© DC Comics
The Jewish co-creators of the comic book superhero Superman will be posthumously inducted into the Jewish American Hall of Fame (JAHF) in a virtual ceremony that will take place in November.
Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster developed the superhero as well as his companion characters Clark Kent, Lois Lane and others. It took them six years to find a publisher and they eventually sold their idea to DC Comics for only $130. Their comic strip became so popular that in 1939 Superman became the first superhero to be given his own self-titled comic book.
The Jewish News Syndicate reports that Jerry and Joe will join a club that includes such august members as Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elie Wiesel, Arthur Miller, Albert Einstein and Levi Strauss.
Mark Parisi reminds us that, while the National Cartoonists Society Reuben Award ceremonies were virtual, the results are real.
© Edward Gorey Estate
Among the things you might not know about Edward Gorey—the cult American artist known for his moody drawings and fearsome tales of mystery and murder—is that his distinctive sense of style extended beyond the page. The man knew how to put together a look.
Vogue celebrates the art of attire – Gorey style.
The sight of Gorey, who was more than six feet tall, in a huge fur coat worn with jeans, sneakers, a single earring, and many rings on many fingers was a sight—even for supposedly jaded New Yorkers. The coat plus the beard lent a bear-like aspect to his style, which was equally foppish and preppy. His white sneakers were Keds…
© Charles M. Schulz and respective copyright owners
Gertler has a bedroom of his Camarillo home which is in effect a Peanuts library and museum. It’s filled with books and other memorabilia. “All of these shelves, a number of these boxes, it’s Peanuts books,” said Gertler. There’s more than a thousand books from around the world related to the comic book gang. “I have Peanuts in Greek, and Polish, and Latin.”
KCLU talks to Nat Gertler, Peanuts historian and blogger and Charles M. Schulz publisher.
© Ruben Bolling
Any artist can find a light box useful…
A mechanical pencil that I use with blue led for penciling my comic…
The pens are just fantastic. There’s so much easier than rapidographs…
Ruben Bolling talks tools of the trade with Cool Tools Show.
© respective copyright owner
“I got a call three years ago from this guy Geoffrey George,” said ‘I have a bunch of old work by my grandfather in my basement. Do you ever show people’s art?'” said Robyn Awend, the JCC’s cultural arts director. “The intro was not super exciting and I was like, ‘OK, tell me a little bit more.’ He says, ‘Have you ever heard of Rube Goldberg?’ and I was like, ‘Duh. Is this a joke?'”
Rube Goldberg, the iconic Jewish American cartoonist, author, engineer and artist, is best known for his cartoons of his famed “machines” that take many steps to perform ridiculously simple tasks. The Minnesota Jewish Community Center [presents] a two-part exhibition devoted to the life and work of Goldberg (1883-1970) that runs through Dec. 20.
The Star Tribune talks to Rube’s grandson about Rube Goldberg and the exhibit.
© David Michael Beck; Kevin Necessary
Cincinnati has long been home to ghost stories, legends, tall tales and other “weird history.”
Some of the most notable, forgotten and beloved local stories will be memorialized forever in “Cincinnati Cabinet of Curiosities Issue 2: Trails, Trains and Terror.”
The 44-page black and white comic anthology was edited by Kat Klockow and includes nine total artist and writer contributors, including Enquirer librarian and historian Jeff Suess and Enquirer cartoonist Kevin Necessary.
The Cincinnati Enquirer details the comic book which Kevin Necessary contributes.
Working in the newspaper business is long and dedicated work, so much so that you may remain at your place of employment far after your physical body has passed on. Cartoonist Kevin Necessary learned this while working at the Chillicothe Gazette one night when he came face-to-face with one of the previous editors reviewing their work at the newspaper. Read all about it in The Gazette Ghost!
© respective copyright owners
After this initial wave, France and Belgian were producing more western comics than America! European strips offered an idealized vision of the protagonist, a vigilante embodying the law who stood up to bandits and other corrupted scoundrels.
Mention Franco-Belgian western comics and my mind turns to Lucky Luke and Lt. Blueberry.
But there are others: The American West in Franco-Belgian Comics.
© Condé Nast
For the cover of this week’s themed Power Issue, Barry Blitt, who won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning, set out to illustrate the current mood in Washington, where the nation’s political leaders are able only to agree to disagree. We talked to the artist about the particular pleasures and difficulties inherent in trying to catch the passing moment.