IT'S BETTER WITH YOUR SHOES OFF by Anne Cleveland PART ONE

Ready? Let's go visit pre-anime, pre-Naruto Japan ...!


So, the year before Raymond Burr played "Steve Martin" in GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS, this book of playful cartoons, IT'S BETTER WITH YOUR SHOES OFF, written and illustrated by Anne Cleveland, was published in 1955 by the Charles E. Tuttle Co., Inc. of Rutland, Vermont & Tokyo Japan.

"Here's a clever book filed with cartoons and punchy captions which recount the hilarious adventures of an American family during their semi-permanent residence in Japan," said the Honolulu Star Bulletin in its review.


Hanako-San is always laughing at "The Wests." Mrs West sports a flippy hairdo ala Catharine O'Hara in WAITING FOR GUFFMAN.

 

Above is our cast of characters. Hubby looks like a grown up frat boy Tintin.

 

I saw this book in an antique store near the Manchester, NH environs. I liked Cleveland's clean brush style. And I had never heard of her or the book, despite my copy being a 20th printing (!!!) from 1970.

 

The above paragraph sums up the whole POV of the book. This is the Baby Boomer generation's Japan.

 

Some lovely layout, lettering and detail here. Easy to make fun of the content, but the form is solid.

Ooh! Lower right hand corner of page 11: is that some manga the bespectacled teen is engrossed in?





Hanako-San: always laughing at us silly Americans!

Little information on Ms. Cleveland today. The Comics Reporter has more bio information on her, a list of known books, here. And Mike Rhode mentions her in a response to Tom's essay.

There' s some more of this book to scan, and, if there's an interest, I will.

 

 

-- This has been an edited version of a blog entry of November 8, 2007.

Comic Culture "JewCE: The Jewish Comics Experience" Documentary Roundtable

Via Terence Dollard's Comic Culture series: Roy Schwartz, Danny Fingeroth, Tony Kim, and Dr. Miriam Mora discuss the new documentary JewCE: The Jewish Comics Experience.

 

We Miss Sam Gross

Shannon Wheeler, over at his Facebook page, posted this Sam Gross cartoon, adding, "I miss Sam Gross."

 

Sam was one of a kind. He really was the kindest fellow and he would call me occasionally when I moved out of NYC in 2007. He was, I think, the first person to call me in New Hampshire. He called to inform me that I now lived “in the land of cheap booze,” since NH has no sales tax. He was always a great guy and, hey, he got me work from time to time. So glad I knew him. I miss him as well.

 

 

Barry Blitt, Jack Ohman, and Jen Sorensen: "'I won the Pulitzer Prize and I'm busing on a corner,' 3 top artists on the uncertain future of political cartooning

[Images (from left): Barry Blitt, Jack Ohman, Jen Sorensen]

 

Zachary Petit interviews three political cartoonists about their work and the current climate for political parody in this Fast Company piece.

"Editorial cartoons and illustration are fairly niche topics—or so I once thought. On Jan. 3, cartoonist Ann Telnaes published Why I’m quitting the Washington Post on her Substack. It detailed how the paper—owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, who attended Donald Trump’s second inauguration—rejected her cartoon of Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman, Los Angeles Times publisher Patrick Soon-Shiong and Mickey Mouse worshipping at the president-elect’s feet with bags of money. The next day, the story was international news.

"Paradoxically, in the year 2025, editorial cartooning was back on the front page. Washington Post Opinion editor David Shipley released a statement that the paper had killed Telnaes’s cartoon to avoid redundancy because they had just published a column on the same topic and had another in the hopper. But ultimately, in rejecting the piece, the Post seemingly underscored the point at the heart of it—and brought it to more eyes than the paper ever could have reached on its own. It immediately became a stand-in for much bigger conversations around media ownership, American oligarchs, objectivity and myriad subjects beyond—including, of course, the role of the editorial cartoon in 2025.

"To probe just that, we arranged a Zoom roundtable with a trio of some of the best political artists and illustrators working today: Pulitzer Prize winner Barry Blitt, Pulitzer Prize winner Jack Ohman, and Pulitzer finalist and Herblock Prize winner Jen Sorensen.

