Gerry Conway 1952 - 2026

Comic book writer and editor, screenwriter, science fiction writer and TV and movie writer and producer Gerry Conway passed away on April 27th, 2026. He was 73 years old. 

He co-created Marvel Comics' The Punisher, Peter Parker's clone Ben Reilly, the super villain Jackal and the first Ms. Marvel. He also wrote the "Death of Gwen Stacy" Spider-Man storyline and the 1976 DC/Marvel crossover Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man, which was the comics publishing event of the year. Working for DC he co-created characters like Firestorm, Power Girl, Jason Todd, Killer Croc; in addition to writing the Justice League of America for eight years.

Cover scan from Dan Greenfield's 15th Dimension Article "THE NIGHT GWEN STACY DIED: Still Shocking, Still Painful — Five Decades Later."

His contribution to comics cannot be overstated. There does not seem to be a character that he did not work on. I read his Spider-Man run when I was a kid. It was "my" Spider-Man.

 

More:
Marvel: Remembering Gerry Conway, 1952-2026

Wikipedia

CBR 

The Hollywood Reporter

Syndicated Comic Strip Yankee Doodles Lunch Box

 

Seen but not bought: a Yankee Doodles lunchbox from the 1970s. What is Yankee Doodles?! I just found out it was a bicentennial themed syndicated comic strip that ran for a couple of years. It poked fun at the founding fathers. As Allan Holtz writes: “Given that Americans aren't all that keen on ridiculing the founding fathers, the gags could often veer from tepid to mildly offensive. It was a tight-rope walk that I certainly wouldn't wish on a cartoonist.” 

 

Related:

Ger Apeldoorn has more strips here.

Scott Barrett: Using Modern CGI to Realize a New Old Star Trek

Star Trek had a two-year run as an animated network series from 1973 to 1975. One of the episodes, Yesteryear, dealt with an alternative future without Mr. Spock. Scott Barrett, who watched the show as a kid and is now in the gaming industry, has been using CGI to reimagine the episode as live-action. Here's a detailed account of his efforts. 

Eric Carle Museum 2004 Exhibition Booklet: “From the Silver Age to Stalin: Russian Children’s Book Illustration in the Sasha Lurye Collection”

Some pics of this lovely 2004 Eric Carle Museum exhibition booklet “From the Silver Age to Stalin: Russian Children’s Book Illustration in the Sasha Lurye Collection.” I didn't actually go to the exhibit, but I DID see this and bought it an an antique shop in Amherst, NH. I know little about Russian illustration, but I sure liked the look of these great works. 

The Garden As of Mid-April

 

Some garden and yard photos. Putting in some alfalfa meal, bone meal, kelp meal and garden lime to refresh the raised beds. (Take a 2 gallon bucket add in 8c alfalfa meal, 1/4c garden lime, 1/2c seaweed or kelp meal and 1/2 cup bone meal. Place about a half cup for every square foot. You can work it in a little with your hands.) There will also be a couple of buried metal colanders with fresh compost in each bed all summer long. It was 29 degrees last night so too early to plant. The trillium and periwinkle don’t care since they are happily blooming away.

 

 

The view from the studio window:

From the Dick Buchanan Files: They Came From Outer Space 1950 - 1968

Here are some otherworldly cartoons from the Golden Age of magazine cartooning courtesy of the one and only Dick Buchanan. Or maybe it's one of those Invasion of the Body Snatchers clones. Hmm. Anyway, if it is, this clone is just as terrific about sharing some of his gag cartoons from his tremendous Cartoon Clip File. Thank you, Dick/Clone! 

--

THEY CAME FROM OUTER SPACE
(1950 – 1968)


Mid 20th century cartoonists were ready, quick and able to contribute their two cents worth to the furor over Unidentified Flying Objects which occurred after a flying saucer crashed in Roswell, New Mexico in the summer of 1947. Of course, right away we knew cartoonists would be on the side of the aliens.
Culled from the Cartoon Clip File, here are just a few examples of how some of the day’s best gag cartoonists, from here and abroad, covered the subject. Take a look . . .


1. ERIC ERICSON. American Magazine December, 1955.

 

2. GAHAN WILSON. For Laughing Out Loud November, 1964.

 

3. NED HILTON. Collier’s February 5, 1954.

4. BILL HEWISON. Punch January 7, 1953.

5. GLENN ZULAUF. Look Magazine January 31, 1961.

 

6. BILL HOEST. The Saturday Evening Post August 28, 1965.

 

7. JOHN NORMENT. Collier’s October 30, 1953.

 

8. JOHN GLASHAN. Punch November 25, 1953.

 

9. BRUCE PATTERSON Pictorial Review June 21, 1953.

 

10. JAN van WESSUM. Punch Almanack November 8, 1968.

 

11. ALEX GRAHAM. Punch Almanack November 2, 1963.

 

 "Lunnon folk, I expect."

 

12. GAHAN WILSON. For Laughing Out Loud July, 1964.

 

"Then it's all settled -- the entire planet for

twenty-four dollars worth of trinkets." 

 

 

13. VAHAN SHIRVANIAN. The Saturday Evening Post. August 2, 1964.

14. ALEX GRAHAM. Punch December 30, 1952.

 

15. NATE COLLIER. Boys’ Life September, 1950.

16. GEORGE GATELY. American Legion Magazine July, 1960.

17. GEORGE SPROD. Punch Almanack November 3, 1952.

 "Ah well, thank goodness we still have our sense of humour."

Frank Stack 1937 - 2026

 

Underground Comix creator Frank Stack passed away on Sunday. He was 88 years old. 

"Working under the name Foolbert Sturgeon to avoid persecution for his work while living in the Bible Belt, Stack published what is considered by many to be the first underground comic, The Adventures of Jesus, in 1964.^[3][4] 

"Stack's main artistic influences were Gustave Doré, Roy Crane, and V. T. Hamlin.^[5] He is widely known as a printmaker, specializing in etchings and lithographs, and his sketchy comics style evokes Stack's background as an etcher."

-- Wikipedia 

 

 

 

From cartoonist Michael T. Gilbert:

 

"RIP FRANK STACK...

"I was very sad to hear of the recent passing of cartoonist and fine artist Frank Stack (aka Foolbert Sturgeon). In 1964 Frank published what is considered by many to be the first underground comic, The Adventures of Jesus. He began serializing his satirical Jesus comics beginning in 1962 in the campus humor magazine The Texas Ranger and other counterculture papers. He also illustrated the acclaimed nonfiction graphic novel Our Cancer Year, written by Harvey Pekar and his wife Joyce Brabner, which won the 1995 Harvey Award for best original graphic novel. Frank earned an Inkpot Award in 2011 and was recently inducted into the 2025 Eisner Hall of Fame.

"Frank's daughter, Joan Stack wrote:

"'One of the greats has passed. RIP to my father Frank Stack. He passed peacefully in his sleep just after 7pm central time on Sunday, April 12. He was 88. I will post about a celebration of life soon. It will likely take place in a few days so that my brother Bob can be at the service. Bob came from Ireland on Saturday and was able be with him before he passed. This photo was taken last spring.
— feeling heartbroken.'

"As are we, Joan."