Howie Schneider, with some rare art and kind insights into this talented cartoonist.

UPDATE:

Article by Stephanie Wang in the Cape Cod Times.

Thanks for the links, Paul!

Howie Schneider, Rest in Peace

Very sad news. Cartoonist Howie Schneider, best known for his comic strip "Eek & Meek," died yesterday after complications from heart surgery.

The Provincetown Banner, where he had been working as an editorial cartoonist, has a feature story.

Hat tip to Journalista.

More "How Not to Get an Okay"

Rule #14 - Don't denigrate other cartoonists to the editor.

Cartoonist Eli Stein continues to share insider broadsheet cartoons for cartoonists from the 1950s.

The first part is here.

I can't thank Eli enough for this.

Bunny Bash 2007

To paraphrase Ratty, there is nothing- absolutely nothing- half so much worth doing as simply messing about with cartoonists.

Bunny Hoest, Chari Pere

It's the last Thursday in June, and that means that it's time for the Bunny Hoest party, or, as it's better known, the Bunny Bash -- which may sound violent, but it's actually very nice. And here are some photos to prove it.


Three masters: John Reiner, Frank Springer, Stan Goldberg

This is the 27th annual Bunny Bash. It all started when Bill Hoest wanted to show some some of his cartoonist colleagues the house he was building. About a dozen cartoonists showed up for sandwiches and a tour of the then-unfinished home on the Long Island shore.


Roger Penwill and Mike Lynch.

Roger came from England for the Bash. He's the Vice President general of FECO (the FEderation of Cartoonists' Organisations), an international cartooning advocacy group.


Steve Duquette listens to V.G. Myers

The bash has grown, from an informal get together to, well, a much bigger informal get together. Bunny draws cartoonists from NJ, NYC, LI & CT. Next to the annual Reubens convention, the Bash is the biggest event, drawing 75-150 cartoonists and their friends and families.


Chari Pere, who graduated SVA last month, shows her portfolio to Mort Drucker

Didn't I just see you guys at the MoCCA Fest? Derek Mainhart and Ali Solomon


Trade Loeffler watches his son drive his Hot Wheels cars over the tables and chairs


Helen Murdock-Prep, Janine Manheim, Joe Vissichelli


Heather Steckley pushes hubby Ed Steckley's buttons.


Optimist Chari Pere takes a photo with Sam Viviano who sports a pessimistic look that this won't turn out well.


One third of SIX CHIX and one half of MARY WORTH: Rina Piccolo, Anne Gibbons, Karen Moy


Photo session over, they return to their animated conversations.


Trying to look smart: Mike Lynch, Brendan Burford


Feggo draws
Sam Gross and Frank Springer

Gerry Mooney, John Reiner

Joe Vissichelli takes a group shot photo. This is Joe from the group's point of view.


Ever dapper Stan Goldberg

Happy birthday to bunny's husband, "Docky" Carpenter

Roger Penwill, Evan Forsch, Feggo

Arnie Levin, Anne Gibbons

Rina Piccolo, John Reiner

Lorraine and Bill Kresse

Look for a big write up on Bill in the August 2007 issue of Hogan's Alley.


Two guys from The Boot: Sam Viviano, Al Scaduto

The impending thunderstorms stayed away until the Bash was almost over. Thanks to Bunny for her hospitality. Another great time!!!!

Charles M. Schulz Biography Set for Oct. 16 Release

E&P has the story.

H/t to eagle-eyed Mrs. Lynch!!!!

The Three Cartoon Worlds of Eldon Pletcher

I got a note in last month from Eldon Pletcher:

"My friend Dave Carpenter has told me of your conversation, in which you expressed an interest in possibly doing a blog on me ... going from editorial cartooning to 'gag' cartooning. While I haven't felt there was anything special in doing both types, if you would like to do a blog on the subject, it's OK with me."

So it is written, so shall it be blogged!
Cartoonist Eldon Pletcher was born in Goshen, Indiana on September 10, 1922. After his first year at the Chicago Academy of Art, he went overseas, to serve in World War 2.


Like a lot of cartoonists, he started by drawing some gag cartoons, which are reproduced here. But he didn't have to buy his art supplies. Art supplies found him. Here's Pletch:

"I was in Germany when World War 2 ended. At that time I found some art materials at a bombed out artists supply store and started sending some cartoons to the Continental edition of Yank magazine, published in Paris. It was some early efforts in 'gag' cartooning. "

"I've enclosed a few of those they used while I was in Germany and while at the University of Aberdeen, in Scotland, while waiting for the number of 'points' I had (the Army had a point system in determining the order of when troops came home) to be enough to get me home."

When he got back to the States, Pletch attended the John Herron Art School in Indianapolis. He married Barbara Jeanne Jones in 1948. By the next year, he was the editorial cartoonist for the Sioux City Journal, a position he held for seventeen years.

The family moved to New Orleans in 1966, where he drew the editorial cartoons for the New Orleans Times Picayune for the next 19 years. Here is a selection of his editorial cartoons that he passed along for me to share:

There's Kennedy ...

The more things change, the more they stay the same. There's Romney, Sr. in the line up!

The pendulum swings back and forth.

Remember Billy Beer?


Dick Nixon piloting the capsule? Now that's a NASA disaster waitin' to happen!

So, from gag cartoonist to editorial cartoonist and now ... back to gag cartoonist. Award winning cartoonist Eldon Pletcher continues to cartoon. Here are a few recent ones.


Thanks for sending these along, Eldon. I loved the story of finding those art supplies in the rubble of post-war Germany. Keep toonin'!


Hat tip to the Wichita State University Library for the biographical info.

Happy Birthday, Joe Giella!

Joe Giella and Bunny Hoest

Tip o' the hat to Comics Reporter!

Happy Birthday, Bob Weber, Sr!

Happy belated birthday to a guy I've broken bread with a couple times in the last month, MOOSE & MOLLY'S Bob Weber!

Here's a jam drawing by Frank McLaughlin (top of head), Bob Weber (bottom of head) and myself (shirt). More about this here.

Hat tip to Tom Spurgeon!

Larry Semon Cartoonist

I've mentioned silent film comedian Larry Semon before, when I shared an advertisement showing the Evening Standard cartoon staff circa 1916.

Semon would leave the cartooning life to become a silent film comedian. For a short time, Semon, who had been a ho-hum cartoonist (I believe TAD Dorgan said he was no good), became a famous star with hit comedies. And big money and the partying lifestyle.

But, Semon had a "breakdown" and didn't of movies for 2 years, and never again achieved the level of fame when he returned to making pictures. A matter of fact, he's pretty much forgotten in both of those fields -- cartooning and movies.

Allan Holtz at his Stripper's Guide blog shares with us one of Semon's comic strips, as well as links to his bio online.

Claudia Sassen has a pop-up filled but wonderful site on Semon here.

You can see a bad print of a lackluster short THE CLOUDHOPPER (1925) that he made a few years before he died here. This was one of a couple of films that Semon teamed with Norman Taurog, who would, six years after CLOUDHOPPER, direct one of the most successful films of 1931: SKIPPY, based on Percy Crosby's comic strip. Taurog won the Best Director Oscar for the movie, and would go on to a very busy career.

MoCCA Fest 2007 UPDATED

On Sunday morning, my neighbor and great cartoonist Trade Loeffler and I boarded the F train to the MoCCA Fest.


The show was on the first floor and the 7th floor. Here's a shot of the 7th floor, with its big windows. The whole show felt just as big as previous years, but less crowded since there was more square footage.

