Snowstorms

Here I am standing in the driveway, with my arm out to show the height of the drifts. I've basically snowblown a tunnel for our car.

And there's another 6-10 inches predicted for tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Arrrgh!!

Spring is coming. Spring is coming. Spring is coming. It helps to mutter this all day long.

Mike Lynch Cartoon in February 29, 2008 WSJ

Above: the "Pepper ... and Salt" cartoon as it appears at the Wall Street Journal Web site.

One of the things I do is try to think of commonly used business terms and how I can twist them to find the funny in them. Some of these corporate terms that I've used in published cartoons this year:

• Ergonomics
• Office Trends
• Delegation
• Loyalty to Authority
• Access Codes
• Casual Friday
• Lobbyists
• Long-Term Planning
  

Sometimes it's a challenge to take a term and make a cartoon out of it. The corporate jet, for instance, is not necessarily funny in and of itself. But skew the idea of what's trendy, and there you have a cartoon fit for WSJ.


Above: the original. Comparing my version with what is published (top), looks like they dropped out the wash and slightly squished it to fit their square format. I wasn't asked to redraw it. If I redrew it, I would've drawn it with a bolder line and gotten rid of the cloud formation that seems to dominate the smaller version.

Pick, pick, pick.

CARTOON LAFFS Part 2

Below are some more cartoons by the masters of postwar gag cartooning. This is a selection from CARTOON LAFFS, a True Magazine collection, copyright 1952 by Fawcett. For Part 1 of CARTOON LAFFS, please go here.

"I wish it were called something else besides broadtail. My husband fancies himself a comedian."

Ketcham's clean pen line is a thing of beauty. The suggestion of the overhead lights receding and the successively smaller people in the background give this a good illusion of depth.



I think that if I described this cartoon with the comment that the guy has a big wrench on his head, you might not think it was so funny. One of the reasons that this is a great, funny cartoon picture is because cartoonist Leo Salkin worked in the animation business, and when he draws a big funny wrench, he does a great job.



Ralph Newman gives us a patent office cartoon. This is the first time I've seen a Ralph Newman cartoon and I don't know anything about him. This is such a strong gag, I'd like to see more.


Above: a horrible scan of a bad print job from CARTOON LAFFS. It's a cartoon by the one and only Hank Ketcham, with a touch of wash, hence, the reproduction in half-tone. What's interesting about the cartoon is that you can see a bit of the hand-written gag line to the bottom, right.




Dick Cavalli with the married brunette Cavalli woman and the single blonde Cavalli woman. Only a Cavalli man would discern that the blonde is the more desirable. They look like sisters to me -- except for the low décolletage of the blonde.


Chon Day gives us a glimpse of this woman's whole lifestyle in one line. Love her elf hat. Those should have come back in style when the LOTR movies came out!


Mort Walker examines the love/hate nexus of a bad marriage. You go to the saloon to get away from her, and then you call her up? I love Mort's line work. The floorboards draw us back into the background here. And the blinds and the criss-cross pattern in the phone booth complement each other in a nice designerly way. Are there still phone booths?



I had perverse fun in playing my own how-many-doors-did-Mr.-Monahan-knock-down game. It's a study in some stunning physical stamina. Five doors, and he's still in the mood! The loving detail of the twisted hinges and screws on the floor are nice touches by, who else, VIP.


Ed Nofziger, who drew some of the best cartoon animals ever, contributes this ghoulish gag. Again: a badly reproduced cartoon.


I like Gardner Rea's wonky, wobbly line.



Hank Ketcham shows us how young Alice Mitchell worked her way through college. She was a burlesque hoofer! And I bet ol' pipe smokin' Henry Mitchell was a Stage Door Johnny!



The beautiful signature of Irwin Caplan dresses this great gag. The guy's expression is spot on.



I think that the Jiffy Key Co. salesman can be put away for this. Another name that was new to me: cartoonist Les Colin.




Ted Key gives us a strong sense of the dining room, with a good look at the crockery cabinet in the background. Nice line control and detail, down to the place setting on the table.



Claude gives us a gag based on a supposition that we all know the proper accouterments for an Elks Club man to wear. It also is a throwback to a time when this kind of humor was shrugged off. I included it because I liked his clean line and, although I sometimes see Claude's originals for sale on eBay, I rarely see his work in collections.



OK, there's love-hate marriages and then there's just the hate-hate kind. I like VIP's work on those sheets. Dig the 1950s single beds!

Cartoon Scrapbook of "Scooper" Conlon

Above: one of the cartoons from the scrapbook by animator Bill Nolan.

The ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive shows us a bunch of gag cartoons from the scrapbook of Hollywood publicist "Scooper" Conlon, who collected these anytime between the silent era and the 1950s.

A number of these cartoons are unidentified. Can you help?

Hat tip to Dirk Deppey at Journalista!

CARTOON LAFFS

"When I finished the book you are holding in your hands, my sides literally ached," writes Clyde Carley, Cartoon Editor of TRUE, "the Man's Magazine." this paperback collection, a Gold Medal Original from Fawcett Publications is copyright 1952 by Fawcett. Above: a cartoon by Virgil Partch, nicknamed "VIP." The man is being mean to the lady, but it's OK: they're 1950s cartoon characters.


Kirk Stiles draws the above cartoon with his usual breezy line. I like how the secretary, who powers over her boss, is leaning in to him, obviously up for anything.





The one and only Hank Ketcham, whose pen line and composition were impeccable, provides this cartoon. Just take a look at the crowd scene: is that Lucy Van Pelt in her witch outfit?





