Video: Big Oil Spoof That Was Taken Down

Background here. I suspect the below video will be taken down shortly. By NOT noting the name of the cartoonist or the companies involved, maybe it'll stay up for a bit so we can all see it.

Video: Political Cartooning in Canada: A History

Terry Mosher AKA Aisling hosts this video history of Canadian editorial cartooning via The Montreal Gazette:

Video: Remembering James Kemsley

James Kemsley's friends remember him in this video from the Australian Cartoon Museum:

1906 Video: "Humorous Phases of Funny Faces" First Animated Short with Music by The Annex Quartet

Via The Annex Quartet: Here is "Humorous Phases of Funny Faces," a 1906 short by J. Stuart Blackton, generally considered to be the first animated short film.

Humorous Phases of Funny Faces (1906) set our rendition of "Joe Martin Blues" by Little Brother Montgomery - recorded live November 2011 in Toronto, Canada. The track is put through a vinyl synthesizer set to the sounds of the 1930's.

Supreme Court Upholds Individual Mandate for Healthcare

... So why did CNN get it so wrong? That's a pretty big matzoh ball hanging out there!

The SCOTUS blog and MSNBC had it right. CNN did correct it about 10 minutes later, calling it "Obamacare" now:

Fox News still not updating as of now ....

EDIT: Both CNN and Fox News originally reported the bill as being defeated according to Poynter.

Cartoonist Photos Part 6

Above: Walt Kelly and Edward R. Murrow in a 1953 publicity shot for "Person to Person."

Here we go with another installment of "what those creative guys really looked like," preserved in press photos of the time. These are in random order.

More Cartoonist Photos:
Part one
Part two
Part three
Part four
Part five



February 14, 1952: IT BEATS WORKING - Cartoonists, who are really artists with their brains knocked loose, have the softest jobs in the world -- all pay and no work. Here three of the unusual breed look over "Rick Smith" comic strips from the imagination factory owned by Hal Reyburn (left) and Kevin O'Tool (right). The Denver creators have shipped their sports comic strip here to a New York syndicate, hoping to find a market for their brainchild. Bob Bowie (center) Denver Post sports cartoonist, gets in on the act to see how the other half lives.





February 20, 1965: Fred Neher, Dik Browne, Mort Walker and Bob Bowie:

February 20, 1965: Giving cartoonist Mort Walker creator of "Beetle Bailey" (center), a few pointers are Fred Neher (left), creator of "Life's Like That" and Bob Bowie (right), Denver Post sports cartoonist. Walker's strip and Neher's panels are carried in The Post. Walker was scheduled to speak at Colorado Press Association Sunday morning.

Mordillo sometimes in the 1970s:

Cartoonist "Bub" Smiley, of the Colorado Sprints Evening Telegraph, in a self-portrait postcard, 1910s:

Larry Wright, 1981:

Don Addis, 1982:

Ralph Dunagin, 1970:

More Cartoonist Photos:
Part one
Part two
Part three
Part four
Part five

BACK TO THE FUTURE DAY is a Hoax

This is making its way through the Internet today. The above image is fake.

Remember in BACK TO THE FUTURE, when Doc Brown sets the DeLorean to a future date?

That date is in October 21, 2015, NOT 2012.

PLASTIC MAN Pure Pak Milk Ad

Ger Apeldoorn comes across this advertising oddity starring PLASTIC MAN in which we, the viewing public, are told how to open a milk carton.

Cartoonist Says Big Oil Spoof Pulled Under Pressure

A screen grab of the animation by Dan Murphy spoofing Enbridge that has now been taken down by the Vancouver Province.
 

Big oil gets angry at Dan Murphy, the editorial cartoonist of the Vancouver Province.

The paper's publisher,  Postmedia, pulls Mr. Murphy's animated editorial short. Enbridge, the big oil company, is an advertiser in the paper.

The CBC has video and the story here.

Murphy’s animation mocks Enbridge, splashing oily goo on the screen while questioning the oil giant's environmental record.

Murphy told CBC News that he was told Enbridge was outraged that its ad was mocked and put heavy pressure on Postmedia News.

