Thursday, August 29, 2024

The Aspiring Cartoonist: The Craft and Business of Gag Cartooning (1998)

 

The Aspiring Cartoonist, "A publication for the professional, non-professional, and curious in the cartooning community," was edited by co-publisher Marty Jones for Yendi Boox Publishing, Inc. and is copyright 1996. The magazine was around here and there in the 1990s. I probably bought this at Forbidden Planet in NYC when it was published. 

This issue is all about gag cartooning and there's good advice here, but a lot of it has become historical/hysterical artifacts of another time. For instance, Bart Roozendaal says,

"As I answer this question [about the advent of computer cartooning and the Internet], there are already 1500 separate entries on the Internet under the heading cartoon, and no doubt the number will increase."

Anyway, a lot of the information is still of interest, like how many cartoons do you do a day, what kind of art supplies do you use, who influenced you, etc. The worry that overshadows all is the then-recent advent of the internet (spelled with a capital "I" back then) and if it will diminish paying markets. Mostly, it's a fun time capsule with these great gag cartoonists. The one rule for all of them was that they had to be veterans of gag cartooning, with ten years or more in the business.

The Aspiring Cartoonist's Gag Cartooning Round Table consists of these six industry veterans:

Art Bouthillier

Randy Glasbergen

Ted Goff

George Jartos

Bart Roozendaal

and George Trosley.

Bob Mankoff is also highlighted in a sidebar.

As you know, right click on these things to open them up in a new page so they're nice and big and readable.












Wednesday, August 28, 2024

Remembering the Comic Arts Program at New England College

 



Five years ago yesterday I wrote:



"Announcement! OK, I just signed my contract so it's all official.

"I will be teaching comics history at the Institute of Art and Design at New England College (formerly the New Hampshire Institute of Art) beginning today. Looking forward to it! This is going to be fun."



Wow. I can’t believe it’s been five years. So much talent. I didn’t want to say it at the time, but I was really worried that I wouldn’t like the 20-something students. I was wrong on that count. And happy to be wrong.

The school was bought by New England College and, within a couple of years, its students moved to the main campus in Henniker, NH. The Manchester campus was shut down and most of its buildings sold. A terrible loss for that city.

As of last year, college enrollment at the school, like a lot of colleges, had dropped and the Comic Arts program has quietly gone away. I don't know if it's for good, but it was grand fun and good work while it lasted. Ironically, Garry Trudeau was commencement speaker last year. 

The surprising thing about teaching was how excited some of the students would get about some of these old cartoonists and illustrators. As I taught (and I taught three courses: The History of Comics, The History of Political Cartoons and The History of Illustration), I was able to show them work by Tove Jansson, John Held, Jr., Ludwig Bemelmans, Ronald Searle and many, many others. Some of these really resonated with these 21st century young students, and that was great to see.

I won't miss driving in the dark for a winter early morning class. I won't miss the various educational computer programs (Navigator, Blackboard) used to post attendance, post grades, etc. But I will miss the students. 

For now, back to the studio and the drawing board. In the freelance business this was a good, long gig. I am used to things ending, and know that other gigs are out there.

Tuesday, August 27, 2024

Video: Cartoonists Working

Here is a terrific video compilation that I found on YouTube of various cartoonists working. Matt Barnett put it together. Here's Matt and some background on what's in the video --- and then, below, the video itself.



This is a compilation of my favorite "Cartoonists Working" videos on YouTube. These videos are for inspiration. I intended to mark the video as private so I could watch it on Roku. However, for some unknown reason, Google has done away with our ability to watch our own private videos on the Roku app. It is for this reason only that this compilation video is marked public. This video is NOT monetized, nor is anything on my channel.

Sources:

Chris Browne Cartooning Tips: • Chris Browne Cartooning Tips

How Garfield is Drawn: • How Garfield is Drawn

Jim Davis Draws Garfield: • Jim Davis Draws Garfield

How to Draw the Most Famous Cat in the World: • How to Draw the Most Famous Cat in th...