Another cartoon by VIP. It took me a minute to see the gag here. And it took me about 30 seconds of looking around at the cartoon to see VIP's signature.




Above: veteran gag cartoonist Dick Cavalli gives us a woman who is shady. It's the décolletage, the frilly flounce at the bottom of the gown, and that long cigarette holder working together to tell us very quickly what we need to know: she is no Sunday School teacher.


Hank Ketcham with another one. The guy with his hat in his hand reminds me of a middle-aged Mr. Wilson.


Above: another example of TRUE's branding. The men in the cartoon by Reamer Keller are the ones who read TRUE; the guy who's self-consciously obsessing about personal hygiene is not who they are.




Above: More VIP. He was, arguably, the cartoonist that was identified with TRUE during its heyday. The forced perspective here really works well. And look at the economy: 7 figures in total, no background, no bases, no stadium -- a lot of stuff that he did not draw. But it still READS as a ball field.



Gardner Rea, a master of line and boiling down characters to their minimum, gives us a racy caveboy gag.


Above: one of my favorite drawings in the collection by (who else?) VIP. For as much detail that he left out of the baseball gag, here is lots of detail of the destructive wake of the waterspout.

VIP with a honey of an overhead shot of a desert island and, below, a 7 panel silent gag. Click to supersize. I love the guy's sneering lip! With ugly, mean guys like this, it's no wonder VIP never sold to The New Yorker!

From Rough to Finish

Today I want to show some sketches and their trip from rough to finish. Above: detail from a sketchbook. The little note "sold HBR" means it sold to Harvard Business Review. I draw very simply and quickly and very small. I blew this up about 200%.

The idea came to me last year when other cartoonists would chat with me and maybe tell me some bit of gossip or something good and juicy -- and then warn me I better not to put it in my blog.


And, above, is the cartoon as I showed it to HBR for their consideration. The line "Aw, hell. You've been reading my MySpace blog, huh?" has been changed. The new line "Uh oh .... Something tells me that blog has been discovered" gets rid of the profanity (always a good idea) and the branding of the blog.


Above is the "Johnson is very security conscious" cartoon rough. You can see how quickly and messily I doodle a rough. Can you tell the guy is locking a steel gate? I originally thought that the text would just float over the cartoon, but then changed it.



Above is the version that I mailed out. Now we have a couple of guys walking by commenting that "Harding is very security conscious." I don't remember why I changed Johnson to Harding. It could be that there was all ready a Johnson character in another cartoon in the batch. I should have (as my Dad suggested afterward) put a big nasty bulldog by the cubicle. That would have been funnier and fun to draw as well. Ah well. The important thing is that it sold!







The "Meet the Cow" milk carton cartoon changed a bit from rough doodle to finish.


It became the Artisanal Milk cartoon, which I wrote about here. When I submitted this cartoon about conspicuous lactose consumption to the Chronicle of Higher Education, I had no idea there was such a thing as artisanal milk. A Chronicle of Higher Education reader told me otherwise.




Above is one of those silly little doodles again. I drew little sweatbands on the people who are running by with the numbers. Those were lost in the finish, and that was wrong. The people at the board room table are drawn so simply they look like three hairless heads on the floor.


Above is the finish. I remember drawing this up quickly, thinking that this one would not sell, so let's just draw it up and add it to the batch. No matter how long you are in the biz, you do not know what will sell. It sold very quickly.


And above is the page from my sketchbook. It's a 6" x 9" 110 lb. acid free 100% recycled paper from the Robert Bateman cover series produced by En Tour Artist Products, Inc. As you can see, I draw 8 ideas per page, on both sides of the page. The 110 lb. paper allows for no bleeding with my permanent Micron pens.

So, there you have it. Four sales out of eight. Actually, that's not true. Looking at that page of roughs, I only drew up five of the eight ideas -- and the fifth one, the one that didn't sell, is on hold. All in all, a darn good batting average. However, I should add in all honesty, like those diet commercials post in dinky lettering on the TV screen as Valerie Bertinelli goes from plump to thin, "results not typical."

I hope you found this interesting. I cringe at how rough these doodles are!

I COULD BE DREAMING by Chon Day

I COULD BE DREAMING is a collection of single panel cartoons by Chon Day, copyright 1945 by Robert M.McBride & Co. The dedication reads:

TO CLIN, CHIP AND STEPHEN WHO "WANT TO BE CARTOONISTS LIKE DADDY, SO WE WON'T HAVE TO WORK"

Chon Day should be studied in fine halls of cartoony learning. Above is a great example of a how by adding one little element (an element that took me a few seconds to see) changes what may happen next, throwing the whole cartoon into a very hostile and funny light.



A lot of my favorite cartoons are about "the moment just before all hell breaks loose." I love the resigned look on the parents' faces as they prepare to passively face the inevitable.



Above: this would not get published today. I thought it was really funny. You can certainly imagine this as drawn by Addams.




Day's people are anti-establishment, and some then have had enough and are ready to fight back -- whether with guns or little signs on the solar plexus.

"Keep an eye on him -- I think he's got a frock full of snowballs."

Shades of Brother Sebastian, nine years before his initial appearance in the Saturday Evening Post!




Above: one's feverish imagination works overtime to imagine what the above couple is doing Saturdays.

"One more thing -- keep out of the way of his right and his left."

Sound advice.