 The parody was taken down and Murphy says he was given a blunt message by Vancouver Province editor Wayne Moriarity.

"'If it doesn't come down, Enbridge says they're pulling a million dollars worth of advertising from Postmedia, and if it doesn't come down, I, Wayne Moriarty, I'm going to lose my job,’” Murphy said Moriarity told him.

Today's lesson: He who takes the king's money is the king's man.

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE: "A Piggish Attack On an American Cartoon Family"

Above: The Sunday June 24, 2012 PEARLS BEFORE SWINE featuring "well-known child" Jeffy Keane tearing apart PEARLS.  Copyright © 2012 Universal Uclick, All rights reserved.

From The Eagle letters page, a Texas newspaper, comes a cry to discontinue PEARLS BEFORE SWINE by that "jerk" Stephan Pastis for portraying Jeffy FAMILY CIRCUS Keane as a "foul-mouthed bully:"

A piggish attack on an American cartoon family

Pearls Before Swine, a comic strip drawn by Stephan Pastis, which appeared in last Sunday’s Eagle, was, to say the least, despicable. It depicted a well-known child, Jeffy Keane, from another comic strip, Family Circus, drawn by Bil Keane, as a foul-mouthed bully, who beat up Pastis’s “Pig,” for somehow “messing” with the Family Circus clan — after which Jeffy tore up Pastis’ strip, leaving it to the reader to re-assemble, and then ran to a church, asking if he needed forgiveness for “(expletive deleted) up a pig.”

This, of course, cast unwarranted aspersions on one of the most iconic, family-oriented comic strips in print, and identified Pastis for what he truly is: a jerk, who is a comic strip wannabe, with absolutely no respect for his betters, and even less talent.

This is not the first episode of Pastis’ comedic voyeurism over the past several months. Readers may recall his “kidnapping” by competing comic strip writers or the misadventures of “Guard Duck” and his hand grenades and other weaponry. Makes one wonder if Pastis has his head screwed on tight.

It would be too easy to depict this as mere pettiness on my part, and maybe it is. But when well-meaning and serious strip writers are impaled on the barbs of such as Pastis it is time to stand up for what is right.

Pastis’ strip should be discontinued by The Eagle — which, of course, won’t happen; freedom of speech, don’t ya know.

RICHARD W. ARNOLD
Bryan

It's all in fun until Jeffy beats up a Pig.

Mr. Arnold is articulate and serious about Pastis' being a "jerk" and a "comic strip wannabe" based on these attacks on other comic strip characters. What's stunning is how serious people take the funnies. 

I have seen Stephan Pastis and the real-life Jeff Keane in a room together more than once and they are friends. Heck, they've traveled into war zones together. And this PEARLS v. CIRCUS comic strip "war" has been going on for some time. Stephan has been nominated by his cartoonists peers for the "Oscar of cartooning," the Reuben Award. That don't happen to a wannabe.

Jean Schulz: Why PEANUTS Has Staying Power

PEANUTS © Peanuts Worldwide LLC. Above image from The Comedy Store Tumblr site.


McClatchy interviews Jean Schulz. There were a couple of terrific surprises in the conversation. First, Jean Schulz has a blog. 

And there's some wonderful insight into how her marriage with Charles Schulz worked.

Jean Schulz on Charles Schulz:

He was a very curious man. He was a very hard worker and, obviously, he was extremely creative. His creativity had its own twist. He saw a side of things that most of us can’t see. … If you read his comic strips, they are not the obvious jokes. There is always a twist at the end that makes it “Peanuts.”

On their relationship:

Q. Who was your favorite “Peanuts” character? Were you the inspiration for any strips?

A. I don’t really have a favorite. I used to call Sparky my “sweet babboo,” and pretty soon, I noticed it in the comic strip. Sally calls Linus her “sweet babboo,” but she is not necessarily my favorite. I like them all for the humor they bring.

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/06/25/153722/jean-schulz-why-peanuts-has-staying.html#storylink=cpy

 The entire interview is here.

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/06/25/153722/jean-schulz-why-peanuts-has-staying.html#storylink=cpy

Kevin Weil 1933-2012

 Sports cartoonist Kevin Weil died Saturday in his Kenmore, NY home after a long illness. He was 79.

