The cartooning community has lost a gentleman of the art. Arnold Wagner passed away on Friday August 31st after a return of an earlier battle of cancer. Arnold was a co-founder to an early cartoonist trade journal called The PRO Cartoonist & Gagwriter and authored The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Cartooning
A few cartoonists have posted their thoughts on his passing:
I’ll link to more as they’re posted as well as to funeral plans/obituaries as I become aware of them.
I didn’t know Arnold, but I read more than a few of his posts on ToonTalk. He came across as a really sharp guy and obviously had a lot of friends.
My condolences to those who knew him.
Arnold was a great guy. I only met him in person once–when the Reuben Awards were in San Francisco–but I corresponded with him frequently. He loved cartooning passionately and loved sharing his experiences and insights with anyone who asked him. He turned me onto many cartoonists whose worked he admired, especially gag cartoonists (a particular passion of his). I’ll really miss him, as will his many online friends.
I emailed Arnold through his daughter the day before he passed away. I hope he was aware enough to hear it.
There has been a lot of talk on the blogosphere the past couple of weeks regarding friendship and what does friendship mean in this day and age when people claim thousands of “friends” on Facebook or MySpace. Yes, most of it is very shallow, but sometimes it’s not, even if you’ve never met the person face to face.
I wrote about Arnold on my own blog. I consider him a true friend. I’ll miss him.
Sigh. I just checked his blog yesterday, crossing my fingers that he’d be feeling better and posting anew.
I corresponded with Arnold many times over the years, never met him in person, but held him in very high regard. He will be much missed by our little fraternity of cartooning fans.
So sad.
I was new on toontalk, just launched my strip and Arnold spent time critiquing my strip via personal email. He had no obligation to do this, and the advice he gave will stick to me forever. His knowledge and wisdom about cartooning was unmatched…I like to think it all turned to energy and so with every strip I remember what he told me.
He was a warrior.
I had the same experience; he gave me some good solid advice and encouragement when I first posted my comics online. I was surprised and saddened to read about his passing.
I wish I had taken the opportunity to know him better.
Alan,
It’s been wonderful to read everything, here.
We always knew he was something special, but it’s good to know how many others had the same thought.
Here’s the link to his obituary:
http://online.statesmanjournal.com/obituaries/obituary.cfm?i=35107
His website is temporarilly down, but will be back up soon.
Thank you,
Rachel
Oh, shoot. I’d love to drive down to Salem for the memorial, but I’m flying out to San Francisco Saturday morning.
I’ll definitely be there in spirit. God bless you all, Rachel.
I suppose you already knew that Bill Keough died of melamoma
he was the one that owned cartoonarama and had a cartoonist market magazine called Cartoon Oppertunities George Hartmann created Cartoon World and he died of illness related from a fall he took in 1995 in January . He had a stroke . Well I am a cartoonist and my work in in Albeck’s book Bees . It is a book on poetry . He has 23 books that he has written and he is in his eighties .He lives in the woods like a troll and comes out at night to write his stuff . He is a former art teacher at Culver Stockton College . He has a website Rockyhollow.org . He lives in Monroe City Missouri . He divorce his lovely wife and married a wrinkled old woman that has a doctor degree in psychology . She does photographs . I am a cartoonist but I don’t sell my work I give it away mainly since my stuff doesn’t sell and It looks to much like Robert Crumbs stuff . I have since cut back on drawing because of a condition in my finger that causes it to stick in one position called trigger finger . But I can still draw with other three finger and a thumb . kenneth bentley
Well I have some sad news . Albecks wife? killed herself . On Sat two weeks ago . He found her when he got back from a trip over the weekend . He is selling out and moving out of Monroe city . He is moving to Quincy Illinois . Ken
Albeck has moved to Quincy Illinois and has a new book of poetry coming out in may . Ken
Albeck the professor of art is now in a nursing home . He is retiring from writing and looks forward to becoming a vegetable . He didn’t say what kind whether steamed or fried . Well he is in his 80 s like a lot of artists that become famous he had his day . He was a vetran of Korea and lived in a japanese style home . Well I will never be as famous as him nor do I want to be . Once you have fame you lose your sense of self and turn inward . Money and more fame consumes you till you have no life and wish you was dead . So to all those that want fame and fortune go ahead I will sit back and watch the crash. Ken