The birth of an artist: January 16

 

Lisa Milroy
January 16, 1959

The New Yorker covers: October 24, 1942

 

Over the years, there have been many magazines whose covers have featured the work of highly talented artists and illustrators. But probably no magazine has had more varied and memorable covers, over a longer period of time, than The New Yorker, which was founded in 1925. Yes, there have been some duds. Some covers have not aged well. But many New Yorker covers are stunning, no matter how old. Witty. Whimsical. Poignant. Pointed. Or some combination thereof.

 

by Peter Arno
(covers untitled until February 1993)

Today in the history of the American comic strip: January 16

American cartoonists and writers may not have invented the comic strip, but some argue that the comics, as we know them today, are an American creation. Clearly, the United States has played an outsize role in the development of this underappreciated art form.

1.16.1938: Dudley Fisher debuts Right Around Home, a suburban strip with a very large single-panel Sunday format that featured a bird’s-eye view of many characters grouped together in a compact area. A daily feature with a more conventional format and a different focus was added later. 

1.16.1939:  The Superman comic strip premieres as a daily strip, followed by a Sunday feature several months later. Several writers and artists worked on the strip until its demise in May 1966.
 

1.16.1942: Private Snuffy Smith is released. The movie, which starred Bud Duncan as Snuffy, was inspired by Billy DeBeck’s strip Barney Google and Snuffy Smith.

1.16.1968: The creator of Pearls Before Swine, Stephan Pastis, is born. As an adult, he became disenchanted with the practice of law, launching the strip -- and a new career -- in 2001.

Pearls Before Swine

Most of the information listed here from one day to the next comes from two online sites -- Wikipedia, and Don Markstein's Toonopedia -- as well as 100 Years of American Newspaper Comics, edited by Maurice Horn. Note that my focus is on American newspaper comic strips (and the occasional foreign strip that gained popularity in the United States). Thus, comic books and exclusively online comics are not included here.

"What is art but a way of seeing?" Saul Bellow

"Village in the Laurentians," 1925,  Clarence Gagnon

Movie Posters, 1939: Two adults, please, and a large popcorn!

 

The birth of an artist: January 15

 

Giovanni Segantini
January 15, 1858

The New Yorker covers: October 24, 1931

 

Over the years, there have been many magazines whose covers have featured the work of highly talented artists and illustrators. But probably no magazine has had more varied and memorable covers, over a longer period of time, than The New Yorker, which was founded in 1925. Yes, there have been some duds. Some covers have not aged well. But many New Yorker covers are stunning, no matter how old. Witty. Whimsical. Poignant. Pointed. Or some combination thereof.

 

by Rose Silver
(covers untitled until February 1993)

Today in the history of the American comic strip: January 15

American cartoonists and writers may not have invented the comic strip, but some argue that the comics, as we know them today, are an American creation. Clearly, the United States has played an outsize role in the development of this underappreciated art form.

1.15.1905: Gustave Verbeek retires The Upside Downs of Little Lady Lovekins and Old Man Muffaroo, a strip in which the first half of the story was captioned right-side-up and the second half upside-down.

1.15.1905: Joe Musial is born in Yonkers, New York. He drew The Katzenjammer Kids from 1956 until his death in 1977.

1.15.1939: Already in print as a daily strip, Raeburn Van Buren's Abbie an’ Slats adds a Sunday feature.

1.15.1951: Rod Reed and José-Luis Salinas unveil The Cisco Kid, a Western strip. It was syndicated from 1951 to 1967.

1.15.1956: The Scamp comic strip, which launched in 1955, adds a Sunday feature to the daily installments. 

1.15.2005: Mullets, a short-lived strip by Rick Stromoski and Steve McGarry that debuted in 2003, ends its run.
 

The Cisco Kid

Most of the information listed here from one day to the next comes from two online sites -- Wikipedia, and Don Markstein's Toonopedia -- as well as 100 Years of American Newspaper Comics, edited by Maurice Horn. Note that my focus is on American newspaper comic strips (and the occasional foreign strip that gained popularity in the United States). Thus, comic books and exclusively online comics are not included here.