From The Buffalo News:

He was an accomplished cartoonist and created the program covers for the [Buffalo] Bills from 1961 to 1964. His work was recently highlighted at the 50th anniversary of the AFL at the Football Hall of Fame. 

A mass will be held Wednesday morning.

From the Buffalo Bills site:

The cartoonist for the classic Bills game day programs from 1961-1964, Kevin Weil, passed after a lengthy illness over the weekend. A Niagara Falls native, Weil made his home and raised his family in Kenmore. Highlighted during the AFL’s 50th anniversary season of 2009, Weil’s covers are vintage AFL in every sense of the word.

1981 SPIDER-MAN MAD LIBS

It's a week until that new SPIDER-MAN movie and to ease the pain of waiting for your friendly neighborhood movie blockbuster, my inky pal Mark Anderson shares an entire 1981 SPIDER-MAN MAD LIBS book.

And don't forget to SEE the SHOCKING, STINKING dirty Spider-costume sequence above!

SCIENCE YEAR 1968

The Aqua Velvet blog has some wonderful imagery (it pretty much has wonderful imagery in every blog post), like the one above by illustrator Richard Borja, from a "salvage store find," a book titled SCIENCE YEAR 1968.

If it's the book above, I do remember having this in the classroom and it getting hauled out, along with other SCIENCE YEAR textbooks from other years to do reports on the radiation belt and oleo-ization process of margarine and who knows what else Roosevelt Elementary School assigned to keep us little students out of trouble.

Video: Kevin "KAL" Kallaugher

Via the Palo Alto Institute:

Kevin Kallaugher (KAL), the editorial cartoonist for the Economist magazine of London is generally acknowledged to be one of the premier caricaturists of the twentieth century. His award-winning print work has appeared in more than 100 publications worldwide. KAL's work in animation includes the development of 3D digital characters that can be animated in real time. Starting in October 2007, KAL teamed up with Chicago's famous "Second City" comedy troupe for a 6 city touring show called 'The Art of Satire". KAL employed "real-time" interactive animated satire for the shows including live press conferences and dance competitions with his 3-D caricatures.

Animated Documentary APPROVED FOR ADOPTION

Via Euronews Cinema:

In Approved for Adoption, Belgian-Korean filmmaker and cartoonist Jung mixes animation with old family movies and recent footage to take a very personal look at childhood and identity.

Sandra Bell-Lundy: Buy Your Kids Art Supplies and Leave Them Alone

Sandra Bell-Lundy shares some of her childhood drawings (like the "Mad Whirly Bird: comic above) and tells parents about encouraging talented kids:

Buy them wads and wads of paper and pencils and pens and Sharpies and whatever else is their drawing tool of choice....AND LEAVE THEM ALONE. 

Let them draw whatever they want.  Weird perspective, inaccurate body dimensions, scratchy nothingness, uneven lettering...whatever and however they doodle, it's not wrong or something to be "improved upon".  Let them have fun.  Let them be immersed in their own world.  Let them be minimalist or realistic or crazy-detailed or mimic other cartoonists.

Video: LEARN TO DRAW with Tom Gammill #33 with Mort Walker

We get a tour of Mort Walker's studio. The Mount Rushmore reference that Tom makes is true.And we get to see his Billy deBeck Award and his Reuben and something called "the Slam Award" (with a caricature of Mort by Al Kilgore).

Video: Roger Langridge and the Fourplay String Quartet

May 26, 2012: At the Sydney TEDx event: the Fourplay String Quartet plays to the cartoon panels of  Roger Langridge.

Video: Australian Cartoonist Peter Foster

Via the Australia Cartoon Museum:

The Australian Cartoonists' Association presents this 2008 interview with Peter Foster.

Peter Foster Born in 1931 in Melbourne, Australia, and has worked as a process artist, art teacher, cartoonist/illustrator and musician. Australian Cartoon Museum interview with Peter Foster April 2008. Produced by Rolf Heimann, Music by Peter Foster.

