A cartoon by Robert Minor for The Masses magazine.
Derf Backderf has a new graphic novel, The Dissidents, which is the true story of a group of political cartoonists that were jailed for their cartoons. More than once. It all happened just over 100 years ago and they all worked at The Masses, a magazine with a small circulation but it had a big impact.
Here's Derf talking on The Chris Hedges Show.
Some sketches from the sketchbook today. Above is our late, beloved Dexter, who showed up one day in the woods and (after months and months of wooing) became a happy indoor kitty. He was a sweet, bit orange fellow.
And here are some more, drawn from travels or from imagination. Some well executed, some not -- because that's the way it is with a sketchbook.
In winter, I shovel paths to the bird feeders. It's good cardio!
This is a true story. One day I was calling some people I know and no one was picking up. When I called a cartoonist (Bill Woodman) he picked up on the first ring since he was, of course, right there in his studio, drawing. He was a great cartoonist and much missed. We could chat for a long time.
Some years back, my Mom was clearing out her art studio. She handed me a sketchbook. "Could you use this?" she asked. Yes, of course. The first thing I drew was a self-portrait of me laughing at my own drawing, and my then-studio car Dropcloth, who is much missed. (So is Mom.) Like George Booth told me, If you laugh at your own drawings, then you are on to something. Ha ha. Well, here are some drawings -- drawn from imagination and life. Some funny, some not, some just slice of life observations. A lot are not meant to be seen and are just doodles. One is a full-fledged story. I have paperwork to do for now, and a couple of presentations I need to prep, so I thought I would just offer up some more of my sketches, which I don't share enough. Now I need to go.
Above: the deli counter at Heinen's in Westlake, OH.
These guys were way into sharing recipes on that bumpy bus.
Art critic John Berger back in 1972. (Check out his Ways of Seeing series.)
Cats in fezzes. Just because.
I have been doing paperwork today and if there's one thing about being self-employed, there's a lot of paperwork to do from time to time. While I usually work with no music/TV/media on, the quiet got to me and I looked around for something to play while I was adding columns of numbers. I was able to listen to the 35th anniversary Star Trek VI panel discussion, which was a lot of fun. Actually, it was too much fun. It was so distracting that I could not listen and work at the same time so I had to save it to listen in the car for a drive to the dump and grocery store.
From the description:
THIS VOYAGE, ASHLEY E. MILLER (writer, Thor, X-Men: First Class) and special guest SCOTT "MOVIE" MANTZ target that explosion and fire with STAR TREK VI writer/director NICHOLAS MEYER, producer/second unit director STEVEN-CHARLES JAFFE and composer CLIFF EIDELMAN as they talk about the challenges and triumph of making The Undiscovered Country and sticking the landing. Hosts: MARK A. ALTMAN (showrunner, Pandora; author, The Fifty-Year Mission) | DAREN DOCHTERMAN (Associate Producer, Star Trek: The Motion Picture — Director's Edition) | ASHLEY E. MILLER (screenwriter, Thor, X-Men: First Class; showrunner, DOTA: Dragon's Blood)
More Henry comic strips by Carl Anderson from February 1935. Previous parts:
"Separated by a common language" goes the old saying for American and
Brits trying to communicate. Dick Buchanan takes popular gag cartoon
tropes and explores how cartoonists on both sides of the Atlantic spin a
single panel about it. Thanks and take it away, Dick!
---
HUMOR VS. HUMOUR
(1947 – 1965)
What is the difference between American humor and British humour?
During the 20th century that was a question readers, scholars and
crackpots alike discussed without reaching consensus. The subject was
forgotten until one day it was remembered.
The answer is a
simple one. Humor knows no geographical boundaries. Nonetheless, your
friendly Cartoon Clip File curator, always eager to tackle a pointless
task, decided to explore the subject.
We have delved into the
Cartoon Clip File, searching high and low for cartoons which illustrate
how British and American cartoonists tackle identical subjects. These
are topics, clichés, tropes and whatnot which appeared year in and year
out in both British and American magazines. Some topics are more
familiar to British readers, sheep and monks, for instance. They were
included simply because we have had a bunch of them lying around for a
really long time.
Take a look at these single joke/gag cartoons and draw your own conclusion . . .
UNWED MOTHERS
LESLIE STARKE. Lilliput May, 1954.
ELMER ATKINS. Collier’s May 24, 1947.
ON A HOUSE DURING A FLOOD
KENNETH MAHOOD. Punch October 29, 1958.
TOM HENDERSON. Collier’s October 28, 1955.
NOAH’S ARK
ROY RAYMONDE. Punch June 27, 1962.
ORLANDO BUSINO. 1000 Jokes Magazine September – November, 1964.
THE TUNNEL OF LOVE
CHARLES PEARSON. 1000 Jokes Magazine March – May, 1956.
ERIC BURGIN. Punch January 30, 1954.
SHEEP
NORMAN THELWELL. Punch July 23, 1953.
CLYDE LAMB. The Saturday Evening Post October 3, 1953.
MONKS
DONALD REILLY. Collier’s April 16, 1954.
LESLIE STARKE. Lilliput August, 1949.
SUGGESTION BOX
NORMAN BROCKBANK. Punch November 11, 1953.
VAHAN SHIRVANIAN. Look Magazine October 5, 1964.
CRAWLING ACROSS THE DESERT
NORMAN BROCKBANK. Punch April 24, 1952.
VIRGIL PARTCH. Collier’s November 23, 1955.
COUNTERFEITERS
MICHAEL FFOLKES (Brian Davis) Punch November 17, 1948.
JEFF KEATE. Collier’s February 5, 1954.
DOOR-TO-DOOR SALESMEN
VIRGIL PARTCH. True Magazine June, 1950.
ALEX GRAHAM. Punch January 28, 1953.
DOG SHOWS
DAVID LANGDON. Punch February 5, 1958.
JOHN GALLAGHER. Argosy September, 1965.
-- Edited from a blog entry that originally appeared on September 21, 2021.
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