Zap: Censorship and Suppression

America at mid-twentieth century was chock full of self-appointed, blue-nosed guardians of good taste who tried to control what could be shown in popular media and insisted that everyone follow their rules.

| November 10, 2014

Letter to a Young Cartoonist

What is the meaning of the Internet? And what can be done about it? I am 36. Like Virgil in Dante’s Inferno I come from Another Time, the pre-Internet era, to guide you, Young Cartoonist, through the architecture of Hell.

| November 7, 2014

Ralph Steadman: Into the Gentle Darkness

In this 1989 Comics Journal interview, Gary Groth picks Ralph Steadman’s brain on the topic of his growth as an artist, changing interests, loss of faith and times working with Hunter S. Thompson in a career-spanning conversation that always finds its way back to politics and all that’s wrong in the world.

| October 24, 2014

Proto-Gekiga: Matsumoto Masahiko’s Komaga

One could say that Matsumoto Masahiko was the true innovator of gekiga and today’s manga. Sakurai Shōichi (cartoonist, publisher, brother of Tatsumi Yoshihiro), 1971-72 As an aside, let me point out that, around the time that the term ‘gekiga’ was born, some people used ‘komaga’ instead. In my opinion, it would be more appropriate to… Read more »

| October 22, 2014

Pete, the Rookie

At 108, former cartoonist Austin “Pete” Peterson recalls Jimmy Swinnerton, Tad Dorgan, and getting fired by William Hearst.

| October 16, 2014