Still Moving

Here's our Sam the cat, trying to assist us in the big move from NYC to the Boonies.

Back soon.

We're Moving

No, not the blog. the blog is staying here (with, perhaps, an interruption or two in the next week). The people, I mean. The people are moving. We're moving from our apartment in Brooklyn (left) to our new home in New Hampshire (right).

Above: a photo of a corner of our book-laden living room in our 1 bedroom apartment taken by Mark Anderson back in September 2006, when he was up for the THIS INKING LIFE gallery show.

That same area, as of 6:00AM Friday morning.

Moving from Brooklyn is a big change. One I'm looking forward to. So many friends in NYC and in "the boonies" are helping us with this. I can't say thank you enough.

STAR TREK NEW VOYAGES: "World Enough and Time" [updated]

The pro/am fan-made STAR TREK episode "World Enough and Time" can be seen here. It premiered on the Web last night and there are still problems being able to stream it due to high demand. The small Flash version worked for me, at least for the first 25 of its mammoth 63 minute length, and then it went dead. And this was after letting it spool all night.

UPDATE: Site is not working. Too much TREK love and too little bandwidth! Too bad that YouTube or some other similarly well-equipped site didn't host this.

UPDATE: You can download New Voyages torrents, including WEaT, here.

A Robert Burns Moment

I was on the phone, talking cartoons, to cartoonist pal Stephanie Piro, when she suddenly said, "The cats are acting funny."

We went back to talking for a couple minutes, and then, again, "What is going on? The cats are acting funny."

Her 3 cats were huddled close to her husband John's banjo, which was leaning against the living room wall.

John Nolan, newspaper editor, musician and admirer of the poet, Robert Burns (John hosts an annual "Burns Night" celebration), walked toward the banjo. The cats did not move. All of them were attentively watching the banjo. Something was in there.

The following moment inspired these words (by my wife, Stacy) and pictures (by me).


To a Mouse, on Him Turning Up in an Unexpected Spot

Wee, sleekit, cow'rin tim'rous mousie,

I hear you've found a brand new housie.
There, with all yer bairns and spousie
Youll take your place -
Spite Nolan's yelps and curses, grousy -
In banjo case.

Perhaps you'll join him in a "choon".
He's hundreds you know, or will you soon.
Your timid squeek could be a boon,
And needed clearly
To balance booming baritoon,
At party, yearly.

But best-laid schemes o' men an' mice
Often come at bloody price.
And dwellings first that seemed so nice,
Now mordant.
For grisly death at feline vise
Turns home discordant

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This has been an encore presentation of the Mike Lynch Cartoons blog. The above appeared in its original form on May 4, 2006, back when this blog first started over at MySpace.

DuoShade Ad from 1988

An ad for "DuoShade" paper by Grafix from the Spring 1988 issue of WITTYWORLD Magazine.

Duotone paper was the choice a many cartoonists, particularly editorial cartoonists. It looked like a sheet of bristol and you could ink on it. And then, once you were done with the inking, you could open up a small bottle of clear liquid and brush on a clear chemical that would react with the paper, revealing shading lines or dots.

I've been told that the chemicals caused cancer. I've never seen proof, but several pros have told me that it was dangerous.

Regardless, the need for this product has virtually gone away with the advent of visual manipulation programs like PhotoShop. Maybe if you're a tough Reaganesque cowboy, you're way too tough to get cancer.

Ed Whelan Comics

Start here.

This is one of the reasons why the Internets is a nice place.

H/t to Comics Reporter.

Persistence and Kindness in Business

From Reader's Digest (UK):


"Thompson gets great results, despite his lack of people skills."

This started a couple years ago. I mailed about 10 cartoons to a small publication. I got an email back from the editor. He loved the cartoons, but didn't have the budget line to pay to publish the cartoons

This is, like I just said, a small company. Regardless, they have budgets for salaries, employee health care, utilities, rent, etc. If a small company wants to buy some cartoons for their newsletters or presentations, that's great. A lot of 'em don't have the available money in their media budget. Not good. I can't afford to give cartoons away.

Anyway, there's more to my story ...

So, every once in a while I'd send this fellow a note and a couple of cartoons. He would always kick back a nice email to me about them.

I figured he would never buy, but it was always a pleasant surprise to hear how much he appreciated them. Yeah, I'm a sucker for praise!

Now, it's about three years later. This year he has the budget line for cartoons and it'll be a new regular gig. It's not going to be a big paying client, like Harvard Business Review. But I look forward to working with him.

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This has been an encore presentation of the Mike Lynch Cartoons blog. The above appeared in its original form on March 28, 2006, back when this blog first started over at MySpace.

SCHULZ AND PEANUTS Previews

Above: the iconic jagged line that instantly tells you just whose shirt this is. I had no idea how many times this image has recurred. From left, some samples from publishing and textiles: a 2000 OSU exhibit catalog (designed by my friend Frank Pauer), a Charlie Brown yellow shirt that you can buy, and the cover of the new SCHULZ AND PEANUTS biography. I wonder why oh why does the SCHULZ AND PEANUTS cover art (which may or may not be the final art) seem to be a machined replica of the famous zig-zag. It should at least appear to be from the inky hand of Mr. Schulz.

There are number of good links for David Michaelis' forthcoming SCHULZ AND PEANUTS biography of Charles Schulz. These will help keep one sated until its arrival in October

A "BookExpoCast" podcast interview with Mr. Michaelis here.

Nat Gertler's review based on his reading the uncorrected proofs here.

Schulz Museum's announcement about the book here, along with a note that there will be a new PBS documentary titled Good Ol' Charlie Schulz airing in October 2007.

Getting Paid

"If you kept up with my blog, you'd understand."

