Gaar Williams

Things are crazy this week. I was asked just 2 weeks ago to teach a comics class in addition to the two I was already committed to doing. That's great. The Comic Arts program at New England College is popular.  This week, I am dealing with Zoom and Powerpoint and so on, while teaching the History of Comics and History of Political Cartoons classes. I long for the pre-Pandemic olden days.

Speaking of olden days ....

Here are some great scans of Gaar Williams' (1880-1935) cartoons. I like Gaar's inky, slap-dash, energetic style. Even though the olde timey content is about small town life of over 100 years ago, the form is still well worth studying whether you work in ink or tablet. He conveys a lot with his shading and noodling. Just look at the details of the wicker chair against the porch shadow, and you can see how the flick of a nib one way and another gives quite a dynamic.

Related:


Gaar Williams Appreciation by Rob Stolzer