Saturday, July 18, 2026

The New Yorker covers: July 15, 1991

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.


Bob Knox
(covers untitled until February 1993)

And now, a few words from . . . J. M. Barrie


The reason birds can fly and we can’t is simply that they have perfect faith, for to have faith is to have wings.

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

“Spring Ice,” 1915-16, Tom Thomson

Today in the history of the American comic strip: July 18


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.

7.18.1968: Mark O’Hare, the creator of Citizen Dog (1995-2001), is born in San Pedro, California. The strip focused on the antics of Mel and his male dog Fergus.

7.18.1983: George Lichty, creator of the long-running Grin and Bear It (1932-2015), dies in Santa Rosa, California. He was 78.
 

 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.

Movie Posters, 1975: Two adults, please, and a large popcorn!

Friday, July 17, 2026

The New Yorker covers: October 12, 1981

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.


Robert Tallon
(covers untitled until February 1993)

And now, a few words from . . . Reinhold Niebuhr


The tendency to claim God as an ally for our partisan value and ends is the source of all religious fanaticism.

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

“Paisagem com Touro” (Landscape with Bull), 1925, Tarsila do Amaral

Movie Posters, 1982: Two adults, please, and a large popcorn!