Westergaard and the World’s Most Notorious Cartoon
Matthias Wivel grapples with the thorny legacy of Kurt Westergaard, the Danish artist behind the most notorious editorial cartoon of the 21st century thus far. Westergaard died last July.
Columns
Mister Oswald and His Hardware Store: Russ Johnson’s Long-running Comic Strip
Bob takes us back to the hardware store (which is near the woodshed) to uncover the story behind one of the longest running comic strips in the history books, and the only comic strip that can claim consistent Hardware Retailer serialization on its resume
A Portrait of a Manga Scholar Offering His Arm to Shirato Sanpei
Ryan Holmberg remembers Shirato Sanpei, one of the masters of politically-informed action comics, who died this past October.
Funny Book Round Up
Congratulations, you’re in for a lucky-number-seven capsule reviews of all sorts of comics. Recent, good superhero comics! Small-press erotic comics! Decades-old alternative comics! Extremely unhappy commercial Japanese comics! Austin English brings you everything under the sun, and you should thank him.
Another Look At Bill Mauldin
There’s never a bad time to talk about Bill Mauldin, but it’s especially a good time when you’ve got a whole bushel of Maulidin trivia, history and gossip to share thanks to Bob tracking down a copy of 2020’s Drawing Fire: The Editorial Cartoons of Bill Mauldin.
Basil Wolverton: Daft Drivel Dished on the Daffy Dude Who Drew Us Out of the Dumps
Damn, a doggoned disquisition on the 20th century master, in honor of a new collection of ’40s and ’50s filler frolics.
Scrawling Editoons & Pop’s Place: When Your Surname Is Rawls And Your Initials Are S & C
Bob takes a look at Sam C. Rawls (Scrawls), whose name never provided him a choice about what kind of profession he was best suited for, his work throughout the 80s and 90s both as a strip & editorial cartoonist, and his more recent environmental activism.
MK Reed: Day Five
Good boy, Hank.
MK Reed: Day Four
Scenes from the early life of Hank, as MK Reed’s diary week continues.
MK Reed: Day Three
Garden work; a helpful pet; a fancy dress; trophies awarded before a thousand eyes in an empty room.
MK Reed: Day Two
Today, MK and her sibling try to find some sense of normalcy in the face of 2020’s various awfulness by heading out to the farm!
MK Reed: Day One
A new Cartoonist’s Diary begins, and so does a new era for a dog, depicted by MK Reed as having experienced, for the first time…well, you’ll just have to read on to find out!
Shoes & John Q. Public
Bob is calling class to order, and this time, he’s looking back at Vaughn Shoemaker, the question of who invented the “Q” in John Q. Public, how the Gospels made it past the editing stage, and supplying some professional anecdotes of the way things used to be, professionally..
Max Huffman: Day Five
In today’s conclusion of Max Huffman’s Diary, he turns his pen to the recesses of his memory, delivers a classic “footprints” gag, and touches upon current affairs in a universal fashion. It’s what we in the comics business call a “perfect landing”. Get in here, buddy!
Max Huffman: Day Four
“There’s something in them trees”, Billy once said. Which Billy? And how many trees are there at the beach, anyway? Answers: they await you, here on the precipice of clicking through to Day Four of Max Huffman’s Cartoonist’s Diary!
Thomas Inge, 1936 – 2021: Pioneering Founder Of Comics Scholarship Dies
Bob looks back at the life and career of M. Thomas Inge, his friend, editor, and collaborator, and reflects on the groundbreaking work that Inge did in the world of comics scholarship.
Max Huffman: Day Three
Max and his crew have made it to the beach–but so has a helicopter. What’s going on? And what’s going on with the supply situation? There’s only one way to find out!
Max Huffman: Day Two
When you hear it wrong, but it makes it oh so right: that’s what the pizza guys call “amore”. It’s day two for Max, and he’s heading to the beach!
Max Huffman: Day One
Max Huffman launches this week’s diary by sitting down and experiencing an emotional launch of his own: the kind that only cartooning can provide, without lasting physical repercussions!
Zineth 1: Small Press and Self-Published Comics in the Pandemic Era
Paul Tumey presents the debut installment of Zineth, a new series surveying current developments in small press and self-published comics! First off, Paul checks in with a wide variety of cartoonists and distributors to see what’s new during the pandemic… and it’s a lot.
Bob Montana’s Archie Newspaper Comic Strip…And Who, Actually, Invented Archie
Is there a secret history to the beginnings of Archie and his fellow Riverdalians? Bob’s been doing some reading and researching, and is ready to deliver his hot take, that take being: “Maybe!”
Mort Weisinger’s Puzzle Comics
In this installment of the 10 Cent Museum, Austin English looks back at some of the most popular comics for children ever published: the Superman stories associated with Mort Weisinger!
Frank Thorne, Red Sonja, Ghita—Gone, But Never Forgotten
“To foster acceptance of any aspect of the human condition, to nurture enjoyment of it, and to vanquish meaningless guilt seem to me to be acts of high morality: such acts elevate the human spirit. If this be pornography, we need more of it.”
François Vigneault: Days 14-15
Closing things out with a book report, the return home, some difficult news: François’s vacation (and his Cartoonist’s Diary) come to a close.
