The Junior Fire Marshal Magazine Christmas 1957

 

Here is the Junior Fire Marshal Magazine from 1957. It's formatted like a Weekly Reader, which was a free newsprint booklet we would get in Roosevelt Elementary School (Iowa City, IA) back in the 1960s and early 70s. Well, pretty much all suburban public school pupils got Weekly Readers back in the day.

Sponsored by The Hartford, there are some great midcentury modern examples of cartoon illustration in these fire safety primers for kids. The art is all uncredited. I have a couple more of these Junior Fire Marshal Magazines, so I will continue to share them since they have been most likely not seen for many decades. Any guesses as to authorship would be welcome!

- Edited from a blog entry dated July 20, 2016.

From the Dick Buchanan Files: Humor v. Humour 1947 - 1965

"Separated by a common language" goes the 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!



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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.

 

Spider-Man Debut Comic Book in "The Naked City" (1962)

 

 

Christmas in September? September 19, 1962? And Spider-Man?

Yup.

Below is an episode of the TV series The Naked City (1958-1963). It's the fourth season opener of the series.

"It was inspired by the 1948 motion picture The Naked City and mimics its dramatic 'semi-documentary' format. As in the film, each episode concluded with a narrator intoning the iconic line: 'There are eight million stories in the naked city. This has been one of them.'"-- Wikipedia

Via Gary Dunaier:

"Most comic books fans are aware of the episode of the police drama "Naked City" that has a scene taking place in front of a newsstand, where an actual genuine real copy of Amazing Fantasy #15 is prominently visible.

 

"With a copy recently selling for a record-breaking $3.6 million*, it's fascinating to see Amazing Fantasy #15 presented as a current issue. Collectors will no doubt shudder at the sight of a mint copy being held aloft on a string by a clothespin, but the newsdealer would no doubt dismiss you as a loony if you were to tell him that someday that comic book would sell for over $397,000 (the 1962 equivalent of $3.6 million**).

 

"The scene is part of the Naked City Season 4 opener, "Hold For Gloria Christmas," and if you've ever wanted to see it in the context in which it originally aired, the complete episode is on You Tube.

 

"And there's no better time to see it than today, because "Hold For Gloria Christmas," season 4, episode 1 of Naked City, with the newsstand-fresh Amazing Fantasy #15 on the newsstand, was originally broadcast 59 years ago today - September 19, 1962.

_________

* Heritage Auctions, Comics and Comic Art Signature Auction #7246, lot #93001, September 9, 2021.

** Actually $397,416.36.

 

The appearance of Amazing Fantasy #15 is about 55 seconds into the teaser. Hat tip to Heidi MacDonald!

Some Favorite Quino Cartoons

 Argentine-Spanish cartoonist Quino's gag cartoon that's based on Picasso's Guernica is a favorite.

 

While best known for his "Mafalda" comic strip, Quino (1932-2020) also created many other comics. Here are just a few wordless sequential gags. 

Artists Draw Their Own Visions of Life at the Museum of Modern Art

 

The Museum of Modern Art has an online series "Drawn to MoMA," in which different artists draw their own visions of life at the Museum. Above is a panel from Roz Chast's "Museumland."

Participants in the series include Gabrielle Bell, Sofia Warren, Ben Passmore and others.  

Hat tip to Paul Gravett.

The Garden As of September 15, 2021

The garden as of September 15th. Pulled out the squash and tomatoes. The peppers an cucumbers are still doing well, as are the zinnias and runner beans. The trees are starting to turn in the last week, with little patches of red and orange. Should be a colorful fall.

 

From the Dick Buchanan Files: Gag Cartoons In Living Color 1949 - 1954

It's mid-September in New England, and just this week the fall colors are beginning to appear. Mostly reds, here and there, and a little orange. It will be a colorful Autumn season.

Here to bring color to your gag cartoon viewing experience, is Dick Buchanan, who, diving into his Cartoon Clip File like it's a big pile of fall leaves, has pulled out some wonderful vintage gag cartoons to share. Happy Fall and take it away, Dick!

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GAG CARTOONS
IN LIVING COLOR
(1949 – 1954)

Tradition dictated that the single panel cartoon would be rendered and published in black and white. Both Collier’s and The Saturday Evening Post would only occasionally publish a cartoon in color. After WWII, more gag cartoons were published but the simple black and white cartoon remained the standard.

That’s why color examples of the work of the 20th century’s leading gag cartoonist are few and far between. Luckily, your friendly Cartoon Clip File curator managed to find some of them. And so here, for the first time in a long time, are gag cartoons in living color . . .


1. BARNEY TOBEY. Collier’s May 10, 1952.

2. KATE OSANN. Collier’s February 19, 1954.

 

3. AL ROSS. Collier’s June 7, 1952.

 

4. GREGORY d’ALESSIO. Collier’s February 19, 1954.

 

5. DAVE GERARD. Collier’s March 26, 1949.

 

6. FRITZ WILKINSON. Collier’s February 5, 1954.

 

7. LARRY HARRIS. Collier’s February 19, 1954.

 

8. REAMER KELLER. Collier’s November 4, 1950.

 

9. CHON DAY. Collier’s April 5, 1952.

 

10. MICHAEL BERRY. Collier’s November 4, 1950.

 

11. MARTY LOWENSTEIN. Collier’s February 25, 1951.

12. CORKA. (Jon Cornin and Zena Kavin) Collier’s June 5, 1954.

 

13. GEORGE WOLFE. Collier’s March 28, 1953.

 

14. STAN FINE. Collier’s June 25, 1954.

 

15. HANK KETCHAM. Collier’s March 22, 1952.