“History is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake.” — Stephen Dedalus As Doonesbury concluded back in 1971, putting Kent State into the memory hole allowed us to “concentrate on fresher, more recent, tragedies.” But as Senators Hawley and Cotton call for the National Guard to be sent to quell campus protests, it’s […]
Juxtaposition of Ancient Fads Paul Conrad Cornered — AMS Paul Berge has a collection of cartoons from a half-century ago about streaking, which was one of those fads that becomes a fad because it became a fad. Which is to say that it got a lot more attention than it deserved, but it appealed to […]
Henry Kissinger died last evening, too late in the day for American cartoonists to do more than replay some of their previous commentaries on the man. Steve Brodner‘s cover for Nation was only a few months ago, on Kissinger’s 100th birthday, and his dripping blood frosting offers a Reader’s Digest guide to the doctor’s accomplishments, […]
This Doonesbury ran on May 30, 1973, not July 4, but it’s an important intro to the political cartoons that ran a half century ago today, because, like most historical moments, Watergate is shrouded in half-remembered stories and outright myths. Trudeau may have been a little pessimistic about how much people were paying attention at […]
My blogging partner, DD Degg, forwarded an article from the Spectator on war and cartooning, in which the above WWII David Low cartoon is referenced though not shown. The article is a quick read and nicely done, but doesn’t show any of the cartoons it discusses. Which is why you should read it there and […]
It used to be a tradition this time of year to break the fourth wall and wish readers a Merry Christmas, these being some examples by classic strips back in 1925. I didn’t see many examples today, though it may be that, come next Friday, more cartoonists will do that. It’s a clumsy situation […]
Happy New Year, 1915, from this little feller. Since New Year’s cartoons are interchangeable, I thought instead I’d dip into my files of favorites from before I launched this venture nine years ago. So let’s start with my first posting in rec.arts.comics.strips, nearly 20 years ago, which didn’t keep my numbskull boss from selling […]