I sold some cartoons to a client. I emailed the finishes to the editor and invoiced him that day. (The above cartoon is not one of the cartoons. It was bought by a very good market that pays consistently on time. I'm just using it as an illustration.) This client is supposed to pay within 30 days. Over a month goes by, no payment. I sent a friendly reminder email last week and then, yesterday, I left a phone message. "Hi, uh, it's Mike calling. Just want to know if there's a check in the mail. It's my rent time. Ha, ha." (That's not a joke, really. I do have to pay New York rent, which is NOT CHEAP.) No answer. Now, it's my personal rule not to let things get behind. Sometimes there are good reasons why I don't get paid. Not all the time, but some times. I'm open to there being a problem on their side. And I want to be civil and friendly. No confrontations. Regardless, I'm frustrated that the editor won't contact me. So today I checked out the site for the magazine. This is a national mag, on newsstands from coast to coast. The site was there, operating just fine. So then I looked at this feature called EDITOR'S BLOG. One of the topics for the blog: "Freelancing has never been an easy way to make a living. Is it getting harder?" And there's a place to MAKE COMMENTS. The editor won't return my call, but he has time to blog. Hmm. Like I said, I'm not making this up. Hmm. Is freelancing getting harder? I immediately thought of Al Jaffee's Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions. "No, it's not hard since I've given up eating." "It'd be a lot easier if you'd just PAY ME." "My mom is gonna call your mom and then, oh boy, you're going to be in a lotta trouble." This isn't the first time that it's happened to me. I just try to be persistent and nice. "Is there anything else that you need? Can we go over my contact details again? Can you Fed Ex a hand-written check?" And if I get a non-responsive person on the phone, I counter with, "What would you do if you were in my situation?" Well, I won't post a comment on that mag's blog. I won't say what magazine it is. Hopefully, it will work out. Especially if I'm persistent about it. I suppose there's a chance of the editor somehow seeing this blog and -- BOOM! -- no more business from him. Ah well. The darn thing is, it's such a small bit of money to the corporate world. It's a plane ticket. It's lunch for board. It's a car rental. Besides my sweet big cat Roo getting in my way as I draw, this is another time drag; another reason I don't produce more cartoons! Too much time spent in the Mike Lynch Accounts Receivable Department.

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This has been an encore presentation of the Mike Lynch Cartoons blog. The above appeared in its original form on March 2, 2006, back when this blog first started over at MySpace.

Doug Marlette Memorial Site

Go and explore the Tulsa World's extensive Doug Marlette site "dedicated to his work and the effect it had on the communities he served."

Hat tip to Comics Reporter.

HAPPINESS IS A DRY MARTINI by Johnny Carson, cartoons by Whitney Darrow, Jr

"HAPPINESS IS ... getting up at 2 A.M. to feed the baby and finding two bottles -- one for the baby and one for you."

Nudist colonies, Playboy bunnies, artist's models, busty schoolteachers -- it's all in the HAPPINESS IS A DRY MARTINI Fawcett Crest paperback credited to Johnny Carson. Despite the floating head of Carson on the cover, I suspect the book was ghost written by some of his gag writers.

This 1968 adult riff on HAPPINESS IS A WARM PUPPY, has slick drawings by New Yorker magazine cartoonist Whitney Darrow, Jr.

Go and look at Johnny C.'s Hole in the Head blog for part one and part two.

Another great Hole in the Head blog entry!Thanks, Johnny!

And a pre-happy birthday to Whitney Darrow, Jr., born 98 years ago tomorrow!

Our Future World in 1999 According to 1966 Reader's Digest Book

Here's the Reader's Digest NEW Reading Skills Reader from 1966 with a spectacular future world painting by Fred Freeman (1906-1988). Looky them jet packs! Way cool!

Mr. Freeman was a veteran illustrator for many magazines and books. He may be best known for the 120 illustrations he drew for the book First Men to the Moon (1960), with text by Werner von Braun.

Below is a key to Fred Freeman's cover painting:

It's apparent that the oil companies did not have any input into this! And the lawyers would have a field day with moving sidewalks, rocket belts, etc. Man oh man, I am too cynical now.

I remember thinking, when I was a kid in Iowa City, that this was going to be the way it would be! Heck, it's in a BOOK. It's gotta be true if it's in BOOK.

OK, you saw that there are references to some page numbers. Below is referenced When You Grow Up story, which is fun to read

And, if you don't look out, you may build some skills, mate!

Click here for LARGE version.

I like the idea that people get to work later in the day so they can sleep in like great sloths and they don't have to work long hours. Ha ha ha!

Click here for LARGE version.

Food is like candy! More jet packs! Clothes made of glass!

Click here for LARGE version.

In the future, we will all wear what looks like velour jumpsuits with piping ala Lost in Space. And where's my personal robot? Can I have Andrea, from What Are Little Girls Made Of? Can I? Huh?

A labor-saving android from a 1966 episode of Star Trek. She's Shatnerlicious!

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This has been an encore presentation of the Mike Lynch Cartoons blog. The above appeared in its original form on Wednesday, July 12, 2006, back when this blog first started over at MySpace.

Jack Cole's BETSY AND ME Collection & More

Cartoonist Jack Cole, who created Plastic Man, became a master gag cartoonist for Hefner's then-young PLAYBOY magazine, and finally topped his off his career by fulfilling his long-held dream of drawing a syndicated comic strip. The strip, BETSY AND ME, was popular -- but sadly short-lived.

After completing two and half months of dailies, Mr. Cole suddenly and, for reasons which may only have been known to him, committed suicide. More here in an article by Jack Yanc for the Tucson Weekly, and there is a link to JACK COLE AND PLASTIC MAN by Art Speigelman with Chip Kidd.

