Mike Lynch Cartoons

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

How to Cartoon Book: "Points on Cartooning" by George Carlson (1937)

From 1937, here is the complete Hobbycraft book Points on Cartooning by George Carlson.

Monday, April 10, 2023

Laugh Parade

Here are some gag cartoons from LAUGH PARADE, a 1945 hardcover book, copyright that same year by King Features Syndicate, Inc. Ward Greene edited the collection and it was published in New York by Grosset and Dunlap.

From the Introduction, titled "About This Book:"

"There are fixed standards in this world for intelligence, moral and prowess in the pole vault; there are authorities on every subject under the sun from plumbing to art. But there is no sure answer, except the individual's, to the question, 'What is funny?' In this matter every man must be his own barometer."

Here are some groaners, some sexist, some silly, some politically incorrect cartoons of their time.

Mischa Richter:

Jaro Fabry:

Graham Hunter:

Gardner Rea:

George Wolfe:

Virgil Partch:

George Wolfe:

George Price:

Ali:

Gardner Rea:

George Reckas:

Gardner Rea:

Mischa Richter:

Ali:

Gardner Rea:

Jaro Fabry:

Leo Salkin:

George Shellhouse:

Garrett Price:

Friday, April 07, 2023

Cartoons as Commentary: Analyzing Satirical Art from the Holocaust

From The Zekelman Holocaust Center:

"Many artists throughout history have risked their lives to make art that comments on injustices and tragedies around them. One such artist, Erich Lichtblau-Leskly, created satirical art to document daily life while imprisoned in the Theresienstadt ghetto.

"Editorial cartoonist Phil Hands discusses Erich’s artistic style and how it aligns with contemporary cartooning. Phil also demonstrates how he draws political cartoons and juxtaposes how Leskly accomplished the same kind of work under the horrific circumstances of Theresienstadt."

Wednesday, April 05, 2023

Joe Giella Comics Journal Obituary

Andrew Farago writes about Joe Giella for The Comics Journal.

Joe passed away last month at the age of 94. He was a friend and fellow Berndt Toast Gang member.

Tuesday, April 04, 2023

Ed Sorel writes about "My Friend Jules Feiffer"

Ed Sorel writes about "My Friend Jules Feiffer - An afternoon with one of the greatest political cartoonists of the past century" for The Atlantic.

"'In a way, I owe the career I’ve had as a caricaturist to Jules,' Edward Sorel writes. 'His work as a cartoonist, a novelist, a playwright, and a creator of children’s books over the past 70 years inspired me to attempt things I never would have without his example.”'

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"'It’s difficult for a generation younger than mine to realize how important Jules’s drawings were to so many of us in America in the 1950s and ’60s,' Sorel writes. There were some great cartoonists, but not so much when it came to the kind of sophisticated social and political commentary we now take for granted. The era of 'Doonesbury' and 'The Simpsons,' which Jules helped make possible, had yet to come. 'Newspaper cartoons didn’t really focus on relationships, therapy, conformity, self-doubt, or the latest fads in lifestyle and literature.'

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Despite his dizzying array of creative undertakings—his critical history 'The Great Comic Book Heroes'; his illustrations for 'The Phantom Tollbooth'; and the Oscar-winning animated film 'Munro,' about a little boy who is drafted into the Army—Jules never missed a deadline in the 41 years that his cartoon strip appeared in 'The Village Voice.' 'Most of the time, I felt I held my own against Jules’s sequential drawings, but not when it came to the war in Vietnam. On that subject, Jules couldn’t be touched,' Sorel writes."

Sorel reflects on the life and career of his friend, and contemplates how he will be remembered.

Monday, April 03, 2023

From the Dick Buchanan Files: Single Joke Cartoons 1948 - 1969

Here is Dick Buchanan with a sampling of gag cartoons from Great Britain. Only, they're not called gag cartoons there. Here is Professor Buchanan to explain! Now spit your chewing gum out, sit up straight and pay attention.

(And thank you, Dick!)

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SINGLE JOKE CARTOONS
1948 - 1969

The Cartoon Clip File, located somewhere in New York’s Greenwich Village (just around the corner from the Old Joke Cemetery) contains thousands of gag cartoons, clipped from the great American magazines of the mid-20th century. There are also cartoons clipped from British magazines, where they’re called “Single Joke” cartoons. The best of these are found in the Cartoon Clip File folder “Jokes for Blokes.” Here are just a few cartoons found in that folder. Take a look . . .

1. SMILBY. (Francis Wilford-Smith) Lilliput December – January, 1953.

"And stay away from my wife . . . ."

2. ERIC BURGIN. Punch July 2, 1958.

3. ANTON. (Antonia Yoeman) Punch February 17, 1954.

"Perhaps it's lost."

4. PAV. Francis Minet signed his work PAV. Punch November 5, 1958.

5. SEMPE. Jean-Jacques Sempe, one of the most famous French cartoonists, was best known for the series of children's books he created with René Goscinny, Le petit Nicolas. Punch August 11, 1958.

6. SHEILA DUNN. Punch December 16, 1948.

7. BILL TIDY. Punch Almanack November 8, 1957.

8. RUSSELL BROCKBANK. Punch July 9, 1958.

9. MICHAEL HEATH. Heath’s cartoons have appeared in all the major magazines. He has been the cartoon editor of The Spectator since 1991. Punch June 25, 1969.

10. LESLIE STARKE. Lilliput October – November, 1953.

"No, those aren't the ones either. Mine are sort

of brown suede with plastic buckles."

11. SPROD. George Sprod Punch February 24, 1954.

12. DAVID LANGDON. Lilliput October – November, 1952.

13. IONICUS. Joshua Armitage, one of the last “realistic” artistic-cartoonists, was a Punch contributor for over 40 years. Punch April 7, 1954.

"Now, squeeze -- don't pull."

14. HOFFNUNG. Gerald Hoffnung was an artist, musician and raconteur. Lilliput October – November, 1951.

"I grow all my own vegetables . . ."

15. NORMAN THELWELL. Thelwell’s first contribution to Punch appeared in 1952. Over the next 25 he drew more than 1500 Punch cartoons, including 60 covers. Punch April 7, 1954.