Bill Mauldin on Willie and Joe

Here's an undated audio interview with Bill Mauldin. Sounds like he's on the other end of a phone conversation. The Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist talks about who exactly Willie and Joe were (or at least what a "shrink" told him after the war), and how he got heat from the brass for having beards on his characters.

I love how he described the shrink as "he's one of these guys who likes to talk to people in living rooms, you know?"

Video: Dash Shaw Lecture

Pretty Good So Far

"How are you today?"

"Oh, pretty good so far."

Hope you are doing well. The Mike Lynch Cartoons blog is good.

My thanks for dropping by these past 7 1/2 years. Glad to have so many people drop by -- thousands every day. It's staggering sometimes how many people make this part of their routine.  I appreciate!

For about 5 or 6 days, I'll be away from the blog.

But I'll be back.

Be well -- and again, my thanks for your attention. You guys are great.

A Lot of Rarely Seen Jack Cole Comic Art

Ger Apeldoorn has been posting these very rarely seen "Wun Cloo" one-page fillers by Jack Cole. All of these are from rare copies of SMASH COMICS. You can really see why Cole is revered here: dynamic layouts, wild characters, zany angles. If you want to get a good look at some Jack Cole art that probably hasn't been seen since it was published in post-war America, Ger has given it to you. Thanks, Ger!

Video: New Zealand Cartoonist Noel Cook on The Great War

A 1940s era Noel Cook gag cartoon from Australian Woman's Weekly. More at the Pikitia Press blog.

Noel Cook was born in 1896 in New Zealand to an Australian mom and a New Zealand dad. His father, William Thompson Te Rauparaha Cook, established the Taumarunui Press. For Noel, this meant there was always a great pile of paper at hand to draw on.

During his late teens, Noel worked as a clerk for a brief time. Lying about his age, he entered The Great War.

In 1922, he emigrated to Australia working, as he had in NZ, as a cartoonist for the major newspapers. He also wrote and illustrated over 100 children's books.

He may have had the first sci fi comic strip too. From "Noel Cook, veteran comic illustrator : an "International Year of the Child" exhibition : Auckland City Art Gallery, May 5-June 17, 1979:"

 In 1923 he created the strip Peter and the Other Roaming Folk for Sunday Times . On the strength of this the Sydney Sunday Sun gave him a half page in full colour for Peter's "Fantastic adventures on Mars, Jupiter, Saturn. Venus and other planets and Asteroids". Peter is notworthy as the earliest of space comics. Most of the original art has been lost for Peter, two house fires having ravaged Noel's archives of original art. Colour printing proofs were used for the exhibition. Noel could work fast over long hours, often completing fifty pages per month.

The creator of FELIX THE CAT, Pat Sullivan, impressed with the Peter strip, asked if Cook would move to New York City to launch the feature for the Bell Syndicate. Cook declined, saying he was perfectly happy in Australia. 

Above: a pulp illustration by Cook. More here.

In the 1940s, he moved to England, and "free-lanced in Fleet Street."

Here is Noel's son, Peter, recalling a war story of his Dad's.

Mr. Cook died in 1981

Pikitia Press' blog has a selection of Noel Cook's "Deeds That Thrilled Australia," which appeared in Australian Woman's Weekly in 1941. 

Video: Jamie Smith "Discover Alaska" Presentation

Alaskan cartoonist Jamie Smith celebrates 25 years of cartooning. There's an anniversary collection of his cartoons at the Fairbanks Community Museum this month. He's also the final speaker in the UAF "discover Alaska" lecture series:

Video: Lee Holley Draws PONYTAIL

Cartoonist Lee Holley draws his character PONYTAIL in this short video.

A veteran of the Warner Brothers animation department, Lee went to work with (another animation veteran) Hank Ketcham. Lee drew the Sunday DENNIS THE MENACE strips, until selling his own feature titled PONYTAIL. PONYTAIL ran from 1960 to 1989. The title character also appeared in Dell and Charlton Comics, sometimes drawn by Holley, sometimes by Frank Hill. The Toonpedia has more information here.