Video: Charlie Hebdo Editor Interview

From the CartoonistsRights channel:

This is an interview of French cartoonist Stéphane "Charb" Charbonnier, the editor of the satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo. Six months prior to this interview the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo were firebombed by Islamic extremists. The interview was conducted by Drew Rougier-Chapman, the Deputy Director of the Cartoonists Rights Network International.

Video: André-Philippe Côté

Canadian cartoonist André-Philippe Côté talks with Hélène Botreau at the Cartooning for Peace and Health event, March 28, 2012. The interview is in French.



Description::

Côté was a pioneer of the comic strip in Quebec in the 1970s and has published a daily cartoon on the front page of Le Soleil since 1997.

Organized by Cartooning for Peace--America and sponsored by Emory's Halle Institute for Global Learning, Cartooning for Peace and Health featured a series of public lectures, classroom discussions, and a gallery exhibition. A diverse lineup of 18 editorial cartoonists from around the world participated in the symposium, which explored the role of the cartoonist in the public sphere, with a special focus on politics, peacemaking, and health.

Video: FUTURAMA Life Action Titles

Matt Groening on LIFE IN HELL Deadlines

Above photo of Matt Groening by George Rose/Getty Images.

Grantland's Alex Pappademas has a terrific portrait of LIFE IN HELL and SIMPSONS creator Matt Groening.

Matt Groening on deadlines for his LIFE IN HELL strip, from a 1986 interview:

"I'm bad, I procrastinate, I put things off. I sweat, I turn on the TV, I go for a walk, I think about something else I have to do … I think of a record I have to play — and then, I do my comic strip, the night before it's due. One night, I did two strips. I thought, great — if I'm ever sick, I'm still ahead. Two weeks later I got sick. I've never caught up since."

Groening, to an interviewer, sometime in 2008, when he was worth around $500 million: "There's something wrong with me, because every week I go, 'Oh no, it's due again!' Like it's some big surprise."

Video: Syrian Cartoonist Ali Farzat: "They broke my hands to stop me drawing Assad"

Ali Farzat was violently assaulted, his hands broken, by Bashar al-Assad's militia in August 2011.

Almost a year later, here is a moving video of a recovered Mr. Farzat speaking and drawing via The Guardian:

“The cartoonist doesn’t only present events, but also gives opinions on them. it is about me, how I think and how I should present my idea in the drawing. I use satire to draw dictators who use oppressive methods. I try to marginalize them and make them less important to people. This gives people hope that these dictators are empty. And gives people the courage to continue to demonstrate and be critical. This is why drawing, for me, carries human and moral causes to encourage the people to transcend their pain.”

LIFE IN HELL Is Over for Matt Groening

Via USA Today:

After 32 years, Simpsons creator Matt Groening quietly pulled the plug last week on his Life in Hell syndicated comic strip.

"Thirty-two years is a long time to do it," Groening says of the strip that got the attention of TV producers, giving him the chance to do animation that led to The Simpsons

THE FACE BEHIND THE LAUGH Cartoonists' Self Portraits

"THE FACE BEHIND THE LAUGH Cartoonists' Self Portraits" is a 1988 catalog of an exhibition of original drawings and paintings from the collection of Mark J. Cohen and the Cartoon Art Museum. There's a forward by Mort Drucker and a short piece by Draper Hill. It's copyright 1988 by Mr. Cohen and the Museum. The gallery show ran from November 25, 1888 through March 4, 1989.

The cover is by Charles Schulz:

Burne Hogarth:

Mort Drucker:

Thomas Nast:

George Booth:

Milton Caniff:

Al Capp:

Robert Crumb:

Eldon Dedini:

TAD Dorgan:

Will Eisner:

Jules Feiffer:

Rube Goldberg:

Alex Graham:

Bill Griffith:

Milt Gross:

Gene Hazelton:

Draper Hill:

Al Hirschfeld:

Dick Hodgins, Jr.:

Bill Holman:

Hank Ketcham:

Harvey Kurtzman:

Charles Y. Lamb:

Stan Lynde

George McManus:

Dale Messick:

Jack Rickard:

Arnold Roth:

Sam Gross:

Art Spiegelman:

Bob Thaves:

Morrie Turner:

Mort Walker:

Chic Young:

Gahan Wilson: