Watch Your Head, Lio!

Cory Thomas's WATCH YOUR HEAD strip had a cameo yesterday:

Video: Dick Locher's Career

A great profile of a great cartoonist: 79 year old DICK TRACY cartoonist and editorial cartoonist and Pulitzer Prize winner Dick Locher is the subject of this video from Naperville Community Television Channel 17 reporter Elitsa Bizios. The video runs about 2 1/2 minutes.



Here is the accompanying text, supplied alongside the NCT video:

Dick Locher walked into the Chicago Tribune thirty-nine years ago. With seven original cartoons in hand, Locher interviewed for an editorial cartoonist position.

The editor set the cartoons up, he lit a cigar and walked back and forth looking at the cartoons, said Locher. He looked at me and said are these your ideas?

Assuring the editor that the cartoons were indeed his own, Locher was hired. Ever since then, Locher's work can be read in the Chicago Tribune. And after this year, he will be known as the longest running editorial cartoonist the newspaper has employed.

Locher is also well known for the stories and illustrations he has created of the crime fighting detective Dick Tracy. Other than originator Chester Gould, Locher is the only person to singly produce the strip.

It shows what a diverse talent he has, said Chicago Tribune editorial page editor, Bruce Dold. He can do something as fantastic as Dick Tracy and then as on point to today's world with editorial cartoons that he does.

During the week Locher can be found at his drawing table before dawn. He begins his work day at four in the morning.

The thought is that you have an idea before you sit down. I usually listen to the 10 o'clock news, said Locher Then at four in the morning try to put it in a presentation where you skewer someone or open a door to someones past life.

Almost four hours after waking up, Locher has a good pencil sketch of the final product and discusses the drawing over breakfast with his wife of fifty-one years, Mary Locher.

Locher says his wife is a first reaction person. She looks at the drawing and gives him critiques on how to make it better.

Editors are polite; she gives me thumbs up or down, said Locher. She looks at it and says, yeah this will fly but if you change it to this it would fly even better.

Mary Locher jokes that its not easy to start the day and have a penciled cartoon pushed under your nose when trying to have breakfast. But she remains diplomatic when giving feedback.

He just loves what hes doing and genuinely loves people and basically Dicks a happy person all the time and it amazes me,said Mary. And he likes to entertain people through his stories.

Locher has been perfecting his talent from a young age. His father would bring home stacks of blank paper and tell his son to do something with it.

He couldn't draw, didn't want to but saw that I could and wanted me to do something with it and hopefully I did.

With numerous awards to his credit, including a Pulitzer Prize, Locher is not the average cartoonist.

He really pays attention to details and you don't see that as much with editorial cartoonists these days, said Dold. And he understands how to make a good solid political point quickly and easily for the reader.

Locher says that after he gets done drawing his editorial cartoons and Dick Tracy there is still some creativity left. So he draws a picture a day that has no relationship to either.

You get to the point, have I done enough damage so far? asked Locher. I don't think so, there's still windmills to spear.

Elitsa Bizios reports.

Video: Mell Lazarus Speaks at the Charles M. Schulz Museum

Here it is, chopped up into six YouTube chunks: the creator of MISS PEACH and MOMMA, the NCS Division Award Winner (twice) for Best Comic Strip and Reuben Award winner -- the one and only Mell Lazarus -- giving a lecture at the Charles M. Schulz Museum. This was taped on November 8, 2008:

CMSM Lectures: Mell Lazarus Part 1



CMSM Lectures: Mell Lazarus Part 2



CMSM Lectures: Mell Lazarus Part 3



CMSM Lectures: Mell Lazarus Part 4



CMSM Lectures: Mell Lazarus Part 5



CMSM Lectures: Mell Lazarus Part 6



A big thanks to Jeannie Schulz and the staff at the CMS Museum for not only taping the event, but putting it out there for anyone to watch and listen the always entertaining Mell Lazarus.

Bully Says: Comics Oughta Be Fun!: Love Actually in (Sorta) Real Time: Five Weeks to Christmas

From the Bully Says: Comics Oughta Be Fun! blog (one of my favorite blogs) comes a salute to the five year old movie starring most every British actor that's working in cinema: LOVE ACTUALLY.

Bully has written a lovely, enjoyable and thoughtful appreciation of a film that begins in the time we are in now: just 5 weeks prior to Christmas.

Even though I am one of "those people" that dislike LOVE ACTUALLY, I really enjoyed Bully's write up: Love Actually in (Sorta) Real Time: Five Weeks to Christmas.

Smithy and Rudi's Secret Handshake

Let's shake hands and say goodbye for Thanksgiving. Here's the secret handshake between Smithy (James Corden) and his sister Rudi (Sheridan Smith) from BBC Three's GAVIN AND STACEY series (available on iTunes, seen in the US on BBC America). I like Gavin and Stacey, but I like the supporting characters even more. Of course it helps that supporting character actors James Corden and Ruth Jones are also the co-creators and writers for the series. The clip runs 9 seconds.



More about the show at The Independent's site: Everything You Need to Know About ... Gavin & Stacey.

Economic Slowdown? Expand! Raise Prices!

One of the things you have to if you are going to be a freelance cartoonist -- a creator who moves from client to client, with no real home port, peddling your cartoons, surviving on your wits -- you have to an optimist. At least I do; even if that's completely opposite of the national mood.

As pundits and spinners and op ed writers and experts say these are absolutely, positively the worst days since the depression, I shrug and remember I can't change the time I'm born into.

This article from the NY Times Not a Bad Time for Small Businesses to Raise Prices, along with Monday's article Reader’s Digest Pushes on in Weak Climate, puts me in a good mood. I like a good contrarian.

SMILE

Cartoonworld is a small world. I live in Cartoonworld and I know. Or rather, I should know and I should not be surprised. If you have a couple of pro cartoonists as friends, you're never more than a few degrees from pretty much any other cartoonist that's out there.

Case in point, after reading Tom Richmond's blog, I watched EL TIGRE, co-created by my friends Sandra and Jorge. My friends are never far.

So, this afternoon, I should not have been surprised (but I was) when I saw my pal Brian Fies blog about my friend Raina Telgemeier. I didn't even know they knew each other! But, hey, this is what life is like in Cartoonworld.

Brian, who created one graphic novel (the award winning MOM'S CANCER) and will have a new one out (WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE WORLD OF TOMORROW) in Spring '09, lives in California. Raina, whose 4th graphic novel of THE BABYSITTER'S CLUB came out this fall (and her new GN, SMILE, about her dental problems, was just picked up by a publisher), lives in NYC.

Like Brian's MOM'S CANCER story, Raina's latest, SMILE, began as a Web comic. You can still go and read the beginning of it here.

Now I see that Brian has drawn a special strip for Raina about his own particular dental experiences. Go read Brian's blog, Fies Files, for the whole story.

Keeps Blinking 12:00 12:00 12:00

Power outages today in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Stand by ...

CIGARETTE SADIE by Chester Gould

CIGARETTE SADIE was a companion or "topper" strip (used to fill out the tab pages format) to the Sunday DICK TRACY comic strips in the early 1930s.


CIGARETTE SADIE was a humor strip about a girl who sold cigarettes in what I will assume is a speakeasy. The Volstead Act wasn't repealed until 1933, so I believe the assumption is correct.




So this Sadie is some wise crackin' blonde that encounters all sorts in this illegal establishment of loose and dangerous men as she peddles those cancer sticks. Not the sort of thing that a family newspaper would print, but there it was, waaay back in the 1930s.


I was thinking of Mark Tatulli, who gave a presentation at the last Reubens convention, reading off letter after letter from readers complaining about LIO. Heck, SADIE would give those letter writers something serious to complain about!


I can't think that the gags were considered fresh even over 60 years ago. I imagine Sadie's voice sounding a lot like Mae Questel's.

I love the stamps. "Here Kids, on today's stamp we see Cigarette Sadie, our own night life star -- she's yours," is so full of unintended sexiness! Yipe! And ROWR!


Above: the bad news: a stingy Scotsman gag; the good news: a brand new 1932 Dick Tracy stamp!