Above: the wordless gag is the hardest to do. Here's another Chon Day character who is at the breaking point -- for what reason we do not know. Her taking taking solace in a good, big swig made me laugh out loud. I can see this running today as a comment on the cost of the war.




I like Day's minimalism. In the background, you can really only make out 2 faces, the rest are curved lines. An economical and effective choice to show a stadium full of spectators.





Above: another cartoon that would fluster a nervous editor. And another cartoon that you can imagine Addams drawing. What are they going to do with this pet???

"I want to buy a doll that doesn't do anything."

Chon Day's characters have had enough, and they want some peace, thank you very much.

Mr. Day is one of those people who just draws the outline of the pants and the shoe. Another cartoonist who draws like that: Sergio Aragones.




Just like the couple who has those Saturday nights where you can only imagine what happens, you have to provide the b-word here. Mr. Day knows you know it.



Again, the economy of a few wavy lines give us the flood, which is half-way up the cartoon's composition. High time to turn the darn water off, you stupid plumber you.




The above cartoon reminds me that there is legislation pending in Maine to disallow kids from buying energy drinks.

"Now, that didn't last long, did it?"

From the book jacket:

"This is the first collection in book form of the cartoons of one of America's favorite humorists -- the impish maestro whose pictures of human folly range with high gusto over a such a wide variety of subjects. In The New Yorker, Collier's, The Saturday Evening Post and other magazines he has made his gay and impudent reputation as indispensable performer for the sophisticates of mockery. They never know what tricks he will be up to next, and he never fails to surprise. Laughter flows like champagne from his bright pen as he moves from absurdity to fantasy and from nonsense to satire. He is expert in his deflation of pomposity and he takes mischievous delight in sending his astonished characters tumbling head over heels down the toboggan slide that leads so swiftly from the sublime to the ridiculous."

Video: Jean-jacques Sempé on Rene Goscinny and Le Petit Nicolas

Above: a series of screen captures from the French TV documentary video by Didier Lanoy titled Historie du Petit Nicolas -- lots of Sempé drawings and lots of video of Sempé in the act of drawing.

From the Italian-language site AFNews.info site (Google translated to English here) comes a lovely documentary in French about Jean-jacques Sempé, Rene Goscinny and their creation of Le Petit Nicolas.

Click on the above link to get watching. Even if you don't know French (like me), it's great fun to watch the man (Sempé) draw.

Here's Gianfranco Goria's description of the France 5 series:

" ... Sempé recounts anecdotes, the choice of name Nicolas, the various elaborations of this pleasant and entertaining character who is still very popular in France and beyond."

Much, much more video about Rene Goscinny and Asterix (and even a documentary about Hergé) here.

A big tip of the hat to Gianfranco Goria!

Gahan Wilson Videos

Here are three videos of Gahan Wilson; two short, and one longer.

Here he is in the first of two vids by Comicology. He talks about NATIONAL LAMPOON and the creation of his cartoon NUTS.




Some footage of him drawing and talking.



And here is clip from the forthcoming Gahan Wilson documentary.

TV Trifecta Game 2008

This is a complete waste of your valuable time. But it's fun.

This is a game revolving around television shows. It's a game we made up one time during a long car drive. It's a game we call

TV ACTOR TRIFECTA!

Background: There are a few actors who can come back after a successful TV show and do a second successful show. TV icons like

• Andy Griffith,
• Raymond Burr,
• Bob Newhart,
• Robert Young,
• Dick Van Dyke,
• and Mary Tyler Moore

The above guys are twofers. They all had two different, successful TV shows. We're not interested in them.

And then there are the rare actors who were regularly featured on 3 TV shows that have run a minimum of 2 seasons apiece. Some are not household names, but most TV watchers know their faces.

So, to be in the TV Trifecta, an actor has to have been a regular on series television on three TV series that lasted a minimum of two seasons apiece. I focused on American prime time live-action TV. Part one (with Shatner, Lucy, and a ten others) is here. This is more of the same, in no particular order:



James Garner

• Maverick 1957-1960
• The Rockford Files 1974-1980
• 8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter 2003-2005

Garner is one of those workhorse actor guys who you'd think would be in the 3-TV-Shows club before this century. It wasn't until he came in to help out on 8 Simple Rules that he had 3 TV series.


Katey Segal

• Married with Children 1987-1997
• Futurama 1999-2003
• 8 Simple Rules ... for Dating My Teenage Daughter 2002-2005

Segal is a funny comedienne. I always felt she was funnier than her material.

Harry Morgan

• December Bride 1954-1959
• Pete and Gladys 1960-1962
• Dragnet 1967-1970
  
• M*A*S*H 1974-1983

What surprised me is that his stint at Dragnet was not so very long. I thought he was on the show for something like ten years.

And, no, I don't know what Pete & Gladys was! I know it was a spin-off of December Bride. Anyway, I'm curious to see it.



Michael Landon

• Bonanza 1959-1973
• Little House on the Prairie 1974-1983
• Highway to Heaven 1984-1989

I don't know if he has some kind of record, but the guy was on your TV non-stop from 1959 to 1989, and all on NBC TV shows. And he still kept a gorgeous head of hair.

David Hasselhoff

• Knight Rider 1982-1986
• Baywatch 1989-2000
• Baywatch Nights 1995-1997

I've never watched his shows. I remember being in Germany in the late 1980s -- Hasselhoff was HUGE there. Go figure. Ditto hair.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

• The New Adventures of Old Christine 2006-2007
• Saturday Night Live 1982-2006
• Seinfeld 1990-1998

One of the funniest performers. She made zero impression on me when she was on SNL. NOt bad, not good, just nil. I think she just needed the right writers.