The style of the comic strip BETSY AND ME, as different from his illustrative gag cartoons and comic book work as could be, detailed the life of a young married couple, drawn in, as Ron Goulart aptly describes in his HOGAN'S ALLEY article, "reminiscent of the drawing in the UPA animated cartoons." Lots of good sample of the strip are at that link. Go peek.

A book of the comic strip BETSY AND ME is scheduled this November.

With the first volume of a new TERRY AND THE PIRATES collection, Mark Evanier's bio of Jack Kirby, along with SCHULZ AND PEANUTS: A BIOGRAPHY by David Michaelis (look at that killer cover below), Fall 2007 is a great time to spend those long autumn evenings in the study, soaking up great cartoony works. And I'm not even mentioning some of the other items like a new POGO collection, or the next WALT & SKEEZIX.



Big hat tip to Tom Spurgeon over at Comics Reporter.

Stephen Silver: Schoolism.com bonus

Some great video of pro character designer Stephen Silver sketching and talking about not only keeping a sketch book, but how to keep a sketch book from his Stephen Silver Blog.

Stephen Silver: Schoolism.com bonus

He talks about the fundamentals of drawing and learning about why a drawing is well drawn. This is a bonus to his blog, part of the online art school "Schoolism." The video's just over 7 minutes long.

How Do You Come Up with All Those Cartoon Ideas?

"Let me ask you something. Where do you get your material?"

"I hear a voice."

"What kind of voice?"

"A man's voice, but he speaks in German so I have to get a translator."

OK, that's the way that Seinfeld said it. That's entertaining, but not helpful.

A lot of it is habit, so says fellow cartoonist Randy Glasbergen. Things happen. And you start to "think funny."

And I don't just mean putting baloney slices in your shoes.*



OK, here's a story behind a cartoon. I was lost in JFK. I couldn't find an information booth for the longest time. It seemed like I was in an uninhabited sector of the airport. I finally find this little counter. The sign said INFORMATION, but no one was there. I looked around. There was only one person I could see: a woman, a passenger I guess, reading People magazine. So, the only information near the information booth about Paris Hilton.

The above cartoon idea happened and it was published in Punch magazine, back when it was around.

"And to port, the most sequestered jury in the world."

I had to come up with some law cartoons. I had no ideas. I started to think of the most tried and true cartoon cliches in magazine cartooning. You know: the two guys on shackled on the dungeon wall, caveman inventing the wheel, talking dogs, etc.

And then I drew a desert island, and then doodled people on it. And then I thought, who are these people? Well, it was pretty easy to draw a dozen and call them "the most sequestered jury." The fact that they're part of some silly tour came a little later. This was sold to the second market I sent it to.

"Mrs. Berg calls my book report a finely crafted debut and she looks forward to my next effort."

The story behind this cartoon: One day I was reading the NY Times Book Review. The writer was fond of using the above kinda phrases. Putting the pretentious five-dollar words in the kid's mouth made it all look silly. An editor did too, so that one sold. Mrs. Berg, by the way, was the name of my first grade teacher.

A lot of my time is spent doodling or looking at the wall. I don't know where ideas come from, but they can be teased out. And you can make money from them.


*Steve Martin

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This has been an encore presentation of the Mike Lynch Cartoons blog. The above was edited this day and originally appeared way back on Thursday, March 2, 2006, back when this blog first started over at MySpace.

31 Years Ago Today: SPACE:1999 Season 2 Premiere

This is what I was doing Thursday, August 19, 1976: watching the second season premiere of SPACE: 1999 on WUAB Channel 43 in Cleveland, Ohio.



Honestly, it really sounds like actress Catherine Schell, who had been in one of the Bond movies (ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE) and RETURN OF THE PINK PANTHER, is smilingly consoling us for enduring the cosmic boringness of the first season. The show tended to be ponderous and bleak in its stories. Ms. Schell reassures us that now that she's on board, there will be "bigger and better" monsters and things blowing up real good in the new season. And where is co-star Barbara Bain?! The woman had won 3 consecutive Emmies for her MISSION IMPOSSIBLE run. She was a pretty big star! And she was, in real life, the wife of star Martin Landau. She's not in any of the previews!

Big hat tip to Videoholic for taping this waaay back then on his then-cutting edge Betamax when it happened! Like him, I was watching all this on WUAB TV Channel 43 in Cleveland!

Censored Cartoons

Oh, hi! Still unpacking here at the new house, so here's a warmed over item from the ol' blog (back when in its fledgling Myspace incarnation) from Monday, April 24, 2006. The book I mention did get published earlier this year, albeit without any Mike Lynch Cartoons. Mores the pity.

