Ballard Street creator Jerry Van Amerongen is retiring the Sunday version of his strip. Jerry tells me that it takes him two days to produce his Sunday cartoon and ending the Sunday comic will ease “the deadline pressures I maintained for the last 30 years.” Additionally he plans on spending the extra time each week, “to put more into the dailies, expand my involvement in the gallery scene with paintings and prints, do a better job managing my online presence and be more flexible spending time with the family.”
You can see his paintings over on his website.
Jerry launched his strip back in 1991. It was awarded Best Newspaper Cartoon Panel Of The Year Award by the National Cartoonist Society in 2004 and 2006.
The last Sunday Ballard Street runs on October 17.
While sad to hear, Jerry’s decision is completely understandable. His Sundays are amazingly beautiful, and many of us will miss seeing them.
You’ll be seeing the original to one of them before the week’s out, Mr. Hambrock; see you in Marceline!
(Mr. Van Amerongen dancing on drafting table, coffee spilling.)
Satire free Sundays make Jerry merry.
Keep up the great work, Jerry. Your paintings are magnificent, too!
I’ve always been a Ballard Street fan. Jerry’s great art is something I’ve learned from. Good luck in your new pursuits, Jer !
Good luck, Jerry. I’ve been a long time admirer of your work.
Roy Delgado
Jerry, I’ll miss the color Sunday’s of Ballard Street, they are both beautiful and funny! I can understand your decision to cut back tho’, and wish you continued good luck on the dailies!
Thirty years was a good run, Jerry.
Like the others, I’d rather your Sunday comic had outlasted me, but time conquers all.
Best of luck with your oil painting and the digital paintings created from them.
It must be wonderful to have artistic talent.
xanthian.
The Neighborhood was the reason that I continued my LA Times subscription. Ballard Street had to fill that void and the Sunday toon was the highlight. I will miss it, but I will never miss a daily as long as the old eyes hold out.
Absolutely one of the best toons ever
Charlie
Thank God! I’ve been reading Ballard Street for years and only once it made me chuckle. The rest of the time the comic simply never fails to disapoint me. Maybe I’m the wrong age to get the jokes.