I guess today the sales pitch would be that this strip is aimed at women who (a) read newspapers and (b) push cigarettes in illegal gin joints.


A lot of Sunday features had these companion strips. And I think we have learned why so many of them are forgotten.


Gangsters, murder -- it's all fodder for a smart line by Sadie. She was taken for a ride -- er -- dropped out of the Sunday DICK TRACY strip after a couple of years.

These scans are from the book DICK TRACY THE THIRTIES: TOMMYGUNS AND HARD TIMES copyright 1990 The Wellfleet Press.

Unseen Opper

NBM will be publishing their second in a series of "Forever Nuts" comic strip reprint books; HAPPY HOOLIGAN by Frederick Opper. (The first book was MUTT & JEFF by Bud Fisher.) The book has a forward by Allan Holtz who generously shares with us some Opper strips that could not be squeezed into the book over at his Stripper's Guide blog.

Thanks Allan! Hat tip to Comics Reporter.

Gasoline Alley 90 Years Old Today

Gasoline Alley celebrates its 90th birthday today, with an eloquent homage to the cartoonists who have gone before -- GA creator Frank King, Bill Perry and Dick Moores -- drawn by the hand of the current strip's cartoonist Jim Scancarelli.


Several fellow cartoonists' strips salute the event. A partial list: Blondie, Dennis the Menace (above) and Alley Oop (detail below).



A big hat tip to John Read!

First Thing Thing I Read Monday Morning

“Good lord, you can hear ’son-of-a-bitch’ on a five-year-old [episode of] Frasier, but I STILL can’t use the word ’sucks’ in Prickly City.”

- Scott Stantis

Hat tip to Journalista!

New BBC Archive: The Genesis of Doctor Who

The BBC has a huge new section of behind the scenes materials of Doctor Who, titled The Genesis of Doctor Who, complete with documents, photos and videos. I could even play the videos I tried. (BBC usually does not allow any video to stream from its site to American users.)

Hat tip to Trekmovie!

Related: And The New Doctor Might Be...

Legal Cartoons by Mike Lynch

It's hard to write about stuff you don't know.

I don't know about lawyers, but, being an American, I am entitled to my uninformed opinion of what lawyers are like. Below are some law cartoons.




Above: I was at my Mom's a couple of years ago. This was over a holiday and I had to draw a couple of cartoons while I was away. Mom retired a while ago and ever since, she's been painting. Her watercolors have been in dozens of gallery shows. She had some paper and a conte crayon, so I used that to draw up a couple of my own cartoons. Above is one example.



When I first found out that there was a market for lawyer cartoons, I was concerned that I could not really draw that many cartoons about them. I'm not a lawyer. All I know I learned from watching LA LAW, JUDGE JUDY and movies like WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION. Then I remembered an anecdote that Gene Roddenberry told. In 1965, when STAR TREK was in development, Roddenberry went around to his writer colleagues and asked them to contribute some story outlines. Most of them were not science fiction fans, and they told him they couldn't write for the genre. Gene countered with the point that they weren't cowboys, but they had written TV westerns; they weren't cops, but they had written cop shows. So, I'm not a lawyer, but I can write about them.




Here is the problem: there are some publications that lawyers buy, and the editors are looking for cartoon content. Now, you can't just do some "ambulance chaser" of "First, we kill all the lawyers" kinda hostile jokes. You can't pick on the audience. Above is a silly bit of nonsense showcasing the problems with a binding contract. The "his computer's an Etch-a-Sketch" puts this over the top.






Above: there's a whole whirlwind of action in this as the woman (l.) looks up at Death, and the fellow (r.) runs over to the wraith, asking him to forestall fate until the paperwork is signed. My favorite touch: the soot falling from Death's palsy outstretched hand.

And, yes, McKimson is a tribute to the Warner animation director.




Lobbyists can do more for you than your lawyer or your mother. Harvard Business Review bought this one real quick.





Above: naming rights are a way for municipalities to make money. For instance, a lot of the buildings and stadiums built in the past decade are named after corporations. These corporations pay a lot of money to the city for the privilege of having their name on the new ballparks and so on.




Above: I think we all know that when there are large paperwork errors, it will take time to straighten things out. Think MUNRO by Jules Feiffer, about the little boy drafted into the army. The little boy will have to stay in the army because NO ONE in the military echelon will admit they made a mistake. The above fellow is going to be stuck with his lawyer's kids for quite some time.


Above: the "covered for huff and puff" cartoon has been popular. Note how the guilty wolf doesn't even show, he just sends his lawyer in.



Above: for some reason, I am good at drawing hair. I just am. I don't know why.

It occurred to me that there was no contract regarding reasons for Adam & Eve's expulsion from Paradise, and that God's decision should at least be open to arbitration.

Above: I like cartoons that make you wonder a little bit. With this one, what on Earth did this poor partner do to his law firm colleagues to make them hate him so vehemently?

FIRST CONTACT 12 Years Later

Ahh, nostalgia.

It was just a dozen years ago this week (November 18, 1996) that STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT opened. Paramount's TREK franchise may have been at its zenith then, with multiple TREKs on TV and a movie with the best buzz since WRATH OF KHAN about to open.

Nostalgic G writes about the production, with plenty of video and toys and associated products (like FIRST CONTACT Rice Krispies). Worth a trip if you feel nostalgic. And here's hoping the new STAR TREK movie deserves praise like STFC did.

Hat tip to the kids at Trekmovie.

Turner Classic Movies' Guest Programmer Ray Bradbury

Turner Classic Movies has Ray Bradbury picking their line up of classic films tonight, beginning in prime time. The films that Mr. Bradbury have selected are:

• The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
  
  
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)
  
  
• Rebecca
  
  
• Citizen Kane
  

In between the uncut, uninterrupted showings, he'll chat about their influence on his life.

Photo nicked from the OvationTV site.

EBay's Related Items

So I buy a book off eBay (BEST CARTOONS OF THE YEAR 1951) and, after I pay for it, I get a little advertisement on the Paypal checkout page: "Related categories to fiction books," with 3 examples of other things I might like to buy.

Now we all know that there are some highly paid computer genuises out there who have created logarithms and so forth and so on, such that a buyer is shown several items that are suggested from the keywords generated by the purchase, steering the consumer to new items to purchase.

The 3 items that are related to BEST CARTOONS OF THE YEAR 1951 are:

• a Salvaltore Ferragamo handbag for $249.00
  
  
• a Celtic Triquetra tote with a "Charmed Wiccan Pagan Vampire" for $9.95
  
  
• and a "Goth Gothic Vampire Lace Frills Shirt Lolita Sexy Top' for $19.99

Am I being pranked? Or are my the cookies in my browser all stale now or what?

If I buy these accessories, I'll be the best dressed guy in the ticket line for tomorrow's TWILIGHT premiere, you betcha!

Day Trip to Portland

Back when the silver age comic book artist Tom Gill was around, he would not hesitate to pick up the phone to call me. Since we were co-chairs of a National Cartoonists Society Chapter (the Long Island chapter, the "Berndt Toast Gang"), there was usually a reason to talk.

When Tom was in his 90s, he went on well deserved trips out west and abroad, with his loving wife Trish. As the years went by, cell phones became universal. And Tom, who was not only a teacher at the School of Visual Arts (as well as one of the guys who was there at the beginning of SVA), but also an eager learner, acquired and learned how to use a cell phone years before most people I knew.

On days like this, when I am away from the studio, I think of Tom. He would invariably call and leave me a message. I can hear his voice; tough (the guy grew up on Flatbush Avenue, after all), with a bit of a gravelly growl in it. It was distinctive and attention getting. It was said, Tom Gill need no microphone.

When I returned to my studio in years past, I would see the blinking light, press the button, and hear his voice, "Mike!" it would announce. And I always knew what he would say next.

"How the hell are you gonna get ahead if you're not at your board, DRAWING?!?!?!"

Yipe!

Tom, forgive me! I'm having lunch with some cartoonists. I'll be back at the board full time again tomorrow!