Sherm Cohen's CartoonSNAP! has a lot of terrific art and links relating to PONYTAIL.

The Garden As of Mid-August 2013

A few shots of the garden during one of the oddest summers; weeks of heat, then rain, rain, rain.

In the foreground: the remains of the winter squash, decimated by the squash borer worm. Tomatoes not doing so well.

This box is 100% tomatoes and while we do have a crop, the plants are not as bushy as they have been -- plus they all have the brown leaf disease. We'll get some good Roma tomatoes, but not nearly as many as hoped.

The yellow squash plants have been attacked by the squash borers, but I think they may have been successfully defeated. The plants continue to kick out a few squash a week.

The green peppers are doing well; the cucumbers (in the back) are slowly coming along. There are a few tomatoes in the box as well.

The summer has been tough on the plants, but some are doing OK. Very sorry to report we had to buy some squash and cucumbers from a local farm last night. Wish we were doing better this year, but it wasn't in the cards.

Jim Keefe: Laying Out a Sunday Comic Strip Drop Panel

SALLY FORTH cartoonist Jim Keefe explains how he goes from Francesco Marciuliano’s script to the finish at his always informative blog.

The "drop panel" is an extra panel -- or sometimes a whole series of panels -- that the newspaper may choose to cut due to layout size limitations. 

Video: Charles Addams Gallery Show with Charles Kuralt and Bill Geist

"A lot of us subscribe [the The New Yorker] just for the cartoons," confides CBS reporter Bill Geist.

Well, duh.

Back in the beginning of 2001, the New York Public Library had a show of Charles Addams original cartoons titled "The Complete Charles Addams." The placards outside had a large blowup of the head of Uncle Fester, for all the passers by to see as they strolled down Fifth Avenue. Isn't that inviting?

I went to the show several times. There was never a day when there were not other people there.

Here's a clip from the CBS Sunday Morning program. Bill Geist not only goes to the show, but also visits Addams' New Jersey home. But first, we get to see him and the late great Charles Kuralt chat.

Sketchbook: Waiting Room Drawings

Sitting and drawing ... From the sketchbook: some waiting room drawings from last week.

Showing the new girl how things are done.

This guy's nose and stomach were so fun to draw.

By the time I left, I was the only one left in the waiting room. That's a mystery drain bottom left, and an odd looking fire extinguisher, upper right.

Interview: George Booth

George Booth is interviewed by Richard Gehr for The Comics Journal.

It's a terrific interview, with lots of background on George's family and their inspiration for his cartoons.

"Mother wanted me to give my first chalk talk when I was nine, but I was not ready to get up and talk to people. I’d been drawing since I was three, but I wouldn’t cooperate with her, I didn’t want to talk. She got disgusted and said, 'All right, you do the drawing, I’ll do the talking.' So we went to the ladies’ thing and I drew some numbers from a 1930s chalk pin-up book. I’ll tell you about that in a minute. I memorized the stuff and drew. Mother did the talking, and it went over well. The ladies started clapping when it was over, but I didn’t bow or anything. I just shot for the nearest tin chair to get outside. Mother came over, gathered up my shirt in one hand, stood me up, and said, 'You stand up there and act like you know something, whether you do or not.' It’s been a good lesson in life."

Imagining CHUNNEL, ROCHELLE, ROCHELLE, SACK LUNCH and Other Fictitious Movies from SEINFELD

Old Red Jalopy watched a lot of SEINFELD and imagined some of the made-up movies that were referenced during the series' run. A full set is at NextMovie.

Remembering Norman Thelwell

Above image copyright 2004 by the Estate of Norman Thelwell.

British cartoonist Norman Thelwell (1923-2004) and his well-known horse cartoons are the subject of a profile titled Norman Thelwell: A Leg at Each Corner and Laugh on Each Page at the Horse-Canada site.

