With Steve Breen, Georgia Dunn, Ralph Hulett, Hartley Lin, Jack Ohman, Rob Rogers, E. C. Segar, Scott Stantis, James Thurber, and more. SMERCOMICS raises 200K for Children’s Crisis Treatment Center From Michael Smerconish YouTube channel: Thank you to all who purchased Smercomics 2024. Last night I received copy No. 1, and handed over 100% of […]
Animator Dante Barbetta was born December 2, 1934 and so joins the Senior Strippers roll. “Friend Bob,” who Dante addresses in those above drawings, is Bob Coar who, for Cartoon Research, informs us of Dante’s long and varied career in animation in his Born to Animate – Dante Barbetta biographical entry to Coar-Toon Rehash. And […]
In today’s Barney Google and Snuffy Smith John Rose celebrates the 90th anniversary of Snuffy Smith. Snuffy and “Lowizie” Smith first appeared in the Barney Google comic strip on November 17, 1934, but Snuffy was mentioned a couple days earlier. Since Comics Kingdom’s archive of Barney Google and Snuffy Smith only goes back to 1936 […]
September 12, 1984: The first issue of The Santa Cruz Comic News is published. In a rare moment of clarity, founder Thom Zajac had come up with the idea of using only syndicated material — primarily editorial cartoons — to create the first newspaper of its kind, and it becomes an instant hit. Over the […]
Yesterday saw the release of Breaking the Chain: The Guard Dog Story and tomorrow will be the 30th anniversary of the Mutts comic strip. The Daily Cartoonist is splitting the difference and celebrating both today. First the book. From the award-winning syndicated comic strip Mutts, the long-awaited “Guard Dog” story is now collected and presented in […]
Fifty years ago today former football player Tank McNamara made his debut as a TV news sportscaster. Seven days later, August 12, 1974, Tank McNamara by Jeff Millar and Bill Hinds made his first Sunday appearance. Tank McNamara was one of the first dozen comics distributed by the new(ish) Universal Press Syndicate. Ten years ago, […]
The world’s oldest cartooning organization, the Australian Cartoonists Association, celebrates 100 years of existence today. (Well, yesterday because, you know, Australia.) The Dictionary of Sydney gives us A Short History of the Black and White Artists’ Club by Lindsey Foyle: The Dictionary of Sydney also notes the various name changes of the organization through the […]
Among the newly added journals at newspapers.com is a 10 month run from May 1880 to February 1881 of The Daily Graphic: An Illustrated Evening Newspaper which ran from 1873 to 1889 and is legendary for its, well, graphics. The cartoon and comic strip covers include work by Livingston Hopkins (top), Edward W. Kemble (bottom), […]
Though in my mind Rose Gumbo is around thirty years of age, she turns forty today. At least her comic strip does. above: the first three dailies and the first Sunday Rose Is Rose began on April 16, 1984 with the title character portraying the life of a homemaker. Within a couple years creator Pat […]
One hundred years ago one of the greatest adventure comic strips by one of the greatest cartoonists debuted – Washington Tubbs II by Roy Crane first appeared on April 14, 1924. While the promo above tells us to “Watch For The Adventures” there was no thrilling action at the start. Don Markstein explains that Washington […]
April 5, 1999 saw Grand Avenue by cartoonist Steve Breen appear in newspapers around the country. Mike Thompson began helping on the strip in 2005 and began co-signing the comic strip on January 1, 2009. In 2016 Mike Thompson took full control of Grand Avenue – April 4 for the dailies, May 1 on the […]
Georgia Dunn uses her Sunday page to celebrate ten years of Breaking Cat News today. Let’s compare – here’s the March 12, 2014 debut comic strip of Breaking Cat News: As for the future? Yes, cartoonist Georgia is going there, covering real news! More previews at Georgia’s Patreon.
Cartoonist Kevin Fagan grew up idolizing Charles M. Schulz and “Peanuts.” Now that his own comic strip, “Drabble,” is turning 45 this week, Fagan is contemplating his long run in the funny pages and once again has Schulz on his mind. “I knew Charles M. Schulz pretty well,” Fagan says from his home in Mission […]
Today we welcome two cartoonists to our Senior Strippers Club, both Ashleigh Brilliant and Jose Delbo turn 90. Ashleigh Brilliant, born December 9, 1933, came to prominence during San Francisco’s 1967 Summer of Love where he had joined the Haight Ashbury scene. From the April 7, 1967 San Francisco Examiner: Sometime between 1967 and 1972 […]
Lemont Brown was created by Darrin Bell in 1993 as a comic strip in UC Berkeley’s Daily Californian. Ten years later, on October 19, 2003, the character began his national syndication as the star of Candorville. above: the first Candorville comic strip as reprinted in Thank God for Culture Clash. below: the first three dailies […]