Gavin McLeod

• McHale's Navy 1962-1964
• Mary Tyler Moore 1970-1977
• The Love Boat 1977-1987

Gavin McLeod: Maybe the epitome of a regular looking and acting guy, who made his living playing ordinary, nice guys.

Bill Cosby

• I Spy 1965-1968
• The Cosby Show 1984-1992
• Cosby 1996-2000

Even knocking out three TV shows that did not make the minimum 2 year rule (The Bill Cosby Show 1969-1970 (The original one where he played a teacher -- released on DVD last year), Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids 1972 (IMDB lists the show as running for ONE YEAR? That's ALL they produced?), and The Electric Company 1971-1973 (Mr. Cosby did not appear in enough episodes to be a regular for 2 years)), Mr. Cosby still makes it.

Rene Auberjonois

• Benson 1980-1986
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 1993-1999
• Boston Legal 2004-2007

Another one of those guys who you've seen on TV forever!

I would like to apologize to friends who I've asked to contribute. A lot of time was wasted when they could have been actively pursuing a more fruitful and meaningful activity.

1970 THIS IS AL CAPP TV Special

Here we have the first third of an hour-long 1970 film about LI'L ABNER cartoonist Al Capp by Ernest Pintoff and Guy Fraumeni titled THIS IS AL CAPP.

It's great to get glimpses of fellow cartoonists Walt Kelly and Milt Caniff, as well as underground cartoonists Spain and Trina Robbins. (Good to hear her call Spain on stereotyping women in the same way Capp does!) John Canaday, William F.Buckley, Paul Krassner and David Susskind are also on the show. And you get some quotes from John Steinbeck.

Most of the program is Capp, espousing right wing views. It's a snapshot of the man and the era.

Part One



Part Two

POGO: Walt Kelly's Test Animation

Above: a screen capture from WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY AND HE IS US.

A big hat tip to Journalista via Steve Hogan: a 1970 POGO animated show, put together by Mr. Kelly and his wife Selby, titled WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY AND HE IS US. Kelly animated the project, but was in poor health and unable to complete it. This is one of those things you hear about, but never expect to see. For now, it has been posted in 2 parts on YouTube: Part One and Part Two.

Sketchbook

Something I've never done before: show some of my sketchbook drawings; some rough, some smooth. Most are from life.


I have a small pile of big and small sketchbooks, going back to the 1970s. These are for my eyes only since they are usually just doodles or trying to work out gags or stories. Some mistakes, some OK sorta good drawings, some brilliant, most are just not for the public, y'know?

A sketchbook is a great thing to have. It keeps all your drawings -- good, bad, whatever -- all in one place. After a while, it's a record of what you drew and how your drew.



Some of my pages are just stream of consciousness stuff. What a desk, a snail and a goofy car have to do with one another, I don't remember. I don't like to draw cars, but that one sure turned out fine. A nice fluke!



Above: I drew these Grand Central commuters quickly. I wanted to get reference on what they were wearing, so I stood in an alcove and drew up a number of quick pages like this. I can't remember what the drawing was for specifically, but I think it was for a cartoon in the Daily News. At that time, I was doing a couple of drawings a month for them.



Above: more weird doodles. I like the guy shouting, "Saxon or Celt?!" OK, it makes no sense, but it's my sketchbook and it can have nonsense in it. The shark eating Frankenstein's Monster's head is equally nonsensical and fun.


A couple on the subway. He: much more interested in listening to his tunes. She: looks worried.

Look at my swooshy, doodly technique. Whee!


Above: A sparkstoetting, a Norwegian sled, that I thought was cool. I saw a photo of it in NY Newsday and this is a drawing from that photo.

Drawing the clutter on our living room table. Doodling like this helps you simplify the shapes and use everyday objects in your composition.




Above: people either waiting for or on the subway. The directions at the bottom refer to a Pennsylvania excursion. You see? If you write everything down in your sketchbook, you never lose it. I like the guy in the cap and glasses in the bottom.


Some character sketches from Brooklyn College. The proctor was all hair and glasses and mouth.

The nice thing about having asektchbook is that you can experiment and now you have some characters and moments to look back on.


And sketching allows you to play with different pens. These are 2 people I knew drawn with a think and a thin line.


I like drawing people, and above are some rather old doodles that I did.


I drew the guys at my local NYC comic book shop (now closed). More and more, I was doing finished drawings in this particular sketchbook. I was trying to find the right line and the right technique. At the time, I was naive enough to think I was getting close to a solution.


You can get to near to a perfect pen or a perfect paper, but it's a never ending process of finding tools you like and building on technique that you choose. Above: another pretty "finished" drawing of a guy I used to work with.

Looking back at these older sketches, some of them that I haven't seen in a long time, I remember wondering if I was going to ever really going to cartoon for a living. And I remember wondering how on earth could I begin to take the first step toward leaving my day job. One of the reasons I blog about the cartooning business is to help answer those questions.

The Mystery of Comic Strip Sizes

My friend and fellow cartoonist Rod McKie takes time from his two-fisted regimen of gag cartoons (He has a cartoon in the March PLAYBOY.) and graphic novels to talk about what size comic strip originals should be.

He's absolutely right about Lee Nordling's YOUR CAREER IN THE COMICS.

Graphic of DONDI by the one and only Irwin Hasen. It's from the Classic Comics Press site, where one can order up a book of DONDI!

