President Eisenhower, Honorary NCS Member

From gag cartoonist Eli Stein's blog comes a story of National Cartoonist Society members meeting with President Eisenhower in 1954. They made Ike an honorary member and gave him a presentation book of 95 cartoons. A couple of years later, to help sell war bonds, the book was reproduced as a promotional item. Eli shares some gag cartoons from that book here.

I believe this was when Ike received the Silver T-Square from the NCS. The Silver T-Square, "awarded, by unanimous vote of the NCS Board of Directors, to persons who have demonstrated outstanding dedication or service to the Society or the profession" was also awarded to one other President: Harry S. Truman, in 1950. More infomration on the NCS Awards page.

Newfoundland Gallery Show Features Sandra Bell-Lundy's BETWEEN FRIENDS

One of the funny things about cartooning is that you sit in a room and come up with ideas -- and you never really know how people will react. Sandra Bell-Lundy writes in her BETWEEN FRIENDS blog:

"I've written strips without any malice in my heart and I've been ripped apart by readers who took offence. I written strips that I thought would evoke an emotional, political response . . . not a peep. I've written strips that I felt really weren't my best work but had to send them in anyway because of a crushing deadline and been inundated with mail from readers who loved them."

A couple of years ago, she wrote a storyline in her BETWEEN FRIENDS newspaper comic strip about her Newfoundland grandmother. She recently received a request to use some images from that series in an art show. Here's Sandra with more information:

"Recently, I received a request from Jackie Alcock, an artist who lives in Corner Brook, Newfoundland. She was creating a visual arts piece called 'The Buffet Table' representing arts and crafts and women's history. She asked if she could use frames from the grandmother storyline to make "doughboys". It's one of the more unusual requests I've had but I was very pleased that she thought of the story line."

Below is a video showing some of the process. The whole story is at the BETWEEN FRIENDS blog.

AAEC and NCS Merger?

Should the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists and the National Cartoonists Society merge?

AAEC President Ted Rall has put the idea forward for discussion, and Daryl Cagle, former NCS President (as well as an AAEC member), weighs in on his blog.

Above cartoon copyright 2009 by Ted Rall.

Complete Mars Attacks Trading Cards

Harry Lee Greene at his Hairy Green Eyeball blog gives us the compleat Topps bubblegum "Mars Attacks" series of 1962 trading cards. Oo la la!

Thank you, Harry!

London: Jeff Koons' 'Popeye Series' Opens

Artist Jeff Koons exhibits his "Popeye series" at London's Serpentine Gallery from July 2nd to September 13th. The Guardian has a preview today.

King of kitsch, Jeff Koons, comes to the Serpentine Gallery this summer with his first ever solo British show. Work by the American artist, who will be exhibiting his Popeye series at the Serpentine, 'creates a world beyond taste' according to the Guardian's Jonathan Jones. Preview highlights from the exhibition (which runs from 2 July until 13 September 2009), before it opens to the public.

Jonathan Jones, writing for The Guardian, comments that Koons "creates a world beyond taste."

This Happens Every Morning

These two are coming every morning between 7 and 8am; two turkeys, a girl and a boy turkey, waddle into the yard, getting quite close to the house. After some pecking and gobbling, they hurry along, into the woods. The female, I've noticed, always leads.

Photo taken by me this morning through the window screen.

Annual Bunny Hoest Bash June 25, 2009

Above: a LOCKHORNS bisque at the home of Bunny Hoest.

I left my house on the New Hampshire ridge for a quick overnight trip to New York. Object: drive to Bunny Hoest's home on the Long Island North Shore, arriving by noon for the annual Bunny Bash. Thanks to a wee hours start and the Bridgeport/Port Jefferson ferry, I made it.

The Bunny Bash is held every June at the home of Bunny Hoest. The Bash began because almost three decades ago, Bill Hoest wanted to show some some of his cartoonist colleagues the house he was building. About a dozen cartoonists from the local Long Island chapter of the National Cartoonists Society (the "Berndt Toast Gang") were invited over for sandwiches and a tour of the then-unfinished home

Today, the house on the Long Island sound is finished, and the event has grown. About 150 cartoonists, spouses, kids and friends got together for what turned out to be a partly cloudy afternoon of shop talk.

Mike Lynch, Mad Magazine's Sam Viviano and THE LOCKHORNS Bunny Hoest

King Features' MARY WORTH creative team of Joe Giella and Karen Moy.

It's BEETLE BAILEY assistant and freelance illustrator Bill Janocha with Mad Magazine's Mort Drucker

ARCHIE's Stan Goldberg with KIM POSSIBLE's Stephen Silver.

Heidi Silver and THE LOCKHORN's John Reiner


New Yorker cartoonists Robert Leighton and Felipe "Feggo" Galindo, with illustrator Martin Kozlowski. Thanks to Felipe for this photo!


NCS Chapter Chair Adrian Sinnott and National Rep Mike Lynch surprised Bunny Hoest with a National Cartoonists Society Tim Rosenthal Award for Volunteerism. Above is the award, gorgeously drawn by Guy Gilchrist.

Tim Rosenthal was Head of Syndicate Services at American Color. American Color is the place where many newspaper comics are colored and then sent to papers around the world. His impact, developed with Wiley Miller, on the way color is used in newspaper comics, set a new industry standard. He was also a big NCS supporter, and a good friend to many cartoonists.

I gave a short announcement to the people about Bunny and why she deserves the Award:

Everyone knows that Bunny works for King Features. Everyone knows that Bunny works for Parade Magazine. What everyone may now know is that she also works very hard for the Long Island chapter of the National Cartoonists Society, helping with the award voting, as well as hosting the annual Bash. She is, as Creig Flessel described her, the "Den Mother" of the Berndt Toast Gang. This was a small token of appreciation from her NCS family.