Over the weekend, there were continuous talks over at the Museum itself. Here's a close up of Craig Yoe (with a McCay editorial cartoon behind him) giving a Sunday afternoon presentation.

Mike Lynch, Joe Staton

Joe's a veteran comic book artist. He and Nick Cuti created a comic book character called E-MAN in the 1970s for Charlton Comics. Charlton was one of the smallest comic book companies around, and E-MAN ran for a scant 10 issues, leaving the comic book spinner rack 2 years after its 1973 debut. Regardless, the character is fondly remembered and resurfaced over the decades from other comic book companies, pretty much all the time with Joe & Nick at the helm. Joe mentioned that there is going to be a big reprint project.


Doug Bratton strikes a Lou Ferrigno pose at his table.


My friends Ali Solomon and Derek Mainhart show us their pearlies.


This is what you see at a typical MoCCA seller's table: comics for sale, an art pen and then a sketchbook full of doodling (in this case, it's Ali's). And right across the way was the NBM/Papercutz table where I snagged a freshly printed copy of FOREVER NUTS CLASSIC SCREWBALL STRIPS: THE EARLY YEARS OF MUTT & JEFF by Bud Fisher.


A couple of cool business cards. Godfrey Chan boldly shows us his elementary school photo on his card. Joda Thayer, Godfrey's MoCCA Fest table-mate, opts for the more trad approach.


People came from all over. Here's Toronto couple Tyrone McCarthy and Alana Machnicki. Their table held, on one side, her illustrations/prints, and, on the other, his Corduroy High School comics. I got one from each so there would be no squabbling between these fine young kids.


Not every artist paid for a table in the Puck building. This fellow set up on Houston Street, on the block between the subway and the MoCCA Fest.


Some of my swag.



And here's Marek Bennett's t-shirt. Well, ha ha, not HIS per se -- a shirt that I bought from him.

What a nice sentiment, Marek!

Some more MoCCA 2007 photos at these sites:

• The Beat: Photo Parade Day 1 and Day 2
• Craig Yoe's MoCCA Mug Shots
• Rocketship has Day One and Day Two
• AdHouse Books has a Flickr collection here
• Manual Comics has a mountain of photos
• Mike Dawson shares his photos
• Chris Mautner at Newsarama has the Mocca Photo Parade

UPDATE: Tom Spurgeon over at Comics Reporter has the motherload of all photo links here.

More on J.B. "Bud" Handelsman

Tom Spurgeon has a remembrance of cartoonist J.B. Handelsman, with lots of links, at his Comics Reporter site.

At left: a 1970 cartoon that has his typically wonderful figure work and his eye for architectural detail. Click for a larger view.

Steve Brodner on His Process

Illustrator and graphic journalist Steve Brodner shares a video over at Texas Monthly magazine (scroll down) where he lets us in on his process about covering the Texas statehouse for a week.

There's comments and a bit more information at his Drawger site.

Some really wonderful work here. I happened to be talking to Steve while he was there in April, and he told me that the editors just told him to go on in and wander and see draw what he wanted to draw. What a great assignment!

Lunch with Orlando and Frank and Bob and Ron

Beautiful weather this weekend. Good weather, and good company with some great cartoonists.

Frank McLaughlin, Orlando Busino, and birthday boy Frank Bolle

I realized it had been several months since I'd visited with some of the Connecticut cartoonists that get together in Westport for lunch. I've visited a couple of times in the past, in August 2006 and December 2006.

I used to read Frank McLaughlin's BATMAN and Frank Bolle's Gold Key Comics work on great old comics like BORIS KARLOFF'S TALE OF MYSTERY when I was younger. And I think I still have my copy of the third issue of TALES CALCULATED TO DRIVE YOU BATS with its great Busino cover. Take a look:


You can see scans from all seven issues of this fondly remembered series here. It's one of Scott Shaw!'s two favorite comic book covers of all time. How right you are, Scott!

Ron Goulart, Mike Lynch, Orlando Busino

Prolific author Ron Goulart has written some of the best and most lucid articles and books on cartooning. His THE FUNNIES book is one of my favorite references about the medium. Ron is also the go-to guy if you ever have any questions about old Hollywood actors.

Bob Weber

Bob was denigrating my business card for some unfathomable reason. It's a fine business card, and doesn't deserve the kind of criticisms he was heaping on it! Bob teaches cartooning from time to time, and Orlando told me I have to see Bob in action. He's a great teacher.

In Bob's shirt pocket: a couple of panel cartoons by Henry Martin and Charles Barsotti that he brought to share.

Ron Goulart shared this:


George Clark's THE RIPPLES

Ron had a couple of these Sunday strips with him. I asked him if I could take a photo of one of them, and he told me to take it. I couldn't believe it! Thanks, Ron! George Clark is a favorite cartoonist, having blogged about him before, I can only repeat that I admire the sketchy ease that he cartooned.


THE RIPPLES detail

Here's the last panel, and you can see that the coloring actually completes the picture here. Look at the angles. everyone is in motion. Even the stopped car's wheels are not straight up and down. While the gag may not have survived the past 60+ years as a particularly strong one, there is a lot to see here if you pause to take it in.

Westport, being within easy commuting distance of NYC, became a home for many cartoonists; so many, that some of them started a correspondence course. Above: an ad for the Famous Artists Cartoon Course, showcasing its instructors (Al Capp, Willard Mullin, Barney Tobey, Rube Goldberg, Harry Haenigsen, Dick Cavalli, Milton Caniff, Gluyas Williams, Virgil "VIP" Partch, Whitney Darrow). The ad's from the November 1962 issue of the CARTOONISTS' AND GAGWRITERS' PRO MAGAZINE, edited and published by Arnold Wagner. Arnold is still writing about cartooning. His most recent effort is his Cartoonology blog.

My thanks to Orlando Busino for inviting me along to the lunch. I had a grand time.

Irwin Hasen Doing Well

Just a note to let you know that I've heard from a number of cartoonist colleagues that golden age comics artist and DONDI co-creator Irwin Hasen is doing well. Background on all this here.

Photo: Irwin sings "Autumn Leaves" at the NCS Holiday Party at the Society of Illustrators in December, 2006.

Hat tip to Mr. Phil for suggesting I post an update.

Paul Hornschemeier at Rocketship Tonight

Paul Hornschemeier will be signing his THREE PARADOXES graphic novel at my friendly, neighborhood Rocketship store. It starts at 8pm and it's gonna get real busy, real fast what with a zillion cartoonists and fans in town for that MoCCA Fest!

The Dilbert Blog: How to Make a Comic Strip

The Dilbert Blog showcases a photo filled diary of how cartoonist Scott Adams does his DILBERT strip.

Dedini: A Life of Cartoons

"My name is Eldon Dedini. I'm a cartoonist. I wake up each morning and try to be funny as hell."

Anson Musselman of Fungible Films has a documentary on cartoonist Eldon Dedini titled DEDINI: A LIFE OF CARTOONS. Part one is here at YouTube, and you parts two through five there as well.

It's a great piece, with Dedini, alive and well in this film, talking about his art and making cartoons and ... well, see it.

If only Musselman would do this for all the cartoonists in the world!

Robert McCloskey Landmark to Close

Photo of Condon's Garage from the Brooksville Photos page.

"Is it a Maine morning without Condon's Garage?" asks Kathleen Caldwell for the Christian Science Monitor.

