There is a wall between the world of comic books and the world of magazine cartoons. Certain people draw comic books, certain others draw single panel cartoons. Almost never the twain. One exception is Harry Lampert, who created the golden age Flash character for DC Comics (Then called National Periodical Publications.) and, when the comic book business took a hit in the 1950s, he began drawing gag cartoons. And there's another exception. Someone who did comic books and magazine cartoons and newspaper panels all at the same time. That's Henry Boltinoff.  Dick Buchanan shares some biograph ..read more

I saw this post by Rob Stolzer on the Hogan's Alley Facebook page and completely snagged it and present it here. Like Rob, I'm not a sheet music collector, but it sure is fun to see all of these comic characters and their sheet music covers gathered together. Here's Rob:    "There is someone on eBay who has been offering a wonderful selection of cartoon-related sheet music. I don't collect sheet music, but saved the seller's images, straightening them out and sharpening them a bit. I thought the group might be interested in seeing them"   Thanks, Rob! Great to see these.  ..read more

Here's one of those many teen-themed comic books. This is Wally "He's the Most!" The first issue gives you all you need to know: a high school dude who gets into humiliating scrapes. Wally is a spirited teen, and he has a noisy jalopy and a best friend called Hippo who always has a sandwich in his hand. Like Archie, the emphasis is on white middle-class misunderstandings.  The series would have four quarterly issues before folding.  The art, like the writing, is uncredited, but boy oh boy, it sure seemed polished. Martin O'Hearn, of the Who Created the Comic Books? blog, was able ..read more

Mom always told you it wasn't polite to STARE -- by extension, STARE Magazine is impolite -- and not the kind of thing your mom would approve of. It's sexy, but in a kinda retro Austin Powers "Oh, behave!" way, with a lotta cheesecake photo essays with titles like "Cutey and the Cuticle" and "Overly N. Dowd." You get the picture. It was also a cartoon market. It was also -- surprise, surprise -- published by Marvel Comics. STARE, Exciting and Lively Picture Pleasure! (yes, that's the whole title from the indicia) Volume 7, No. 3, October 1960 is copyright 1960 Timely Publications ..read more

  Mid century modern cartoon art is alive and well in this 1964 edition of the Metropolitan Cook Book, which is copyright that year by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. Their home office in New York, NY had been there since 1868 and they had over 1,000 offices in the USA and Canada. This 66 page booklet was, I assume, a giveaway.  It's worth noting that when the call went out for illustrations, it was met by an uncredited artist who was obliged to anthropomorphize all of the drawings of meat and vegetables in the darn thing. Salads, coffee, fish, vegetables, etc. are all very ..read more

  Pioneering cartoonist and comics historian Trina Robbins passed away in San Francisco on Wednesday. She was 84. From the NY Times: "Her death, in a hospital, was confirmed by her longtime partner, the superhero comics inker Steve Leialoha, who said she had recently suffered a stroke. "In 1970, Ms. Robbins was one of the creators of It Ain’t Me Babe Comix, the first comic book made exclusively by women. In 1985, she was the first woman to draw Wonder Woman in her own comic after four decades of male hegemony. In 1994, she was a founder of Friends of Lulu, an advocacy group for fema ..read more

  If anyone ever wants to get me this 1955 book of Czech caricature drawings "STO LET CESKE KARICATURY" by A. Hoffmeister and published by Praha Statni nakladatelstvi krasne literatury -- I would be OK with that.  Photos from an expired eBay auction.     ..read more

Today, Dick Buchanan has not only presented us with a good sampling of Punch Magazine cartoons, he has given us some great biographical details on these British cartoonists. Some really interesting items here, most of which are new to me. Wow! Thanks, my friend. Here's Dick: --- PUNCH CARTOONS (1950-1954) Punch, the British weekly magazine of humor and satire, ran from 1841 to 1992. It was briefly revived in 1996 and folded for good in 2002. From the world’s first cartoon by John Leech, which ran July 15, 1843, to the end it was the home of some of the greatest cartoonists in history. Th ..read more

    I don't know why and neither do you, but those unlicensed Calvin and Hobbes "Calvin Peeing" stickers have been around for a long time. You know the ones. They're illegal and traced from the comic strip without permission and, well, we have seen them for years. It all started in 1988. Scroll down to see where the image originally came from.   Sometimes they are there just to hate on haters.       For some reason, this clothing company is hated by car's driver. Seems petty.   Calvin pees on all manner of political parties and sports teams and so on. So ..read more

I don't think that there will ever be a time when big comedians of today (Chris Rock, Tiffany Haddish, Sarah Silverman, Melissa McCarthy, Dave Chappelle, Issa Rae, Kate McKinnon, Tig Notaro, etc.) will have comic books about them. But back in the day -- Bob Hope, Abbott and Costello, Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin -- were all the stars of their own comic book series. Jerry Lewis had his own comic book series from DC Comics. It began in 1952 and was known under the title DEAN MARTIN AND JERRY LEWIS. But the duo broke up. So, after five years and 40 issues, the series was renamed THE ADVENTU ..read more