If anyone has a photo of Bunny with her Award, please share it with me. Thanks.

Mike Lynch, with my friend, The New Yorker's Robert Leighton.

Gerry Mooney, Bill Crouch and Elena Steier

Bunny Hoest, Suzan Haeni of the Art League of Long Island and graphic artist Julie Haring

A framed gag cartoon of Bill Hoest's. One of many decorating the "Hoest Castle" interior.

Dotti Sinnott, daughter of Berndt Toast Gang Chairman Adrian Sinnott, and the one and only Sam Gross.

I wound up staying very late, as did a few others. Bunny ordered pizza. I shared long conversations under an orange sliver of a moon with Adrian Sinnott and his family, Bunny, John Reiner, Mort & Barbara Drucker and Stan & Pauline Goldberg.

I had a memorable time. Exhausting, but memorable.

See You Next Week

"I have no funny secret of life gag line for you because the cartoonist has gone out of town. Thank you. Come again."

Have a wonderful rest of the week. I'm off to hike the Appalachian Trail. Or Argentina.

See you soon.

Stephanie Piro: Bringing a Cartoon to Life

Stephanie Piro, on of my favorite cartoonists (and not just because she says nice things about my sketchbook), talks about Bringing Cartoons to Life at The Six Chix blog. I love learning about other cartoonists' processes.

"When I work… I have to practically use stick figures, and as you’ll see, these may be one step ahead.

"I have to prevent myself from drawing anything too good…because then it will intimidate me, and I will never be able to redraw it as a finished piece, because I’m too happy with the rough. Odd, I know, but we all have our quirks. And some might say 'Too good???' When I sketch I use a Bic pen or whatever is lying around and I write (and draw and everything else) on copy paper."

Gavin and Stacey ... and Nessa & Bryn & Sir Tom Jones

One of my favorite shows is the BBC TV series GAVIN AND STACEY, about 2 twenty-somethings who meet and fall in love. It's sweet, but grounded in real-people behavior. And the first series is out on DVD now. In the clip below, they are finally meeting in person after months of talking on the phone. They are nervous and have both brought their mates, Smithy and Nessa, to the first meeting.



And we all know a guy like Smithy.



A couple of the supporting characters, Nessa and Bryn (along with Sir Tom Jones and Robin Gibb), did a fun video for Comic Relief: Barry Islands in the Stream.

The series is worth a look. It's available on iTunes.

200 Characters from Dick Tracy 1931-1977

"Dick Tracy The Art of Chester Gould" was an exhibition at the Museum of Cartoon Art from October 4 through November 30, 1978. Coordinated by Bill Crouch, Jr., the exhibit at the Museum in Port Chester, NY encompassed not just the newspaper comic strip, but the popular phenomenon, the artistic style of the strip, controversial violence, and Chester Gould himself.


Above: 3 of the 200 DICK TRACY characters.

It's the gallery of 200 characters from DICK TRACY 1931-1977, put together by Matt Masterson in the back of the exhibition catalog, that's a standout. Here is his introduction, followed by the scans of his amazing compilation:

"I completed this compilation of 200 DICK TRACY characters [in] October 1977 as a tribute to Chester Gould when he reached his 46th anniversary of drawing the strip. The original paste-up hangs in Chet's conference room at home and he tells me he refers to it quite often. His first reaction to it was that he had no idea he had created that many!

"To make this paste-up of 200 characters, I went through every strip in my TRACY collection from Oct. 1931 thru Oct. 1977, approximately 17,000 daily and Sunday strips, and picked out the one panel I thought best represented that character. A reduced stat was then made of each one, and then mounted on a large piece of gray matte board along with each character's name and year each appeared. It was a labor of love.

"Some of Chet's early characters from the 30's are easily recognized as popular movie stars of that era; James Cagney (Jimmy White), Claudette Colbert (Jean Penfield), Marlene Dietrich (Marro), Wallace Beery (Stud Bronzen). In the late 90's, some characters names were invented by spelling words backwards, such as Nuremoh, Kroywen, Natnus, Wolley, and Prof. Emirc.

"In the 1940's, characters were to spill from Gould's prolific imagination an an unparalleled rate. Characters such as the Mole, B-B Eyes, Pruneface, Flattop, Brow, Shaky, Gravel Gertie, B.O. Plenty, Vitamin Flintheart and Mumbles were to be household names and are remembered vividly by all who read DICK TRACY in those years. If a poll were taken, Flattop would probably garner the most votes as the most famous villain. At a time when most villains expired from the strip in 12 weeks, Flattop ran TRACY ragged for 5 months.

"... When I asked Chet Gould where he got the names for some of his characters, he told me he used to ride the train from his home in Woodstock, Illinois to his studio in Chicago and sketch various people he observed on the train. He would exaggerate upon certain features or characteristics. The name would follow, with he one exception being Flattop, whose name came from the popular aircraft carrier of World War II. Imagine an hour train ride with the likes of Itchy, Flyface or B.O. Plenty!

"In 1975, Max Allan Collins, current writer of the DICK TRACY strip, was to become the inspiration for the villain, Bulky, and in 1977, I popped up as Leyden Aigg. In answer to the question, 'Has Chet Gould ever put himself in the strip?' Yes! He IS DICK TRACY."

USA Today: First Look at Tim Burton's WONDERLAND Film

USA Today gives a series of "exlusive [sic] photos from director's Tim Burton's upcoming reimagining of Alice in Wonderland, in theaters March 5 [2010]."

"'We finished shooting in December after only 40 days,' [producer Richard] Zanuck says. Now the live action is being merged with CG animation and motion-capture creatures, and then transferred into 3-D."