The origin of Rod's blog entry lies in this thread from the Andertalk cartoon chat board.

MY SHELL WAS RECALLED! A Cartoon Portfolio from The Wall Street Journal

Let's delve into MY SHELL WAS RECALLED! A CARTOON PORTFOLIO FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL edited by (who else?) Charles Preston. It's copyright 1973 and 1974 by the Dow Jones Company. As you can see, I bought it second hand at The Strand for $3.50.


Above: I guess by now Miss Knight is a grandmother. What has it been? A generation or more since the typewriter!?

"I don't know his exact age, but he speaks of having seen three revivals of wide neckties."

Master Gag Cartoonist Leo Garel shows us the interior of a mens club in such bold and economic lines here. Dig those cool 70s biz men in the right bottom foreground!

"Sure it's great. But have you given thought to what it will do to the environment?"

Cartoonist George Dole gives us a gag about the environment. Note his quick linework and expressive eyes.

"Our chances are looking better"

I don't know the cartoonist who drew this, but he knew what he was doing; using the black spotting to draw our eyes to the defendant and the judge so as to complete the gag.

"I feel like an absolute fool holding this plastic umbrella."

Big, clear plastic umbrellas were a rage in the 70s,as Bill Levine posits above. Like CB radios, this one rage, fortunately, passed.

"-- and I say it's Little Miss Muffet, not Little Ms. Muffet."

The thing I liked about this was the frown on the kid's face. She will not grow up to be a "Miss."

"Remember when the teenage drug problem was what to use on pimples?"

OK, an old joke. But I like how this seems like a cartoon I could see today, 35 years alter, in some middle-of-the-road women's magazine. Bruce Cochran (Cochran!) hides his signature behind the chair leg. I think that Cochran! and Scott Shaw! are the only cartoonists who sign their names with an exclamation mark.



$10,000 ain't what it used to be. Nice drawing of a circa 1970s living room, but no signature!

"Why can't we live beyond our means, I'd like to know? What's wrong with the American way of life?"

Aptly put, by Leo Garel in the above cartoon. Unfortunately, it's the same or worse today.

Cochran! gives us a pollution-oriented cartoon. Dig the groovy decor! Remember when people would smoke inside?



Above: Serrano didn't know that nowadays our kids would be the target of Big Pharma for all that and more. Like fine wine, this cartoon is even better today.

"You missed a fabulous party, Emily -- no one mentioned Watergate or the energy crisis!"

"It's hard to believe we once stood in line to see this movie!"

And pretty soon, it'll be, "I can't believe we used to wait three days for our DVD rentals to arrive in the mail." I love the milieu in a Reamer Keller drawing.

" ... And do you, John, further promise to love, honor and cherish this woman regardless of any view she may have on women's liberation?"

Ed Arno (no relation to Peter) gives us swift lines, almost a casual sketchiness, to the above scene. Does it look like the people on the right are inexplicably wiped out? That's the way the drawing appears.

New Doctor Who Series Four Cinema Preview

If you go to the movies in the UK, chances are you might have seen this 90 second preview for the new TV season of DOCTOR WHO. This was shot with a video camera by an audience member. Warning: there are a couple of spoilers, including a big one that's been rumored for a while.

Darth Vader Hot Air Balloon

The Newsarama Blog links to the Slash Films article on the Darth Vader Hot Air Balloon (fully authorized by Lucasfilm).

The Hot Air Balloon’s technical details:

• 26 meters ( 86 feet) high, basket included
• 21 meters ( 69 feet) wide
• 24 meters ( 78 feet) depth
• Estimated hot air volume 3.000 m³ ( 106,000 cubic feet)
• Estimated weight 290 kilos ( 640 lb)

Pitching Your Comic Strip

From yesterday's CNN Money site comes Pitching your ideas to the big shots. Sure, it's another one of those "here's how you get your comic strip submission to stand out in the sea of 5,000 other submissions" sorta articles. You've seen these articles before, but I always read these to see if there's anything I haven't thought of.

"Ultimately it boils down to the cartoonist's voice: a sense of humor that very many people can relate to or project themselves onto," says Brendan Burford, King Features' comics editor.

The graphic next to the article is of THE SIMPSONS, a TV show as if we don't all know that. (Maybe it's because today's Matt Groening's birthday. But I digress.) Why the CNN Money folks put a TV show instead of a graphic from a comic strip, I don't know. Maybe the next time they do an article about THE SIMPSONS they will put in a graphic of THE BUMSTEADS.

Hat tip to Comics Reporter!

Above graphic "Tack's Cartoon Tips," a 1923 how-to booklet by "Tack" Knight, that I found linked at Cartoon Snap via Dave Blog. Complete Flickr set of the book is here.

And these comments at Cartoon Brew got even more information on Tack, a guy whose work I've seen in cartoon history books. His cartoons are easy to point out. He signed his name by drawing a thumb tack. ... Hmm. He does not seem to be doing that in 1923 by the looks of this booklet.

Sick Day

I have a cold. Nothing serious, but a lot of coughing and sneezing. It's either because to all those hours spent snowblowing or breathing in the carbon monoxide from the snowblower ....

Good weekend.

Happy Valentines Day!

STAR TREK Movie Opening Delayed

Above: A pre-release poster. Now it's as collectible as those REVENGE OF THE JEDI posters.

The new STAR TREK movie, originally scheduled for release Christmas Day 2008, has been pushed back five months until May 2009. Trekmovie.com has the latest.

GALACTICA Premiere

Galactica.com reports that season 4 of the Peabody award winning show will arrive on April 4. There was a full season of the show planned before the WGA strike. The good news is that the strike has been settled and there will still be ten episodes airing this year, and another ten (the final ten of the series) in 2009. Trekmovie.com has an update here: WGA Strike Over - Learn Fate Of Your Fave Shows.

For your viewing edification, here is The Women of BSG video:

Free Admission to the Charles M. Schulz Museum Today

... If you're a little red haired girl!

Snowstorms

Above: our yard and driveway on Monday. Looks pretty, but cold. The little tan thing on the left is the bird feeder and the black thing on the right is the car at the end of the driveway. I'm taking the photo with my back to the house.

Above: Here is the way it is today. We had more snow, then freezing rain. This is the driveway and a birch tree, folded over (out of frame), weighed down by ice. The part that's touching the ground should be waaay up in the air.

A trio of snowstorms in the past week has me snowblowing every other day.

We're ready for spring!

BROTHER SEBASTIAN CARRIES ON by Chon Day

BROTHER SEBASTIAN was a regular cartoon created by the master cartoonist Chon Day (1907-2000) in Look Magazine beginning in 1954. Here are some of the cartoons from BROTHER SEBASTIAN CARRIES ON. There are two copyrights in the indicia: © 1959 by Mr. Day and © 1957, 1958, 1959 Cowles Magazines, Inc.


Chon Day is the master of the spare line and the spare black spotting, that draws your eye to what he wants you to see.

These were quiet cartoons about a quiet Monk. He never spoke. And he was rather silly.


The look on Brother Sebastian's face tells you he will win.


Again, making the cat a full inky black forces our eyes at the cause of Brother Sebastian's uncharacteristic laughter.



Maybe the above gag is too subtle for today, but I found it terrific.



Remember back in the 1950s and 60s, there would be those "Think" signs in offices?


Shades of Charles Schulz's Woodstock!


Above: another excellent gag, and the wonderful economy of line.


Above and below: Day can even mine some office gags and apply them to a monk's life.



Above: That's about how cold it's been here. I wonder if today people would write to Look Magazine, complaining about Sebastian's near-nudity.

Above: my favorite gag showing Brother Sebastian as being able to be mischievous and practical at the same time.

When he died in 2000, The Saturday Evening Post wrote:

The Post sadly regrets the passing of its longest-running cartoonist. Chon Day has been a regular fixture of the Post since 1948.

He was the master of the to-the-point punch line. We'll miss you, Chon.

"Give me the bad news, Doc. Am I going to live?"

"Oh, love is all right--if you like that sort of thing."

"What have you got against me, besides the fact that I married you?"

"I used to have low self-esteem, but hanging around with losers like you has cured me."

The above from Christopher Wheeler's Chon Day page.

Words Without Borders

Above: Life of Pahé details life from an African village to Paris. One of the best things I read.

I've really enjoyed the Words Without Borders site, where you can read comics from all over the world this month. They are all translated and presented for free.


Rabbit on the Road by Liniers is a travelogue of his road trip from Montreal to the Canadian Maritimes. Above: Prince Edward Island, a place I've vacationed at regularly for years. It was fun to see his interpretation.

Every piece is personal, and different.

Run Movie 6: The Duck written and drawn by Philippe Dupuy; a fanciful meeting between a runner and a duck.

Hat tips all around to Journalista and Comics Reporter for letting me know about this site.

More "Tetsu" Cartoons

Here are some more cartoons by "Tetsu." There has been some interest in this late French painter turned cartoonist after I posted about his passing last week. That post is here: Roger "Tetsu" Testu 1913-2008.

My thanks to James Sturm for his interest and contribution of these first two terrific cartoons.


Above: some things change, but some things don't. A striking comment and applicable in this day of global commercialization.

I found some more Tetsu gag cartoons in a couple of old paperbacks. Here they are:

I never thought about the time it must take a knight to disrobe and get into bed. Even if I did think of it, I never would've thought there was a gag in it!


Tetsu is able to capture character. Just these 3, "posing" for the cartoon with, really, no big gag, made me smile. Some of these characters reappear in his cartoons.


Above: one of my personal favorites.


And here is the woman from the cartoon above (she was wearing the hat with the feathers). Again, it's her smile that nails the gag.


Above: I'd like to attend the party they are going to ....




Above: several more artist gags. Tetsu tried to be an artist, both before and after the War, but he was not successful.


Body hair gags were his forte. I like this fellow's "don't even think about messing with me" look on his face; simple, and most aptly drawn.

Above: What does the monkey have in mind? Hmm. Again, it's the debonair smiles that struck me as wonderfully out of place and, therefore, funny.


These cartoons were scanned from FRENCH CARTOONS and MORE FRENCH CARTOONS, both edited by William Cole and Douglas McKee. They are copyrighted 1954 and 1955 by Mssrs. Cole and McKee. Originally published by Dell.

From the Cole and McKee-written introduction to FRENCH CARTOONS:

" ... In no other country does such a magnificent shower of cartoons offer itself every week. Those in this book were culled from about ten thousand that appeared in French newspapers and magazines between July 1952 and July 1953. To look at these two hundred cartoons is, we certainly hope, a pleasure. To look at ten thousand could not have been called anything but work.

"French cartoonists are classed as journalists professionally. Most of their work appears in such weekly newspaper as Ici-Paris, France-Dimanche, Samedi-Soir and Carrefour. In France, there are no magazines, like The New Yorker, The Saturday Evening Post and Collier's, that specialize in quality cartoons, but French newspapers publish them with a vengeance. Ici-Paris has a weekly four page spread of fifty or sixty cartoons, and five other weeklies carry two pages each with about twenty-five cartoons. The magazine Paris-Match, which corresponds to Life over here, devotes one page of every issue to the work of a cartoonist, and during the past year two daily newspapers have each carried a half-page of cartoons.

" ... Also remarkable is their constant wit and humor in the face of meager monetary returns. The highest price paid to the best-known cartoonists for the beat space in a newspaper is about $30. The majority of cartoonists get a maximum of $15 per drawing, and beginners only $7."

Some more on the FRENCH CARTOONS books here.

The ECC Cartoonbooks Club has a post about Roger Jean Lucien "Tetsu" Testu. There are several illustrations at the above link, as well as an excerpt from Who's Who in Satire and Humour by Hans Peter Muster.

BLONDIE by Roz Chast

Well, it's not really BLONDIE by the New Yorker's Roz Chast. It's actually an edition of RICHARD'S POOR ALMANAC drawn by good ol' Richard Thompson and reprinted for all of us in cyberland in his Comics Improved, Maybe blog entry.

His CUL DE SAC blog is a regular, funny read.

VCR Memories

Memories of way back when the idea of owning a movie or recording a TV show was new -- and everyone was debating VHS vs. Beta are shared in Johnny C.'s A Hole in the Head blog.

And there are contributions by a couple of cartoonists.
Above: Stephanie Piro talks about her favorite movie at A Hole in the Head blog.

Political Cartoonist/Animator Mark Fiore

KQED visits with political cartoonist Mark Fiore. This is a behind the scenes look at Mark creating an animated cartoon about Hillary Clinton's "emotional moment" before the 2008 New Hampshire primary.

Gus Arriola Video Interview

Sam Klemke generously shares with us a video interview with Gus Arriola he made eight years ago.

Roger "Tetsu" Testu 1913-2008

I didn't know Roger (alternately rederenced as Robert) Testu, a French cartoonist who passed away last week. But as soon as I saw "Tetsu," at Tom Spurgeon's Comics Reporter obituary, I knew his cartoon work.

In the corner of most all of his cartoons, was a neat, cursive "Tetsu" signature.


Most of the cartoons that I've seen of Tetsu's are from the above slim Ace paperback titled FRENCH POSTCARDS, copyright 1954 Avon Publications, Inc. (The cover by another cartoonist, "Bil.")


Born in Bourges, a year before the start of the Great War, Robert (some sources say "Roger") Tetsu was a painter until the 1950s, when he began to cartoon.


I have less than a dozen of his cartoons, but I remember his distinctive treatment of form and posture.


The stance in the above cartoon is just right to convey what our deep sea diver is up to. It's touches like this, combined with his depiction of "saucy antics ... from the country that made you-know-what famous" (actual back cover copy) that made Tetsu a cartoonist who sold well.


Hats add so much to a drawing. I wish people wore more hats.

His cartoon work appeared in Paris Match, and Sunday Here Paris. This meant that his cartoons were coming into the average 1950s Parisian home every week.


The put-upon slouch of the goldfish-buyer adds to the gag.


What surprises me personally is that I know his work from just a handful of his cartoons from an obscure American paperback. I wish I had some more to share.


A big tip of the hat to Dirk Deppey's Journalista!, where I first heard of Tetsu's passing. And Dirk further lets us know that "his work was also compiled in at least two cartoon albums, La Vie est Belle and La Vie à Deux."

12 Cartoon Rejections

Here at the Mike Lynch Cartoons blog, I try to be positive about cartooning -- particularly magazine cartooning. I've written about how cartooning requires a leap of faith in the beginning (The Cartooning Business); that selling one or two cartoons out of a batch of 10-15 cartoons is a good professional average (Cartoon Sales Batting Average); how to persevere, despite rejection (Mike Lynch College of Gag Cartoon Knowledge -- Rejection, Rejection, Rejection). But, occasionally, the Black Dog, as Churchill calls it, comes and gives you a nip, and you wind up in the doldrums.


Some people get depressed over the holidays. Cartoonists are no exception, seeing as rejection is all part of the profession. At least when we vent about it, it turns into a cartoon.

A number of Christmases ago, I mailed the above card to only a few cartoonist friends. All of these were true things that editors told me -- except for the last one. The last one is true, but it wasn't said by an editor. Here's the breakdown:

1. Standard rejection letter phrase.
2. A famous cartoon editor told me this face to face while looking at my work.
3. An advertising client who thought I'd lost it after loving my first batch of cartoons.
4. Better Homes and Gardens, etc.
5. My mother-in-law. And she has a point. Color cartoons are better.
6. Nothing like an editor who places his finger in your cartoony pie.
7. Esquire Magazine.
8. Rejection letter, Funny Times.
9. See #2
10. The New York Daily News.
11. Several clients. Yes, really. They underestimate their audiences.
12. My wife.

And there we have it! Gosh, whatta bitter person I am!!! I guess I drew back a nub after my encounter with the ol' Black Dog of Depression! You see why most people who want to cartoon professionally quit after an average of 6 months! Ha ha ha!

OK, now I get back to drawing ...

History of Trek Movie Merchandising

Over at Trekmovie, John Tunuto shows us stuff like the STAR TREK V THE FINAL FRONTIER MARSHMALLOW DISPENSER and STAR TREK THE MOTION PICTURE HAPPY MEALS as he counts down all the collectible ephemera related to the TREK movies in The History of Trek Movie Merchandising.