This past fall I was asked by an editor to tell stories about censored cartoons. (There may or may not be a forthcoming book about censored cartoons. I don't know.) This is one of the stories I told. I had a regular client that I did a lot of cartoons for. I'm not going to identify the client. I was doing good, regular work for them. I think I had been drawing cartoons regularly for a number of months. I was in a honeymoon period. Many of my cartoons were getting bought. the editor was happy. Mike was happy. Everyone was happy. And then there comes the inevitable moment of screw up. Background: This was back when overweight people were suing the fast food restaurants. A few months after that, news stories reported (and this is not a joke) that pet owners were suing pet food manufacturers on behalf of their hefty pets. So I pitched a cartoon about it and it was given a green light. This is the one I drew up: I got a call from the editor as soon as I emailed it to her. She was upset. "You can't have the guy fat and a slob. Fat people aren't necessarily sloppy housekeepers, you know?" I told her it was funny because all this irresponsible guy and his cat do all day is sit around eat, and they toss the wrappers and containers around. The clutter made this easy to see. Well, she was really upset. He can be fat. He can be a slob. But he can't be both. Weird. He who takes the king's money is the king's man. I drew up another, sanitized version: And she was relieved. When it was published, there was no outcry that I heard of. (Heck, you can sure see that I went for a broader, more cartoony, simple style in this second cartoon since I was pressed for time.) Afterward, the editor filled me in. This publication had run a major multi-part story about obese children. The series was meant to illuminate their worlds in a thoughtful way. And it did. But the schoolmates of the kids ridiculed them. And these kids who had that thought they would be celebrities for a week, became even bigger targets of teasing. The parents of the obese children called the publication, holding them liable for the bullying their kids were enduring. The publication apologized and treated the kids and parents to a day at the publication's offices: a tour, a nice lunch, etc. That smoothed things over. And it explained why, when this publication shows an obese person (or cat), they are overly sensitive. And it explained why they outright rejected this one:

New Roy Delgado Blog

Just this month, my cartoonist colleague Roy Delgado started his new blog. Roy's cartoons can be seen everywhere: Barron's, Playboy, Harvard Business Review, etc.

Except for The New Yorker magazine. He's submitted cartoons to the prized cartoon market for something like 17-18 years. Is that right Roy? I'm going by memory here. Anyway, that's a lot of cartoons! And a lot of persistence.

Roy's written a book, full of his cartoons, all about the years of 100% rejection from The New Yorker titled A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE NEW YORKER. All the cartoons in it were first submitted and rejected by the NYer, and then were bought by other publications.

By the way, Roy has a cartoon in today's Wall Street Journal, as well as a couple in the July-August Harvard Business Review. I told you that his cartoons are everywhere!

Rod McKie: Time Management & Tools of the Trade

Above: A rare cat-free photo of my messy desk, and key to said mess.

From my pal Rod McKie's Cartoons and Illustration blog comes some insight into increasing production by managing your time, along with an examination -- complete with photo of the McKie messy desk -- of the art supplies Rod uses.

I'm a great believer in creative mess. My desk is full of notes, pens, pencils, rulers, erasers, brush (to brush away eraser crumbs), scissors, business cards, sketches, etc. Mark Anderson, however, maintains a neat and tidy studio; so neat you could eat off of his studio floor. And he'll make do just that, my friend, if you do not laugh heartily at his cartoons.

Unseen Bill Holman Comics

From a 27 year old issue of Jud Hurd's late, great Cartoonist PROfiles ....


Here are 10 examples of an unseen and unsold newspaper panel proposal from Bill Holman, the man behind the legendary screwball strip SMOKEY STOVER (1935-1973).

Congratulations to Greg Fox!

My friend, cartoonist Greg Fox, won the "Life Without Fair Courts" cartoon contest sponsored by Lambda Legal. Congratulations, Greg!

Ted Rall and Matt Bors came in second and third, respectively.

More at Editor & Publisher.

The winning entries at the Lambda site.

Greg's own take on winning at his Kyle's Bed & Breakfast Blog.

1977 NY Times: 25 Years of Mad Magazine UPDATED

A heartfelt article about MAD's influence on R. Crumb, The Muppets, and the world at large.


From the July 31, 1977 New York Times: "THE 'MAD' GENERATION - After 25 years of perpetuating humor in the jugular vein, the magazine that wised up millions of kids is still a crazy hit" by Tony Hiss (son of Alger) and Jeff Lewis.

Below is page one, which should blow up nice and big for easy reading of the ol' pixels.


Like millions of other boys, I grew up with MAD. In the early 1970s, I distinctly recall making the decision to subscribe (when I realized I could get the mag for less than the cover price of 40 cents if I could save up the dollars), and walking down the shag-carpeted hallway to good ol' Dad, sitting in his chair in the living room, to ask him to make out a check to the good folks at E.C. Publications.


Above: a special painting by Norman Mingo done especially for the Times, so says the article. Let me know if that's not true.

I was pleased to see credit given to Harvey Kurtzman, and there is a hat tip to the circumstances of his leaving the mag after its first 22 issues.

I love the above photo, taken in 1963, of Bill Gaines, in what looks like full samba mode, and some of the MAD staff (from top to bottom in the doorway) Nick Meglin, John Putnam, Al Feldstein, Leonard Brenner, Nelson Tirado and Jerry De Fuccio.

The scan on this is not the greatest. The Times magazine, as of 31 years ago, was rather large and required multiple scans in my pokey scanner.

By the way, last week, the Times cut the width of their paper by 1.5 inches. Shrinky, shrinky, shrinky! This makes the Times about the same width as the Wall Street Journal. And this is after raising its price from $1.00 to $1.25 per daily issue. My wallet is going shrinky too.

"Alfred E. Neuman was everything that parents prayed deep-down their kids wouldn't turn into -- and feared they would." Holy cow!


This article made me want to go and read a lot of old MADs.

UPDATE: Mark Evanier responds to this article here.

Drawing Dick Cheney with Editorial Cartoonist Justin Bilicki

My thanks to editorial cartoonist Justin Bilicki for letting me know about this video.

The canned laughter and applause aside, Justin is at ease here and he really should do chalk talks in front of people.

I remember Tom Gill (who used to draw The Lone Ranger comic books) telling me about the NCS USO tours to Korea & Europe, and the chalk talks that he would do, along with people like Caniff, Rube Goldberg, etc. Justin would've been a natural.

Another great link: the Bilicki Blog.

The Stripper's Guide Dictionary Part 1: Sunday Strips

Another part one of a multi-part piece.