Matt Jones: An Afternoon With the Searles

Animation artist Matt Jones blogs about his visit with Ronald Searle and his wife at their home on the French Riveria.

Ed Piskor's graphic novel creates sensation among genre's fans

By Tony Norman, in today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. A profile of Ed Piskor and the effect that a gushing review in Wired had on his self-published comic. Samples at the above link.

Hat tip to Dad for this! Thanks, Dad!

AROUND THE BLOCK WITH DUNC AND LOO by John Stanley

Sherm Cohen shines his Cartoon SNAP blog light on John Stanley's short-lived AROUND THE BLOCK WITH DUNC AND LOO comic book series.

This is great comics, you betcha. And, like Sherm, I'm reading the new MELVIN MONSTER book, reprinting the prolific Stanley's 1960s comic book of the same name.

Thank you, Sherm, for sharing this!

Comic Art of Jack Bradbury

1300 pages of scans of comic book pages by Jack Bradbury are at the Comic Art of Jack Bradbury site. Lovely, animated work, with a vibrant ink line from his 1940s and 50s comic book work -- and if you don't know Bradbury, now you have no excuse.

Hat tip to Journalista!

A Literary Legend Fights for a Local Library

Above Times photo of Mr. Bradbury by Ethan Pines.

The NY Times' Jennifer Steinhauer profiles Ray Bradbury's fight for H. P. Wright Library in Ventura County.

"'I don’t believe in colleges and universities,' Ray Bradbury, 88, said. 'I believe in libraries.'"

Mike Lynch Cartoon in June 20, 2009 Wall Street Journal

Video: Tom Wilson, The Man Behind Ziggy

Ziggy Cartoonist Tom Wilson on the syndication and licensing of cartoons in the face of an economic downturn.

DOCTOR WHO "The Next Doctor" June 27 on BBC America

Above publicity shot from "The Next Doctor" grabbed from The Guardian's Media Monkey.

Good to see a line up of the final David Tennant episodes scheduled for airing here in the US on BBC America. The airdates, specific and then, increasingly vague, are as follows:

DOCTOR WHO:
THE NEXT DOCTOR
Premieres Saturday, June 27th

DOCTOR WHO:
THE PLANET OF THE DEAD
Coming in July

DOCTOR WHO:
THE WATERS OF MARS
Coming later in 2009

Here's the 2 minute teaser to "The Next Doctor," one of the most fun teasers in the series:

The PRO Cartoonist & Gagwriter, April 1962

Above "This is an exclusive photo of TV comedienne Carol Burnett receiving the NCS ACE (Amateur Cartoonist Extraordinary) award from Albert Dorne, President of the Famous Artist Schools (left), and Bill "Smokey Stover" Holman, President of the NCS. Carol, now a home-study cartooning student of the Famous Artist Schools, has always wanted to become a cartoonist and do a cartoon strip."

Here is the late Arnold Wagner's prozine The PRO Cartoonist & Gagwriter, Vol. 2 No. 5, April 1962, scanned in its entirety.

The year after this, the ACE Award went to Hugh Hefner, another wannabe cartoonist! Other recipients include Jackie Gleason, Orson Bean, Robert Lansing, Rita Moreno, Ginger Rogers, Al Roker, Denis Leary and, most recently, in 1998, Morley Safer.

I especially enjoyed the Glenn Bernhardt interview (there's a sample of one of his gag cartoons on page 12), as well as the news items like this one on page five:

[Editor] SAM BIERMAN: Is going to run personality pieces similar to what the Satevepost used to run on their back page. One of the first to be used will be DON OREHEK. A talent with know-how because behind DON'S laughing eyes are born those humorous thoughts that will last like stainless steel for today and many tomorrows."

Video: Meet Nick Bertozzi

From the Project New Media Literacies, a research initiative based within MIT's Comparative Media Studies program's description:

Nick Bertozzi is an cartoonist best known for his Ignatz-Award winning "map-book" Boswash. He was nominated for an Eisner Award in 2002, an Ignatz Award for "Outstanding Comic" in 2003, and two 2003 Harvey Awards for "Best New Series" and "Best New Talent". Nick's work often focuses on the theme of creativity and what drives people create. He teaches at the School of Visual Arts and participates in a LiveJournal virtual studio called Act-i-vate. In addition to his indie comicbooks, Nick does an ongoing series for Nickelodeon Magazine, as well as freelance illustration. For fun, Nick plays in a band and rides his bike. Born in Providence, RI, he now lives in New York City with his wife Kim and daughter Sabina.

Cartoonist Jerry King Interview

Scott Nickel interview gag cartoonist Jerry King at his (Scott's) A Nickel's Worth blog.

Excerpt:

Scott Nickel: You’ve done cartoons for magazines, websites, greeting cards, books. How did you get into the gag cartoon field?

Jerry King: Once my doodling got good enough, I just started submitting. I feel cartooning is 90% marketing, 10% creating. Creating a panel cartoon is easy; finding someone to buy it is the hard part.

Hat tip to Journalista!

The World Watches Iran

Above: a cartoon of mine from Reader's Digest, from the beginning of the war.

YouTube, which will routinely take down videos of violence that have been uploaded to its site, has relented when it comes to showing images of conflict in Iran. From a YouTube statement reprinted in today's NY Times:

“However, we make exceptions for videos that have educational, documentary, or scientific value. The limitations being placed on mainstream media reporting from within Iran make it even more important that citizens in Iran be able to use YouTube to capture their experiences for the world to see.”

This is an intense, fascinating time that is being covered by other sites, other blogs -- in insightful ways. But I wanted to mention it for a moment here. I agree with Christiane Amanpour:

"'You can’t keep any of this news down anymore, and that’s a huge change from the past,' she said in an interview. 'The process of getting the word out is totally democratized.'"

We are all Christiane Amanpour.