Condon's garage, the setting for the ONE MORNING IN MAINE picture book by Robert McCloskey, will close.


Above: one of Mr. McCloskey's drawings from ONE MORNING IN MAINE.

Sad thing is that I never thought of it as a real place when I read it. Maine, I mean.

I remember reading this book, as a Midwestern kid, and not really understanding places with water and boats and clams in the mud and so on. Maine was a fantastical place to a flatlander, landlubber kid like me who didn't see the ocean until the age of ten!

But I did understand little Sal (who looked like my kid sister -- and starred in her own book, BLUEBERRIES FOR SAL) when she said:

"I guess some clam will find my tooth and get what I wished for .... If we come back here tomorrow and find a clam eating a chocolate ice-cream cone, why, we'll have to take it away from him and make him give my tooth back."

Teeth fall out, little kids grow up, things change. To quote Charlie Brown: *SIGH*

Hat tip to dear ol' Dad!

J.B. "Bud" Handelsman 1922-2007

J.B. "Bud" Handelsman, cartoonist for The New Yorker, Playboy and Punch, passed away last night. Some sad news. I have no other information at this time.


Born in New York on 5 February 1922, Bud Handelsman's paternal grandfather was a Hungarian Jewish emigré to the United States, and his parents were both teachers. Handelsman started drawing cartoons as a child, and by the age of ten he wanted to be a comic-strip artist. As he recalled, "I became quite an expert at drawing Popeye": "When guests came my parents would say, 'Draw Popeye.' I'd draw him and the guests would say, 'That's Popeye, all right.'"

Handelsman was educated at Bronx public schools, and from 1938 to 1942 he attended the Art Students' League in New York. During the Second World War he had a brief military career in the US Army Air Corps, but it was cut short by asthma. In 1945 Handelsman enrolled at New York University to study electrical engineering, but on leaving in 1946 he decided to become a commercial artist. He worked for several years in advertising agencies as a commercial artist and typographic designer, producing what he called "mostly junk." Meanwhile he freelanced as a cartoonist, recalling later that "I did a lot of angry things, about the KKK and Civil Rights and neo-Nazis coming to power in Germany": "The first cartoon I sold to the New Yorker showed two NATO Germans at the Arc de Triomphe, and one of them's saying 'Memories, memories...'"

In 1960 Handelsman became a full-time freelance, living in New York and contributing to newspapers and magazines such as Esquire, Playboy, and the Saturday Evening Post. In 1963 he decided to sell up and move to the United Kingdom, settling in the commuter-belt at Leatherhead, south of London. He worked from home, and noted that "I'm the only man around here that doesn't put on a bowler hat and carry an umbrella every morning." He contributed pocket cartoons to the Evening Standard, and joke cartoons to the Observer, New Statesman, Punch (including covers and the popular "Freaky Fables" series), New Yorker (from 1967), Saturday Review, Saturday Evening Post, Look, Esquire and Playboy.

Handelsman has also written scripts and humorous articles, worked in graphic design, received Playboy's award for Best Black and White Cartoon - in 1978, and created a 10-minute animated film, In the Beginning, based on the Creation and broadcast on BBC TV on Christmas Eve 1992. He returned to the USA in 1981. He signs his work "JBH" and uses a Hunt 107 nib and indian ink and Dr Martin's watercolour on Bristol plate or watercolour paper.

Above bio from the British Cartoon Archive.

Thanks to Zach Kanin for passing the word.

Mort Walker on the Cartoon Museum

THE BEAT has the latest on the National Cartoon Museum.

Original Dilbert Submission Package

Scott Adams shares his original DILBERT submissions package consisting of 50 strips. And the ensuing rejection letters are shared as well.

The strips are reprinted rather small and Mr. Adams' handwriting is a strain to read. I blew the above 2 strips up a bit, but it would be daunting to do that with all 50.

Another h/t to Journalista!

MANGA: Sanctioned by the US Government

The Library of Congress is using manga and anime-type characters to teach the children about copyright.

"As we all know, manga never, ever tempts readers into moral compromise…" so comments Dirk Deppey over at the Journalista! site where I snagged this story.

But not everything is 21st century cutting edge at the LoC. There's a cool, funky, 1970s electric guitar riff for the "Cop E. Right" animation.

Tom Batiuk on FUNKY WINKERBEAN

A career-spanning interview with Tom Batiuk. Written by James Renner for the Cleveland Free Times, "A Funkier Winkerbean" tells about a guy who wanted to cartoon, how he sold his strip and interviews friends and, one prominent critic, Josh Neufeld Fruhlinger (the self-titled "Comics Curmudgeon").

The story reminded me of those moments of sacrifice in your life, when you come to that "fork in the road and take it."

Here's a paragraph detailing his life in the early 1970s, when Tom was drawing the strip, as well as teaching full-time.

"Batiuk was determined to prove himself worthy. He poured his soul into the strip. That took time and energy. But so did teaching. Something had to give. And even though the syndicate didn't offer health benefits, Batiuk knew he might never get another chance like this, so he abruptly quit Eastern Heights Junior High over spring break. The move cost him his teaching license."

This is a very interesting and heartfelt story about Batiuk and the chances that he has taken. It also talks about his relationship with cartoonist Chuck Ayers, a friend since college days. They work together on the strip CRANKSHAFT.

SYNCOPATED/THE SALON Signing at Jim Hanley's Tonight

From 6-8pm at Jim Hanley's Universe comic book store in NYC: Brendan Burford, Nick Bertozzi, Rina Piccolo and a cast of thousands will be there, signing their books, other people's comics and random passers by. More at the Syncopated blog.

Patrick McDonnell's Graduation Ceremony Speech at CCS

One of the best things I've read this year.

Here's the text of Patrick McDonnell's speech to the Center for Cartoon Studies 2007 graduating class.

Some of my earliest memories are looking at my Mom's paperback collections of Pogo and Jules Feiffer. I was too young to read, but I was mesmerized by the pen and ink lines that were so alive on the page. I also remember my folks having a huge, definitive book on the art of Leonardo Da Vinci which I also enjoyed perusing.

Believe me, Leonardo was absolutely amazing.

But he was no Walt Kelly.

More here.

Big hat tip to Comics Reporter!

Photo from Mr. McDonnell's Web site. You can also see a series of MUTTS strips commemorating the commencement here.

2007 Reubens Convention Photos at the Hogan's Alley Site

Above: Bil Keane, Cathy Guisewite

Here they are.

And here's more at this link from me, Tom Richmond, the NJ NCS chapter and Tony Carillo.

Never Sign A Work for Hire Contract

"Reynolds, we now own all rights to your image. You'll have to pony up $100 to the company every time you look in a mirror."

When you sign something that says you are giving your rights away, then that's what it means. Mike Strang blogs about his bad experience with Platinum Comics here.

As Xavier Xerxes says in his comments, we don't know what the other side says here, so best to take this with some salt over the shoulder.

For the work I do (magazine cartoons), I just put a line in my invoice saying that copyright stays with li'l ol' me.

Another Journalista! hat tip!

Cell Phone Comics

ROK Mobile's Web site touts its comics. You can make your own comics or look at other people's comics. Samples are on their site. All of the comics are designed to be delivered on cell phones. The new issue of Comics International magazine (Web site apparently down as of now) spotlights ROK's efforts.

