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." 

Tonight: Larry Lieber at the Society of Illustrators, NYC

 

From Danny Fingeroth's Facebook page:

Wednesday, April 15, live IN PERSON in NYC at the Society of Illustrators: SPOTLIGHT ON LARRY LIEBER: A CONVERSATION MODERATED BY DANNY FINGEROTH, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm [Reg link here]

Larry Lieber has been a creative force in comics since the 1950s. Best known as the co-creator of Iron Man, Ant-Man, Thor, and Groot, Larry also wrote and drew many adventures of the Rawhide Kid and was the artist on the Spider-Man newspaper strip for 32 years. Larry has also been the editorial director of Marvel’s British division and of Atlas Comics. At 94, Larry is still going strong, and his debut prose novel, CHIRPS—written under his birth-name of Lawrence Lieber—was released in 2025 through Larry’s own Concourse Publishing. In this conversation with his former assistant, Danny Fingeroth, Larry talks about comics, of course, but also about the movies and books he loves, his new novel, and much, much more! [Please note: A book signing will take place after the talk. Larry will only be signing copies of CHIRPS.]

Twelve Days on the Norwegian Coastal Steamer Illustrations by Reidar Johan Berle and J.W. Eide As

 

This travel book, Twelve Days on the Norwegian Coastal Steamer by Erling Welle-Strand, was originally published in 1956. The drawings and layout are by Twelve Days on the Norwegian Coastal Steamer. I have always been interested in Norway and the illustrations blew me away -- so I bought it. 

The illustrations by Reidar Johan Berle (1917 - 1997) and J.W. Eide As makes this a standout book that was reprinted many times. Berle was a Norwegian graphic designer. I can't find anything much about Eide As.

This is a small hardcover, but when you take off the dustjacket, you get a lovely illustration on the front cover:

The list of places and coastal steamers makes this a very practical book for the 1,200 mile journey. Or at least practical for the 1950s. Here are more of the art pieces. These are interspersed with many B&W photos. 

Sy Barry Interview from Andover Living, April 2026

 

Sy Barry is profiled in the new issue of Andover (MA) Living magazine this month. Sy now lives in that area. Lovely to see this and great to see that Barry smile!

A Million Dollars Worth of Original Artwork Stolen from Mark Evanier

Writer Mark Evanier has had many valuable pieces of comic book original art by Jack Kirby, Sergio Aragones and Dave Stevens (to name just a few) stolen from his home. A full list is at the Bleeding Cool web site.  

"Years ago, I did some comic books for Eclipse Comics featuring characters created by the talented Will Meugniot and myself. The two main ones were The DNAgents and Crossfire. I was fortunate to have along with Will, other friends who drew real well…like the late, great Dave Stevens. Dave drew several covers for us and was nice enough to present me the original art for two of those covers — Crossfire and Rainbow #4 and DNAgents #24. Everyone loved what he did — including, apparently, a construction-type worker who did some work at my house. Or at least, he loved those covers or maybe what he thought he could sell them for well enough to steal the originals and some other stuff when I wasn't looking. Yes, I know who he is. No, I don't know where he is although the Los Angeles Police Department says they're hot on his trail. If you see the originals to these — and some other pages I may list here soon — please let me know. Make the jobs of our hard-working detectives easier and make me smile." 

 

More details.
 

Some Sketchbook Drawings from Early 2026

 

I tend to not post what's in my sketchbook since I figure I just draw in it for myself and who really cares except for me. It's either an interesting face to draw or an interesting pen I want to try out. Some people draw in their sketchbooks and then they post what they do on social media. More than once I have seen other people's sketchbooks that look like beautiful curated art projects. Good for them. For me, a sketchbook is to try things out and make a mess and not worry about whether something is "good" or "bad." Heck, sometimes it's just a way to spend some time while waiting for an appointment or a train or something. Anyway, here are a few drawings from my sketchbook, some good, some bad, some from real life, some from the dark recesses of my head. 

The Garden As of Early April

 

 Here’s the garden as of April 7th. A winter wonderland! Typical New England spring weather. Ugh.