ALL IN LINE Cartoons by Saul Steinberg

Before Sacco and Rall, there was Steinberg, drawing another war from another generation.


Below are some of his sketches from ALL IN LINE, Copyright 1945 by Saul Steinberg; first Penguin edition 1947, reprinted by arrangement with Duell, Sloane & Pearce, Inc.


The first half of the book are (mostly) wordless cartoons and humorous drawings. The second half appears to be taken, with little or no redrawing, straight from his sketch book.



I love the POV drawing on the right hand side. Who knew you could have an open bottle of ink inside a military cargo plane? [EDIT: Orang Basikal comments, "'The drawing on the right' is not in a military cargo plane but in a sampan on a river. Clearly he intended to contrast this with the scene in the cargo plane, on the left. Several of the other pairings are in a similar vein" Thanks, Orang. I stand corrected!]

His line work always impressed me as a combination of Sempé and Van Gogh.






Some great drawings to linger over, and I wish there were more books like this today. The 2000 PBS documentary They Drew Fire was about the formal hiring of artists to cover the war, and why it was done. To my knowledge, Mr. Steinberg was not among these fellows, but moreso an ordinary Navy grunt, jotting down his impressions, which makes him just as valuable.


Perhaps best known for his 1976 "View of the World" cover to the New Yorker magazine, Mr. Steinberg was one of those guys whose cartoons were just a beginning of what would be a life of fine art.

The Saul Steinberg Foundation link here.

ALL IN LINE has been reprinted by the New York Review Books in a nice new edition.

This is an edited version of an original blog link dated November 12, 2007.

Steve Brodner: Sh*t Gets Real

 

Via Steve Brodner's "The Great Quiet" Substack this morning:

News today about what is happening to the supply chain augurs ill for the second hundred days. With the economy tanking, tariffs failing and Trump’s approval already in the cellar, this is a prelude to what is coming: the moment when the Trump Show becomes America’s personal sh*t show.

Stand up May 1:

https://www.fiftyfifty.one

Thanks for subscribing to this newsletter. You are my partner in this project. Your feedback helps shape this work.

Gratefully,

Steve

Inspired By Cats by Nava Atlas with Drawings by Bob Eckstein

 

My friend Bob Eckstein has illustrated a new book, Inspired By Cats: Writers and Their Mew(ses), written by Nava Atlas. Seeing as I, too, am inspired by cats, this sure looks interesting. Here's Bob:

"I’m excited to announce a new book I have coming out this Fall with good friend and Literary Ladies Guide and The Vegan Atlas writer Nava Atlas published by Countryman Press at W. W. Norton & Company.

"We captured the endearing relationships of 60 famous authors and their beloved feline companions…"

 

 

Mort Walker Comic Art

 

Just came across this and wanted to share. Some rare Mort Walker comic art, which is now selling on eBay (NOT my sale). There's even a letter from Mort about it. 

 

I did get confirmation that the image is part of the 2025 book by Bill Janocha, The Life and Art of Mort Walker.

Saul Steinberg Drawings: "View of the World From 9th Avenue" and More

 

Some drawings by the great Saul Steinberg (1914-1999), the Romanian-born cartoonist/artist, whose work still resonates. His most famous piece is the cover of the March 29, 1976 issue of The New Yorker, "View of the World From 9th Avenue." But there's a lot more.

 

 

STRANGE ADVENTURES No. 237 "The Skyscraper That Came to Life!"

Above: obviously, a mint collector's edition, huh? This well-loved comic with an anthropomorphic Empire State Building was one of the first comics I bought. I got rid of it in 1986 when I sold a lot of my comics and, seeing it for sale years later, bought it back again for 2 1/2 times its 20 cents cover price at a NYC comic book store.

This is STRANGE ADVENTURES No. 237, July-August, 1972. It's copyright 1972 by National Periodical Publications. Now, this story, "The Skyscraper That Came to Life!" by John Broome, is by no means a classic in literature, but it had a unique take on alien invasion.

The 7 page story is actually a rerun, having been originally published in STRANGE ADVENTURES #72 in September 1956.

 

 

You can see the serious spine roll in this read and re-read comic book.

 

 

So, here's the "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" moment: the invading aliens have CGI (or, at best, really, really good PowerPoint animations). 1950s Earth does not!

 

 

After seeing that uninvited couple crash the White House event last week, the idea that any slob (human or alien) can walk into a movie producer's office and get a Hollywood deal is more believable.

 

 

All of the aliens look like they work at Sterling Cooper.

 

 

"The invasion of Earth is cancelled!" Well, there you have it. 7 pages of fun and, for me, happy memories.

 

And, of course, what's a comic without the ads!



I wonder if this "Cartoon for Money" correspondence school ever had any famous grads?


Oh, and it looks like there's this little convention in San Diego. Might be worth going to. Hmm.

Postscript: Reading this comic when I was a tot living in Lawrence, Kansas, I never thought that one day I would actually know one of the guys who drew it. I first met Joe Giella at a Long Island Chapter National Cartoonists Society lunch way back over 20 years ago now. There were many lunches and get togethers after that. Such a nice guy.

Small cartoony world! I think I'm growing to love and admire this planet!

 

-- Edited from a December 7, 2009 entry.