Related:

Mike Lynch Cartoons: Tom Gill: A Personal Remembrance



Above: Tom Gill on a USO tour. Tom was a member of the National Cartoonists Society from almost the first day of its inception. He traveled with his fellow cartoonists on many USO tours from the early 1950s until 1987. Looking at this photo, I would guess this is the late 50s/early 60s.

Video: 1970 "This is Al Capp" TV Special

Here we have the first six and a half minutes of an hour-long 1970 TV special 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. Later on in the special, you get a chance to see and hear underground cartoonists Spain and Trina Robbins. (Trina calls 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. Yes.

Most of the program is Capp, espousing right wing views. It's a snapshot of the man and the era. I am not associated with the fellow who is selling the rest of the video for $20.



I posted about this in February, but the clips have since been removed. Here's a second chance.

STAR TREK Original Series HD-DVD First Season Preview

The old 1960s STAR TREK series has gotten a digital space-facelift, with not only renewing the now-dingy colors on the series, but also remastering the series into HD format and inserting new effects. You may know this, and now here's a video that shows you what's been done, and some of the features in the Season One HD-DVD set. The video runs just under 9 minutes.



As fun as that 9 minute one is, I love the one below. I'm linking to it once more since it is funny and short: 1 minute.

"It's more than an honor to be here. It's a damn inconvenience."

Above: Bil Keane signs a book for Stan Sakai's daughter, Hannah. Photo by Mr. Sakai.

Stan Sakai reports on the Comic Arts Professional Society dinner on Saturday, "aka the Sergio Awards Banquet" honoring THE FAMILY CIRCUS creator Bil Keane.

Hat tip to Comics Reporter.

Portsmouth Comic Book Show

Cartoonist Stephen Bissette was just one of the guests at the Portsmouth (NH) Comic Book Show on Sunday. Photo by EJ Hersom, Staff photographer for Foster's.

This is the epitome of a great comic book show. Put together by the guys at Jetpack Comics, the event had presentations, comic book dealers, old and new creators. The feeling was relaxed and friendly. Stephen Bissette presented a slide show about the seminal graphic novels, aimed at educators and librarians. He even showed an example of "how to read a comic book page," for which a number of people in the audience were taking notes. It may sound silly, but for everything there's a first time. And of all people, I think the talented Mr. Bissette is well-qualified to be a knowledgeable guide.

I wandered from table to table, with my friend, fellow cartoonist Stephanie Piro.

There were a couple of tables of literary graphic novels, free for the taking for librarians with ID. This was, I believe, courtesy of the Center for Cartoon Studies. Most libraries have limited budgets, so this is generous, welcome and practical -- and above and beyond the call.

There was a good mix of comic book dealers, and creators. Lots of families and kids were there. (Good to meet Lenny Boudreau and his whole family, who had a big bag full of comics after only 10 minutes at the show.)

Everyone seemed to be in a good mood. I stopped by Ron Fortier's table to thank him for letting me know about the event. Ron is a professional writer and is now writing pulps. Stephanie picked up DRACULA'S DAUGHTER (that's the cover, to the left, and there's a 10 page sampler here), a graphic novel written by Ron, with art by Rob Davis.

We met Barry Borbett and Brian Codagnone, who had the Corbett Features table. I talked with Brian for a while about the old Cartoon Museum when it was in Rye, NY. Shawn McManus, veteran illustrator of books and comic books, had some fantastic prints for sale (I had to buy one) as well as information about the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. (Good for him!) I got to meet and takl with a number of local cartoonists, including Ryan Higgins, who was selling his childrens book TWADDLETON'S CHEESE. Stephanie and I also admired the art of Ben Bishop, who had a table full of his work, original and published, including his tome NATHAN THE CAVEMAN. (Bottom right: Ben Bishop's art.) Some amazing, varied art, and all of the creators were local.


The one constant: most all of the creators I stopped and chatted with -- all talented, all very good, all devoted to the medium -- had self-published their work. Most of the younger creators had day jobs. I wondered, am I looking at the future of printed comics? Will it all be self-published, created on the side, part-time? I hope not.

The only way I got better was to quit my day job and take the leap: draw cartoons full time. I was happier, my cartoons got better, and I began to make some money.

But, that "leaping" stuff: it was scary. Like buying a house, having a baby, etc., it's not just a big life changing event -- there is also never the right time to do it. It would be better if I quit my job when we have more of the house paid off. It would be better if I waited until the economy got better. It would be better if I waited ....

OK, where was I? Oh yes. Back on topic:

The newspapers below had front page stories Monday about the convention:

Foster's Daily Democrat

Portsmouth Herald

I'm definitely going to make the next one.

The New STAR TREK Trailer

... is here:



Trekmovie has all the details.

Of course, if you are a nerd-core Trekker, you already knew all this.

Related: a great, fun video promo for the remastered STAR TREK THE ORIGINAL SERIES (official acronym: TOSR).

Sempé Exhibit at the Caricature & Cartoon Museum

I wish I was in Switzerland ....


Along the Rhine, in the town of Basel, Switzerland is the Caricature & Cartoon Museum. The museum will exhibit original works by the cartoonist Sempé from November 8th until April 13, 2009.

Thanks to Matt Jones!

I Love Your Cartoon/I Hate Your Cartoon

Below are some of my cartoons from the past years that have caused some issues.

"Some creative criticism, hon: less Sophie Crumb, more Marjan Satrapi."

Above: an editor, who I thought was well informed about graphic novels, asked who these two names were. The next week, trying to be helpful, I brought in a Sophie Crumb book for him to read. He said he would return it the following week. Well, he "lost" it and, to add insult to injury, the cartoon was not bought. Not by him, anyway.

"Well, the drug's no good, but the side effects are bitchin'."

When I drew the above cartoon I did not expect it to sell at all, but I liked it. Sometimes I just do a cartoon and I like it and I think, Well, this will never sell. Well, I was wrong. It was sent around to a lot of markets. Finally, of all clients, Reader's Digest bought if for the book LAUGHTER THE BEST MEDICINE II.

"Note to team: set your sights higher when formulating the mission statement."

Above: a bespectacled bunch of businesspeople in a cartoon that pokes fun at business. I always thought that things like "mission statements" were silly, and here is a mission statement team that just has lost its zeal. This one was hated for the swear word poster, and the downer mission statement. The new Mike Lynch Cartoons mission statement: Don't make fun of mission statements.





"The board thought it was a good idea at the time."

Above: OK, poking fun at corporate culture can only go so far. The idea of an office building full of monkeys did not, ever, find a buyer. I thought a "Bring a Hyperactive Chimpanzee to Work Day" was very silly, but I guess that those Dow Jones publications did not. Perhaps it was visions of monkey feces in the break room that caused this one to get the "thanks but no thanks." Oh well. what do I know? I certainly do make mistakes, as the cartoon below relates:

"This is all very romantic, but I'm not in heat."

I made the mistake of showing the above cartoon to an elementary school administrator. I was meeting with him to put together a schedule to teach all the 5th graders in his school system. I had a pile of cartoons to show him, and I don't know how this one got in there.

He said something like, This one's a no-no. He gave me a serious face. A face that would cause an elementary school child to blubber!

I told him that I grew up on a farm in Iowa, so I think I would have understood it back when I was a ten year old. But seeing as his school was a city school, the urban kids are a little more sheltered than their country counterparts.

I got to teach the kids, but I was, of course, fingerprinted and cross-checked beforehand. At least there was no "Cough, please" and the rubber glove and all that.

"Please join me in welcoming our competitor's ex-wife, who will now dish about his firm's weak points."

The above cartoon was published, and, according to the editor, received several complaints regarding the nastiness portrayed; the uncouth business practices, etc. I was surprised. I mean, look, the competitor, the ex-wife and all of those businesspeople around that table -- all of them are just cartoon people. They're not real. There are not real lives and reputations and money at stake.

"This is you son? He's a lot better looking than that sonogram gave him credit."

I got a nice compliment about the above cartoon from a family member who performs sonograms. This was, she announced, the very first time she had ever seen a sonogram cartoon.

