From the Dick Buchanan Files: Cops and Robbers Magazine Gag Cartoons 1899 - 1965

Good guys and bad guys matching wits is the staple of a lot of entertainment, the magazine gag cartoon being no exception. Here's two-thirds of a century of samples from the massive clipping files of my friend Dick Buchanan. Thanks and take it away, Dick!

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COPS AND ROBBERS

GAG CARTOONS
(1899-1965)

From the earliest days of humor magazines one of the most popular subjects was Crime & Punishment.  Criminals were always one comical step ahead of bumbling law enforcement, usually stumbling over themselves in the process. Victims were remarkably unfazed by home invasions and burglary, often remaining comfortably in bed while their home was ransacked. As usual, in Cartoon World no one got hurt.


1.  F.M. HOWARTH. Howarth was one of the great cartoonists published in Puck Magazine during 19th Century.  Puck  September 16, 1899.

2.  ORLANDO BUSINO.  The Saturday Evening Post  September 5, 1964.

3.  DAVID PASCAL.  1000 Jokes Magazine  August-October, 1963.

4.  LARRY REYNOLDS Look Magazine  March 17, 1959. 

5.  ROBERT DAY.  Life  March, 1935.

6.  JAY IRVING.  Colliers  November 11, 1936.

7.  GUSTAV LUNDBERG.  Colliers October 10, 1948.

8.  JOSEPH MIRACHI.  True Magazine  November, 1963.

9.  GARDNER REA.  Colliers  March 8, 1952.

10.  JOHN NORMENT.  Colliers  May 23, 1953.

11.  JOHN GALLAGHER.  The Saturday Evening Post  July 18, 1959.

12.  JERRY CALLAHAN.  The Saturday Evening Post  March 9, 1957.

13.  VAHAN SHIRVANIAN.  February 8, 1958.

14.  IRWIN CAPLAN.  Collier's July 8, 1955.

15. HERB GREEN.  Saturday Evening Post July 11, 1959

16.  VIRGIL PARTCH.  True Magazine  June, 1948.

 

Video: Tom Gammill at the 2019 National Cartoonists Society Reubens Weekend

Lee Ames Illustrations for CIRCUS PARADE (1954)

Lee Ames (1921- 2011) was a prolific illustrator of many books, including over two dozen of his Draw 50 book series. Lee was also a member of the Long Island National Cartoonists Society chapter, the "Berndt Toast Gang." He retired to California, and although we never met, we chatted on the phone from time to time. Lee was always very friendly and knowledgeable. He was also the guy who coined the phrase "Berndt Toast Gang."

Here is the background on the Berndt Toast Gang, which I originally wrote and is now part of a Wikipedia entry:

"The Berndt Toast Gang, named in honor of Walter Berndt, is a group of Long Island cartoonists who meet on the last Thursday of each month. As explained by cartoonist Lee Ames:


"When the Long Island group, Creig Flessel, Bill Lignante, Frank Springer, Al Micale and I got together to work for Hanna Barbera in the 1960s, we decided to have a Finnegan's Bar lunch every last Thursday of the month. During that period, Creig brought Walter Berndt to join us. We fell in love with the cigar-smoking old-timer (look who's talking!), as he did with us. After a couple of years he passed away and left us grieving. Thereafter, whenever we convened on Thursdays, we'd raise a toast to Walter's memory. On one such, my big mouth opened and uttered, 'Fellas, it's time for the Berndt toast!' I wasn't trying to be cute at the time, but I'm not displeased that it stuck and we became the Berndt Toast Gang, one of the largest branches of the National Cartoonists Society." 

Here's a peek at just one of the books he did the illustrations for.  You can see why, at the age of eighteen, he was all ready working for Walt Disney. The man had an amazing mastery of the pen. CIRCUS PARADE is a collection of short storied selected by Phyllis R. Fenner. It was published in 1954 by Knopf and is copyright that year by them.

Related:

The Comics Reporter obituary

Jim Davis Ball State University College of Business Commencement Address, May 24, 1986

From 1986, here is Garfield cartoonist Jim Davis, giving a commencement address at his alma mater Ball State University. This is the same year that he won an Emmy for his Garfield's Halloween Special CBS TV special and "Best Comic Strip" Division Award from the National Cartoonists Society. He tells them that his one message is to pursue happiness. (Despite this being on YouTube, this is audio-only. Ball State University Libraries has just uploaded this, along with other historic BSU audio events here. Take a listen to a 1968 address by Arthur C. Clarke talking about what life will be like in 2001.)

Russ Heath on Lichtenstein

Related: Mort Walker on Lichtenstein.

Video: Mort Drucker and John Reiner - The NCS Masters Collection

From 2015, here is an interview with Mad Magazine's Mort Drucker by his friend John Reiner. Mort needs little introduction here. He had just been awarded the Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Cartoonists Society, and this video commemorates that. John is, of course, the artist on The Lockhorns newspaper comic panel. John was also, before The Lockhorns, an assistant to Mr. Drucker. This was shot and edited by The Family Circus artist Jeff Keane.

TED Talk: New Yorker Cartoonist Amy Hwang

In 2018, New Yorker cartoonist Amy Hwang decided to leave her architecture job to pursue freelance cartooning full-time. Using her own cartoons and drawings, she explains the thought processes she used to help her reach this decision. Amy Hwang’s cartoons have appeared in The New Yorker since 2010. Born and raised in Texas, Amy moved to New York to study architecture at Barnard College where she started drawing cartoons for the Columbia Daily Spectator. She concurrently worked in architecture jobs and worked as a cartoonist until 2018 when she made the decision to focus on cartoons full-time. She lives in Scarsdale with her daughter. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.