BEST CARTOONS OF THE YEAR 1958

Here are just a few cartoons from THE BEST CARTOONS OF THE YEAR 1958 edited by Lawrence Lariar and copyright that same year by him.

 

Below: Al Kaufman's line is precise and to the point. It took me a few seconds, but by his use of blackspotting, I figured out the gag. I always like these "the moment before chaos" sort of gags.

 

The one and only Orlando Busino's take on those then-ubiquitous "Think" signs. The look on the guy's face, his hand casually in his pocket as he effortlessly tosses the sign makes this one a bullseye.

 

 

I believe this is the work of cartoonist Ken Montone. Look at how he handles time. Specifically, in the second panel, the recognition of what's happened vis the girl's bikini really has not set in on the boys' faces. That's how quickly this has occurred.

 

 

Monroe Leung gives us a shocking moment when an innocent boy scout has his traditional values sullied by a member of The Greatest Generation.

 

 

Jack Markow, who reminds us that back in 1958 the important thing to a woman was that her hat was one of a kind.

 

George Wolfe has a gag that relies on you, the reader, knowing about clotheslines of this era. I wonder if, in a few years, when more people realize their dryer is the most energy-sucking home appliance, that hanging up wash will be more status quo -- and this gag will again become cutting edge.

 

 

Al Ross gives us a creepy, almost Addams-ish, psychiatry gag. I love how sketchy the cartoon is.

 

Virgil VIP Partch always delivered a good punch line.

 

Ton Smits is a cartoonist who deserves to be better known in the USA. There is always a philosophic layer to his work.

 

 

Ned Hilton -- another cartoonist with a clear precise line that easily denotes mass and form -- shows us a good gag, and an idea that might really come in handy.

 

 

Bob Tupper with a gag that took me a couple of seconds, with my eyes roaming around the drawing, to get the gag.

 

 

And, last, another great multi-panel Partch cartoon. Somehow, Partch's characters can be dreadful and horrible, but they are still very, very funny.

 

 

All of these cartoons have one thing in common: no gag line full of text. All are visual jokes, and most are technically wordless. Wordless gags are, I believe, the toughest to create, if you are a cartoonist. So, I appreciate all of these more than the ones with words, you bet.

 

A hat tip to my pal, cartoonist John Klossner, who loaned me his copy of the BEST CARTOONS OF 1958. Thanks, John!

- Edited from a blog entry that originally appeared April 24, 2009.

Video: Rick Parker Interview

 

 

Via Terence Dollard:

"Rick Parker discusses his 50-year career in comics, creating his latest book Drafted, and his work on Beavis and Butt Head."

 

From the Dick Buchanan Files: Gag Cartoons 1948 - 1964

Dick Buchanan has delved into his vast collection of magazine cartoons and pulled out some vintage goodies for your edification and, of course, for your laffs. Such a guy!

Thanks and take it away, Dick!

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GAG CARTOONS
(1948 – 1964)

The Cartoon Clip File, housed somewhere in New York’s Greenwich Village (just around the corner from the Old Joke Cemetery) is chock full of gag cartoons from the glorious mid-20th century. Here, for young and old alike, are a few cartoons we recently added to our archives . . .

1. CHARLES STRAUSS. True Magazine October, 1948.

 

2. BOB BARNES. American Magazine August, 1955.

 

3. JEFF KEATE. Collier’s February 16, 1952.

 

4. MARTHA BLANCHARD. Look Magazine December 1, 1964.

 

5. CHARLES RODRIGUES. Cartoons & Gags February, 1962.

 

6. BILL HOEST. Look Magazine June 16, 1964.

7. TON SMITS. Look Magazine March 31, 1959.

 

8. AL ROSS. American Magazine June, 1955.

 

9. LARRY HERMAN. Argosy May, 1964.

 

10. VIRGIL PARTCH. Look Magazine November 3, 1964.

 

11. HENRY BOLTINOFF. This Week Magazine April 1, 1956.

 

12. TOM HUDSON. 1000 Jokes Magazine March – May, 1958.

 

13. IRWIN CAPLAN. This Week Magazine February 17, 1947.

 

14. JOHN DEMPSEY. The Saturday Evening Post November 4, 1961.

 

15. ALEX GRAHAM. Punch February 17, 1954.

 

- Edited from a blog entry that originally appeared on October 28, 2021.

Video: Television's First (and Lost) Color Cartoon

Via Ok so...:

"Before Ruff and Reddy, before The Jetsons and The Flintstones, there was Colonel Bleep. Sitting down with Scott Schleh, the son of the show's creator and animation historian/Streamline Pictures co-founder Jerry Beck, we go over the birth of television's forgotten color program."

 

A Conversation with Frank Cotham - November 8, 2024

The New Yorker: How Artist Barry Blitt Turns Politics and Pop Culture Into Cartoon Gold

Steve Brodner: A Kaddish for America

Here is the one and only Steve Brodner on the election results and why this country has chosen this path. This is from his substack The Greater Quiet.

USA Election

 

Steve Bonello's "The Triumph of Darkness," which he originally created in 2017, seems apt now. 

Vote

Stop reading the internet. Go out and participate in this participatory democracy already. Here's hoping we can keep it.

 

From Tomi Ungerer's Compromises, copyright 1970 and published by Farrar, Strauss and Giroux.

Jean Jullien’s "Paper Society" Installation

 

From Jean Julien, some of his "paper society people" show at the Publik Gasan in Seoul. Link to video tour here.

While I am familiar with Saul Steinberg, who took cartoon iconography into the art world, Jean Julien's work is new to me. It sure makes me smile and makes me wish I lived closer to Seoul!

 

 

The Garden As of November 1st

 

Pulling up the zinnias in the garden on this fine fall afternoon.

 

 Progress!

 Now, where that rake ... ?