Vanity Fair Video: Edward Sorel, Steve Brodner, Philip Burke, and Robert Risko draw Donald Trump.

From the Vanity Fair site, here is a primer from top illustrators on how to draw Donald Trump:

Dan Spiegle 1920 - 2017

Comic book artist Dan Spiegle passed away on Saturday, at the age of 96. He had been ill for some time.

Dan was, simply, a drawing machine. Best known for his prolific comic book art, he worked for all of the major companies, drawing movie adaptations for Dell and Gold Key comics, Hanna Barbera and Disney comic books, westerns such as Maverick and Rex Allen, as well as superhero books such as Blackhawk, Crossfire, and many others.

Mark Evanier has a touching remembrance of his friend here. Here are just a couple of paragraphs:

His editor for much of this period [at Dell Comics] was a man named Chase Craig, who was also my editor (and mentor) for many years. I once asked Chase, "Of all the hundreds of artists you've employed, who was the most reliable?" Without pausing to think, he replied, "Dan Spiegle." Then he added, "It's always on time and it's always wonderful." (A moment later, he added, "…and Mike Royer.") 

Later, when I became Dan's editor, I had the same experience…and until you're an editor of comic books, you don't realize how rare and precious it is to have someone like that available to you. One time, another artist — a good one, not a newcomer — was six weeks late with a job and then handed in a few, unusable pages. I immediately went to Dan who did the entire job in eight days…and it was perfect.

Interview: The New Yorker's John Klossner " I will never understand the process where the worst cartoon of the batch is the one that sells."

Jane Mattimoe interviews my pal and New Yorker cartoonist John Klossner. There are some great photos of his workspace and insight into his work habits.

"I use a brush. Specifically, a Winsor Newton no. 2 graphics brush. When I was in college, all the cartoonists I admired used brushes, so I thought that in order to be a cartoonist you had to use a brush. So I locked myself in a room for the next 20 years learning how to use a brush."

See You Soon

I will be away for most of this week due to personal reasons.

Back soon.

Edwin Lepper Original Gag Cartoons 1950s - 1970s

I got an email about gag cartoonist Ed Lepper from Aaron Druck. Aaron had recently acquired a number of Ed Lepper's original cartoons. He took some photos of them, and gave me permission to share. Thanks, Aaron!

I know a little about Ed Lepper. He was a prolific gag cartoonist whose work was in all the major markets. Just look at the notations on the originals from the editors: these cartoons appeared in National Enquirer, The Saturday Evening Post, The Wall Street Journal and other publications from the 1950s to the 70s.

If anyone has more information on Ed, please leave a comment here or contact me directly.

Related:

Aaron Druck's page of Ed Lepper originals


Some more of his published gag cartoons:

All of the Cartoons From August 1962 McCALL'S Magazine

LIFETIME LIVING Magazine November 1953

The Saturday Evening Post, February 28, 1959 UPDATED

Donald "Duck" Edwing 1934 - 2016

"Duck" Edwing, a freelance gag cartoonist and writer whose work appeared in Mad Magazine for 49 years, passed away the day after Christmas. He was 82 years old.

Born in Brooklyn, NY, he started cartooning at the early age of nine. After a stint in the Navy, he drew up gag cartoons and started doing the NYC "cartoon look day" rounds in 1958. He was a prolific cartoonist, whose work appeared in the major markets; Playboy, The Saturday Evening Post and others. He began selling to Mad Magazine in 1962. He was known as a writer, primarily for Don Martin and the Spy vs. Spy feature.

"[Don] Martin and I corresponded mostly with phone calls. The Mad editors did all the work by putting us together. I merely cheered Don up on a daily basis by telling him jokes, which had nothing to do with the work in front of him. I marveled at how he would take my chicken scratch sketches of a gag and transform them into a 2-D, animated, spectacular scene. The man was a major talent ... l miss him." -- Wikipedia

He met his wife,  Clair "Cluck" Edwing in the 1970s.  (Yes, "Cluck." "That's Right," writes Duck in his NCS bio page above.) 

Duck Edwing had his own "Tales from the Duckside" feature, and he collaborated with Paul Coker, Jr. on two newspaper comic strips, Lancelot and Horace and Buggy. He helped write and draw Bob Thaves' Frank and Ernest strip. For Mad's 50th anniversary, Duck wrote a short-lived Spy vs. Spy newspaper feature for Tribune Media with Dave Manak handling the art. For Swedish readers, he created Super Sock and other successful European features. Duck Edwing also wrote and drew seventeen Mad paperbacks. Later in life, he turned his creative energies to slot machines, designing "plots to be used on the unsuspecting public!"  

He moved to Florida. That's where Duck conceived of "The Golden Gator Award," an honor given to wives of cartoonists.  

List of Duck Edwing's work at Mad Cover Site

Mark Anderson Interviews Duck Edwing: Inside the Cartoonist's Studio

Ger Apeldoorn: Comics and Cartoon Gag Magazines for Sale

My friend, comics historian Ger Apeldoorn, has some great magazines (1000 Jokes) and old Marvel comics from his collection for sale at his eBay store. I urge you to check them out!

1969 Topps TV Knock-Knocks Cards

Here are a couple of these 1969 Topps Bubblegum TV Knock-Knocks Cards. Artist and writer uncredited, as was the usual case. These are some awful punning old knock-knock jokes, which always make me groan and smile simultaneously. Although these were out in 1969, I have only recently learned of their existence.

It looks like there may have been a couple of versions of these cards, with one set titled "Knock-Knocks" and another "T.V. Knock-Knocks," as well as a series number beneath.