"Sure I hate this job -- but I love the built-in cupholder."

Above: a cartoon that I went "Meh!" about when I finished drawing it.

By "Meh!" I mean that I did not think that much of it. It was a silly little comment about the comfort of the devil you know, but I didn't think it was the heighth of wittiness.

It has since sold a couple of times and I heard, from the assistant of a powerful businessman, that it's one of his favorite cartoons of all time.

So ... what do I know?!

Video: Doctor Who Christmas Special 2008

The new Doctor Who? Or is it a trick?

A special sneak peek of next month's new Doctor Who episode courtesy of the BBC's Children in Need special:



Big hat tip to Trekmovie!

Video: Steve Bell, "If I Were Chuck ...."

The Portsmouth Comic Book Show November 16, 2008

Tomorrow, in Portsmouth, NH from 10am to 3pm.

Below are the specs from Lily Robertson of Seacoast Online:

WHAT: Portsmouth Comic Book Show and Writer's Festival

WHEN: Sunday, Nov. 16 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for the general public; (special 9:30 a.m. preview for librarians and educators)

WHERE: The Best Western Wynwood Hotel, Route 1 Bypass, off the traffic circle in Portsmouth

COST: $3 for kids 11 and over (unless you get a free pass from a local library or bookshop)

WHY: Tons of fun, free stuff, and a dating service called "Sweet on Geeks"

DID YOU KNOW...?

Did you know these movies were originally comics?

• Howard the Duck

• Ghost Rider

• Army of Darkness

• Barbarella

• Men in Black

• Bulletproof Monk

Yes, of course all Mike Lynch Cartoons readers know that those movies were originally comics. What about PERSEPOLIS, GHOST WORLD, 300, SIN CITY, X-MEN, SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, V FOR VENDETTA, THE MASK, THE ROCKETEER (What a great movie!), HELL BOY, THE SPIRIT, FROM HELL, LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN, and more. OK, maybe not SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, unless you read it in a Classics Illustrated comic -- but, anyway, there's even more over at this Wikipedia page.

See you there!

Graphic Artists Guild (GAG) Sues Illustrators Partnership of America (IPA) UPDATED

UPDATE: Just received confirmation that this dreadful news is true from Cynthia Turner and Ken Dubrowski. Thanks for letting me know, Cynthia and Ken.

Honestly, I really was wishing that this was going to appear on Snopes as a hoax. Sadly, it is all true.

You want crazier than the "Batman v. Batman" lawsuit?

Below is what I've gotten from a reliable source (which I'll name once I get verification and permission from the source to use his/her name). I couldn't verify this last night. Maybe I can today. I can only hope this isn't true. It sounds too goofy to be true.

Below is the unverified press release. Can anyone tell me this is true/not true/kinda true/whatever?

Wednesday November 12, 2008

Graphic Artists Guild Sues Artists!

Dear Fellow Creative,

As working artists we assume threats from outside our creative community are a given. The news that the Graphic Artist Guild (GAG), which purports to be an organization 'supporting artists' rights', has filed a lawsuit against fellow artists IS SIMPLY OUTRAGEOUS!

PRESS RELEASE

GRAPHIC ARTISTS GUILD SUES ARTISTS The Illustrators Partnership of America and 5 individuals have* been served with a lawsuit by the Graphic Artists Guild, claiming damages of a million dollars and demanding that a court order IPA to cease and desist from supposedly defamatory public comments about GAG's activities and use of industry reprographic royalties, even when IPA is merely quoting GAG's own statements. The Complaint alleges that IPA, by bringing together 13 diverse illustrators organizations with the goal of creating an illustrators rights collecting society, is wrongfully interfering with GAG's current claim on foreign royalties, calling it an effort to 'siphon off' money from GAG. The Complaint specifically alleges that IPA and IPA members defamed GAG by a verbatim reading of minutes from a GAG steering committee meeting at which GAG's President reported on their organization's use of foreign funds. IPA's statements relied on public assertions by GAG's officers that GAG does not have to account for its use of artists' reprographic royalties. Reprographic royalties are funds derived from the photocopying of material by published authors. In many other countries, illustrators receive royalties from collecting societies for the photocopying of their work. In the US, they do not, because currently, no such collecting society exists. IPA denies that its comments are defamatory, as it has relied on and reported GAG's own statements verbatim. IPA seeks an understanding of GAG's activities and transparency about GAG's use of these funds. IPA has retained legal counsel and will respond to the Complaint in an appropriate manner.

The individuals named in the lawsuit are:

Artist Brad Holland, Founding Director of Illustrators' Partnership and Co-Chair American Society of Illustrators Partnership;

Medical illustrator Cynthia Turner, Director, Illustrators' Partnership and Co- Chair American Society of Illustrators Partnership;

Terrence Brown, Executive Director, American Society of Illustrators Partnership;

Renowned intellectual property attorney Bruce Lehman, Founding Director of Illustrators' Partnership and Counsel to American Society of Illustrators Partnership;

Commercial illustrator Ken Dubrowski, Director of Operations, Illustrators' Partnership.

That the Graphic Artists Guild has chosen to file suit against the Illustrators Partnership of America (IPA) and the very artists who've led the on-going fight against the Orphan Works bill, which the Guild has supported, leaves us questioning, 'Why a lawsuit against fellow artists'?...'Why now'?...

To be clear, some of us are members of the IPA and/or GAG, but this request is non-partisan. For those who were once proud members of GAG, this public stance opposing GAG is a difficult one. We support all voices working on behalf of artists, but we speak with a unified voice as friends and colleagues within the creative community against this lawsuit. We fear our silence now would be misconstrued as agreement with this action by the GAG.

This suit looks as if it is meant to punish and silence, through fear and intimidation, not only those whose names are listed on it, but ALL artists who dare to publicly question, disagree with or work in opposition to the Graphic Artists Guild. We speak out in support of open debate and for greater accountability from all groups who claim to represent our interests both here and abroad. At a time when we artists are facing serious challenges this lawsuit from an organization supporting artists� rights is a misguided distraction our community cannot afford.

We respectfully call upon the Graphic Artists Guild to immediately withdraw its lawsuit against the Illustrators Partnership of America (IPA), and the following individual artists; Brad Holland, Cynthia Turner, Ken Dubrowski, executive Terrence Brown, and attorney Bruce Lehman.

We ask all creators to make their voices heard NOW. If you agree that this lawsuit is wrong, then please add your name, affiliation, and comment below and email to stopsuitpetition@me.com and pass it along to other artists for their signature and support. Once a sufficient number of signers have been collected we will send this petition to all interested parties.

Respectfully,

Daniel Vasconcellos, Illustrator since 1986, GAG member 1986-2003, GAG-Boston President 1988-1990, IPA member 2000 - present

Richard A. Goldberg Illustrator since 1980, GAG member 1980-2003, GAG Boston Chapter President 2001-2003; IPA member 1999-present. The GAG supporting the Orphan Works Bill was bad enough but with this lawsuit I am compelled to publicly condemn the GAG

Alan Witschonke Illustrator, GAG member approx. 1980-2003; Chair of Grievance Committee, Boston Chapter, approx. 1982-1987; Co-Vice President, Boston Chapter, 2001-2003. Joined IPA approx. 2000.

Sharon Kurlansky, Agency Director / Laughing Stock, 1993 to present. Stock agent to over 135 artists. Former GAG member, Former PACA member. GAG�s support of the Orpan Rights Bill is a very troubling breach in their mandate to support artists� rights and severely weakens and subverts current copyright protections afforded creators. Their suit against the IPA and named artists is another damaging and unmitigated move against the artist community.

Hal Mayforth Illustrator since 1982, GAG member 1982-2003, Founding member IPA

James Steinberg Illustrator since 1980, GAG member 1982-2002, GAG Boston National Rep 1985-1986, IPA member 1999-2002

John S. Dykes Illustrator since 1984, Past GAG member, Member IPA 2000 - present.