Cartoonist Dave Brown Interview

What is it like being a cartoonist? The Independent's Dave Brown writes about his life and work here.

"How long does a cartoon take? How long is a piece of string? You could have an idea within half an hour and have the rest of the day to draw it. Then, if you want to paint an elaborate watercolour background, you have plenty of time. Alternatively, you can spend five hours banging your head against the drawing board with nothing coming, and end up with an hour or so to draw it. Sometimes I have an idea and start work, then halfway through the day a better idea strikes me, so I rip it up and start again."

Hat tip to Royston Robertson who first saw it via Simon Ellinas!

Orphan Works: Back Again

The Orphan Works Bill is back. Below is an email from Brad Holland and Cynthia Turner for the Board of the Illustrators' Partnership to tell you what is going on.

FROM THE ILLUSTRATORS' PARTNERSHIP Orphan Works: Back Again 6.17.09 In Orphan Works Land, no news has been good news, but that's about to change: http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2009/06/11/copyright-holders-acknowledge-losing-battle-for-public-consciousness-at-world-copyright-summit/ US Copyright Register Marybeth Peters told Intellectual Property Watch that orphan works legislation is expected to be introduced within the next 10 days. It is her understanding there may still be some issues in the House version to be resolved, and there are some stakeholders - such as illustrators and other artists - "who are probably going to lobby pretty hard against it." Peters said this issue is important to her, and the fact it came so close to passing last year is almost bittersweet. "What I hope it isn't ... is it's one magic moment you get" to finally get it passed, then it doesn't happen, she said. We don't mean to disparage the Register's comments. She's had a long and distinguished career at the Copyright Office. But her statement deserves a reality check. Illustrators are not opposed to an orphan works bill. We're opposed to this bill. We're opposed because its scope far exceeds the needs of responsible orphan works legislation. Moreover, illustrators and artists are not the only stakeholders who oppose it. At last count, more than 83 creators organizations are on record against it, representing artists, photographers, writers, songwriters, musicians and countless small businesses. Last year, we proposed amendments to the Orphan Works Act that would have made it a true orphan works bill. The amendments were drafted by the attorney who was chief legal counsel to the House Judiciary Committee in drafting the 1976 Copyright Act. The amendments were co-sponsored by the Artists Rights Society and the Advertising Photographers of America. They can be found here: http://ipaorphanworks.blogspot.com/2008/07/hr-5889-amendments.html On July 11, 2008, we submitted those amendments to both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. In our preamble we wrote this: As rights holders, we can summarize our hopes for the Orphan Works Act simply: to see that it becomes a true orphan works bill, with no unnecessary spillover effect to damage the everyday commercial activities of working artists. We'd be happy to work with Congress to accomplish this. No legislation regarding the use of private property should be considered without the active participation of those whose property is at stake. Last year more than 180,000 letters were sent to lawmakers from our Capwiz site. These letters did not come from obstructionists. They came from citizens whose property is at stake. They may lack the resources of big Internet companies and the access of high powered lobbyists, but last year they spoke. They asked only one thing: that Congress respect their personal property rights and amend this bill to make it nothing more than what its sponsors say they want it to be - a bill that would affect only true orphaned work. We urge this Congress to listen. - Brad Holland and Cynthia Turner for the Board of the Illustrators' Partnership ______________________________________________________________ For news and information, and an archive of these messages: Illustrators' Partnership Orphan Works Blog: http://ipaorphanworks.blogspot.com/ Over 83 organizations opposed the last Orphan Works bills, representing over half a million creators. Illustrators, photographers, fine artists, songwriters, musicians, and countless licensing firms all believe this bill will harm their small businesses. If you received our mail as a forwarded message and wish to subscribe to the IPA mailing alerts, click on the link below, "Join Our Mailing List" and follow the simple directions on the webpage. Please post or forward this message to any interested party.

The Garden is Going Strong for Mid-June

The garden as of this morning.


The bean trestle is on the far left. There are 3 large raised beds, 2 small ones and almost out of view, a small herb garden. On the right, is the raised bed of strawberries. Everything is green in New Hampshire.

Look at them, hanging off the side, ripening in the sun.


The tall plants are broccoli and cauliflower. Also growing: peas, okra (yes, okra!) squash, tomatoes, dill, basil, oregano, green onion, zucchini, different kinds of lettuce, and I think that may be it. Except for the sunflowers. Thanks to the birds & their messy eating habits, there are sunflowers growing everywhere.

New CUL DE SAC Book

Above: a sampling of the cover art. See below for Richard's link to the whole thing.

Ooh! Richard Thompson reminds us that a new collection of his award winning newspaper comic strip Cul de Sac is coming in September!

Ralph Steadman Hates the iPhone

Sure, the new version of the ol' iPhone comes out on Friday. Ralph Steadman may be in line for one, despite his disdain for iPhones.

In this video from a Promax/BDA NYC conference, taken by dayboo39, we see the illustrator, in a lecture titled "Fear and Loathing in Creative & Design," tell how much he hated his just before smashing the thing.

Cats outsmarted in psychologist's test

Cats outsmarted in psychologist's test; Strings experiment shows limits of feline intelligence by James Meikle in yesterday's Guardian.

"It will cause outrage among some cat owners, but research suggests the pets are not as clever as some humans assumed – or at least they think in a way we have yet to fathom."

The whole article is here.

Above: He doesn't work, he doesn't have any goals, he sits around the house all day long; he's Rufus, and we love him!

Mike Lynch Cartoon Books GOING GOING ....

Thanks to everyone who have ordered the Mike Lynch Cartoon minicomics. I was really amazed with the response and my thanks to all of you who ordered them.

I'm sold out of 2 of the cartoon books:

BUSINESS CARTOONS by Mike Lynch SOLD OUT
ANIMAL CARTOONS by Mike Lynch SOLD OUT


I do still have some copies of the SKETCHBOOK.:

SKETCHBOOK by Mike Lynch

SKETCHBOOK by Mike Lynch $2.95 each plus $1 postage & handling in the United States. True-life comics and sketches. 24 pages, 8.5"x5.5", B&W interior



Canadian orders for the SKETCHBOOK are $4.50 each, European orders are just $5.00. Just use my email address to Paypal the money: fatcats3@gmail.com

Video: Frank Springer Remembrance

From a YouTuber called Roadblock02, here is a salute to the one and only Frank Springer, titled "There Goes My Inspiration."

The video, which runs just under 4 minutes, showcases his newspaper illustration work (with lots of the images looking to be shots of his original art), as well as his extensive comic book and comic strip output. You'll see why Frank was considered a master.

Post #2000: Don't Work for Exposure

This is my 2000th post at the Mike Lynch Cartoons blog on Blogger.

For something that I started on a whim in 2006, I had no idea until recently how much this thing is part of peoples' routines. My thanks to you for reading, for making your comments.

I write a lot about how you sell cartoons, why you need to keep your rights, and why it's important to persist, in spite of the odds.

Which brings me to the Google story that some of you may already know about.

And keep in mind that this company made $1.42 billion in the first quarter if 2009 (an 8% increase over the same quarter in 2008).

This New York Times article by Andrew Adam Newman shares the good news that some illustrators received from Google:

Google wants your artwork for its new browser.

And then, the other shoe is dropped:

Google will not compensate you.

Please keep in mind that the call went out to established, paid professionals.

I'm glad that some artists said no to this working for exposure proposal. After all, many print illustrators are seeing their fees cut. In the meantime, a Google spokesperson says,

" ... we are currently working with dozens of artists who are excited about the opportunity to be involved in this project."

And, Google adds, it isn't releasing the names of these excited artists.

I am frustrated that those dozen of artists agreed to this. They are wrong.

I continue to write and draw my own cartoons full-time. But I'm also making choices to cut my overhead in as many ways possible (no Reubens convention for me this year, no MoCCA, no vacation, etc.).

Yoshihiro Tatsumi says in his huge autobiography A DRIFTING LIFE, that being a cartoonist is "like a traveler in the desert, searching for an elusive oasis."

While there is no guide, there is common sense. Keep walking. Keep moving.

Keep moving -- especially when a corporate giant like Google, that as we all know pays a decent wage to many of its employees like programmers, executives, media consultants, secretaries, etc., asks for your hard work for free.

I'll be here tomorrow, ever insanely optimistic that cartooning will work out for me and for all of us.

Hat tip to Tom Tomorrow.

I'm Calling From Lynch Corp Again

Above: copyright 2009 by Nik Scott.

Australian cartoonist and pal Nik Scott ordered all of the new Mike Lynch Cartoon books and received them last week He posted the above comic on a chat board, explaining,

"I can't get Lynchcorp's Sales Division off the line. They've rung up at the most awkward times. Nice people but so intrusive."

I thank him for the above very funny cartoon. If only Lynchcorp had a presence like Nik imagines!

Looks like I'll be selling out of most of my cartoon books this week. Thanks so much for your orders! And thanks for the kind words.

Preview: Tim Burton Drawings at MoMA

From The Guardian, a photo preview of the Museum of Modern Art's Tim Burton show, coming up this fall.

The Museum of Modern Art in New York is hosting a major Tim Burton retrospective later this year. From his early childhood drawings to blockbuster Hollywood projects, such as Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmas, Moma will bring together hundreds of never-before-seen paintings, sculptures and puppets from the artist's own collection. Preview works from the exhibition, which will run from 22 November 2009 until 26 April 2010, here

The NCS Newsletter April 1984

Above: Bil Keane and Milt Caniff.

Here, in its entirety, is the National Cartoonists Society Newsletter from April 1984.

June 16th: Winsor McCay Day

Spring Lake, Michigan honors its hometown boy cartoonist Winsor McCay with his own day:

Tuesday's Winsor McCay Day, part of the annual Spring Lake Heritage Festival, will honor the famed cartoonist and animator who was born here in 1867. Several activities are planned for the day at Spring Lake District Library, 123 E. Exchange St.

There will be a formal historical marker dedication ceremony at 6:30pm. More from Marie Havenga's Grand Haven Tribune article here.

Winsor McCay Day schedule:

All events are at Spring Lake District Library, 123 E. Exchange St., on Tuesday, June 16.

10:30 a.m. McCay Day Party
Children ages 3 to 6 are invited to attend this fun filled party which will include cookie decorating, face painting, and a dinosaur craft. Special guest, artist and children's book author Aaron Zenz, will introduce us to Little Nemo and kick off a fun story time and art project!

2:00 p.m. I'm OK with McCay Cartoon Workshop
Artist and cartoonist Kevin Collier will highlight the art and life of Winsor McCay as well as lead a traditional cartooning and comics class. This program is designed for children in third grade and up.

7:00 p.m. Winsor McCay, Father of Animation
Ray Pointer, an animation expert and historian, discusses the many contributions of Winsor McCay to the world of animation. Currently the Creative Director of Inkwell Images, Pointer is also an instructor at the Kendall School of Design. With 40 years of professional experience in the field of animation, Pointer is a member of The Television Academy of Arts and Sciences Animation Peer Group, has worked with Nickelodeon Animation Studios and MGM Animation, and has over 300 credits to his name.

7:00 p.m. Winsor's Whimsical Creations
This fun program is designed for the kids. Boys and girls can participate in a scavenger hunt, put together their own Gertie the dinosaur puzzle, and paint a shirt.