Scott Adams on Huge Dilbert Success, Shows How Dilbert is Drawn: • Scott Adams on Huge Dilbert Success, ...

From Concept to Comic Strip with Ryan Thiele: • From Concept to Comic Strip with Ryan...

Editorial Cartoonist Jeff Stahler: • Editorial Cartoonist Jeff Stahler

Bob Englehart Explains How To Create Editorial Cartoons: • Bob Englehart Explains How To Create ...

Hank Ketchum: • CBS Special - "The Fantastic Funnies"...

Lee Holley Draws Dennis The Menace & Ponytail in Color: • Lee Holley draws Dennis the Menace & ...

Bruce Blitz Interviews Cartoonist Mort Walker and Beetle Bailey: • Bruce Blitz Interviews Cartoonist Mor...

Mort Walker: • CBS Special - "The Fantastic Funnies"...

The World of Cartooning with Mike Peters: Mort Walker: • The World of Cartooning with Mike Pet...

Bruce Blitz Interviews Cartoonist Mort Walker and Beetle Bailey: • Bruce Blitz Interviews Cartoonist Mor...

Various Cartoonists: • CBS Special - "The Fantastic Funnies"...

Bruce Blitz Interviews Prince Valiant Artist: • Bruce Blitz Interviews Prince Valiant...

Montage of Cartoonists: • CBS Special - "The Fantastic Funnies"...

Reg Smythe Andy Capp Creator from Hartlepool Interview: • Reg Smythe Andy Capp Creator from Har...

Reveille: Beetle Bailey Short Documentary (and an excellent one!): • Reveille: Beetle Bailey Short Documen...

Mort Walker: • The World of Cartooning with Mike Pet...

Bruce Blitz Interviews Hagar The Horrible Cartoonist Chris Browne: • Bruce Blitz Interviews Hagar the Horr...

Dik Browne: • CBS Special - "The Fantastic Funnies"...

Passing Parade: “People on Paper” 1945: • Passing Parade: "People on Paper" 1945

Bruce Timm draws the Joker: • Bruce Timm draws the Joker

Bruce Timm drawing Batman at Calgary comics & entertainment expo: • Bruce Timm drawing Batman at Calgary ...

Bruce Timm draws Batgirl at ECCC 2011: • Bruce Timm draws Batgirl at ECCC 2011

Dennis The Menace: • DENNIS THE MENACE-9-8-2011.mov • Dennis the Menace creator Hank Ketcha...



Monday, August 26, 2024

"Kit Karter: Have Kart, Will Travel" Art by Mad Magazine's Dave Berg

 

Comic books reflect fads of the times and this one reflects a short-lived fad (that was probably over by the time this saw print) of Go Kart racing. It was, according to the internet, a "thing" for a while. (Vintage Karts has a lot about this time.) Dell Comics, always looking for an angle, published this well-meaning one-shot comic book to cash in on the craze. Kit Karter No. 1, May-July 1962 was published by Dell and is copyright by the same. The teenage series features a cast of eight, all shown on the interior front cover for your easy reference. There's the lead kid, Kit, and his buddy "Axil Greez," Kit's mom and dad, his kid sister "Go Go Karter." There are also a couple of pretty girls (Claire Daloon, Vera Crews) and Kit's rival, Kris Kross. 

 


Dave Berg, later of Mad Magazine's "The Lighter Side" feature, provides the art. The stories all have to do with the acquisition of and operation of go karts. For such a narrow concept, the stories are lively and fun. One plus: Dave likes to draw midcentury modern furniture, so the Karter home is fun to look at. Here's the opening story. Like Archie, it's all about a broke teen looking to make some money. Dad - the authority figure who won't give him the money for a go kart - gets embarrassed in the process and ... well, you'll see.







Related:


BETTY AND VERONICA SPECTACULAR #138, June 1966 "Pay Dates Incorporated"

Bob Montana's Kids Not Happy About ARCHIE's Engagement