Gary Taxali Illustrator Since 1991, CAPIC Member from 1992 - 2007, Founding Member, IPA

Tamar Haber-Schaim Illustrator since 1985, GAG Boston Chairman Events Committee 1986, GAG member approx. 1985 - 1998, Attendee of annual meetings EIF (European Illustrators Forum) 2006, 2007

Donald B. Johnson Working illustrator since 1978, former GAG member, Society of Illustrators member. I opposed the Orphan Works Bill and am very unhappy with the recent positions taken by GAG. What has happened to the inspiring organization that got us all started in the illustration business?

Elizabeth Traynor Working illustrator since 1981, member of The Society of Illustrators, Illustration professor. Shame on GAG. This lawsuit is an insult to the worldwide community of illustrators and artists. The alleged actions by GAG concerning Reprographic Royalties as well as this attack on the IPA seem stunningly illogical; is their best defense this destructive offense?

Robert Saunders Illustrator since 1980; Editor/Designer GAG Boston Update 2002; Executive Committee 1998-2001; Boston Chapter President, Acting 1986-1988; Chapter Vice President 1985-1986; Chapter Representative to Nat�l Board 1984-1985; Contract Committee member and Advertising Committee Chair ca 2000; 23-year ca GAG member; Former IPA member

Jim Roldan 20+ years as a free lance illustrator, current steering committee member and past president of the New Hampshire Creative Club I sincerely believe that pursuing this lawsuit will do far more to defame the Graphic Artists Guild's reputation and standing in the industry than any correspondence I could have ever received from the IPA. The absence of any information on the Guild website re: this issue makes me question whether the membership at large is even aware of the drastic steps being taken by Guild officers in their name and how any member could condone such a draconian effort to stifle legitimate dissent within the industry.

Blair Thornley Illustrator since 1982, GAG member 1994-2001, IPA member 2000 - present. I think it�s important to be clear that GAG is NOT the official, legal, or moral representative of American Illustrators. I do not want the rest of the legal system in this country or elsewhere assuming that they speak for us.

Rob Dunlavey GAG Member 1987-2004. Practicing illustrator 1985- present

Leo Espinosa Illustrator Since 1996.

Steve Brodner: The "Family Values" Gang: RIP

Above: Larry Craig, drawn by Steve Brodner.

At the top of the page (no permalinks) here are a series of the "family values" crowd and their hypocrisies. Some great work here and it tells you why you can see Mr. Brodner's work EVERYWHERE. You go, Steve!

The Future of Political Cartoonists

At least from the point of view of an editorial cartoonist from another hemisphere ....

New Zealand TV interviewer Paul Henry talks to NZ editorial cartoonist Tom Scott (here's a link to PDF bio page for him) in the below video upon the occasion of the Cartooning for Peace conference.

How would you react if an interviewer asked you," ... [Cartoons] seem -- if you don't mind me saying -- to be sort of quite hokey, in a way, and yet they are enduring, in a way, aren't they?"

Tom Scott holds his own and the only thing I disagreed with was the idea that cartoons are hokey. There are more cartoons and more readers of cartoons than any other time in history!

From TV New Zealand, here is the clip. It runs about 5 and a 1/2 minutes.

Mike Lynch Interview in THE HIPPO

Below is the text of my interview in this week's free New Hampshire paper THE HIPPO, with some cartoons and comments by me. The only correction I see is that the organization I belong to is called the National Cartoonists Society, not the National Cartooning Society. Maybe I was mumbling when I mentioned the group! The article is written by Heidi Masak, who is an old fashioned reporter who takes notes with a pen and paper, she says. My thanks to her and editor Amy Diaz for all the time and effort it must have took -- not only with me, but with all of the other cartoonists interviewed.

New Hampshire’s cartoonists

Who’s behind the funnies

By Heidi Masek hmasek@hippopress.com

For some, it’s the first section of the newspaper they look for. For others, it’s a wry joke on a text-heavy magazine page. Then there are comic books.

A lot of work goes into cartooning, and not many people make a career of it. Here’s a look at some of New Hampshire’s top comic creators.

Mike Lynch

“Cartooning has always been the one constant in my life,” said Mike Lynch of Milton. The Wall Street Journal, New York Daily News, Harvard Business Review, Playboy and Reader’s Digest are among his clients for single-panel magazine cartoons.

As a kid, he drew on the wall. At first he was yelled at. Then his mother started putting paper up on the wall and inviting other kids over for drawing parties.

“I tried to get away from it, but I was unhappy,” Lynch said. Ten years ago, he quit “real jobs” to be a full-time cartoonist, he said. He worked as an education administrator for a music conservatory in Manhattan for seven years, and in computer graphics for Wall Street companies for five.

Lynch took a few drawing classes at Parsons School of Design when he moved to New York about 21 years ago. Born in Iowa, he went to college in Ohio where his father taught.

When people say, “I am a cartoonist,” it can many anything from drawing Dilbert to animating Sponge Bob, Lynch said.

Lynch referenced playwright and screenwriter Martin McDonagh when he explained how he ended up focusing on single-panels for magazines. McDonagh got a book on writing and the first chapter was on writing plays. He wrote one, and it was produced. The second chapter was on writing for TV, but that didn’t work out. Lynch has tried to sell comic strips, but the longer form didn’t seem to work out.

Lynch said he writes about 30 “gags” per week. “Ten or 15, I’ll throw out.” He’ll “draw up” 10 or 15 and mail them to the Wall Street Journal. Next he sends them to the Harvard Business Review, then Reader’s Digest, etc. When cartoons are rejected, he repackages appropriate material to send to another market. At a given time, he’ll have hundreds of cartoons sitting on desks where people are hopefully looking at them, he said.

“I try to stay away from, certainly, overly familiar cartoons — the dumb secretary and dopey boss — and try to be more clever. Because your editors have seen all that and they’re looking for something fresh,” Lynch said.

At the same time, “I love cartoon clichés ... I still remember when I sold my first desert island cartoon. That was so exciting,” Lynch said. A cruise ship floats by a dozen people on a desert island, and someone on the ship points out “the most sequestered jury in the world,” Lynch said.

You can instill an element of surprise in cartoons, he said. In one of his, a woman walks in to find her other half in bed with another woman. The man says casually that she would have seen it coming if she followed his blog, Lynch said.

“I do find that sometimes racier cartoons or more confrontational cartoons don’t find markets here, but thankfully there’s a big English-speaking market in Europe,” Lynch said.

Another example is a guy knocking on a door who says, “Excuse me, have you heard what may or may not be the word?” He’s a proselytizing agnostic.

Lynch is currently the National Representative for the National Cartooning Society [sic]. That means his job is to “organize the unorganizable” cartoonists, he said.

He’s lived in New Hampshire for more than a year now. He and his wife vacationed in northern New England and Lynch met some cartoonists, and his wife, who plays Irish fiddle, met musicians. She still does graphic design for a company in Manhattan and performs two or three nights per week.

“There’s probably less than a thousand people in this country who are making their living by cartooning,” Lynch said.

“Everyone gets along and everyone tends to be interested in what the other person is doing,” he said. Lynch said he knows most of his competitors, and some of his best friends are the artists whose work is seen regularly in the New Yorker or Wall Street Journal.

Much of Lynch’s bread and butter is in cartoons tailored for business topics. “It’s very easy to make fun of these guys,” Lynch said, citing Goldman Sachs as an example. As long as you are generally aware of what’s going on, you don’t need a special background in the industry, he said.

Cartooning might be unique in that it merges visual art and writing. “That’s why I never like the caption contests that are very big,” Lynch said. There’s a world of people who can draw and paint, and a world of people who can write, but it’s rare that people do both, he said.

Lynch started a blog noting what’s going on in the cartooning community, which offers him a way to promote his work (along with his site, heykidscomics.com). At mikelynchcartoons.blogspot.com, he’s posted various cartoons that look like he pretty much draws what he sees (which is pretty darn hilarious when he’s making fun of strangers in airports).

"Oh yeah. It's over. She just sent an obscene emoticon."

“I’ve never been into style. A lot of cartoonists and artists really worry about it,” Lynch said. Edinburgh-based cartoonist Rod McKie remarked to Lynch that Lynch’s work looks “so contemporary” because Lynch draws people he actually sees, Lynch recalled.