The Forbidden Planet blog has more about all this:

Leaving aside the aesthetic concerns there is an interesting business model at the heart of this, basically commissioning peoples work for free but sharing 50% of revenues with the creators, and perhaps it is something people have been waiting for without knowing it. Whilst I could see the technology being applicable to ‘gag’ cartoonists - something like “Non Sequiter” would be ideal - or perhaps at a stretch a four panel strip like “Doonesbury” - I can’t really see the application to other longer comics forms.

ROK Comics does not share 50% of their revenues. They share 50%, less third party delivery costs. There are some big charts on their ROK Comics Professional Contributor Agreement PDF that's available on their site that show you how much they're taking out of your half. OK, so you, the creator, are all ready fronting some fees. And the contract states that ROK can change the contract any time it wants, forever, in perpetuity. They tell you that you can opt out of the contract if you like. But what if they change that?

I like the idea of this delivery system. People love their cells. And people love comics. But I want a bigger, higher res screen to appreciate the thing. Since I am in business, I am interested in ways to turn eyeballs into dollars. With so many free comics on the Web (like Doonesbury and Non Sequitor), why would people pay to see something from ROK?

Hat tip Journalista!

UPDATE: ROK news release: ROK Comics launches with Garfield, Doonesbury and Ninja Turtles.

H/t Comics Reporter.

How Not to Get an Okay

Gag cartoonist Eli Stein shares some terrific in-house cartoons by Stan Fine -- unseen since the late 1950s, early 1960s. Look Magazine cartoon editor Gurney Williams distributed a broadsheet for cartoonists. This was specifically aimed at the cartoonists that were coming in on "look day," it was:

chock full of cartoon news, stories, gossip and photos. It even had a few running cartoon panels about the funny business of magazine gag cartooning. One panel was “How Not to Get an Okay” by Stan Fine, and another was “The Rat Race” by Jack Tippit.

Go look!

Roger Armstrong Remembrances

Roger Armstrong, who passed away on June 7th, is remembered by a variety of friends and colleagues. Good ol' Mark Evanier has the links here.

Winning and Losing in the Magazine Cartoon Game

I made a sale before the start of the business day on Friday. It was something like 7am and I got an "OKAY" via email.

Ahh. Life in the Internet age.

A UK editor emailed me, asking for a color cartoon for their magazine. She probably sent it just before she left for lunch her time. Before 9am EST, I'd colored the cartoon and invoiced the client. A Canadian client emailed me in the meantime, agreeing to a price on a cartoon. Then I had a prearranged phone meeting with another potential client (American).

By 10am, we hit the road for the weekend. And, all ready, I had 2 sales and a new meeting about some potential business next week.

And so, there I am, driving along the Hutch, and my wife is keeping on top of the email and voicemail by checking it on our cells.

We got back Sunday, and I had a couple envelopes waiting for me: one from WSJ (no buys) & another from Playboy (ditto).

So, don't go thinking that every day I'm making money and finding clients. A couple steps forward, a couple back.

Today (Monday), I'll send some fresh cartoons to WSJ & Playboy. I always try to send a fresh batch ASAP. Persist! Persist!

Lunch at the Overlook Lounge

June 14, 2007: Five cartoonists at the Overlook Lounge: Mike Lynch, Bob Weber, V.G. Meyers, Sam Gross, Roy Delgado. Good to see Roy. I hadn't seen him since October 19, 2006.

Between us, we cover markets like PLAYBOY, READER'S DIGEST, NEW YORKER, WALL STREET JOURNAL, HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW, and many others.

By the way, Bob Weber's the guy behind King Features' MOOSE & MOLLY strip, and he's also a great gag cartoonist. I clarify WHICH Bob this is because there are three Bob Webers who are cartoonists: there's Bob Sr., pictured above; Bob's son who is also named Bob (he draws SLYLOCK FOX); and Bob Weber (no relation to the other two) who's a NEW YORKER gag cartoonist.

We talked about the NEW YORKER, and other markets. And we laughed and complained and told stories about the business. Cartoonists coming to this bar is something that has been going on for generations. Used to be that both King Features and the Daily News were within blocks of the Overlook.

The Overlook Lounge is the place where there's a big ol' cartoon mural. Definitely worth a visit.

Actually, there's 2 cartoon murals. One was drawn during the 1970s. And then there's another one that was put up on November 20, 2005.


Here is most of it, in a "before" photo of the 2005 mural area, with then-server Caroline proffered for scale. Today, we sat at a table where she's standing.


The Overlook used to be called Costello's. Above is an ad from the early 1980s with a photo of the old mural. The bit on the right was, unfortunately, destroyed.

Paul Hornschemeier's The Three Paradoxes

Paul Hornschemeier's The Three Paradoxes, a graphic novel memoir "that explores the friction between life and art by alternating realism and flights of comic-book fancy," is out in bookstores this week. New York magazine has a preview of this Fantagraphics hardcover here, with a promise of more to come. I know little about it, but this spot-on parody of a Dell comic cover caught my eye (above -- marvel at the crumbling edges of the old comic -- all faked! Cool!), and I like the way he handles dialogue.

And he'll be at my Brooklyn neighborhood comic book store, Rocketship, on June 22nd.

Cartoons v. Girls

Which is more valuable: a nice big hardcover book full of great Playboy gag cartoons, or a big hardcover book of Playboy centerfolds? Both books were $50 when they originally came out.

The Edward R. Hamilton book catalog, which specializes in discounted and remaindered books, has decided that cartoons are worth $2 more than photos of nekkid girls:

Playboy: 50 years: The Cartoons $21.95

Playboy: 50 years: The Photographs $19.95

Hat tip to Dad! Thanks, Dad!

Cartoon Reprint Books

There was a time when you just couldn't get a lot of old comics. Now there's a wonderful glut. Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Volume 1 hits the stores this week. And there are so many other reprints out there -- comic book, comic strip and son on -- begging for the ol' wallet.

I was checking out Checker Book Publishing Group's Web site. Just an amazing array of reprints:

Steve Canyon

Dr. Seuss: Early Works

Winsor McCay: Early Works (now up to 8 volumes in print!)

Winsor McCay's Little Nemo

Flash Gordon

Growing Old with B.C.

Gold Key Comics STAR TREK comic book collection




From NBM:

FOREVER NUTS: Classic Screwball Strips, The Early Years of MUTT & JEFF by Bud Fisher

Fantagraphics is putting out so many: POPEYE, PEANUTS, POGO, KRAZY & IGNATZ, DENNIS THE MENACE (as well as the upcoming WHERE'S DENNIS?, a collection of Ketcham's gag cartoons).



IDW reprints DICK TRACY, and, beginning in the fall, THE COMPLETE TERRY AND THE PIRATES.

An Ulrich Merkl has produced a fancy, gorgeous hardcover collection of McCay's DREAMS OF THE RAREBIT FIEND.



Peter Maresca is working on a companion volume to his oversize LITTLE NEMO IN SLUMBERLAND: SO MANY SPLENDID SUNDAYS!

And there will be a third Gasoline Alley dailies collection WALT & SKEEZIX BOOK THREE, and there will be a collection of ALLEY Sundays at the end of summer.

I'm not even mentioning all of the Will Eisner reprints, as well as the DC and Marvel books reprinting their titles in various formats. And there's probably more goodies that I didn't mention. Wish I could buy them all!

Tuesday: New Yorker & Playboy

Over here in Cartoonland, the place where I live, the two coveted gag cartoon markets are The New Yorker and Playboy magazines. On Tuesday, I had a confluence of both.

Above: one of the several NYer rejection slips. This is my favorite one.