"Our conversation proved to be insightful, stirring and at times depressing, but ultimately honest. Collectively, not unlike the best editorial cartoons."

 

The rest is here.

THE CARTOONIST! Fall 1953

 In its entirety: THE CARTOONIST!, the in-house publication of the National Cartoonists Society. This is the Annual Photo Issue Fall 1953.


The Cartoonist: a quarterly published by the National Cartoonists Society, 140 West 57th Street, New York 19, N. Y.

If you Google Map this address, you get:

.. a bus zooming in front to the frikkin' Google camera!

Oh well, back to the mag:


Mort Walker edited THE CARTOONIST, with Bill Yates as Assistant Editor.


The 1953 NCS Board:

BOARD OF GOVERNORS: Rube Goldberg, Honorary President; Otto Soglow, President; Bob Dunn, First Vice President; Willard Mullin, Second Vice President; John Pierotti, Treasurer; McGowan Miller, Secretary; Carl Rose, General Membership Representative; EXECUTIVE COUNCIL: Martin Banner, Ernie Bushmiller, E. Simms Campbell, Milton Caniff, Past Pres., Fred Cooper, Walt Disney, Albert Dorne, Ham Fisher, Hal Foster, Harold Gray, Jimmy Hatlo, Harry Hershfeld, Bill Holman, Walt Kelly, Frank King, Bill Mauldin, George MacManus, Willard Mullin, Russell Patterson, Past Pres., Alex Raymond, Past Pres., Mischa Richter, C.D. Russell, Frank Willard, George Wunder, Chic Young.


Fred Waring was a great fan and friend of cartoonists.

Above: Fred Waring reads the Sunday funnies in a photo nicked from the Fred Waring's America site.
He had a huge place in Pennsylvania and he would send a bus to Times Square for all the NCSers to get aboard. The bus would then drive thru NJ to PA, and all the cartoonists would hang out at his place -- usually for a couple of days. Mel Casson helped start the annual visit to Waring's Shawnee Golf Resort. More here, at the Penn State Fred Waring's America site.

Back to the magazine:



Evert cartoonist should wear a hat and smoke a pipe ala Ed Dodd and Walt Kelly!

-- This has been an edited version of a blog entry that originally appeared May 26, 2009.

Video: "John Nesbitt's Passing Parade: 'People on Paper'" 1945

Here's a 1945 MGM one-reeler documentary short featuring classic syndicated newspaper cartoonists.

This edition of John Nesbitt's "Passing Parade" series, released to theaters on November 17th, 1945 by MGM Studios, features classic newspaper cartoonists in action:

H.H. Knerr (Katzenjammer Kids),

Bud Fisher (Mutt and Jeff),

Fred Lasswell (Barney Google and Snuffy Smith),

Frank King (Gasoline Alley),

Chester Gould (Dick Tracy),

Dick Calkins (Buck Rogers in the 25th Century),

Milton Caniff (Terry and the Pirates),

Chic Young (Blondie),

Raeburn Van Buren (Abbie an' Slats),

Ham Fisher (Joe Palooka),

Hal Foster (Prince Valiant),

Harold Gray (Little Orphan Annie),

and Al Capp (Li'l Abner).

It's the Mike Lynch Cartoons Blog Anniversary!

 

 

I started this cartoon blog in February 2006.

 

I've written over 7,771 blog entries (This is #7,772.), had millions of visits from all over the world, and I still can't believe it.

 

My thanks to everyone who is a professional cartoonist, on his/her way to becoming a pro, or just a big fan of cartooning. 

 

You have kept this going. Some of you have been stopping by since the beginning! 

 

Wow.

 

My blog is free for all. Please consider making a contribution upon this occasion by clicking on the link.  

 

Thank you!

 

 

New York Review Comics Publishes First Collection of "The Smythes" by Rea Irvin

News from the New York Review Comics people:

"We are so excited to announce a book coming out later this year from NYRC, Rea Irvin's The Smythes. Irvin was The New Yorker’s first art editor and creator of the magazine’s mascot, Eustace Tilly.

"The Smythes was Irvin’s first and only foray into a newspaper comics following The Smythes —comprised of hapless businessman John, Margie, his formidable wife, plus their two forgettable children, Willie and Maudie—through day-to-day life and madcap adventures in 1930s America.