“I think that regardless of what you do ... you have to be observant to a degree,” Lynch said.

“I also find that I don’t spend eight hours a day watching television,” Lynch said. He’s lucky to watch it 90 minutes a week, and that’s mostly just because he works a lot. “Cartooning is a job, but it’s a job that I love,” Lynch said. The finished product might look simple, “but there’s a lot of choices behind the scenes,” he said.

Lynch can usually tell within five minutes if someone is a part-time cartoonist, he said.

Among their other concerns, full-timers are self-employed and need to cover the business end of things, like managing their taxes, billing and contracts. The average cartoonist lasts six months and throws in the towel, he said. Part of the reason is that there’s not really a template for the job. That’s also why he started the blog, Lynch said. People have questions about how to deal with rejection, why things aren’t anything selling, where to find markets and “what do these people want?”

It took Lynch six months to make a sale, he said. Throughout that time, he was sending out 15 cartoons per week. One of the things editors are looking for is reliability, Lynch said. Perhaps his persistence demonstrated that because after six months of nothing, he made seven or eight sales in one day, amounting to a couple thousand dollars. As an independent artist, Lynch owns his cartoons, which puts him in a position to control how they are used, he said.

Lynch has fallen into teaching cartooning and now teaches kids and adults in New York and New Hampshire.

“Despite how visually bombarded every kid is,” Lynch said, he’s found that many have never seen anyone draw in front of them. On the other hand, he was teaching in a museum in New York this summer and by the third day his students were drawing almost as fast as he was. It makes him wonder how he’ll compete 10 years from now, he said.

Cartoonists in THE HIPPO

Heidi Masak of the New Hampshire Weekly newspaper THE HIPPO interviews New Hampshire cartoonists in its cover story this issue (with cover art by yours truly). The free weekly will be hitting the streets of Manchester and Nashua this day. Here are some of the names and a quote from the article:

Allison Barrows (comic strip PRETEENA 2001-08)

Barrows said her parents were art teachers. “So I don’t know if I really had much of a choice” about being an artist, she said. But “I love to write as much as I love to draw, maybe even more,” she said. For her, creating comics seemed like the perfect place.

Mike Lynch (magazine cartoonist)

“I try to stay away from, certainly, overly familiar cartoons — the dumb secretary and dopey boss — and try to be more clever. Because your editors have seen all that and they’re looking for something fresh,” Lynch said.

Mike Marland (editorial cartoons for the Concord Monitor; gag writer for SNUFFY SMITH)

“When I sit down and write, I usually think about what happened to me this week, then kinda scramble it around and turn it upside,” to put it in a strip, Marland said.

Stephanie Piro (SIX CHIX, FAIR GAME comic strips & "Strip T's" t-shirts & more)

Piro started submitting work to magazines and publishers in the late 1970s but got “very positive rejections.” There weren’t a lot of female cartoonists then, and even now it’s mainly a white, male profession, although that’s changing some with the popularity of graphic novels, she said.

Scott Wegener (co-creator comic book series ATOMIC ROBO)

Wegener said comic books are a medium he’s always felt an interest in. With a low budget, you can tell any story. It’s like being your own Hollywood studio for a fraction of the cost, he said.

Marek Bennett (creator of small press comic MIMI'S DOUGHNUTS and teacher)

Creating comics engages a number of different aspects of intelligence and uses a variety of approaches to creativity, which is ideal for school settings, Bennett said.

Peter Noonan (THE HIPPO's resident cartoonist)

“It’s very difficult to be intelligent and timely and funny all at the same time. I think if you get all three of those, you have the Holy Grail of cartooning,” Noonan said.

Above: Mike Lynch cover art to this week's HIPPO. My thanks to readers who guessed which one of the three "typical New Hampshire cartoonist" scene sketches best exemplified same (see the October 22, 2008 blog entry). The image that was picked was the third one.

Freelancers Insurance Company

Sara Horowitz, the Founder & Executive Director of the New York-based Freelancers Union, has announced that the Union now has its own insurance plan, the Freelancers Insurance Company.

This is exciting news. For now, its only for NY State residents, but Ms. Horowitz' goal is affordable health insurance for all freelancers in America.

Maybe this is dry subject matter. Well , OK --not "maybe." It is dry, and certainly not as interesting as an analysis of gag cartoon construction, etc. -- but the Freelancers Insurance Company is a big step toward recognition of the freelancer -- a person for whom "volatility is a way of life" -- as a real, working part of the economy. She, along with the foundation and corporate supporters, deserve our thanks and appreciation. Consider getting involved with the Union to assist the FIC's ability to cover working freelancers in other states.

Here's Sara Horowitz on the Freelancers Insurance Company:

In 1996, I founded a nonprofit organization to represent the needs and concerns of independent workers; in 2001, we created a program to get health insurance for independent workers in New York State. Back then, we recognized that the most pressing concern for freelancers was lack of affordable insurance. Over the years, Freelancers Union has worked with different insurance companies to get plans for our members at prices below what they’d pay on their own. Now, Freelancers Union has started Freelancers Insurance Company, to ensure that members have stable, long-term access to health insurance.

To start FIC, Freelancers Union has had a lot of help. Prominent financial supporters such as the Rockefeller Foundation, the New York State Health Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the New York City Investment Fund, Prudential’s Social Investments Program, and the Pioneer Portfolio of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation have made loans and grants to Freelancers Union to start FIC. And I’ve worked hard to bring together a team of the most experienced, principled people around to run the company.

Mostly, though, it’s because of the members of Freelancers Union that we’re able to do this remarkable thing. We’ve shown that it’s possible to create a group with the strength and longevity to be a sustainable “risk pool” for health insurance. Independent work arrangements are here to stay, and the market is finally recognizing that.

We’re here to stay, too. Together, Freelancers Union and its members are building institutions, like Freelancers Insurance Company, that will provide stability for the independent workforce for years to come.

One down, 49 to go.

Alex Toth: How a TV Cartoon is Created

Sherm Cohen (bless him) shares "How a TV Cartoon is Created" by Alex Toth and Bob Foster. It's an "oversized 10-page illustrated essay that first appeared as a bonus in the 1976 treasury-sized Super-Friends Limited Collectors Edition comic book."

Thank you Sherm, for all the scanning -- and I'm looking forward to the 2nd part too!

Peter Arno's Favorite Part

Harry Lee Green brings a lovely sampler of Peter Arno's amazing layout and masterful wash style from the collections SIZZLING PLATTER and HELL OF A WAY TO RUN A RAILROAD.

Some cartoonists like the beginning bit (the coming up with the idea, honing the gag) and some like the process (the sketching and layout) and some like the end (the sale). My favorite part is coming up with the gag and drawing the doodle in my sketchbook. Not so with Peter Arno.

Arno would draw and redraw his cartoons sometimes dozens of times. There is a story that cartoonist Mel Casson would tell, about visiting Mr. Arno in his penthouse apartment. I'll do my best to relate it here, from memory of him telling it some 4 or 5 years ago as part of a National Cartoonists Society Connecticut Chapter speech he gave.

So, Mel Casson and a firned went to visit the one and only famopus New Yorker cartoonist Peter Arno. he had invited them to his aprtment. And it really was a penthouse apartment. The lobby elevator went up, and the doors opened onto the Arno landing, from which one could see the Arno living room and, there he was, Peter Arno himself, mixing drinks.

After sitting down, having a drink and talking shop, Arno asked, "Do you want to see my studio?" Well, of course?! Who wouldn't want to see Arno's studio!

So, Arno walked over to a door, and opened it. They walked in. Arno switched on a light. The room had curtains all around, from floor to ceiling, covering the wall, the windows. "I can't have any distractions," explained Arno. The only furniture: a large drawing board, lamp and chair. And on the drawing board, laid out in two rows, were two rows of 10 original drawings each.

There were 20 originals of the same cartoon, drawn over and over. But, coming closer, the cartoons were not the same. Each one was had a slight difference: an arm bent a different way, a head turned, one character was upstage of the other, to the right in another, etc. Each one was a fully drawn Arno original, ready for publication.