"His first cartoon was for the famous PUNCH magazine in 1952 and for the next 25 years he sold them 1,500 more. However it was in 1953 that his pony cartoons enraptured and captured instantaneous response. He got fan mail begging for more and was asked by his editor to do a two page spread on ponies. Although he thought that the initial pony picture was the end of ponies, it was quite the opposite and the “Thelwell pony” was born. Little did he know what a wealth of subject matter there was to be found within the tiny naughty minds of shaggy ponies and the efforts of the pony mad girls who tried to ride and control them."

Very nice to see this remembrance of Thelwell and the impact of his horse cartoons in this day and age!

Video: Waking Up To a Startling Realization

NSFW!

Some of my favorite moments are when the protagonist(s) wake up and realize they are in a horrible situation.

Check out the first couple of minutes of the Amazon ALPHA HOUSE pilot, which I was not able to post.  (No clip on YouTube, but Amazon Prime members stream this Garry Trudeau-created series starring John Goodman for free.)

Anyway, here are a few of the "Waking Up To a Startling Realization" bits from some movies. These are all great moments, even if you don't know the context. But I think all of us have seen these by now. There must be a lot more of these moments ....

Like I said, some of these are NSFW. Especially this first one.

FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL


MOONSTRUCK


PLANES TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

WUN CLOO by Jack Cole and Gill Fox

Above: a WUN CLOO page by Jack Cole for Smash Comics.

WUN CLOO was a back up feature in Quality comic books in the 1940s. Jack Cole drew a lot of them, and Gill Fox did as well. Ger Apeldoorn shows us some of the pages and laments that there isn't a book collection of Cole one-and two-pagers. Agreed!

Animation: INDOOR SPORTS by Tad Dorgan (1920)

INDOOR SPORTS was a comic panel by Thomas Aloysius Dorgan or "Tad" Dorgan (1877-1929). 

Paul D. Robinson animates the feature for the International Film Service.



From the description:

Thomas Aloysius Dorgan (April 29, 1877 -- May 2, 1929), also known as Tad Dorgan, was an American cartoonist who signed his drawings as Tad. He is known for his cartoon panel "Indoor Sports" and the many words and expressions he added to the language. He created his first comic strip, Johnny Wise, for the San Francisco Chronicle in 1902. By 1905 he was working in New York City at the New York Journal as a sports writer and cartoonist. Jack Dempsey described him as "the greatest authority on boxing."In addition to his work as a sports journalist, Dorgan did a humor feature, "Daffydills". His dog cartoons, including Judge Rummy, evolved into the strip Silk Hat Harry's Divorce Suit. This was accompanied by a one-panel gag series called Indoor Sports which became his main feature. Dorgan is generally credited with either creating or popularizing such words and expressions as "dumbbell" (a stupid person); "for crying out loud" (an exclamation of astonishment); "cat's meow" and "cat's pajamas" (as superlatives); "applesauce" (nonsense); "cheaters'" (eyeglasses); "skimmer" (a hat); "hard-boiled" (a tough person); "drugstore cowboy" (loafers or ladies' men); "nickel-nurser" (a miser); "as busy as a one-armed paperhanger" (overworked); and "Yes, we have no bananas," which was turned into a popular song.
In the New York Times obituary, he was bracketed with George Ade and Ring Lardner as a popularizer of "a new slang vernacular." His obituary also credited him as the originator of "Twenty-three, Skidoo," "solid ivory," "Dumb Dora," "finale hopper," "Benny" for hat, and "dogs'" for shoes.[1] W. J. Funk, of the Funk and Wagnall's dictionary company, placed Dorgan at the top of the list of the ten "most fecund makers of American slang.
Tad Dorgan died on 2 May, 1929, at his home in Great Neck, Long Island. He had been suffering from heart disease for several years and even though he spent most of that that time bedridden he was able to continue working up to a few days before his death. The end came not long after he came down with pneumonia.
Ressources: UCLA Preserved Silent Animation, imdb.org, Wikipedia.org

Video: Dick Locher

Dick Locher talks about the statue of Joseph Naper, founder of Naperville, that he designed.