Great article about the sizes of newspaper comic strip sections through the years from Allan Holtz's Stripper's Guide. Shrinky, shrinky, shrinky!

Hat tip Journalista!

Interview with Lynn Johnston

From the blog titled Panels and Pixels: comes part one of an interview with Lynn Johnston.

New St. Trinian's Movie

More comics-turned-into-movies news.

When they first skipped mischievously across the screen in 1954, the cigarette-smoking, suspender-wearing, trouble-making pupils of St Trinian's annihilated the long-held belief that girls were made of sugar and spice and all things nice.

Now, 53 years on, the young ladies are returning to the big screen in a £7 million adaptation of cartoonist Ronald Searle's hilarious tales of mischief and japery.

-- from the Daily Mail.

Some of the bad girls of St. Trinian's. More photos from MSN Movies site.

Big hat tip to THE BEAT!

Want to know more about/see more Ronald Searle? Check out the Ronald Searle Blog.

A 3 part essay, with tons of movies photos and drawings, about St. Trinian's at the Searle blog. For some reason, I cannot find "St. Trinian's Part 1" or "St. Trinian's Part 2," but here is St. Trinian's Part 3.

CAR TALK - The Cartoon?!?!?!?!?!

You know those guys -- Tom and Ray Magliozzi, or Click and Clack -- the CAR TALK guys that have been heard on PBS radio for years? They're either funny or unfunny, depending upon your tolerance for lotsa laughing and old jokes and, well, talk of car problems. In our family, it's right down the middle: half love the show, and the other half have ugly things to say.

Regardless, over at Stephen Silver's blog, he lets us in on the new PBS TV show CAR TALK- THE ANIMATED SERIES (working title) for which he has drawn the above character designs. Stepehn is a swell guy and a great cartoonist. I happen to have an autographed copy of his Sketchbook. It's great to see the energy and joy in his sketches -- and what a fun design!

The new TV show, scheduled to air Summer 2008, says this article from Reuters, will "take off where the radio series ends,' showing what the hosts do off-air ...."

Hmm. I don't know about that, but I do like Stephen's great design work.

Sempe Le Petit Nicolas Exhibit

From Matt Jones' blog: some words and pictures regarding an exhibit of Sempe drawings.

It's in Cannes and it's thru September 2, 2007.

A couple of great photos here. I never knew Sempe drew small ....

I wish I could see it!

Assignment Earth TV Theme 1

In 1968, when it looked like STAR TREK would be canceled, Gene Roddenberry and writer Art Wallace wrote an episode of TREK titled ASSIGNMENT: EARTH. This episode was a pilot show for another series, with Kirk, Spock and the Enterprise shoehorned into the background; basically, just as so much window dressing.

ASSIGNMENT: EARTH was about a secret agent from the future sent to here to "protect Earth before it could mature into a peaceful society." More here.

The bad news was that this pilot, which starred Gary Lansing and Teri Garr, did not sell. The good news is that the Patterson brothers, the guys over at the Web site Supervisor 194 (the code name of the lead character), have put together not one, but two, title sequences for this show that never became a series. Here is the first one, and there's a link to the second one at the team's site. The cool music is all new and by the brothers.

Steve Brodner on Bill Richardson

Some terrific video featuring Steve Brodner that's worth watching.

Political illustrator Steve Brodner talks about how he approaches a caricature of Bill Richardson in this short produced and directed by by Gail Levin for Inscape Productions. He talks about the way Richardson looks and moves. Some great insight here into incorporating observed human nature into a drawing, and -- better yet -- we get to see Steve actually drawing and painting. There is also some limited animation. Since there is all ready so much fluidity and verve in Steve's line, it doesn't look limited at all.

Al Kilgore: Comic Strips & the Cinema Key

Here is the solution to Al Kilgore's assembly of comic book character movie stars that I posted on Friday. Click for the super-size!

I want to say thanks to Steve Brodner. We got together for lunch about ten days ago at the Overlook. We sat near a large illustration of Bullwinkle, signed by Al Kilgore, and this got Steve talking about him.

The late Mr. Kilgore drew the Bullwinkle comic book for a couple of years in the 1960s, and there was a Bullwinkle comic strip from 1962-1965. He was also one of the founding members of the official worldwide Laurel & Hardy fan club, "The Sons of the Desert," for which he designed the logo. Writer/Blogger extraordinaire Mark Evanier featured a photo of Kilgore, Chuck McCann and John McCabe on the occasion of Dr. McCabe's passing almost 2 years ago.


Above: an advertisement for Costello's from the 1970s. The bar/restaurant was a hangout for the King Features and Daily News staff back in the day. It's now under new management and has been renamed the Overlook Lounge. The above cartoon mural is from that time, and, unfortunately, the bit on the right has been lost. You can see this mural, as well as the new one that we drew up in 2005 at The Overlook Lounge, very close to Grand Central. Jeff, Pat & mark, the guys who run the joint, are great cartoon fans and are going to preserve the cartoon murals forever.

As we ate our Overlook burger (me) and the chicken wrap (Steve), we talked about Kilgore and how unappreciated he is now. He was, in my opinion, one of those guys like Hirschfeld, that was able to catch the essence of the person. I was fortunate to have this bit of art drawn by Al Kilgore, a forgotten master.

PS My thanks to Steve for the wonderful caricature of me that he dashed off on the title page FREEDOM FRIES right there in front of me in pub (and the didn't even get any food stains on it)!!!



Thanks so much, Steve!

Al Kilgore

Gorgeous huge drawing by under appreciated master caricaturist Al Kilgore. Click to super-size!

Will put up the key to who's who later ....

Happy Birthday, Don Orehek!

The cartoonist's cartoonist, the dapper racantour and my pal, Don Orehek, celebrates another candle on the cake.

