As one of the last remaining full-time newspaper cartoonists left in the U.S., I was starting to feel like a contestant on one of those reality shows. You know, something like “Last Cartoonist Inking.” And then it’s like I was kicked off the show.
After 31 years drawing award-winning cartoons for my beloved hometown newspaper, The Omaha World-Herald, my position fell victim to cost-cutting measures.
Jeff Koterba, earlier this week, was interviewed by KIOS Omaha Public Radio.
Koterba discusses the current state of journalism and the importance of satire in today’s climate.
© Jeff Koterba
© Collins and Beatty; King Features Syndicate
NeoText is running a multi-part autobiography by mystery writer Max Allan Collins. Part five of the series has Max talking about his partnership with current Rex Morgan cartoonist Terry Beatty.
When cartoonist Terry Beatty and I were approached in 1981 by Dean Mullaney to contribute to his comics anthology, Eclipse Magazine, we were honored…and surprised.
Dean knew me from my scripting of the syndicated Dick Tracy comic strip, which I’d taken over from creator Chester Gould late in 1977. He knew Terry from our Mike Mist Minute Mist-ery feature running in The Chicago Reader.
As Terry’s artistic skills blossomed, we began trying to land a paying gig together. We’d submitted try-out strips to the Chicago Tribune Syndicate (my Tracy employer) for new versions of Harold Teen, Winnie Winkle, and Little Orphan Annie. We had some encouraging response, particularly to the latter, but eventually nothing came of it – some newcomer named Leonard Starr beat us on Annie.
Part Five of Max’s A Life In Crime.
© Collins and Beatty; DC Comics
In other autobiographical news Drawn and Quarterly has announced that they will be publishing Kate Beaton‘s graphic memoir Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands. Multiversity Comics says:
The book will follow “Katie” after she graduated university in 2005, when she worked at an oil sands mining project in Fort McMurray, Alberta. She was one of the few women employed there, and “the culture shock [was] palpable.” D&Q states, “The harsh reality of life in the oil sands is that trauma is an everyday occurrence yet never discussed. ‘Ducks’ is an untold story of contemporary Canada.”
She initially serialized “Ducks” as a five-part [web]comic in 2014.
© Kate Beaton
© Terry Mosher
As long as we’re in Canada and on the subject of books…
The Montreal Gazette features Terry (Aislin) Mosher‘s new volume:
Once he was installed in his Lachine home, it wasn’t long before Mosher’s professional instincts kicked in and he began mapping out a project that would be a worthy response to an unprecedented crisis. The result is Aislin’s Favourite COVID Cartoons from Around the World (Aislin Publications, 336 pp, $30), an ambitiously conceived and brilliantly executed volume featuring the COVID-themed work of over a hundred cartoonists from 38 different countries.
The soliciting of work from such an array of cartoonists was a massive undertaking, even given the interconnectedness of the international cartooning fraternity. For Mosher, was it like making a series of cold calls? Or did he find that his reputation effectively preceded him?
Bado, at his Blog, has a selected gallery of the cartoons.
© André-Philippe Côté; Rick McKee
Down Under:
Cartoonist Michael Leunig has again divided fans with an image comparing resistance to mandatory vaccination as being similar to the fight for democracy in Tiananmen Square.
In an image posted to his Instagram account, Leunig drew a lone protester standing in front of a loaded syringe, mimicking the iconic “tank man” image of protest in China. An inset of the 1989 photo also appears in Leunig’s drawing.
The cartoon divided fans on his Instagram page, with some applauding it as “brilliant” and “spot on” while others described it as “pretty bad taste” and a “disgusting comparison”.
© Michael Leunig
News.com.au has more about the “offensive cartoon.”
Minnesota Public Radio elicited suggestions from booksellers about books for kids and teens.
Each week, MPR and The Thread newsletter check in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. During September, our Ask a Bookseller feature highlighted recommendations for kids and teen readers. We also asked readers for their recommendations.
Dana Simpson‘s collections of Phoebe and Her Unicorn made the list.
© Dana Simpson
On anticipation of her speaking engagement at the Cartoon Crossroads Columbus Saturday Columbus Monthly interviews cartoonist Alison Bechdel.
What is the process that you go through to construct these complicated narratives? Does it just flow?
Oh God, no, it doesn’t flow at all. It’s a quite laborious process. I write in Adobe Illustrator in a drawing program, and I have a lot of complicated ideas that I’m dragging onto the page on my computer until the page is almost black with all of my attempts to articulate some idea.
© Alison Bechdel
In England:
The Telegraph will suspend cartoonist Bob Moran over Twitter posts targeting an NHS doctor.
Moran encouraged his 40,000 followers to abuse a palliative care doctor who posted about the importance of wearing masks on public transport to stop the spread of Covid-19.
He wrote: “She deserves to be verbally abused in public for the rest of her worthless existence. They all do.”
© Bob Moran
The London Economic carries the story.
It’s almost October and people are already getting in the Halloween mood! Next time you’re in check out our new In the Spirit display on the Main Floor. The Children’s Room will also have a new fun craft available soon.
© Stephanie Piro
Main Desk Librarian (and syndicated cartoonist) Stephanie and Main Desk Librarian Karyl have created a series of weekly animated videos recommending book, DVD and other titles available at the Library.