My thanks to Kevin Collier, who is one of the members of the Spring Lake, Michigan Library Committee that is working with the Village of Spring Lake to create a Winsor McCay memorial park.

More at the Meeting McCay blog.

Above: the stick where the marker will be come Tuesday. Photo nicked from the Meeting McCay blog.

Dan Wasserman on the Boston Globe's 23% Wage Cut

Michael Cavna has an interview with my colleague Dan Wasserman, staff political cartoonist for The Boston Globe.

Michael Cavna: What kind of reaction did you get to the cartoon?

Dan Wasserman: It was a big hit around the city. And I got a lot of feedback from people all over the country, especially from people at newspapers affiliated with these struggles. It's [rewarding] when you produce something that resonates with people in a tough spot -- people in our own profession.

Mike Lynch Cartoons Keyword Picture

Via Wordle with a hat tip to my pal Mark Anderson for the link.

"Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text."

Well, of course CARTOONS is going to be THE BIG PROMINENT WORD here.

Video: The Art of Harvey Kurtzman

From Abrams ComicArts comes this month's must-have cartoon tome THE ART OF HARVEY KURTZMAN by Denis Kitchen and Paul Buhle, with an Introduction by Harry Shearer

Big hat tip to CartoonSnap!

Incoming Playboy CEO: ‘I Believe the Magazine Will Come Back’

Here's hoping.

The new Chief Executive of Playboy Enterprises, Inc., Scott Flanders, assumes his role on July 1st. Jason Fell writes a Q&A with Mr. Flanders at Folio.

FOLIO:: During the Playboy’s last earnings call, interim CEO Jerome Kern said the company was eying “radical” changes to the print business model. What are your thoughts about turning that portion of the business around?

Flanders: I’m a big believer in print—particularly the viability for glossy magazines. That reader experience can’t and won’t be duplicated online, even where I see the reader technology moving. What Playboy is confronting is an advertising recession. Playboy is having to shrink to grow in the future. I don’t believe the magazine has lost its relevance. It’s the largest read men’s magazine in the world, including the Web site that generates over three million unique visits per month and almost 50 million page views. I believe the magazine will come back.

Photo nicked from Freedom Communications.

Hat tip to Journalista!

I Stole Your Images and Now I'm Suing You

This is new to me. Hat tip to The Cartoonist -> Times Online -> Dizzy.

Are Your Cartoon Gags Original?

It's a nightmare scenario. You sold a gag cartoon and they sent you the money. And then, just a few days later, a very similar cartoon appears in another magazine.

Or, a friend contacts you and says, Hey, I saw your latest cartoon. Did you know it's a total rip off of ___________ (name of famous cartoonist)?

You can call it déjà vu or great minds think alike or whatever. But it can and does happen in gag cartooning.

Should you the cartoonist check and double check and then triple check to make sure that your idea is original, pure and brand new BEFORE it gets sent around to editors?

A couple of my gag cartoonist friends obsess over originality, using their COMPLETE NEW YORKER CARTOONS CDs and Cartoonbank searches to check if their ideas possibly came to Carl Rose, Warren Miller or Mort Gerberg before now.

I believe the editor (or, in The New Yorker's case, the fact-checking department) that needs to be on the lookout for these cartoon repeats.

But, even at the NYer, the fact checking slips up. Click here for a case in point.

Tribune Media/iPhone ToonsWare PreRelease Demo

The app is coming June 29, 2009.

From the press release:

Follow us on http://www.twitter.com/ToonsWare or visit our website http://www.toonsware.com. The ToonsWare app for the Apple iPhone delivers the best in Political cartoons and will soon be available for wireless mobile devices staring with the iPhone (on June 29th, 2009), RIM and Google.

Developed in partnership with Tribune Media Services and featuring well known cartoonists. The partnership with TMS will allow fans that follow political cartoons in their daily newspaper to have them delivered right to their iPhone beginning with the Apple iPhone 3.0 OS release at the end of June 2009.

Fans can share their favorite cartoons via email right from the app on the iPhone as well as rate and comment on them. With new cartoons delivered daily, fans dont have to tear out the cartoons and scan to share anymore.

Is this the 90s? Since when do fans have to tear out and scan?

It's disappointing that users will only see a small slice of the available cartoons with this app. It's worth addressing on their site or press release why ToonsWare is better than Web sites that have a lot of great editorial cartoons, for instance, the AAEC site or Cagle.com.

I also hope that there is (laugh if you like) some trickle down income aspect for the men and women who actually create the content.

Hey, I can hope, consarn it!

Bad form: The http://www.toonsware.com/ site has no catchy cartoon graphic. Please rethink that, you Venture DNA Media people! Thanks!

ALLEY OOP: 75 Years of the Comic World of V.T. Hamlin

Much cartoony goodness over at the University of Missouri's ALLEY OOP: 75 Years of the Comic World of V.T. Hamlin site.

Lots of material to wander through, including video of some of the presentations from the September 2008 Alley Oop Exhibition at Ellis Library.

Big hat tip to Tom Spurgeon!

THE CARTOONIST! Spring "Clean Up" Issue 1960

My thanks to Trish Gill, who passed along a few of my late friend Tom Gill's newsletters.

Basil Wolverton Gallery Show

It's a gallery show of cartoonist Basil Wolverton at the at the Barbara Gladstone Gallery, 515 West 24th Street. It opens Friday, June 19, and runs until August 14th. This will be worth a trip.

Thanks to Monte Wolverton, who has all the information here, via Daryl Cagle!

$4 Off All T-Shirts

Sale day at my Zazzle store:

Dad Deal Days - $4 Off All T-Shirts. Today Only!

