Thursday, October 31, 2019

Video: Chuck Jones Interview on "The World of Cartooning with Mike Peters"

Veteran animator Chuck Jones in interviewed in this segment of the 1980s 14-part PBS interview series, "The World of Cartooning with Mike Peters."



Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Video: Mort Walker Interview on "The World of Cartooning with Mike Peters"

Beetle Bailey cartoonist Mort Walker is interviewed in this segment of the 1980s 14-part PBS interview series, "The World of Cartooning with Mike Peters."

This Dog Loves Jumping Into Piles of Leaves


Tuesday, October 29, 2019

"Silverstein's History of Playboy" (1964) by Shel Silverstein

It's a busy day here, and I have research to do for my History of Comics class -- so let me point you in the direction of another blog that has scans of ten great originals of "Silverstein's History of Playboy" (1964) by, of course, cartoonist/writer Shel Silverstein.




Monday, October 28, 2019

Steve DuQuette 1927 - 2019


My friend and fellow Berndt Toast Gang member, Steve DuQuette passed away on Saturday. He was 92.

"As a kid, I would always find myself at the opposite end of a 2B Venus. I drew my way through high school, the Navy and art school," he recounts in his National Cartoonist Society autobiography. It was in art school where he met Susanne, and the couple married. He pitched a lot of comic strip ideas to the syndicates, getting what he called "nice try" rejection letters. He wound up working for ad agencies in NYC, being the go-to guy for illustrations, ad presentations, storyboards and trade show caricatures. Later on, he broke into the "weekend party circuit," drawing cartoon portraits at sweet sixteens, bar mitzvahs and weddings. He was a member of the Long Island chapter of the National Cartoonists Society for decades, attending most all of their monthly get togethers. In 1990, Steve won the NCS Advertising Illustration Division Award.

He was one of the kindest, most enthusiastic cartoonists I ever knew. He didn't retire. He didn't stop. He was an early adopter to the internet, learning how to promote his cartoon portrait business, as well as uploading his own gag cartoon and editorial cartoon work. We would see each other very month at these Berndt Toast Gang lunches, and would talk about tools, scanning, and running a business on the internet. 

I will miss Steve, and am so glad I knew him and called him a friend. 

Here are a few of his drawings. 













Friday, October 25, 2019

Video: How to Do Hand Lettering

Jim Rugg shows us the Ames Lettering Guide and explores the craft of hand lettering a cartoon in this Cartoonist Kayfabe segment.


Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Wally Wood's 22 Panels That Always Work!!

Everyone needs to see this, and even if you have seen it all ready, it's always worth a revisit. Twenty two great solutions by Wally Wood to make a dialogue-heavy comic page work graphically.


Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Back in the Studio

I had a lovely time away on the Isle of Skye. Here are a few requisite airport sketches from Logan and Heathrow airports.





And I saw some great graphics while I was there. Here's a few samples:


Sign on the wall of the Hotel Eilean Iarmain bar, Isleornsay, Isle of Sjye, Scotland.



Pub sign near Russell Square in London:


Where to buy fish in Inverness, Scotland:


A dog-friendly pub in Portree, Isle of Skye, Scotland:


And a few tourist pics from the Isle of Skye:





Monday, October 14, 2019

I'm Away from the Blog


I'm away from the blog. I look forward to seeing you next week!

Friday, October 11, 2019

From the Dick Buchanan Files: Color Gag Cartoons 1947 - 1957

Dick Buchanan has kindly scanned in some rare and funny examples of color vintage single panel cartoons from his huge collection. I think these are particularly good ones, drawn by those golden age gag cartoon masters. And, just to point out an oddity, look for two cartoons regarding pregnancy and the game of bridge! Crazy!

Thanks so much, and here's Dick:


---


COLOR GAG CARTOONS
(1947 – 1957)

It’s time once more for another installment of Color Gag Cartoons. This group includes some especially fine specimens . . .

1.  ED NOFZIGER.  Nofziger had a very loose, whimsical drawing style. He was considered to be one of the finest cartoonists of animals. The Saturday Evening Post  March 5, 1949.


2.  JOHN ALBANO.  The Saturday Evening Post  February 23, 1957.


3.  JERRY MARCUS.  The Saturday Evening Post  May 18, 1957.


4.  BILL HARRISON.  American Magazine April, 1952.


 5.  HARRY LYONS.  The Saturday Evening Post  April 13, 1957.


6.  LARRY REYNOLDS.  Collier’s  October 29, 1954.


7.  MERVYN WILSON.  Wilson was a Punch cartoonist and cover artist. Punch  October, 1947. 


8.  JACK MARKOW.  Markow taught cartooning at the School of Visual Arts, wrote 4 “How-to” books on cartooning and gag writing and for 15 years wrote a cartooning column for Writer’s Digest.  He received the National Cartoonist Society’s Gag Cartoon Award in 1979. The Saturday Evening Post  February 26, 1949.