Don is a 4-time National Cartoonists Society Gag Cartoon Division Award Winner. He's been published in Playboy, Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan, Look, Cracked, and a bunch more.

Many happy returns, Don!

DILBERT'S Scott Adams' Syndication Advice

So, Scott Adams is trolling the Internet and he sees a cool comic called Basic Instructions. by another Scott, Scott Meyer.

Scott Adams writes on his DILBERT blog:

"It dawned on me that my blog readers might want to follow that conversation, like a reality show, and see if my sage advice can help a talented unknown hit the big time.

"Over the next month or more, with Scott’s permission, I’ll give you updates showing my advice and his responses. Your comments will guide us. When his work gets to the point where I think he should submit it for syndication, I’ll show him how that’s done and let you follow along."

More at the DILBERT blog.

I like the format and I thought that if similarly formatted THIS MODERN WORLD and TOM THE DANCING BUG panels can get syndicated (albeit only in the freebie papers and on the Web), then why not BASIC INSTRUCTIONS?


ABOVE: The disfigured Captain Christopher Pike from "The Menagerie" episode of STAR TREK.

PS Hey, nice thing about Scott Meyers is that he's also responsible for the Ask Captain Pike Web site. Go there and ask Captain Pike a question! It's fun!

Ahh. Cartoons and TREK! Pure blogging satisfaction. Scott, you made my day!

Tornado HIts Brooklyn

... And the subways grind to a halt. Wednesday was a crazy day.

New Old Hal Foster Art

From the years before his run on TARZAN and PRICE VALIANT: A couple of early Hal Foster pieces at the Golden Age Comic Book Stories blog.

Interview with Cartoonist Mark Anderson's Mom

Above: One of the thousands upon thousands of cartoons at Mark's Andertoons Web site.

Mark Anderson's mother is visiting him this week and I inquired if I could ask some questions about Mark. She graciously accepted to be interviewed. I added the below illustrations.

Mark Anderson: The Early Years

Was Mark a good kid growing up?

Mark was a great kid and still is. He is so young at heart, I suspect he will always be a kid.

Mark Anderson: Funny Weird or Funny Ha Ha?

Is Mark the funniest family member?

Without a doubt! He is so jovial and good spirited. Mark always makes me laugh. We've had a good time and sometimes all I have to do is look at him and I know where he is going with something and it is such fun.

Mark Anderson: Juvenile Delinquent Cartoonist?

Did Mark draw in inappropriate places when he was young?

Not really, he was always drawing and telling me jokes from his big joke book or making up songs on the piano.

Mark Anderson: The Bitter Years of Struggle

Mark used to be a professional musician. Are you surprised that he now cartoons for a living?

Mark was one of the most natural musicians I've ever taught. He took to it like a duck to water. And what an ear! When a student would leave he would go to the piano and play whatever it was they were doing and he would do it so well. I'm not surprised at all about the cartooning. I knew it would be one or the other or both. He did quite well on the school paper as their cartoonist for four years. Once he was is in college he was doing t-shirts, posters, etc., etc., and doing the double major in music thing. Mark is capable of doing anything he sets his mind to. He played some real tough charts and played with some very top notch musicians. You never know what's next.

Mark Anderson: Obtuse

Have you ever seen a cartoon that Mark did in a magazine and not "gotten it?" Did you ever call him for an explanation?

Yep, sometimes I don't get it even after he explains it, but I'm sure it's funny to a brain surgeon or astronaut.

Mark Anderson: The Day After Tomorrow

Where do you see Mark in 10-15 years?

10 - 15 years from now, I think he could be programming for Pixar, playing in a salsa band or doing photography for the Chicago Tribune. But I think he will publish a book of his favorite cartoons and it will sell like hot cakes. You never know, he could do a late night talk show or teach cartooning at the local community college. Or he might even become a BBQ chef. Ha ha , won't it be fun to watch!!!!!! Maybe he will bring me to New York to meet you. I would like that.


Thanks for the kind words! And a big thanks to Mark's Mom for taking the time to fill us in on the origins of America's favorite Andercartoonist!

Even More “How Not to Get an Okay” Cartoons

From Eli Stein's Cartoon blog: industry insider cartoons by Stan Fine about the magazine gag cartooning industry circa the 1950s.

Catch up on all of this over at Eli's Corner.

Thanks, Eli!

12 Memorable Newspaper Comic Strip Deaths

Link at The Onion's A.V. Club.

Hat tip to Newsarama!

Just Like STAR WARS -- But with Hippos!

OK, I'll put up with Lego STAR WARS, but HIPPO STAR WARS?!?!

More at Becca's always fun No Smoking in the Skull Cave blog.

Mike Lynch Cartoon in August 4 THE WEEK Magazine

"Never delegate authority; delegate liability."

Hey, I have a cartoon in THE WEEK magazine. But it's not the same THE WEEK here on the stands in the States. It's the UK version. For some reason I though that THE WEEK here was the same THE WEEK overseas, and maybe if more Spice Girls move here, they might be one day soon.

OK, I want to talk about something unrelated that happened to me at the post office and, well, you really should somehow write something that's thematically whole here.

OK, let me see what I can do ....

The above cartoon, I suppose, a philosophical cartoon. I do not believe that those in power ever have enough (see the latest OK on the revised FISA laws that Bush wanted and that the House passed).

People do like to delegate. Cartoonists usually cannot, both in their work and, in my case, at the post office.

Speaking of post offices ....

I was mailing some DVD movies at the post office. They are media, so I wanted them shipped by Media Mail. I was told I could not ship DVDs by Media Mail due to the new postal regulations.

"But, they're MOVIES. Movies ARE media!"