Installation of the statue:

Stan Lynde 1931-2013

Comics Reporter remembrance.

2013 Festival of Cartoon Art November 14-17

Every three years in Columbus, OH there is a terrific cartoon festival. This year is very special since the Billy Ireland Cartoon Museum and Library celebrates its official grand opening.

Pros from many disciplines (graphic novels, comic strips, editorial cartoons, etc.) will be there. Attendance is limited.

I was there three years ago and remember talking to Fred Schroeder about his and Dave Kellett's comic documentary. Now, it's done and they will be showing it at the event.

Paul Pope and Jeff Smith will be there. They both have new graphic novels coming out.

And there are so many more: Matt Bors, Eddie Campbell, Patrick McDonnell, the Hernandez Brothers ...

All the info is here.

Video: Brazilian Cartoonist Carlos Latuff Faces Death Threats

Via Al Jazeera English:

A Brazilian satirical cartoonist says he fears he may be assassinated or disappeared after two pro-police Facebook pages encourage members to harass and kill him. This comes after the cartoonist Carlos Latuff made provocative statements on his own Facebook page praising a Brazilian boy for killing his parents, both of whom were police officers. Latuff, who is of Lebanese descent, is no stranger to controversy and his work has dealt with Israel, Palestine, and Egypt, as well as with police brutality in Brazil. Al Jazeera spoke to Latuff.

Carlos Latuff is known for speaking out against police brutality in Brazil. Below is one of his cartoons from his site:

Oil Change Sketching

Heading out to get an oil change and secretly sketch people in the waiting room. Look out!

Video: "Inside Irwin Allen's TIME TUNNEL"

Here's a promotional film for Irwin Allen's then-new TIME TUNNEL TV show.

CARTOON LAFFS Part 2

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

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

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



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



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


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




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


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


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



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


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


I like Gardner Rea's wonky, wobbly line.



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



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



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




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

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



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

CARTOON LAFFS Part One

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


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





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





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




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


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


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




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



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


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

VIP with a honey of an overhead shot of a desert island and, below, a 7 panel silent gag. Click to supersize. I love the guy's sneering lip!



More CARTOON LAFFS here.

Video: Michael Ramirez "Editorial Cartooning and the State of Journalism In the New World Order"

From April 18, 2013: Pulitzer Prize winning editorial cartoonist Michael Ramirez speaks about his profession. This is part of the Ashbrook Center's Major Issues Lecture Series.

Robert Mankoff Profile

The Sunday NY Times has a short Q and A profile of The New Yorker Cartoon Editor Bob Mankoff.

This is quote is fascinating:

"I have a background in experimental psychology, and I’ve been involved in research on how people process humor. I’ve done work with the University of Michigan that tracks eye movement as people look at cartoons. The interesting thing is that at that “get it” moment, when someone understands, the pupil sort of pops like it does for a flashbulb."

The entire story, written by Kate Murphy, is here.

Video: Will Matt Bors Be the Last Political Print Cartoonist?

Comic Book Artist Beggar Cartoon "Originally Created All Those Superhero Comics the Movies Are Based On"

Hi, my name is Mike Lynch and I drew this cartoon with a comc book artist on the street begging for money, even though his creations are making millions at the box office.

The cartoon went viral and has hundreds of shares on social media sites.

And there are thousands of words written about the fact that most comic creators do not participate in the profit a movie makes from their creations.

I'm glad people like my cartoon and share it. But if you are selling something and want to use this cartoon to promote your profit-making business, then you have to ask for and receive my permission first.

Because if you have taken this, then that's, like, a whole lotta irony to me, y'know? And you're perpetuating the whole idea of taking cartoon and comics and not compensating the person who turned that blank sheet of paper into something of value.

And I really do not want this to become an autobiographical cartoon.

OK?

OK!