"Handpicked by acclaimed cartoonists R. Kikuo Johnson and Dash Shaw—who also wrote the introduction together—this selection of Smythes strips are the first time it's ever been collected in a single book. An afterword by comics historian Caitlin McGurk sheds new light on Irvin’s work and life.

"As we're finishing this collection, we are still looking to get color scans of some key strips. If you have any Smythes in your home, attic, or elsewhere, please write to us at nyrcomics@nybooks.com. Thank you, and looking forward to sharing this rediscovered classic!


"Cover by R. Kikuo Johnson."

Rea Irvin (1881-1972) had been a newspaper illustrator, a cartoonist, a sometimes actor. Born on the West Coast, he moved to New York City and produced drawings for a variety of publications. In 1924, he was fired from his art director position at Life Magazine and then came aboard the then-new New Yorker magazine. He created its first cover, along with the left hand band on cover, and the typeface for the magazine. He figured the magazine would most likely fold in a couple of issues.

James Thurber: "... [T]he invaluable Irvin, artist, ex-actor, wit, and sophisticate about town and country, did more to develop the style and excellence of The New Yorker's drawings and covers than anyone else, and was the main and shining reason that the magazine's comic art in the first two years was far superior to its humorous prose." 

 

 

Rea Irvin also created The Smythes, first appearing in the spring of 1930 in the New York Herald Tribune. A domestic humor feature, in the clean line style, this centennial year of The New Yorker magazine marks the very first time that it's been collected in any form. While the humor may be a bit dated, the style is wonderful to behold. There are only a few samples of The Smythes online. 

This one via Tumblr:

From the book announcement on Instagram:

Your Platinum Age Daily:

Looking forward to this collection that is well due!

Gerry Mooney: How to Scam a Commercial Artist

My friend Gerry Mooney describes a scam going around that's aimed at illustrators and cartoonists. This is worth a read, as Gerry lays bare their techniques, as well as revealing the name and phone number that the scammer gave. Here's Gerry's email with the background as well as an update.

 

 

Here's Gerry's email:

Dear friends: 

 

I recently wrote a blog post on an attempt to scam me as a commercial artist (https://gerrymooneyillustratingdickens.com/2024/11/18/how-to-scam-a-commercial-artist/) and it garnered a lot of attention. As I mention in the post, I used the scammers "real" names and phone numbers, not wanting to grant them any cover or anonymity.

 

Yesterday I got this amazing email from an artist who I do not know, and the brief story he tells really blows my mind. Read it for yourself:

____________________________________

Hi Gerry,
Thank you so much for posting your information on the scam. I wasted a bit of time on mine, but I was amazed that April used the same name to scam me. 
I did a Google search when she first contacted me and it yielded little, but this morning as I sat down to write a contract I just Googled her phone number and came upon you, so you saved me from having to take the process to the next level. Obviously, I had my suspicions and I was trying to think how I could write a bullet proof contract, but seeing her name in a correspondence with you was absolute confirmation that it was not possible.

_____________________________________

 

Best regards to my fans and followers.

Gerry Mooney

Gerry Mooney Studio

Email: gerry@mooneyart.com

http://www.mooneyart.com

Video: The Fantastic Four: First Steps | Official Teaser

Marvel Studios' #TheFantasticFour: First Steps arrives in theaters July 25. I hope it's good. Love the midcentury vibe, which was what the FF was all about back in Lee/Kirby days of the 1960s. 

 

PRO CARTOONIST & GAG WRITER Mid-Feb 1962

Here is the complete PRO CARTOONIST AND GAG WRITER for Mid-February 1962. This pro-zine was put together by the late, great Arnold Wagner. Famous Artists School founder Albert Dorne is caricatured on the cover, and there's an interview with him, conducted by LOOK Magazine cartoon editor Gurney Williams. More highlights:

• Virgil "VIP" Partch launches his syndicated "Big George" panel,
• veteran gag cartoonist Chon Day is interviewed by Arnold Wagner,
• Johnny Hart launches his new "funny caveman" strip, B.C.,
• and the many insider features, including ads and "clip and file" market listings to paste into your Rolodex.

- Edited from a December 16, 2009 blog entry.