"Every Tuesday Afternoon," to quote Thurber, is NYer's "look day." This is the day when cartoonists walk in to the magazine's offices, and have the opportunity to show their cartoons to cartoon editor Bob Mankoff. Now, saying that, I have to add that not just anyone can troop in. You have to be invited.

Bob will review your submission, maybe hold a couple, and then you are done. If the magazine wants to buy, they should phone you by Thursday. The following week, you can go to your file drawer to pick up you unsold "holds."


This is the rejection drawer, where roughs that were held are returned. After a couple of years of being rejected, I got my own hanging file.

This week, I dropped off my submissions at the magazine, picked up my returns from the hanging file, went to the bank, the drugstore, the post office -- and then went home to work a couple of hours.


Until the Playboy party to celebrate the release of the new Shel Silverstein book.

Decades ago, Shel Silverstein was a regular cartoonist for Playboy. And Hefner sent him here and there, and he drew about life in Europe. Gorgeous stuff, with an easy, sketchy style. It's wonderful that Playboy chose to honor this largely unreprinted work with a smartly reproduced hardcover.

Up on the second floor of the Rizzoli book store on 57th Street, I stood with Don Orehek, Arnie Roth, Gahan Wilson, Mort Gerberg, V.G. Myers and other cartoonists, sipping some kind of bubbly white wine. All of the cartoonists knew to hang out near the booze. We glanced out the large windows as the rain pured and people rushed by under their umbrellas. I was glad I had made it inside before the showers.

Mort told us about his prowess as a New Yorker magazine ball player. He's been a member of the Nyer ball team for some time. "I'm called 'Mort the Fort,'" he told us. "Nothing can get past me!" And then he pointed at me. "Put THAT on your blog, Mike!"

Smiling, I told him I didn't believe it. But, here it is on the blog since, if nothing else, I'm a sucker for a dare.

Above: Playboy cartoonist Don Orehek and Cartoon Department Editorial Coordinator Jennifer Thiele.

It was a kick to meet Ward Sutton, whose work I admire. We started talking about Minnesota (he's from there) and North Dakota (his wife's from there). I lived in MN when I was a kid. I asked him if Red Owl grocery stores were still around, and he didn't think so. But, like me, Red Owl was the chain store that everyone shopped at in that part of the world. I was always spooked by that owl logo! Lots of Red Owl photos here.


So, that's Tuesday!

Until Mort Gerberg gets his own baseball card ....

Some 1960s Comics

A PDF comic smorgasboard from the Recordbrother Web site:


First, here's Li'l Abner's floating head letting you know that Civil Defense is something you kids should know about. What does Li'l Abner really have to do with Civil Defense? Well he doesn't know. He doesn't even appear in the comic after the cover appearance. Go figure!



Next up, a couple of issues of CARtoons magazine. There's the February 1966 issue, with work by Alex Toth (above), and the March 1964 issue, with work by Bob Tupper (below). Enjoy!


And don't miss FREAK OUT magazine too!

Although some of these blog listings are from 2005, they were new to me.

Victor Vashi Gag Cartoons

Mike Rhode, over at the Comics DC blog, just bought a pile of gag cartoons by Victor Vashi and he shares them with us. Now, I didn't know who he was either, but if you read Plumbers Journal in the 1960s, then you saw this man's gag work.

And here's another entry with some gag cartoons from Stamp Wholesaler magazine.

There was a time when there were tons of niche markets like these.

Hat tip Newsarama!

Mike Lynch Cartoon in This Week's Chronicle of Higher Education

Hey, I have a cartoon in this week's Chronicle of Higher Education.

I remember doodling a rough version of this cartoon in my sketchbook, and then I left it there for a month or two. I really didn't think it was sell-able.

People like conspicuous consumption, and for all I know this type of product is all ready on the market. Besides, "artisanal," is not a funny word. It's not even a word people use in everyday conversation. OK, maybe in some affected neighborhoods in NYC, but not in the normal world.

To paraphrase a Buster Keaton title card, "every family tree has its sap" and I am he. I didn't know it would sell. You would think I would have a sense of these things by now, but no.

So, I was having some tea with cartoonist Isabella Bannerman, and she saw the sketch, and liked it. Since she's (a) syndicated and (b) served me tremendous pastries, I admired her judgment. And so, I drew it up and had the thing make the rounds.



The cartoon was turned down by a half dozen markets since November 2006. The Chronicle, the seventh market, bought it in April.

Someone (I think it was Dad. Hi Dad!) suggested an improvement: change it from "Meet the Cow" to "Meet YOUR Cow." I concur.

I remember chatting with Sam Gross last year, and someone asked if he knew what would sell. He said an epithet and then said no, hope, never, no way.

All we can do is pitch the work and see if an editor will catch it.

The SOPRANOS Ending

Pretentious non-ending. Alessandra Stanley of the NY Times may have thought the ending was "perfectly imperfect," but it was a gyp; a non-ending.

I cancelled my HBO.

Bunny Hoest, Stan Goldberg & Mike Lynch at the Long Island Museum

Bunny Hoest, Stan Goldberg, Mike Lynch and Howard Huge


There are 3 ages of cartoons for me. When I was a kid, I first read comics in the newspaper that came to our home. When I was a little older, I made money mowing lawns, and I spent my money on comics. And later on, when I read magazines, I always liked the ones that had gag cartoons.

Above: Bunny's characters: Howard Huge, Leroy Lockhorn

We had all three of these kinds of cartoonists at the Long Island Museum on Sunday, June 10, 2007.

Above: Bunny Hoest

Bunny Hoest showed 23 cartoons of THE LOCKHORNS and LAUGH PARADE (the 20-year old gag cartoon feature in the Sunday supplement Parade Magazine). She talked about how she and Bill Hoest would see couples in real life, sniping at each other. "How can they do that to their best friend?" they wondered. Bunny pointed out that the strip was not based on her marriage to Bill, but rather on other couples they knew. She also made sure to credit John Reiner with drawing the strip since Bill Hoest passed away.

An audience member asked about the tiny and hard to read reproduction of THE LOCKHORNS in Newsday. Bunny had to tell the person that she had nothing to do with that -- and encouraged them to write or call the paper.

Above: Stan Goldberg

Stan Goldberg showed a couple dozen slides of his work, from MILLIE THE MODEL to ARCHIE, as well as some commercial illustrations. When I introduced him I reminded everyone that this was the guy who decided on the "look" for all of the Marvel characters. It's true: primary colors for Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and all the heroes. The villains get all the purples and the browns.


A quick doodle of Archie. Stan has drawn about 280 consecutive ARCHIE issues.

When it was my turn to get up, I said that I did truly 21st century cartoons. I draw cartoons for people who have no time to read comic books, no time for a whole three-paneled comic strip. My gag cartoons have to work in 4 seconds.

I told the crowd that I come up with 10-15 cartoons per week, mail them out. Then I do the same the next week and the next, until there are hundreds of cartoons out there. I showed about 20 cartoons, telling some stories about them.

The epitome of the angry boss -- the closest I get to an iconic image.

It was great to look out and see Mort Drucker and veteran gag cartoonist Eli Stein in the audience. Thanks for dropping by, guys!

Roger Armstrong, Rest in Peace

Above: comics historian R.C. Harvey and Roger Armstrong at the 2005 Reubens

Cartoonist Roger Armstrong passed away Thursday at the age of 89.

