Cartoonists in the News

Jim Davis, Shena Wolf, Bob Swaim, Jamie Smith, Barbara Dale, plus awards and books.

Here’s some items about cartoonists from the last week of Spring.

Garfield is celebrating his 45th birthday this week, so the GoComics crew interviewed creator Jim Davis.

Do you have a favorite strip that you’ve created? If yes, what one?

Yes. nearly 40 years ago I was about to pitch a gag that was, well, silly, when my assistant, Valette, convinced me to give it a try. The response was amazing! The newspapers got hundreds of calls and letters (back then) from readers saying how much they enjoyed the gag.

Shena Wolf, late of Andrews McMeel, has joined K O Media Management as Licensing Agent.

The Agent title is new for Wolf, having spent over a decade in content acquisition, development, and syndication, but these skills are precisely what KO Media Management founder, Kathleen Ortiz, was looking for.

In 2023, Shena stepped away from Andrews McMeel to pursue other opportunities, and realized that the Venn diagram of things they loved about their former job and the elements of agenting were almost a single circle. They believe that a crucial piece of any creative process is the ability to engage with and support talent, and are excited to bring these skills to this new career.

At Andrews McMeel Shena was a driving force behind Phoebe and Her Unicorn, Breaking Cat News, Wallace the Brave, Dark Side of the Horse, the rebooted Nancy, the rebooted Heart of the City, and Crabgrass, among others.

Must be getting to awards season as there is a lot of stuff happening. This Awards Roundup is filled to the brim: nominees for the 2023 Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award, NCS Divisional Finalists for the 77th Reuben Awards, the first ever JewCie Awards nominations – as well as the winners of Pop Culture Classroom’s sixth Excellence in Graphic Literature Awards. Scroll on!

Dean Simons at The Beat has a roundup of recently announced nominees and winners for various awards with comic strip and magazine cartoonists scattered among the graphic novel and comic book people.

Robert “Bob” Swain has passed away. He was one of several citizen cartoonists who would contribute “cartoons to the editor,” a regular feature of The Arizona Daily Star. Bob’s contributions ran from 2018 – 2022.

Bob was a champion for civil rights, whether picketing in the 60’s or working to stop entrapment in the 70’s. His years of letters to the editor and dozens of published editorial cartoons are infamous.

Jamie Smith gets a front page, above-the-fold profile at The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Jamie’s Nuggets is a regular highlight of the newspaper.

Who was one of the first to depict a twentieth-century working woman in cartoons that primarily feature the daily stress and angst of women struggling to balance career and home life in the 1980s?

Martha H. Kennedy, for Persimmon Tree, profiles cartoonist and fine artist Barbara Dale.

An exhibit of Barbara Dale‘s artistry just opened in Baltimore.

Publishers Weekly shows three of the top selling books, that’s ALL books, are by cartoonists.

_{hat tip: Heidi MacDonald}

Steenz, Bill Griffith, Jerry Beck, Keith Knight, William Stout, Raina Telgemeier, Ron Turner, and Brian Walker are among the special guests scheduled to appear at this year’s Comic-Con.

_{feature image by and © Jamie Smith}