Use code: TSHIRTFORDAD

Detroit Free Press: Directionless kid from Livonia now a leading animator

I liked this profile of animator Keith Sintay by Suzette Hackney in today's Detroit Free Press:

"Keith Sintay was an unmotivated Central Michigan University student living in the dormitory, doing little more than attending classes -- and parties -- when a T-shirt changed his life.

"Well, it was actually a mascot drawing that was to appear on a T-shirt representing his dorm that changed his life.

"'It was poorly done and I asked if I could redo it,' said Sintay, a Livonia native.

The rest is here.

Keith's five tips from a pro to help you:

• Draw, draw, draw.

• Take art, animation and computer courses. Education and training are necessary to become successful.

• Pursue internships and find mentors along the way.

• Focus on a solid portfolio. Less is more -- don't overload the portfolio. Instead, pick the best 5-10 drawings and computer-generated images, and a couple minutes of animation.

• Make sure you love doing it because the craft requires long hours, self-motivation, patience and hard work.

Mike Lynch Cartoons Minicomics

As some of you know, I'm not at MoCCA this weekend -- but you can still get a chance to buy my new books of cartoons via Paypal. I'm running out of a couple of these, so please consider placing an order soon.

Canadian orders for all 3 are $11.50. European orders are $12.50. Just use my email address to Paypal the money: fatcats3@gmail.com


Above are three minicomics that are available for purchase.

There are two mionicomics, full of magazine cartoons, and the Sketchbook, a pen & wash travel diary with lots of true life stories.


ANIMAL CARTOONS by Mike Lynch

ANIMAL CARTOONS by Mike Lynch $2.95 each plus $1 postage & handling in the United States. 28 pages, 4"x5", full color covers, B&W interior

BUSINESS CARTOONS by Mike Lynch

BUSINESS CARTOONS by Mike Lynch $2.95 each plus $1 postage & handling in the United States. 28 pages, 4"x4", full color covers, B&W interior

SKETCHBOOK by Mike Lynch

SKETCHBOOK by Mike Lynch $2.95 each plus $1 postage & handling in the United States. True-life comics and sketches. 24 pages, 8.5"x5.5", B&W interior

ALL THREE MINICOMICS by Mike Lynch

ALL THREE MINICOMICS by Mike Lynch $7.50 for all three books plus $2.50 postage & handling in the United States

VIEW CART

Video: Tom Gammill at the 2009 NCS Reubens Convention

Tom Gammill, who, among other things, draws the daily comic strip, The Doozies, asks cartoonists if they have read his strip that day in this video. Look for appearances by powerful cartoonists like Mark Tatulli, Sergio Aragones, Stephan Pastis ... and many more, making ribald remarks when asked by Tom, "Have you seen today's 'The Doozies?'"

New Blog: Don Orehek Cartoons

Don Orehek's cartoons followed me. When I was a kid, I read those Scholastic joke books, which had many Orehek drawings. I discovered CRACKED magazine when I was ten, and would see Don's "Shut Ups" or a gatefold comic like "A CRACKED Look At an Unemployment Office." And, a few years later, I would see Don's adult cartoon work in PLAYBOY, as well as in other magazines.

It was maybe ten years ago, when I was sitting down for lunch with some cartoonists, that the man put his hand out and said, "I'm Don Orehek."

As soon as he said it, I visualized his signature in my head and couldn't believe my good fortune. Of course, I told him, I know your work well. I remember reading him in CRACKED in the back seat of the family Chevy on a long car trip. I remember trading for one of his joke books in sixth grade.

I grew up with the guy! And now he's become a friend.

Thanks to his wonderful wife, Suzanne, he now has the Don Orehek Cartoons blog, where you can peek at his wonderful drawings. He's one of the best, you know. And, if you don't know -- just click over to Don's blog, where you can see many of his cartoons as well as some great photos!

As Suzanne Orehek writes:

"Don has never counted how many different publications have printed his cartoons. The number of cartoons he's sold in his career are in the thousands. Each cartoon in this blog will be from a different magazine, newspaper, etc. Let's see when/if we can get a total number of publications!"

Go look!

Remembering Draper Hill 1935-2009

Above: Draper Hill in a photo pulled from the Detroit News site.

I'm going to try to write a remembrance about a cartoonist I never met, but who impacted me at a young age. With one drawing. This is an old memory. A memory that I'd forgotten until I saw that Draper Hill had passed away. And I would not have had it if it wasn't for my Dad.


Draper Hill. No ordinary draw-er of funny pictures was he.

A Harvard grad who had edited the Harvard Lampoon, he studied art at the University of London as a Fulbright Scholar, before returning to Massachusetts to work at the Patriot Ledger and Worcester Telegram.

My Dad met him in once in 1974. Mr. Hill had left New England. He was then a cartoonist with The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, TN where "he doodles. And those doodles turn into some of the most trenchant and amusing drawings since Gillray."

Then-Professor of English Literature at Memphis State James Roper, whose weakness for puns and rhymes knew no bounds, wrote a book of historical limericks. THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE GIBBON, THROUGH DARKEST HISTORY WITH PUN AND CHIMERA was published by The Inadvertent Press, Walter P. Armstrong, Jr., Sole Proprietor. Mr. Hill drew the pictures.

Dad got both of them to sign the book, and then brought it home me. It was a complete surprise.



I was a kid. I didn't read the op ed page and didn't know who Draper Hill was. But dear Dad had given me something I had never seen before. For the first time in my life I had saw a real honest original cartoon drawing -- right there, in front of me, in my hot little hands. Thanks to him, I now owned it!

I stared at Hill's bold lines; the character pointing over toward the opposing page where Dr. Roper had signed. That image of the fellow with the glasses and tail was something I stared at and studied. How did he draw the fingers pointing? Notice how one foot went one way and the other went the other way. Even though the mouth is tiny, it's still expressive. Note the hair and the right hand! You don't need to draw real fingers! It still "reads." Wow!