Mr. Armstrong was known for his work for Walt Disney, as well as handling the Warner Brothers and Hanna Barbera properties for the Dell/Gold Key comic book titles. Additionally, he produced newspaper comics such as NAPOLEON AND UNCLE ELBY, BUGS BUNNY and LITTLE LULU. He was also a wonderful painter and teacher. At his site, you can view some of his watercolors.

Mark Evanier has a through and sweet obituary.

Friday Blogging: Yoe, Strippers & Roo

Some Friday blog entries to check out:

Craig Yoe, at his ever amazing and titillating Arflovers blog, gives us reprints from a McNaught Syndicate Pirate strip.

And Craig directs us to the Stripper's Guide blog that, today, has a fun feature on Jimmy Swinnerton. And keep scrolling down for more of Swinnerton.

Thanks to Craig Yoe and Allan Holtz for shining their lights on these.

Oh, and since Fridays are traditionally the Day You Put Your Cat on Your Blog, here is our kitty Rufus (Roo for short) saying hey.


He's a rescue cat. He was found abandoned in Red Hook. Near feral when we got him. After years of pats and being told how handsome he is, he's become a big, sweet lover.

TEE VEE HUMPHREY A Weekly Reader Book

When I was a kid, The Weekly Reader was newsprinty little newsletter we got in our class at Roosevelt Elementary School in Iowa City, IA. This was, as our teacher Mrs. Panje would command, our "silent reading" time; our give-Mrs.-Panje-a-break-time. We would read about world events, do a puzzle, etc. Weekly Reader was dry, but a welcome respite from the routine of second grade.


The Weekly Reader was more than the name of some newsletter. The WR people also pushed books. TEE VEE HUMPHREY, a hardcover children's book that sold for $2.75 in 1957, was one of them.


The cover opens up into a nice gatefold of Tee Vee.

A crummy commercial!

Here is the page that lets you know that there were hundreds of bad books that were rejected before those Weekly Reader Board people (bless 'em!) deemed this tome, TEE VEE HUMPHREY, as the best one to put their seal on -- oh, and by the way, why not tell your friends they should join the Weekly Reader Children's Book Club. Why don't they? Do they hate America? This will not look good on their transcript!


I bought this book last year at the Community Bookstore here in Brooklyn. This divey, dark used bookstore has a lot of junk and, like those Weekly Reader folks, sometimes you have to go through a lot of garbage before your find a treasure there.


Illustrator Kurt Werth has an inky, casual style that I found appealing. It's almost like I'm looking at his sketchbook. Here is Tee Vee asking for a job at the TV station.

SPOILER ALERT

Tee Vee gets a job at the local TV Station, show running a program about pets. This is back in the day when a kid could just walk into a TV studio and get a job without a union giving him a thumping.

END SPOILER ALERT

The sketchiness of the art cloaks Mr. Werth's layout skill. Your eyes are easily drawn to the man at the mike in this one.

Kurt Werth, whose work outside TEE VEE was unknown to me, studied at the State Academy for the Graphic Arts in Leipzig.

"The First World War brought an abrupt end to Werth's studies at the academy when he was drafted into the army in 1915. With sketchbooks in his knapsack, Werth continued drawing throughout the war. Unfortunately, Werth sent his wartime sketchbooks to a girlfriend whom he never saw again, and so the pictorial record of his war years was lost forever." -- from an online bio created by the University of Oregon Libraries

Ugh. I hate it when the girlfriend absconds with a dude's sketchbooks! That's so uncool! Well, Kurt later married an actress, and they stuck together. They moved to the United States in 1939. During WWII, he became a cartoonist for publications like Common Sense, The New Republic, and Harper's.

I hope to find more of his work.

And, in the back flyleaf of the cover, is your own, official Weekly Reader bookmark with silhouettes of horses, a viking ship, 2 musketeers kissing (well, that's what it looks like to me), Charlie Chaplin with a balloon holding his pants up, a witch and a spaceship, all suspended on a clown's nose. You also are being asked to take an oath to tell your teacher and friends about this book, you little corporate schill, you! I think this kind of mentality is what made Mr. Werth move from Germany.

More 2007 NCS Reubens Photos

I cribbed the photo montage (click to make it bigger) of the 2007 Reubens convention from the NJ NCS blog site.

NJ is the one to watch. Member Laurie Triefeldt keeps winning those awards! Congratulations, Laurie!

Every time I ran into Tom & Marie Stemmle at the Reubens, I reminded myself that I have to get to one of their monthly get togethers soon. They're all such great people -- and they all got some wicked cartoony talent.

Happy Birthday, Frank Bolle!

Many happy returns to cartoonist Frank Bolle (Apartment 3-G, Winnie Winkle, Juliet Jones)!

Above: one of his great illustrations from BOY'S LIFE magazine.

Hat tip to Comics Reporter.

Cartoonists Panel on Sunday, June 10

Whatcha doin' Sunday afternoon? Wanna meet up with some cartoonists? More here.

We'll be talking about the business, showing some of our work and there will be a Q&A after. The Long Island Museum is about a mile from the Stonybrook LIRR train station. You can grab a cab at the station.

Cartoon Invoices

I've gotten a couple of emails asking how to invoice. So, let's take a chapter from the ol' MIKE LYNCH COLLEGE OF CARTOON KNOWLEDGE.

It's great when you get that letter, email or phone call letting you know that you sold a cartoon. A lot of the time, when I'm home with a snoozing cat next to me, drawing, I can only wonder, "Are these funny? Funny enough to SELL?!"

A sale is vindication that you did all right. You targeted a market, came up with some appropriate, sellable, professional work. But, better yet, someone else thought what you did was funny, and they have money for you. Just send an invoice.

An invoice is, as you all ready know, the bill that the accounting people need at the magazine, ad agency, Web site or wherever you sold your work. For me, it's usually a magazine or Web site.

I put the above invoice together in Word, based upon typing the word "invoice" into Google, and then picking and choosing what elements I wanted.

YOUR NAME AND CONTACT INFO. goes at the top. I make my name big, since that's the name that goes on the check. I include my Social Security number.

Early on, I had my NAME and, right under it, MY WEB SITE -- both in big letters. One time, a client mailed me a check made payable to my Web site. It took 2 phone calls and 4 weeks til I got another, correct, check. Now I just put my name up top in big letters -- and then I ask again to "make check payable to Mike Lynch" at the bottom.

BUYER'S INFO. is all the information you have on your client. You need this. It really helps to have their phone number, email, etc. on file. If you don't know their phone number, email them and ask. Tell them YOU HAVE TO HAVE IT. For a first time client, I want all of their information. And I do ask, if given a PMB or PO or Suite number, for a bricks-and-mortar address.

INVOICE NUMBER & DATE You may want it for reference. Usually, when the payment arrives, the number and date will be on their check to you so you can cross reference. If you get the check and there's a problem, then having these numbers on your original invoice will enable the accounting people to figure out what happened. Recently, I sold a couple and when I got the check, it was for half the sale. I found out that it was my fault: in the Total column, I only noted one sale. A dumb mistake!

ITEMIZED LIST OF SALES ensures that everyone understands that the sale is for a particular cartoon. I put a number on the back of all my cartoon originals, and that gets written on the invoice. It means nothing to the buyer, of course, but for me, it tells me exactly which cartoon I sold. I also write the caption or general description of the cartoon on the invoice.

TERMS OF SALE is something that you want to consider. Mine establishes legal authorship of the work, letting the buyer know that the cartoon is mine. In other words, the person buying the cartoon does not now own the cartoon. The routine sale is for one-time use. Rarely, just every once in a while, someone will think that they now own a cartoon you made and that they can put it on t-shirts, etc.