I remember Casson telling Arno how surprised he was that he (Arno) did all of this work, painstakingly laboring over the cartoon, drawing and redrawing it in so many different, subtle ways -- all in finished ink and wash. Casson suggested drawing a series of thumbnails or pencil sketches instead of going to all this time and effort.

Arno explained that this was always the way he worked: drawing many different variations of the cartoon until he was satisfied. Casson repeated that it was so much work, drawing a large size finished piece over and over and over again.

"But you don't understand," explained Arno, motioning to the 20 cartoons, "This is my favorite part."

Hat tip to Journalista! for the link.

Video: Bruce Bairnsfather & the 1914 Christmas Truce

A Veterans Day moment.

In the first year of the Great War (later referred to as World War 1), German and British forces, up and down the line, slowly and carefully came out of their trenches on December 25th, and an unofficial Christmas truce was agreed upon. Bodies were pulled from No Man's Land, joint ceremonies performed; food and small gifts were exchanged; the men sang carols together. It was, the last gasp of another, more gentle time, to paraphrase an historian. The next day, the fighting resumed.

This Christmas Truce is remembered in St. Yvon, Belgium, with a memorial cross. This is where cartoonist Captain Bruce Bairnsfather was at that time. There is a plaque with a diagram (Bairnsfather drawn?) of where in the foxhole he was that day. It's all in the modern-day video below. My thanks to Maurice at VideoHistoryToday for this.

French Gag Cartoons Circa 1956

Above: How do you sell cartoons in Europe with all of those language differences? You draw wordless cartoons! Guy Bara shows us, in 5 panels, a whole story wherein the balance of power is shifted.

Here are some cartoons from BEST CARTOONS FROM ABROAD 1956, edited by Lawrence Lariar and Ben Roth and copyright the same year.


And I read PLAYBOY for the cartoons!



Hervé gives us an artist cartoon. There used to be all sorts of artist cartoons; artists painting models, artists wearing berets, artists chasing models, etc.


Above: Hervé once more, with a very odd tattoo. There are, however, 52 years later, still relationships like this.

Above: Hervé could sell this one today.



Above: Leon with a topical cartoon regarding obesity! I like the fellow's grin. Just makes it for me. That's a blissful expression.



Above (and the rest of these below): the one and only Sempé, who is still producing work for The New Yorker. I like to think that the bearded fellow, casually sketching the impatient crowd outside, is Sempé himself.

"Yes, this is really Treasure Island. It is I who made the plan. I AM the treasure."

This woman's speech is funny -- and it's a rare Sempé cartoon where we have even one line of dialog, much less three.


Above and below: a couple of wordless multi-panel playlets. Sempé is one of my all-time favorites.

BBC News: 20 Minutes of New STAR TREK Film Footage

BBC News Entertainment Reporter Neil Smith reports on a presentation of 4 clips from the new theatrical STAR TREK movie.

Director J.J. Abrams was there to introduce the footage.

"'It was always someone else's show,' he [Abrams] continued, citing the original TV series' limited resources and 'cardboard planets.'

On reading the script, however, he said he would have been 'jealous' had another director taken on the project.

Attending reporters were offered cupcakes with the STAR TREK uniform insignia on top.

TrekMovie.com has more. There are spoilers there.

There will be a new STAR TREK movie trailer playing in theaters showing the new James Bond movie QUANTUM OF SOLACE.

Mike Lynch Cartoon in November 10, 2008 Wall Street Journal

Of all the cartoon cliches (boss chasing secretary, prisoner shackled to wall, etc.) the number one gag cartoon cliche (as voted by Mike Lynch Cartoons readers) is the desert island cartoon. I have a desert island gag cartoon in today's Wall Street Journal. And below, reproduced oh-so-small (even if you click to supersize, it only pops up to a wimpy size of a few more centimeters) -- below is the original drawing that was OKed by the cartoon editor:

"Thank God! Somebody to network with!"

The cartoon is almost 4 years old. I drew it in January 2005, and it went to many markets before it sold. This is why I emphasize persistence.


I had to draw it bolder for reproduction. Above is the published version.

Like most people, I hate annoying, overused phrases like:

• At the end of the day
• Fairly unique
• At this moment in time
• With all due respect
• 24/7
• It's not rocket science

(And there are more at Wired's article: Oxford Researchers List Top 10 Most Annoying Phrases.)

But the nice thing is that I can take phrases that I don't like -- like --



... "paradigm shift" ...

... "crunchy" as an adjective ...



... "outsourced" -- and on and on .... Where was I?

Yes. Right.

I can take these overused words and phrases, and not only make fun of them, but also make some money while doing it. Well, soon. Welllll, not really soon -- but in a year or 2. Welllllllll, maybe 3 is more like it.

Tom Richmond: The National Caricaturist Network Convention

Tom Richmond shows some photos from the National Caricaturist Network’s 17th annual Convention and Competition in Raleigh, NC. And he has more here.

"As usual the artwork produced by the competing caricaturists was amazing and the 'competition room' was brimming over with incredible caricatures that ran the gamut from the near portrait in charcoal to hyper exaggerated illustrations in acrylic. There was even some wood cut work!"

National Caricaturist Network site.

THE BIG SKINNY by Carol Lay

Wendy Werris, writing for Publisher's Weekly, talks with cartoonist Carol Lay about her memoir THE BIG SKINNY: HOW I CHANGED MY FATTITUDE, due out after the New Year from Villard:

"'I've drawn from everything I know as an artist and a person and put it in this book,' says Lay. She brought elements of memoir to the story to give the book more drama, adding her family history, and she deeply probed her inner life while writing the text. 'It was painful,' says Lay, although her wicked sense of humor as a cartoonist brings an equal measure of laughs to her dieting struggles. In the book, a cartoon George Clooney occasionally shows up at Lay's door bearing bags of fast food. Time and again she slams the door in his face to forgo the fat and carbs for healthier, low-calorie choices.

"The Big Skinny is a first; a cartoon diet book with recipes, menus and a calorie counter. 'It combines memoir with solid information—in a story context—on how to lose weight and keep it off,' Lay explains. 'It's for food strugglers like me; it's experiential and it's fun.'"

Carol Lay's site

"Way Lay," Carol Lay's comic at Salon

Hat tip Michael Maslin!

I Hate These Things

I am going to create a comic where everyone is a Blogger Word Verification word, dang it!

Quentin Blake

Above: a screenshot of one of Mr. Blake's videos.

Illustrator Quentin Blake is one of those quiet fellows who has been around (over 300 books so far) and influenced a generation. Best known as the fellow who draws the pictures in the Roald Dahl books, his latest project is THE BOY IN THE DRESS written by Little Britain's co-star Richard Walliams.

BBC has a profile of Quentin Blake here.

And Mr. Blake's site has a couple of wonderful videos, that take us into his studio where he shows us his process. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED even if you don't know who this Blake guy is. Just look at his organization (over 200 books' worth of originals, all neatly cubby-holed by title in their own portfolios) and we get to watch his drawing and redrawing process -- in real time. This is really good stuff and worth the clicking and watching time to do.

A big hat tip to the Forbidden Planet blog.

Video: David Tennant on Doctor Who

SPOILERS below and in the video itself: Current Doctor Who star David Tennant talks about the new series and, at 11 minutes, there is a brief preview of this year's Doctor Who Christmas Special.



OK, SPOILER Time (as if you didn't already know): It's been announced that Tennant will leave Doctor Who after the 2009-10 season which, instead of the usual series of the usual hour long shows, will be a smaller crop of four "specials" throughout the year. He also talks about the decision to depart the popular program, as well his own experience as a kid, watching Tom Baker (the Fourth Doctor) regenerate into Peter Davison (the Fifth Doctor). Tennant also speculates who may replace him in this BBC One video.

Stacy Curtis UPDATED

One of the many thousands of people out there in Chicago's Grant Park, watching President Elect Obama victory speech last night -- live, in person -- was the talented cartoonist/illustrator Stacy Curtis. Shown above are his sketchbook impressions while he was there.

