Red Sky at Night

The orange sky that appeared at sunset last night, July 16, 2010, in Strafford County, NH.

“Red sky at night,
sailor’s delight.
Red sky in morning,
sailor take warning.”

It was just a plain, hot, overcast day yesterday, and the same for today. Not much reason I can fathom for the sudden orange hue and biscuity clouds. If anyone sees a sailor, please inquire if he or she had a delightful Friday evening. OK? OK!

EDIT: My Dad reckons that the clouds are cumulonimbus mammatus.

Video: Kim Deitch and THE SEARCH FOR SMILIN' ED

From an April 24, 2010 appearance at the Johns Hopkins Barnes & Noble bookstore. We see Kim Deitch talk about the genesis for THE SEARCH FOR SMILIN' ED, his latest graphic novel. This video was directed, edited and shot by John Kinhart.

Video: Art Spiegelman and Dan Zanes

Via WNYC radio: here are 2 short videos where Mr. Spiegelman and Mr. Zanes answer questions about (1) the last great book they read, (2) what's the one thing you're a fan of that people may not expect, and (3) "if you only had one day left, how would you spend it in New York?" Musician Dan Zanes worked with Mr. Spiegelman on the "Hapless Hooligan" collaboration with Pilobolus.

Video: Dan Clowes at The Strand

It's very kind of The Strand to post this, but something went wrong a bit, shrinking the picture down. Still, if you are a Dan Clowes fan, then this is of particular interest. The video is in 7 parts.

Mike Lynch Cartoon in July 16, 2010 Wall Street Journal

I have a cartoon in today's Wall Street Journal.

This really happened to me.

A long-winded gag line. Maybe the longest published gag line I've ever done.

Note: The woman's dress looks like the original TREK tunic.

Our man is sensitive; hence, the raised pinky on the hand on the wheel.

A big hat tip to Pletch and Gregory Kogan for letting me know that I had a cartoon in today's WSJ!

Have a Great Week!

I'm off this week. Kind of a busman's holiday. Does anyone SAY busman's holiday anymore???

Anyway, where was I? Yes. I'm off teaching cartoon classes in NY. I'll be back next week.

Happy summer!

Video: Bruce Blitz Interviews HAGAR THE HORRIBLE Cartoonist Chris Browne

Cartoonist Tim Buckley on "Americanized" DOCTOR WHO

There are rumors that DOCTOR WHO will be transferred overseas and redone as a US TV series. Bringing UK shows over to the US and retooling them for American audiences in nothing new, and there have been some commercial and critical successes (ALL IN THE FAMILY, SANFORD AND SON, THREE'S COMPANY) -- but also a good share of downright, absolute failures. (I'm thinking of the 3 bad remakes of FAWLTY TOWERS -- with Harvey Korman, Bea Arthur and John Larroquette -- there are others, many others.)

Anyway, so DOCTOR WHO -- which can be seen on BBC America -- is quintessentially British and I cannot imagine how or why a US version would be better.

Tim Buckley's cartoon take on a US version is, sadly (and funnily) spot on.

Hat tip to Discover Magazine.

Related: Wikipedia's (Incomplete) list of American TV shows based on British TV shows.

Jane Pauley on 30 Years of Marriage to Garry Trudeau

Via USA Today:

"[Jane] Pauley recently celebrated 30 years of marriage to Doonesbury cartoonist Garry Trudeau. 'I find Garry has a thousand different interests. I don't have that many interests,' she jokes, 'but he thinks I'm funny and interesting.'"

Ms. Pauley returns to the Today show with a new AARP-sponsored segment, Your Life Is Calling With Jane Pauley. You can see more at the AARP site.

Above photo of Jane Pauley nicked from a Harvard site.

Glenn McCoy: Behind the Scenes of DESPICABLE ME

Did you know that award winning cartoonist Glenn McCoy worked on that new movie DESPICABLE ME? I didn't until I read about it today in the Belleville News-Democrat.

"'I'm just in it for the laughs,' said McCoy, artist, author and editorial cartoonist for the Belleville News-Democrat. 'I worked as a story artist and got to come up with some little sight gags along the way.'"

Some mild spoilers at the above linky.

Brian Fies: A Page In the Life

My pal Brian Fies takes us behind the scenes with some of the special Photoshop effects he created for a "comic book within a graphic novel" sections in his Eisner Award-nominated WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE WORLD OF TOMORROW.

These "Making a Book" columns of Brian's are always fascinating, essential reading (especially his The Second-Best Advice I Ever Gave piece) and I love his polished but non-varnished peek behind the making of his graphic novel.


Above: Mr. Fies strikes a "Cap Carter" pose.