Happy Birthday, Mark Anderson!

Happy (belated) Birthday to my pal and fellow ink slinger Mark Anderson. A toast to your good health and many happy returns.

In honor of your 36 years on the planet, I traveled to the future and, of course, saw that the whole Andertoons cartoon machine is quite successful, churning out your work to happy readers on a regular basis. I picked up some of those great future cartoon books that you'll be known for. Here are the first 36 titles:

You're a Good Man, Mark Anderson

It's the Easter Beagle, Mark Anderson!

Slide, Mark Anderson, Slide!

The Hills Are Alive with Mark Anderson

Mark Anderson: Boy Genius

Yours Truly, Mark Anderson

You’ve Come a Long Way, Mark Anderson

You’re Gettin’ Funky Now, Mark Anderson

Mark Anderson Strikes Back

Mark Anderson Drops 13 Stories

What You Say, Mark Anderson?

Walk Don’t Run, Mark Anderson

Yuk It Up, Mark Anderson

The Lion, the Witch and the Mark Anderson

So It’s Come to This, Mark Anderson

Mark Anderson in Paradise

The Mark Anderson Reader

The Unsinkable Mark Anderson

The Education of M*A*R*K A*N*D*E*R*S*O*N

You So Funny: The Life of Mark Anderson

Get a Grip, Mark Anderson

I Go Mark

Et tu, Mark?

This Will Behoove You, Mark Anderson

The World According to Mark Anderson

I Owe Russia $1200 by Mark Anderson

Happiness is a Warm Mark Anderson

Laff Along with Mark Anderson

You’ve Eaten It, Mark Anderson

Lust for Life or The Mark Anderson Story

Tally Ho, Mr. Anderson!

Still Drawing After All These Years

The Lighter Side of the Generation Gap by Mark Anderson

You're Pimped Out, Mark Anderson

Don’t Tease the Ocelot, Mark Anderson!

Charles Nelson Reilly: The Unauthorized Biography by Mark Anderson

Wow! What an amazing future cartoonist you will be! Just wait til next year when I time travel again and get your son's tell all autiobio!

So, Mark, ol' buddy, ol' pal, please send a slice of cake & some ice cream to Mike Lynch, c/o General Delivery, Brooklyn, NY. Thank you, thank you!

Milton Caniff/Alex Raymond

Milt Caniff would have been 100 years old this year. R.C. Harvey has a doorstop-sized bio and OSU has a festival devoted to Caniff & storytelling.


Above: Cartoonist Milton Caniff drawing at Real Life Model Bek Stiner, photo from the San Francisco Examiner, 1952.

Photos from The San Francisco Examiner archives have been popping up on eBay. The Caniff photo and the Alex Raymond photo (below) are part of the handful of I saw.

Look at that Caniff guy! Whatta life, huh? Surrounded by the pretty girls! And that Bek Stiner -- who is modeling as "Miss Mizzou, who always wears a trench coat but (it is rumored) nothing underneath" is easy on the eyes!

I found an interesting story about Miss Mizzou.

Miss Columbia Mizzou was a character that appeared occasionally in Mr. Caniff's STEVE CANYON strip. Just so happened that six years after this photo was taken, the Colombia, MO Chamber of Commerce decided a "new $1,500,000 road connecting U.S. Highway 40 and the university stadium be named after Caniff, who is not an alumnus or even a Missourian (he was born in Hillsboro, Ohio). It is further decided that large cutouts of Miss Mizzou, dimpled knee poking through her trench coat, shall mark Caniff Boulevard," so says this issue of Time Magazine online.

Above: Alex Raymond and his drawing board, photo from the San Francisco Examiner, 1950.

Love these shots. Caniff drawing models, Raymond contemplating a script (I think). Looking at Mr. Raymond's shirt, I remember the way he was able to dash off plaid shirts with those swift, exacting lines. He was a master draftsman. Just take a look at this RIP KIRBY daily I posted in November, 2006.

OK, this part of the blog is not as exciting as Miss Mizzou's curves!

One of the last vestiges of this time is the idea that 100% of cartoonists are successful 100% of the time.

Five years ago, I was at a photography studio on the West Side, and some kid, all dressed up in his best suit for a formal family photo, overheard that I drew cartoons. He walked over and asked if I really was a cartoonist. I said that I did, and I asked him if he read comics. He told me he loved PEANUTS. Not manga, not SPONGEBOB. PEANUTS!

And then he asked, very quietly, if "we" were all rich. He had heard you make a lot of money in cartoons.

This was a kid, maybe 9-10 years old, and I believe that you should tell a kid the truth, however unpleasant it may be.

I told him that some cartoonists do make a lot of money, but most of "us" are not millionaires. The kid seemed disappointed. Hopefully, maybe, he's studying now to be one of those lawyers that fight for the arts or something.

FINAL NOTE: The Closest I'll Ever Get to Being Alex Raymond: When I use a brush and ink, I make those same snakey, slathery inky marks that he does!

Tom Spurgeon: Six Comics Problems

Some thought provoking comments on the state of the comics industry by Tom Spurgeon at his Comics Reporter blog.

On comic strips:

"Success and failure is measured by editorial placements, not viewer eyeballs or reader satisfaction, and the decision whether or not to run a strip is driven to a large extent by factors like nostalgia, apathy and fear of incitement."

Jim Salicrup's Brthday Celebration at MoCCA

Matt Murray, MoCCA CEO, and Jim Salicrup

Saturday night, the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art hosted a 50th birthday party for Jim Salicrup. A writer and editor for Marvel, Topps, Stan Lee Media and now Papercutz, Jim has been a comics industry pro since he was 15 years old. The Soho-located museum was packed with well-wishers.

My pal, editorial cartoonist Tom Stiglich, took a break from Book Expo to grab the F train downtown with me, and join in the festivities.

One of the men behind Troma Studios' POULTRYGEIST gave Jim a DVD of the flick.

Jim, who has been on the MoCCA Board of Trusteees since Lawrence Klein began the Museum, was the recipient of a special video message from one friend and former employer who could not be there: Stan Lee. Mr. Lee began by jokingly asking an offscreen person who this Jim Salicrup person was.


This is a cake, with the icing all Photoshopped with some of the seminal comics Jim has edited. The new TALES FROM THE CRYPT revival series is the latest.

There will now be an exhibit space at MoCCA called "Salicrup's Section," showcasing Jim's career.

"In his 35 years on the comics scene Salicrup has worked with a pantheon of industry greats. The list includes not only his own heroes such as Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Roy Thomas and Steve Ditko, but current industry giants whose career "Slim Jim" helped foster such as Kyle Baker, Kurt Busiek, Fred Hembeck, and Todd McFarlane."

Press release here.

I got a kick out of seeing a 1971 letter from the editors of KIDS MAGAZINE to Jim, accepting some of his work for an upcoming issue. I have fond memories of KIDS, an early 1970s mag that was "by and for kids." CURTIS cartoonist Ray Billingsley got his start at KIDS too.


Fred Hembeck takes my photo while I do the same.

Thanks to the gang at MoCCA for a fun event, and congratulations Jim!


Lots of original art on the walls, but this color piece by Crockett Johnson caught my eye.

Sterling Lake Hike

My wife and I go hiking.


This 4 mile hike around Sterling Lake was how we spent part of the day Saturday. It's about 90 minutes northwest of NYC.