My thanks to him for granting me permission to place his work on my blog. I enjoyed it on a private chat board, wanted to share it, and he very generously said to go ahead when I asked permission. Thanks, Stacy!



UPDATE: And over at the Three Men in a Tub blog (which is the sketchblog of three talented and good loooking guys: Wes Hargis, Stacy Curtis and Ted Dawson) you'll see the above page, and another page of Stacy Curtis sketches.

Video: Editorial Cartoonist Chris Britt

Editorial cartoonist for the State Journal-Register (Springfield, Illinois) Chris Britt talks about the job of an editorial cartoonist in this video produced by Justin L. Fowler and TJ Salsman. The first part he explains what it is he does as an editorial cartoonist, and then he continues in voiceover as we watch him (in sped up time) create a cartoon. He draws the old fashioned way: ink on paper. It runs just over 4 minutes.



And here's Mr. Britt again, talking about the specific cartoon for a minute, as the camera lingers on the finished work:



Related: David Horsey talks about drawing his post-election cartoon.

President Elect Obama

We are walking through a moment in history.

Obama's November 4th acceptance speech

Newseum's gallery of newspaper front pages (hat tip to Steven L. Cloud)

Above image-that-sums-it-all-up from THE BEAT.

SKIN HORSE by Shaenon K. Garrity & Jeffrey Wells

SKIN HORSE, a comic strip written by Shaenon Garrity and drawn by Jeffrey Wells (although Mr. Wells has collaborated on the writing, and Ms. Garrity developed the character designs), launches over at Universal Press Syndicate's GoComics site soon. Currently, it's over at WebcomicsNation, where it's been since its 2007 inception.

(UPDATE: as Ms. Garrity points out in her comments below, I'm wrong! " ... [A]ctually I'm the artist and Jeff and I are cowriters." Sorry about that, Shaenon & Jeffrey!)

I've only read the first couple of months of the strip, having been unaware of it until now. (Sorry, Shaenon!)

Shaenon the writer puts us in the thick of it. She very quickly puts a foursome of characters (half of them human, half animal) in action in the initial week. We are plunked into the middle of the story and, through the pictures and conversations, are expected to grab on and ride.

It's the best way to start: in the middle. It pricks up the ears and eyes. And you have to pay attention. She has a whole world to introduce us to, starting with Tip, Unity, and Sweetheart.

I don't usually do reviews here, but I'd like to recommend the strip if you enjoy fantasy mixed with comedy. There are references to seminal fantasy stories (Baum, and, of course, THE VELVETEEN RABBIT, where the "Skin Horse" quote is from; "Real isn't how you are made,' said the Skin Horse, 'It's a thing that happens to you ... Then you become Real.")

I was laughing out loud at some of Unity's dialogue, like when she's urging Tip to resolve the problem in a more action-oriented way: "Less yap-yap! More boom-boom-pow!"

Winnie the Pooh Sketch Auctioned for £31,000

From the BBC:

It was sold by the family of the artist, EH Shepard, at Bonhams auction rooms in London and easily exceeded its estimated price of £15,000-20,000.

A sketch for Kenneth Grahame's story The Wind in the Willows made £7,440.

Kremos AKA Niso Ramponi

Here are ten cartoons by Italian superstar GGA (Good Girl Art) cartoonist Kremos.



I was first introduced to Kremos via Craig Yoe's Arflover's Blog (Kremos is featured in Craig's ARF FORUM book) and Shane Glines' Cartoon Retro site.



Aside from his obvious talent at drawing women, look at the way he composed the drawing above. From left to right: cop, girl, smashed car, husband. You have the whole story laid out. It's no wonder that he would open an animation studio outside Rome in the next decade.




It's the physics of all that mass on those tiny highheels that fascinates me!



Above: even though the background is made up of portions of items (corners of posters, a bit of a car, a building, a few squiggles for clouds), you get a strong sense of place.



The cartoons are from 2 books BEST CARTOONS FROM ABROAD 1955 AND EST CARTOONS FROM ABROAD 1956, both edited by Lawrence Lariar and Ben Roth and copyright those years by same.


Niso Ramponi would, after years, eventually stop using the pen name "Kremos" to avoid confusion and possible litigation with an Italian artist by the same name. More about Ramponi at Warren Leonhardt's blog.



To paraphrase the Roger Rabbit line: the girls may not be bad, but they sure are drawn that way.


I see a little bit of Frank Thorne in some of the art, and that's high praise. After years drawing comic books, he's now a featured cartoonist in Playboy.



Sure, the jokes are not the best, but here's a guy where style overshadows the gag.

I hope that Bill Maoi and Rico Renzi are able to produce the book of Kremos that's announced here.

Brian Fies: Graphic Novelist & Modelmaker!

My multi-talented, multi-tasking pal Brian Fies built the above spaceship as a drawing reference for his upcoming graphic novel. Yeah. He built it from scratch! Here's Brian:

"I thought some of you might like this. There's a passage in Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow set in 1945 in which my character goes to the movies to watch a Flash-Gordon-style serial. I therefore had to come up with something Flash-Gordon-style to put on the movie screen. For reasons that'll be apparent if (when!) you read the book, I created my own fictional universe-within-a-universe rather than use actual stills from real movies--which also avoided the problem of tracking down 60-year-old copyrights and asking permission.

"So first I built a spaceship"

More here.

Forrest J. Ackerman "Slipping Away"

Above: Forrest J. Ackerman, Ray Harryhausen and Ray Bradbury in a photo from the 1980s, nicked from the Official Sci-Fi Boys site.

Via Harry Knowles: " ... I was told that Forry was lucid, peaceful and not even on pain medication, but that he was progressively getting worse - and was ready to move on."

Ackerman, who is 91, helped found the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society and edited the Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine (1952-1983). His mailing address is at the above link.

Steve Brodner: Red, NY and Blue

Illustrator Steve Brodner gives us a peek at his New Yorker mag piece. It's about "an Election Day comic about a political junkie who leaves his apartment to vote only to find he can’t see straight anymore."

From the Sketch Pad

I was traveling last week. I took my sketchbook (the landscape hardbound 3.5" x 5.5" Global Arts Hand Book Journal hardbound) with me to capture a few moments. I used a Pigma Micron pen and a bit of watercolor here and there. I carry a kids' $1.99 bought-in-a-drugstore watercolor paint set in my bag.


Above: St. Louis is deserted. Or rather, the St. Louis airport is deserted around lunch time on October 28th, when I had a layover.

I had a bite to eat in a lonely cafe and read the Post-Dispatch, and, of course, noticed the Weatherbird on the cover. Currently drawn by Dan Martin, the Weatherbird has been on the cover of every PD edition since 1901, making it "the oldest continuously running daily cartoon in the country" according to the Weatherbird blog. Yes, the Weatherbird has his own blog!



Above: this fellow was in front of a line at the airport newsstand. He was assuring VERY LOUDLY whoever it was on the other end of his Bluetooth that he was a deadly efficient capitalist businessman -- all the while, the man was grindingly slow to find any valid currency on his person to complete a transaction of 75 cents. Ugh.

Above: on the bus -- this woman seated behind me kept up a color commentary for the 2 hour ride from Dover, NH to Logan Airport. Click to supersize, natch.

From the Martine Gossieaux Gallery: THE PASSION OF DRAWING HUMOR

La galerie Martine Gossieaux, a Paris gallery that for the past 15 years has showcased works by Sempe, Chaval, Searle, Steig, Cobean, Gorey, Addams, and other singular cartoonists, presents a new hardcover anthology titled LE PASSION DU DESSIN D'HUMOUR (or see this Google English translation link for THE PASSION OF DRAWING HUMOR).

Of course, if you live in Europe, this book is easier to find than in the States. Here is a link to a page where you can, in a cyber-clicky-mouse-way, page through some of the book to get a flavor for the scope of imagery.



Above: a screenshot of that page, with a gatefold of Bosc cartoons. BTW, Alain Damman has a wonderful site devote to Bosc here.

A very big hat tip to Claude Haber for passing this along! Thanks, Claude!