Miss Cellany Runs Thru Brambles & Bushes

Being a collection of items about cartoonists, cartooning, and comics.

Michael Cavna Wins

Cartoonist and journalist Michael Cavna took a second place award in the General Features category from the Society for Features Journalism for his Washington Post profile of courtroom artist Jane Rosenberg.

GENERAL FEATURE (999 words or fewer): Excellence in short feature writing

Second place: Michael Cavna, The Washington Post, The art of capturing Trump in court.
Judge’s comment: When major news breaks, journalists often scramble to find any little entry point to break out into a separate story. Though small in scope compared to the big Trump trial headlines, this feature is essential. Michael Cavna writes a snappy profile of a person whose pencil sketched history. The story maintains a light, effortless tone throughout without ever downplaying the gravity of the moment. It’s a great example of giving the reader a story they didn’t know they wanted until they read it.

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Sandra Bell-Lundy’s Creates a Hunk.

I think this post would come under the file of “Process”. (If I had a “Process” file)

Sandra Bell-Lundy explains how she created a character for her Between Friends comic strip.

… I skipped the beard. Beards are a pain to draw in comics…

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Anatomy of a Cartoon Between Hardcovers

Phil Witte and Rex Hesner have (had?) a regular column at Cartoon Stock where they break down the components of a gag cartoon. Now they have put their knowledge into a book.

Gag cartoons are distinct from comic strips, graphic novels and political cartoons on op-ed pages. They boast their own rules and quirky humor.

“Funny Stuff,” which is set for release on July 16, covers topics such as humor styles, visual and caption incongruity, idea generation and how women and people of color have expanded the art form. The authors also interviewed several A-list cartoonists to get their take on how they do what they do…

The Jewish News talks to Phil Witte about the book.

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Humanity Illustrated

MUTTS, the wonderfully whimsical, slightly surreal syndicated daily comic strip Patrick McDonnell created in 1994, aims for your heart as well as your funny bone. While chronicling the adventures of Earl the dog, Mooch the cat, their guardians and animal friends, the strip gently prods readers to consider the welfare of animals around the world.

The Humane Society interviews Patrick McDonnell.

Doing a daily comic strip, there’s so little space. My dailies are generally three panels, so you have to get to the essence of things. I compare it to haiku poetry. When you keep whittling away, what’s left? The only thing that is real is love. I see these little comic strips as little prayers, little haikus, a moment for the reader to experience joy.

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Call For Papers: Comics & Cartoon History

In conjunction with the 10th annual Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC) festival, we will be hosting a scholarly symposium dedicated to comics history. As in our past symposia, we invite proposals from all who are working in the field, including university-employed scholars, independent scholars, and cartoonist-scholars.

We are looking for papers that discuss new and innovative work in comics history, papers that raise new questions, correct errors in the received history, find comics history in unlikely archives, tell the history of understudied aspects of the medium, or explore new research methods. In general, we are hoping to pull together a conversation of folks obsessed with the history of the medium—a history with so much yet to be explored—so we can all learn more about the rich history of this medium we love. Since comics is of course a global medium with a complex global history, we welcome talks on the history of comics from anywhere cartoonists have worked. We also welcome talks that seek to push the boundaries of what “counts” as comics, recognizing that many of the formal definitions central to the academic study of comics are historically and culturally contingent. For this reason, we explicitly include cartoons and cartooning in our call, to open the door to the widest possible historical and formal range of topics.

Cartoon Crossroads Columbus Symposium 2024 has the details.

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Kickstarter – Women Laughing, a Documentary by Liza Donnelly

WOMEN LAUGHING is a documentary about the diverse women cartoonists who have graced the pages of The New Yorker from the first issue to the present day, as well as a fun, insightful journey into how women’s humor reflects their struggles and helps us to see differently.

From the pioneering cartoonists like Barbara Shermund and Helen Hokinson in the 1920s, to the artists of the second wave of feminism in the 1970s, right up to the present, the film will look at how far women have come in a field long dominated by men.

WOMEN LAUGHING Kickstarter project.

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Booking Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon (Again)

Mad Cave Studios is collecting the Alex Raymond Flash Gordon Sunday strips, with two hardcover volumes scheduled, covering the years from the beginning of the strip on January 7, 1934 to April 18, 1937 in the first volume, and April 25, 1937 to January 12, 1941 in the second.  Both Flash Gordon: Classic Collection volumes are 208-page 10.2” x 11.3″ hardcovers, retailing for $49.99.

The stories were co-written by Don Moore, but the art is all Raymond, one of the masters of the medium. Raymond’s Flash Gordon comic strips appeared only on Sundays, in color, from the origin of the character in 1934 until 1940, when a daily strip was added.

ICv2 tells of the forthcoming (July 31, 2024 & October 29, 2024) presentations (for the umpteenth time).

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Video

Marshall Ramsey, Editor-at-Large for Mississippi Today, is a Pulitzer finalist, Emmy-winning journalist, and acclaimed editorial cartoonist. Known for his award-winning cartoons, Ramsey’s passion for drawing began early, inspired by his childhood love for cartoons. He described his creative process and shared an emotional story about a cartoon featuring Barbara Bush. Ramsey also discussed his new children’s book, “Saving Sam,” [link added] which debuts at the Mississippi Book Festival. As an editorial cartoonist, he aims to express his opinions fairly. Ramsey emphasizes his deep love for Mississippi and hopes for a prosperous and positive future for its people.

WTVA interviews Marshall Ramsey in a five minute segment.

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More Video

A conversation about MAD Magazine’s impact on artists and writers working today. Join cartoonist, illustrator, and performer Emily Flake and cartoonist and comedian Jason Chatfield for a lively program exploring the impact MAD magazine has had on a younger generation of artists and writers. Together Flake and Chatfield will share stories about their experiences reading MAD as kids and later what it was like to be contributors to this influential and beloved magazine. The presenters will delve into some of their favorite MAD signature features including Spy vs. Spy, MAD Fold-ins, Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions, the Marginals, and The Strip Club. The conversation will also trace the importance of MAD as a space for cultural critique and irreverent satire that continues to inspire their work today.

The Norman Rockwell Museum presents Emily Flake and Jason Chatfield for an eighty minute discussion.