I never met Mr. Hill, but my Dad's present -- which I still have on the bookshelf these many years later -- made an impact. It reminded me, a gloomy adolescent, that there were real cartoonists out there in the world. Maybe I could be one of them. Just maybe. Dad had given me a bit of hope. That's the reason I still have the book.

Mr. Hill went on to the Detroit News, I went on to more school and other interests. My Dad would go on to teach at a few more universities before retiring as Dean at Ithaca College.

This is also a public thank you to my Dad, alive and well and now leading Carnegie Museum tours. He always encouraged me from the sidelines, even if I had the goofy idea that I would cartoon for a living.

Thanks Dad. No ordinary Dad is he!

And all best wishes to Mr. Hill's family.

Detroit New obituary

Draper Hill bio by Tom Spurgeon

Great Comics: Roger Langridge's MUPPET SHOW Comic Book

One of the best things to come along this year is Roger Langridge's THE MUPPET SHOW comic book, published by Boom! Studios. There have been three issues so far. It's amazing how he captures the tone of the series. The art, also, is just right. New York Magazine has a preview here.

This is a wonderful time for kids' comics. There the old material being reprinted (THE COMPLETE PEANUTS, most all of John Stanley's comic book output (LITTLE LULU, MELVIN THE MONSTER, the NANCY comic book -- can DUNC AND LOO be far behind?), collections of newspaper comic strips (like LIO, for instance), MAD MAGAZINE reprints, and so on) and new comics for kids (like OWLY, FRANKLIN RICHARDS, ARCHIE, the Little Lit Library and TOON Books. etc.) -- not to mention manga and Web comics.

And if you're anywhere near Chelsea, Michigan, there's next weekend's Kids Read Comics! convention.

Hat tip to Journalista!

UPDATE: Monster Mash Note: Jim Henson and Roger Langridge By Kristy Valenti (h/t to Comics Reporter)

Video: HAN SOLO, P.I.

Here is Han Solo as MAGNUM P.I. Another spot-on, well done video mash up. This one is by TheCBVee, who has more at the link.



The actual MAGNUM credits are here, if you wish to compare and contrast.

A big hat tip to Corey "Fakerockstar" Pandolph!

Keith Knight's National Cartoonists Society Suggestions

Keith Knight went to his first National Cartoonists Society Reuben Awards weekend and liked it. Now he has some suggestions to make it even better.It's all at Buzzle.com.

STAR TREK XII Trailer

eBay Cartoon Books Sale

Everything starts between $1 and $2. I have some cartoon books as well as some comics up there.

Frank Modell Web Site

Did you know stalwart New Yorker mag cartoonist Frank Modell has a Web site? I didn't.

Hat tip to Michael Maslin!

Segar's Funny Films

The Electric Cabinet blog has a great collection of these "Funny Films" that were part of Segar's THIMBLE THEATRE Sunday page circa 1933-34.

Hat tip to Journalista!

British Cartoon Archive: Andy Capp

Wow! Over a thousand old Andy Capp cartoons at the British Cartoon Archive.

Big hat tip to The Cartoonist! Thanks, Ralf!

Happy Birthday, Mark Anderson

Happy birthday to my inky pal Mark "Andertoons" Anderson.

Mark is, like me, a gag cartoonist. Mark, like me, can also be seen on the Web, in college textbooks, calendars, you name it. It's just a matter of time before his cartoons come pre-printed on your new refrigerator, are projected on the moon, etc.

Just for fun, here is an imaginary Andertoons comic book spinner rack that I drew up over lunch; full of typical gag cartoon cliches.

Excelsior!

Lotsa Gahan Wilson at Fantagraphics

Some great Gahan Wilson cartoons and video. It's all because Fantagraphics is publishing that big GAHAN WILSON FIFTY YEARS OF PLAYBOY CARTOONS this Halloween!

Hat tip to Comics Reporter!

Rochester, NH: New Jetpack Comics Store

Here's something that'll take a bit out of the recession: a brand new Jetpack Comics store in Rochester, NH. Well, actually, Jetpack Comics is moving from its old location on a side street to the main drag: 37 North Main Street, Rochester, NH.



The new store is a big, long, bright, clean retail place that is ... I don't know ... five or six times bigger than their old place.

The new store is open now and, despite the fact that owner Ralph and his Merry Men are still unpacking a bit, the place is up and running.

Monday & Tuesday 12 - 7
Wednesday - Friday 11 - 8
Saturday and Sunday 10 - 6
(of course we'll always stay late for you - just call if you're on your way (603) 330-XMEN (9636))
CLOSED MOST REAL HOLIDAYS

Above: Lots of kid friendly comics at Jetpack.

King Features LAFF-A-DAY

Who knew? I sure didn't know that King Features offered old gag cartoon panels for its clients! Below is the official descrip. from the KFS site:

Times may change, but the laughs are forever! Here are three "retro" gag panels from the King Features treasure chest: Laff-A-Day, Hubert by Dick Wingert, and Mister Breger by Dave Breger. Older readers may get an extra chuckle from scenes of travelling salesmen, 2-ton Chevies, and women sporting funny hats.

Above are the sample panels from the King Features site.

I noticed the Laff A Day feature in a local free weekly. It was strange to see some of these fashions and cars and televisions with antennas and so on. I clipped some of them and saw some familiar post-war gag cartoonists' signatures.

Canada's Forgotten Cartoonist: Doug Wright

I want to tell you about the the new COLLECTED DOUG WRIGHT book and how gorgeous it is and how you should go ahead and buy it even if you don't know who Doug Wright is.

My pal (and birthday boy) Leif Peng has beat me to it, posting a lot of photos of the book. And he'll tell you who Doug Wright is.

Many happy returns, Leif!