If there is advertising on them, so said the postal employee, then you cannot send them by Media Mail.

DVDs, you see, have those coming attractions trailers on them and they are considered advertising.

I laughed. NO ADVERTISING?! When I buy a box from the Postal Store, there's advertising for the post office on that. Heck, the PO sells Star Wars stamps. That's advertising for Lucasfilm! You guys LOVE advertising! Advertising is the most American thing there is! This is ridiculous! Besides, this isn't MY advertising on these danged DVDs, it's Paramount Pictures' advertising!

The content standards for USPS Media Mail contend that there be "no advertising matter" in the package. "Advertising includes paid advertising and the publishers' own advertising in display, classified, or editorial style."

In the end, I had 2 postal employees staring down at me. They really were staring down. They're on some sort of platform back there at that branch.

So, I looked up at them, dug in my pocket, and paid for First Class mailing. I had no choice. I could not go to The Person In Charge and get a hearing. The PO is big business. They are faceless. The postal regs had been changed, and that's that.

That's the way it is with big corporations. But not with us.

You can't hide if you draw cartoons. There's your signature on the cartoon right there. No shrugging of the shoulders. No evasion possible. No, as the bald guy in the waistcoat would say, delegation of liability.

Oh, and don't try lying about the contents of the ol' Media Mail. Those nice foils who sell the Star Wars stamps can open up your mail for no reason. "Regardless of physical closure, the mailing of articles at Media Mail rates constitutes consent by the mailer to postal inspection of the contents."

End of rant (in which, amazingly, I was able to relate the cartoon and the PO). More tomorrow.

Ten "BATMAN in Love" Comics

Above: Robin must become a solo superhero as we see Batman in love with an actress named Magda, "The Toast of Two Continents," from Batman #87. Lesson to kids: Batman can fight crime or be in love -- but not both! The Dark Knight does not multitask.

More at the Bully Says: Comics Oughta Be Fun! blog.

I ALMOST DREW NANCY by Ivan Brunetti.

From an out of print 1999 issue of Roctober magazine: I ALMOST DREW NANCY by Ivan Brunetti. There was a time when the call went out from the syndicate that NANCY was looking for a cartoonist to continue the feature.

This humongous article details the indy comics creator trying his best to emulate NANCY creator Ernie Bushmiller's (a cartoonist he loved and admired) stylized technique both in form and content.

In the pages below, Brunetti writes about how he heard about the opening for the strip, and how hard he labored to create samples that would truly be in the spirit of Bushmiller.






I was looking for the above item on the Web and could not find it online. Fortunately, I had a copy, bought in some kinda Rock 'n' Roll head shop in St. Mark's Place. That store has now probably been replaced by a Baby Gap.

Ivan Brunetti's latest collection of work is MISERY LOVES COMPANY, from Fantagraphics. This collects his initial 3 issue run of SCHIZO comics. His indy comics work is personal, and can be violent, and very offensive.


Above: a self portrait by Ivan Brunetti.

I like Brunetti's "Gags Rejected by Several Respectable Magazines."

But ... no blog talking about NANCY can forget to tip the hat to the GUYS WHO REALLY DRAW NANCY -- the Gilchrists!

Here's the duo who picked up the reins of NANCY in 1995, creating near 4,350 daily and Sunday strips (and counting) --

Brad and Guy Gilchrist will have been producing NANCY for United Media for a dozen years this September 3rd. Guy is the man behind the Guy Gilchrist's Cartoonist's Academy in Simsbury, CT. Take a look at the above GCCA home page for some video of Guy drawing, as well as more information on classes and unique cartoony events.

'Zits' Character Looks Like Late King Editor Jay Kennedy

Editor & Publisher has the story.

Links to the strips here and here.

Bottled Water is Tap Water Redux

An editorial titled In Praise of Tap Water ran in the August 1st NY Times.

" ... if you choose to get your recommended eight glasses a day from bottled water, you could spend up to $1,400 annually. The same amount of tap water would cost about 49 cents."

A day later, a full page ad appeared (click here for a PDF of the ad) from BottledWater.org, the site for the International Bottled Water Association trade group, touting the good things about having water in a bottle so you can take it with you.

I agree. A reusable bottle, filled with tap water, would be the easiest, cheapest and most environmentally friendly way to go. The only person who might disagree would be an IBWA member who wants to make me pay a dollar or more for my pennies-a-glass ordinary, boring tap water. How else could those poor business people afford the full page ad in the Times and the San Francisco Chronicle this past week?

Above: "Oh, there's Fred, inconspicuously consuming again."

TV Show "IN COLOR!" Bumpers

From the 1960s, a collection of great little TV show IDs letting you know that the program was now "in color."

Just try not to think about POLICE SQUAD!

Douglas Wolk at Rocketship Tonight

Tonight, Friday, August 3, 2007: Douglas Wolk will talk about his book READING COMICS at my friendly neighborhood Rocketship comic book store! More at the Rocketship blog.

Love that Photoshopped comic book ad with the 1970 Arnold!

1971 Editor & Publisher Syndicate Directory

Here's a blast from 1971: the E&P 46th annual Syndicate Directory. Hang on! It's more fun than it sounds.


These annual directories list all of the syndicated newspaper features, and there are ads from the syndicates. promoting their wares.

Above: out of the 20 comic strips listed above, I only knew about 5. I enjoyed looking at these old comics -- GUMMER STREET, PIXies (with its odd half-capitals, half lower case spelling), THE COLONIALS -- and wondering what these strips were like!