9.  LESLIE STARKE.  Popular Punch cartoonist Starke’s work also appeared in The New Yorker, Esquire and Collier’s.  The Saturday Evening Post  November 5, 1949.


10.  KATE OSANN.  When Tizzy first appeared in Collier’s, her hair was red. She was a blonde when the cartoon became a NEA syndicated gag panel. In the Tizzy paperback her hair was black. Collier’s October 29, 1954.


11.  BORIS DRUCKER.  The Saturday Evening Post  September 1, 1949.


12.  CY OLSON.  Olson ‘s syndicated gag panel, Office Hours, ran from 1960 to 1974.  American Magazine  December, 1952.


13.  FRANK BEAVEN.  Esquire  April, 1947.


14.  RODNEY de SARRO.  De Sarro’s unique art deco style earned him three early appearances in The New Yorker (1943-44) His work appeared frequently in The Saturday Evening Post and Collier’s. The Saturday Evening Post  February 16, 1946.


15.  STANLEY & JANICE BERENSTAIN.  The Saturday Evening Post  March 5, 1949.



Thursday, October 10, 2019

Happy Birthday, Orlando Busino

Today is the birthday of the one and only Orlando Busino. He is 93!

He grew up in "cow country," in Binghamton, New York. He developed an interest in cartooning at the age of nine, and he sold his first cartoon to the New York Mirror at the age of 14. "Bulldog, with Central, the Wonder Dog" was the name of the comic strip he created for his high school paper. Look at an old copy of the magazine Open Road for Boys, and you will see Orlando's cartoons winning many of their contests. Orlando was drafted into the army and served in Panama from 1945 to 1947. He drew cartoons for the army unit newspaper there. Returning home, he attended Binghamton State, and then the University of Iowa, drawing cartoons for their school papers.

My friend Dick Buchanan picks up the story, and shares some of Orlando's great gag cartoons:






ORLANDO BUSINO

GAG CARTOONS 1957 TO 1968


After graduating in 1952, he moved to New York City. He worked in the ad department of the Macmillan Publishing Company. At night he attended the Cartoonists and Illustrators School. A year later he sold his first cartoon to The Saturday Evening Post, launching his career as a freelance cartoonist.

Busino also worked for Archie Comics in the 1960s, doing covers, illustrations, and stories for "Tales Calculated To Drive You Bats." This work was later reprinted in Archie's Madhouse.

Orlando Busino’s created “Gus,” the antics of a large white dog, which first appeared in Boys' Life in January 1970. It took over the honor spot on the "Think & Grin" page (the spot headed for nearly 20 years by Clyde Lamb “Millicent” and briefly by John Gallagher’s “Cartoon Bug”). Gus appeared on the cover of Boys' Life in December 1981.

Orlando Busino received the National Cartoonist Society Gag Cartoon Award for 1965, 1967, and 1968. This selection pf a few of his gag cartoons chronicles his fine work from 1957 through the 1968.




1. ORLANDO BUSINO. The Saturday Evening Post June 29, 1957.


2. ORLANDO BUSINO. The Saturday Evening Post July 27, 1957.


3. ORLANDO BUSINO. True Magazine October 1958.


4. ORLANDO BUSINO. The Saturday Evening Post January 25, 1958.


5. ORLANDO BUSINO. American Legion Magazine November, 1960.


6. ORLANDO BUSINO. For Laughing Out Loud April-June, 1961.


7. ORLANDO BUSINO. The Saturday Evening Post December 22-29, 1962.


8. ORLANDO BUSINO. The Saturday Evening Post March 10, 1962.


9. ORLANDO BUSINO. True Magazine August, 1962.


10. ORLANDO BUSINO. The Saturday Evening Post February 22, 1964.


11. ORLANDO BUSINO. 1000 Jokes Magazine December, 1963 - February, 1964.


12. ORLANDO BUSINO. The Saturday Evening Post May 21, 1966.


13. ORLANDO BUSINO. The Saturday Evening Post May 21, 1966.


14. ORLANDO BUSINO. Boys’ Life March, 1967.


15. ORLANDO BUSINO. Boys’ Life May, 1968.


16. ORLANDO BUSINO. Boys’ Life October, 1968.