Sherm Cohen's First Comic Book Job

One of my favorite blogs is Sherm Cohen's Cartoon SNAP and this time around he tells about his first professional gig: drawing a complete California Raisins 3-D comic book in less than 2 weeks. A daunting task for a seasoned pro, but Sherm, when faced with the deadline, rose to the challenge.

Keep in mind that he went to a convention weeks earlier -- a complete unknown -- and walked around, showing his sample pages to the pros and publishers there. This is not easy to do. These artists and editors are casually looking at pages that you, the cartoonist, have sweated over and, in a matter of less than a minute, they may say some words of judgment that will change your life.

Scary.

Shaenon Garrity on Jack Kent

Shaenon Garrity argues that a lot of children's books are great comics. She shares some great scans from Jack Kent's CINDY LOU AND THE WITCH'S DOG, including the above wonderful panel which, as she decribes, and I cannot argue, "is one of my favorite single panels in any comic ever."

"From Crockett Johnson onward, there’s a rich history of cartoonists moving back and forth between the comics industry and children’s publishing, reworking the same basic elements of graphic storytelling for another format, another audience."

Dusty Abell: 1970s TV Icons

Dusty Abell has drawn a labor of love: an expansive tableau of 1970s sci fi TV characters (that's just a small snippet above). Go and see the whole thing here. He's also drawn a live-action Saturday morning TV salute here.

Hat tip to Christopher Mills!

Los Angeles Times' Cartoonist Edmund Waller “Ted” Gale

On the eve of the BART verdict in Oakland (and the beefing up of police for race riots), Los Angeles Times' writer Larry Harnisch reflects on a 100 year old LA Times cartoon.

July 7, 1910: Times cartoonist Edmund Waller “Ted” Gale comments on the race riots that followed Jack Johnson’s defeat of James Jeffries in the Fight of the Century. Many cities barred theaters from showing film of the fight for fear of more violence.

Harnisch has frequently showcased Ted Gale's cartoons. The December 27, 1942 cartoon is a lot of fun to look at.



This bit of bio on Ted Gale (by Mr. Harnisch) was all I could find.

Edmund Waller "Ted" Gale was an institution at The Times from 1907 until he quit in 1934 in a dispute over editorial policies and went to the Examiner. Gale, who died in 1975, was the man who created the iconic "Miss Los Angeles."

Related: Adrienne Dore won "Miss Los Angeles" in 1925, but I can find nothing more about Mr. Gale's involvement. The Allure blog has a bit more about Ms Dore. The photo of 17 year old Ms. Dore from the Allure blog.

The Sci-Fi Airshow

People boarding an Eagle prior to flight.

The Sci-Fi Airshow is, well, grand fun -- particularly if you are an overgrown child of a certain age who knows what the Spindrift is, or the original Galactica Shuttle looks like. This airshow's ambition is to (place tongue in cheek here):

preserve and promote the rich and varied history of Sci-Fi/fantasy vehicles. Through display and education we seek to celebrate the classic design and beauty of these ships and the rich imaginations that created them. When the cameras stopped rolling, many of these proud old ships were lost and forgotten. Please join us in working to keep these rare and beautiful birds soaring!

Ahh. If only we all could take rides in a Viper at our local airport.

Big hat tip to the one and only Christopher Mills!

Kate Beaton: "there, now it is like you went to high school in Atlantic Canada also"

Here is cartoonist Kate Beaton, with "there, now it is like you went to high school in Atlantic Canada also."

Video: Darrin Bell

Cartoonist Darrin Bell, whose syndicated strips include CANDORVILLE and RUDY PARK talks creating comic strip characters and politics to Myrna Lim. He was in town for his "Coloring Outside the Lines" exhibit at the San Francisco Main Library.

Early PEANUTS Promo Package

Rosebud Archives presents a series of newspaper promos for the then-new comics strip PEANUTS by Charles Schulz.

Everyone's in a hurry to see
PEANUTS
our new Sunday page
. . . and the more you see, the more you'll
want! You'll chuckle over the charm of these
kids . . . you'll be delighted by their doin's!
Every Sunday in the (name of paper)
Beginning (date)

Buy Now: CARTOONING BASICS by Mike Lynch

CARTOONING BASICS by Mike Lynch.

This 22 page book shows a step-by-step cartoon drawing process to drawing. Take a look. Below are a few pages:




There is also a "finish the comic strip" section:



Each book comes signed and with an original sketch.

CARTOONING BASICS by Mike Lynch. $2.99 each plus $1 postage & handling in the United States. 22 pages, 8.5"x5.5", B&W interior.

EDIT: THIS BOOK HAS

SOLD OUT