Photo: The Sexy Trekkie Adult.

"This Sexy Trekkie will take you where no one has gone before.

"A Red microfiber short dress with removable 'Go Where No Man Has Gone Before' button."

Some sad news: "We apologize for the inconvenience, but the product you're looking for is no longer available."

RENO by Dan Thompson

Just have to say hi to my friend Dan Thompson, a friend, as well as a cartoonist whose style I admire, for his new RENO Web comic adventure series debuting at the Zuda Comics site this month.

Dan is definitely channeling some serious old school Sickles black spotting and Crane action styles here, coupled with Dan's own dynamic line and great comic booky, eye popping colors.

Although I find the Zuda standard contract to be blatantly unfair, I'm glad that Dan's work is being showcased.

Ben Katchor's The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island

Ben Katchor has written the libretto for a new musical The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island. Previews began January 25th. If anyone goes to the Vineyard Theatre in Lower Manhattan to see it, I'd love to hear what the show is like.

2007 National Cartoonists Society Division Awards Submissions

Cartoonists are invited to submit their work (or the work of someone else) for consideration for one or more of the following National Cartoonists Society Division Awards:

TV ANIMATION

FEATURE ANIMATION

NEWSPAPER ILLUSTRATION

GAG CARTOONS

GREETING CARDS

NEWSPAPER COMIC STRIPS

NEWSPAPER PANEL CARTOONS

MAGAZINE FEATURE/MAGAZINE ILLUSTRATION

BOOK ILLUSTRATION

EDITORIAL CARTOONS

ADVERTISING ILLUSTRATION

COMIC BOOKS

NCS members, and non-members alike, are eligible.

You will need an NCS Division Awards Entry Form and a bio sheet. The submission invitation is at the NCS Web site here.

Only work published between the dates of December 1, 2006 and December 31, 2007 will be considered. Please submit published tear sheets when possible and document when and where the work was published.

Submissions must be submitted to their respective locations by February 23, 2008.

Each submission must be accompanied by the downloadable Entry Form and Bio Sheet on the submission invitation page.

Three finalists in each category will be announced at the National Cartoonists Society Web site.

An award plaque will be presented at a black tie dinner at the 62nd Annual Reubens Award Dinner on May 24, 2008.

Drawn in Black and White: Wee Pals and the Work of Morrie Turner,

A Tribute to Legendary African American Cartoonist Morrie Turner

In celebration of Black History Month, and ToonSeum’s newest exhibit Drawn in Black and White: Wee Pals and the Work of Morrie Turner, ToonSeum presents Drawn in Black and White: a panel discussion on African Americans in Cartoons and Comics

Featuring special guests:

• Morrie Turner, legendary creator of the comic strip Wee Pals
• Robb Armstrong, creator of the comic strip Jump Start
• Don Peoples, former editorial cartoonist, freelance illustrator and board member of ToonSeum

There will be a reception honoring Morrie Turner following the panel.

When: February 16th, 3:00pm

Where: ToonSeum, The Theater at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh,10 Children’s Way Pittsburgh, PA 15212

Cost: Admission to the panel discussion and reception are free

To view the exhibit Drawn in Black and White paid admission to the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh is required.

RSVP Recommended

Contact: Joe Wos at joe@toonseum.com or call 412-325-1060

Book signings, workshops and demonstrations from 12-3, February 16th.

To learn more about our exhibit and the work of Morrie Turner be sure to view the special feature on WQED's OnQ, Monday February 4th at 7:30 PM

Exhibit and event made possible by: Jean Schulz, The Charles M. Schulz Museum, The Cartoon Art Museum San Francisco, Rose Marie McDaniel, and The ToonSeum Drawing Board

Exhibit Curated by: Don Peoples and Joe Wos

Special Thanks to: Morrie Turner, Robb Armstrong, Don Peoples, Rob Stull, Karol Trachtenberg, Angela Seals, and the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh and its staff.

Logo and design by Behar-Fingal Creative Advertising and Marketing

This is an invitation only, if you wish to be added to the ToonSeum mailing list email joe@toonseum.com to join.

Related: Morrie Turner Video Interview

Gus Arriola 1917-2007

Mark Evanier reports on the passing of Gus Arriola, the creator of the GORDO comic strip. Mr. Arriola died at his home after a long illness.

From the Associated Press story:

Arriola, who had suffered from Parkinson's disease for some time, died at home in Carmel with his wife, Mary Frances, by his side, according to publicist Alan Richman.

I'm thankful to R.C. Harvey for his book ACCIDENTAL AMBASSADOR GORDO THE COMIC ART OF GUS ARRIOLA which introduced me to Mr. Arriola's work. The cartoonist had a wonderful command of design, and light and dark. A gentle wit, a true cartoonist, a guy who made it all look easy.

Happy 96th Birthday, Creig Flessel!

Many happy returns to Creig Flessel, a guy who was in comics since a few days before the Golden Age!

According to Mark Evanier, he's scheduled to appear at this year's Wondercon!

Sooper Hippie, Fruitman, and Bunny's Back Pages (Harvey Comics, 1968 - '70)

For your Friday morning retro reading pleasure:


From the I'm Learning to Share blog comes Sooper Hippie, Fruitman, and Bunny! This was Harvey Comics' attempt, for two years beginning in 1968, to appeal to the Archie-buying audience. Lots of stories and art (uncredited).

part one

part two