It was a hot day, and we saw no one else on the trail until the last 1.5 miles.


Well, we did come across a wild turkey and a bunch of her chicks, and, a little later on, this pair of Canadian Geese, with one wee gosling.


The family had been waddling in front of us for maybe 30 seconds, and then they all got in the water.


It was cool in the shade, and once we rounded the west side of the lake, we got some breezes.

Reamer Keller Napkins

This is one of those blog entries where I could not stay on topic. I go from a gag cartoonist to the Kinsey Report to my poorly attended junior high talent show to MARY TYLER MOORE.


Reamer Keller's cartoons (and writer's Percy Barker's words and/or stats; you're left to wonder if he wrote the gags and the stats) adorn a series of three dozen cartoon napkins that poke fun at the Kinsey Report at one of my fave blogs: A Hole in the Head blog.

Johnny C., your HitH host, has cut the napkin collection into 3 parts:

Sexual Misbehavior in the Human Male Part One

Sexual Misbehavior in the Human Male Part Two

Sexual Misbehavior in the Human Male Part Three

Keller, who lived in the Atlantic Highlands section of New Jersey, was a prolific gag cartoonist whose sketchy, controlled sloppiness was a staple of many publications. This duotone set of napkins, from 1953, are just part of the cartoon parody reaction to the Kinsey Report. Other publications include OH! DR. KINSEY! (1953) edited by Lawrence Lariar, and A CARTOON GUIDE TO THE KINSEY REPORT (1954) edited by Charles Preston.

This is the second time I've seen a series of Reamer Keller bar napkins. The first time was about a year ago here.

Big tip o' the hat to Johnny C.

And -- hey -- if you have some time, take a peek at his 1977 Diary. Johnny is a brave man!

Just take a look at the March 19, 1977 entry. I remember that I was performing in a talent show at my junior high school (Woodbury Junior High School, Shaker Hts., OH) on that night. That dumb talent show was one of the most sparsely attended efforts ever. And it was all because we had some serious competition: the last MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW was airing the same night.

In the pre-VCR days, people had to make a choice. And a lot of us learned that our folks loved MARY more than us! Heck, a lot of the kids would've rather been at their own homes, eating space food sticks and Tab cola, sitting in the ol' bean bag chair, cocooning in our suburban wall-to-wall shag carpeted family room, watching the last MTM. If I remember, there were a number of kinds who plain didn't show up for the talent show.

'Battlestar Galactica' set to say goodbye after Season 4

Waaaaaah!

BSG is going away after its next season.

Tip of the toaster to Mark Anderson.

Above cool graphic from the BSG Meet Up blog.

Happy Birthday, Jim Salicrup!!

Above: two guys who put a handsome face on cartooning: Jim Salicrup, Mike Lynch

Happy Belated Birthday, Jim Salicrup!

Mr. & Mrs. Salicrup's little comic lovin' boy turned 50 this week. Fred Hembeck has a nice write up about Jim on his FredSez blog (no permalink -- look for the May 29, 2007 date). May there be 50 more birthdays, and the another 50 ....

1979 STAR TREK Interviews

I have not sen this before. It's not in the bells-and-whistles edition of the STTMP DVD. Funny to remember that this was back when it was just one 1960s TV show and its fans keeping the idea alive. I remember being alternately excited about this and fearing it would be bad. The idea of a major motion picture being based on an old, canceled TV show was, back then, pretty controversial. Would people go and see it? Nowadays, there's probably a movie treatment based on Shatner's Promise Margarine commercials!

I dug host Jim Finnerty's fro!

Berndt Toast Gang Meeting May 31, 2007

Above: a gag cartoon on display at the Long Island Museum's Levittown exhibit: "The O'Banions are attending classes. Whom shall I say called?" No name or publication date that I could make out. When I was first born, my folks rented an old barracks, long since torn down, so this cartoon caught my eye!

I started the day driving out to Stonybrook. Stan Goldberg, Bunny Hoest & myself will be giving a talk about cartooning on Sunday, June 10th at 2pm at the Long Island Museum. After awful traffic on the LIE and only getting lost twice, I got to the museum and saw the room we're using. It'll be fine. I poked around the museum. There are three ZIPPY comic strips and an original Hirschfeld that are part of the "Living the America Dream: Levittown and the Suburban Dream" exhibit. And there's eve n a mock up of a typical Levittown suburban living room where you can sit, watch a nicely remastered I LOVE LUCY episode and page through old magazines. The first thing I turned to in a 1951 issue of Better Homes and Gardens was an ad for Kleenex with Little Lulu and Alvin by Marge.

Above: 3 ZIPPY originals (cartoonist Bill Griffiths was raised in Levittown and has brought it up from time to time in the strip), detail from a magazine ad for Levittown, a Hirschfeld original of William Levitt, the man behind Levittown. Next to the signature, there's a "2 + 1." Mr. Hirschfeld hid Mr. Levitt's wife's name twice in the drawing, and there is one Nina.

Steve Duquette, Don Orehek. Did you notice that in this month's Playboy there are not one but two Don Orehek cartoons? (Photo by John Pennisi)

After a quick coffee, I arrived at the restaurant fully expecting a handful of cartoonists to show up for this month's Berndt Toast Gang get together. After all, it's Memorial Day week and a lot of people are traveling. Well, I was wrong. Maybe people are traveling, but cartoonists aren't! We had over 30 cartoonists, loved ones and friends show up for lunch on this sunny, hot last day in May.

We began with a traditional "Berndt Toast" to a cartoonist. This May, we toasted Bill Woggon, who was born in Toledo, Ohio in 1911. After a stint as a art director for a department store, he joined his older brother Elmer Woggon, assisting on the lettering and other chores for Elmer's BIG CHIEF WAHOO strip. Bill's work caught the eye of an MLJ editor and was asked to create one pager fillers for the ARCHIE comics. In the 1940s, Bill Woggon created KATY KEENE. KATY became so popular, she received her own title in 1949. KK was known for its reader participation. Fashion-obsessed fans could mail in clothing designs, and Woggon would incorporate their designs into the KK comic book stories, complete with a credit to the fan designer.

He passed away on March 2, 2003, at the age of 92.


Adrian Sinnott with his daughter Dottie.

It's rare that NCS Book Illustration Award nominee Adrian can make it to the lunch since he's one of the busiest illustrators I know.


Al Scaduto, Claire Adelman (Photo by John Pennisi)

Bill Crouch has written a great profile of Al, and like a fool I did not make note of where it appeared. If anyone sees it on the Web, let me know.


California-based Disney character designer Stephen Silver's book was passed around. Stephen was kind enough to autograph a copy of this, shown on his Web page. I brought it along for show and tell, and it elicited a lot of oohs and aahs.

Emilio Squeglio, Joe Giella, Al Scaduto

Bill Kresse played the harmonica and we all sang Happy Birthday to Simmy Barry, Rhoda Danglo and Emilio Squeglio.


Art Cumings, Joe Giella

I can see Art's cartoons in Playboy, and Joe's in my Daily News every day, drawing MARY WORTH.


Adrian Sinnott, Al Scaduto, Mike Lynch

The stuff in the background makes it look like we're on a Star Trek set or something!

It was great to see Ernie Colon, once again joining us for lunch. We also welcomed guests Phil Bubbeo and Dan Perico to the festivities. Thank you to John Pennisi for sharing some of his photos!

Next month: the annual Bunny Hoest party!