Above: Something I didn't know: SKIPPY was revived by a syndicate! Percy Crosby was the best. He was the cartoonist behind the comic strip SKIPPY for 20 years. The strip ended in 1945. Mr. Crosby was Charles Schulz' favorite cartoonist. Look at the motion and energy in that strip. Skippy is alive. Go to Joan Tibbetts Crosby's SKIPPY site to see more of one of the best strips ever.

"LIPPY THE YIPPY provides adults and youngsters the opportunity for laughter at human foibles." You gotta love the hat flying off the old man's head in the final panel! I have to admit, I did not "get" this gag. This strip may or may not have actually run in papers, so says Allan Holtz at his Stripper's Guide blog. Explanation of his "Mystery Strips" project here.


Hey, I never noticed that Harriet Parker of THE BETTER HALF has the same hairdo as the Mom from THE FAMILY CIRCUS. Again, a bounty of strips, a good portion I have not heard of, represented in this ad from the Register & Tribune. LAUGHS FROM EUROPE, with that sad long-faced fellow with the incongruent Prince Valiant haircut, sitting on a box, ice-fishing, doesn't look particularly side-splittingly hilarious.

Here's Universal's tree of syndicated goodness. The 1971 dot pattern caused my color-reading scanner to strobe. Obviously, that effect was not in the original. What's up with 22-year-old Garry Trudeau wearing what looks like a pimp outfit? And what's up with the SHADOW GOODNESS feature? "Drawn by Dr. Richard Smith, a dentist ..." it says. Is this a cartoon feature? My favorite title of any feature is JELLY SIDE DOWN by Nancy Stahl, who both wrote and cartooned her feature. There were 2 paperback collections of her work in print, easily findable via used book outlets listed on ye olde search engines,

Video: Roz Chast Interview

Via Drawn, a link to a video of Steve Martin's interview with cartoonist Roz Chast. This was part of the 2006 The New Yorker Festival.

Hannes Bok Illustrations

Gorgeous, spooky and single-minded in their design: Hannes Bok (1914-1964), a prolific illustrator for the sci fi pulps, is showcased at the Golden Age Comic Book Stories blog.

Bok drew 20 book jackets in his lifetime. Here are photos of 11 of them.

Links are in a couple of sections:

Hannes Bok 1

Hannes Bok 2

Hannes Bok 3

Golden Age Comic Book Stories is becoming one of my favorite places to visit.

Above: Bok's illustration of the alien from WHO GOES THERE?, John W. Campbell's story that's been made into a couple of movies: THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD and THE THING.

A tip o' the hat to dear old Dad, number one science fiction fan, who first showed me some of Bok's illustrations way back when I was a kid.

LOLCATS Meme

My pal, comic strip cartoonist Tony Murphy, emailed me a link to photos like this:

And cartoons like these:

There's a whole Internets history to all this. The LOLCATS meme started with people posting weird cat photos with captions, then Adam Koford began drawing old-timey looking cartoons of cats (and, for a short time, passing them off as newspaper comics from 1912-13).

Start at the link at Procastinet to find out more and see more cartoons and cat photos.

Thanks for the fun time-wastin' linkies, Tony! You know that here at the Mike Lynch Cartoons blog we love the kitties and the cartoons!

Bottled Water is Tap Water

The bottled water that's sold is nothing but tap water, admits Coca Cola. Ditto Pepsi's Aquafina.

"Aquafina is the single biggest bottled water brand, and its bottles are currently labeled 'P.W.S.' The new labels will spell out 'public water source.'" -- from the Seattle Times

More information about the privatization of water, and why it's not only stupid to pay $1.39 of your hard earned money for a bottle of your own local tap water, but it's bad for the environment, here.

End of today's lecture.

UPDATE: video & transcript about the topic from Amy Goodman's Democracy Now!

The Art of Joe Chiodo

Anthony Taylor shares photos of comic book artist Joe Chiodo drawing Wonder Woman at the San Diego Comicon. Look at the fistful of Micron pens!

My colleague Anthony Taylor is a writer and producer with the Proteus Media Group. His latest book is THE FUTURE WAS FAB: THE ART OF MIKE TRIM, "chronicling artist Mike Trim's career designing models and special effects for Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, UFO, and illustrating the cover for Jeff Wayne's musical War of the Worlds album. "

Mike Trim's site here.

Thanks to Anthony for the heads up!

Video: Editorial Cartoonist Matt Wuerker

Here's a link to video of Matt Wuerker, resident editorial cartoonist for Politico.com. Matt appears on Riz Khan's Street Talk. He talks about, and shows, a couple of editorial cartoons.

This appears it will be a regular feature from AlJazeera English via YouTube.

Matt's segment starts 2 minutes into the program, and lasts about 2 1/2 minutes.

Louis S. Glanzman

Some illustrations by Louis S. Glanzman from the book BIG MUSIC OR TWENTY MERRY TALES TO TELL chosen by Mary Noel Bleecker. It was published in 1946 by the Viking Press in New York City.


Above: Taking off the paper book jacket, you can see this lovely inky illustration of some of the characters dancing.


But it was the endpapers that stopped me in my tracks. Beautiful work. It looked like Mr. Glanzman was channeling a bit of Walt Kelly's masterful ink technique here.


The title page, complete with busy little elves.

Louis S. Glanzman is a prolific illustrator, whose work was seen in Colliers and other top publications.


And here is the book itself, dumping many characters out. Uh, is that Mr. Glanzman at the bottom of the pile?


Even the middle-age era architecture has verve and looks alive.

I love the leaning forward of this character. This is the same fellow you see on the endpapers (2 down, 5th to the right).


My friend Leif Peng wrote about Mr. Glanzman at his Today's Inspiration blog.

And don't forget that Mr. Glanzman is alive and well, and he has his own site at LouisGlanzman.com!