David Ostow is right, and so was my professor, all those years ago. We were reading Hamlet and he led off the day’s discussion by asking what purpose the gravediggers’ scene served. Being sophomores, we knew everything, so we chattered away about rising and falling action and the need for comic relief in a tense […]

Despite being the world’s most syndicated comic, pulling in hundreds of millions of dollars every year, Garfield was originally meant to be very different, even following a different character in Jim Davis’ original vision. The cynical, always hungry tabby has appeared on endless merchandise, starred in various movies and TV shows, and is instantly recognizable […]

Liza Donnelly reports: Last year, Michael and I were instrumental in helping to establish the Thurber Prize for American Cartoon Art, partnering with Thurber House to pay tribute to the wonderful cartoons by James Thurber and celebrate the tradition of single panel cartoons. This year, we are thrilled to announce that the Cartoon Art prize […]

Nice of Australian cartoonist Glen LeLievre to offer an All-American image as he sums up global reaction to Trump’s conviction. While conservative cartoonists in this country are beginning to rally around Dear Leader, he’s getting little pity or respect elsewhere in the world. But from England comes Peter Brookes with a response indicating the insult […]

Jeffrey Lindenblatt’s Paper Trends returns with a survey of the comics page of the year 2000. The Rookies, Biggest Winners and Losers, and the Ranking. ********** While Jeffrey introduced us to the rookies of 2000, Comics Kingdom introduces us to their rookie line-up. We’re celebrating “Graduation Season” at Comics Kingdom and are proud to welcome […]

To repeat an oft-told story in political cartooning, Bill Mauldin was at a luncheon when news of JFK’s assassination came. He raced back to the newsroom and, within an hour, had this classic cartoon ready for the afternoon’s Extra edition. I point this out because, while I was indeed surprised at how quickly the jury […]

After more than 20 years on the job, Karen Moy ’87 still considers it “a blessing and an honor” to write the longtime daily comic strip “Mary Worth.” “The stories and characters reflect different societal problems in the country,” Moy says. “Mary doesn’t have all the answers, but she often ends up helping her neighbors, […]

The Garfield Movie, currently running on movie theaters (Rotten Tomatoes scoring much better by audiences than critics) prompted Cartoon Brew to revisit animated cartoons that were adapted from comic strips. Vincent Alexander notes: The history of adapting comic strips to animation goes all the way back to Little Nemo (1911), one of the earliest animated […]

Here sits the New York trial of Donald Trump for falsifying his campaign expenditures: The testimony is over, the jury is deliberating and, as Lisa Benson (Counterpoint) depicts it, both Republicans and Democrats are awaiting a verdict, along with the nation. She appears to suggest that, while the political parties see things in immediate, pragmatic […]

Patrick McDonnell’s Mutts Comics site is promoting The Guard Dog Story for preorder. This book features the seven-week-long tale of Guard Dog’s unchaining and adoption, an illustrated history of Guard Dog (written by Patrick), real-life rescue stories, and empowering information from voices in the animal welfare community. A Patrick McDonnell signed edition is exclusive to […]

Louis M. Glackens, Benjamin Franklin, Rube Goldberg, Harvey Kurtzman, Homer Davenport. [Louis M.] Glackens was born in 1866 in Philadelphia and started drawing at an early age alongside his younger brother, William. While the latter went on to become a successful painter and prominent member of the Ashcan School, which focused on realistic portrayals of […]

I’m more than a little burned out on upside-downism in cartooning about Justice Alito’s political posturing, though the immediacy with which the examples cascaded makes it more of a coincidence than a matter of redundancy, an event cartoonists once described as a Yahtzee, though I haven’t heard the term in a while. However, I like […]

Cartoonist and puzzle maker Julie Larson had passed away two years ago. Julie Christine (Harris) Larson September 20, 1959 – August 17, 2022 From the obituary: Julie Harris Larson, 62, of Lincoln, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, August 17, 2022, at The Christian Village in Lincoln. Julie began her professional career in architecture, interior and […]

Sometimes you need a dose of silliness, and Jimmy Craig is just the one to deliver. This gag requires a little cultural literacy, because, first of all, you have to know who Jackson Pollock was, which isn’t all that esoteric though his paintings are. Plus it adds another chuckle to know that the story of […]

A VIP tour of The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum, a look at The Nancy Show, and a report on NancyFest 2024. Jason Chatfield, The Former Guy at the National Cartoonists Society (thus inclusion as part of the NCS VIP tour), presents a travelogue of his recent trip(s) to Columbus Ohio. NancyFest 2024 was […]