The New Yorker covers: March 11, 1933

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.

Rea Irvin
(covers untitled until February 1993)

And now, a few words from . . . Mahatma Gandhi

I’m a lover of my own liberty, and so I would do nothing to restrict yours. I simply want to please my own conscience, which is God.

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

"The Maas at Dordrecht," ca. 1650, Aelbert Cuyp

Movie Posters, 1997: Two adults, please, and a large popcorn!

Today in the history of the American comic strip: August 14

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.

8.14.1923: Felix the Cat, drawn by Otto Messmer, debuts as a newspaper strip, in a Sunday format.

8.14.1932: Frederick Burr Opper’s Happy Hooligan ends its run after almost 32 years in print.

8.14.1950: Gary Larson, creator of The Far Side (1980-1995), is born in Tacoma, Washington. He was named 1990 and 1994 Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year by the National Cartoonists Society.

8.14.1977: Frank Robbins’ Johnny Hazard, in circulation since 1944, abandons its Sunday strip, leaving only the daily installment.
 

The Far Side

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.

The New Yorker covers: June 16, 1928

The New Yorker isn’t Sports Illustrated, of course. But a fair number of sports, from basketball and baseball to golf and hockey, have graced the magazine's covers in one form or another since its founding in 1925.

Julian de Miskey
(covers untitled until February 1993)

And now, a few words from . . . André Gide

It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not.

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

"The Mad Tea Party," 1865, John Tenniel

illustration for "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," by Lewis Carroll

Movie Posters, 1964: Two adults, please, and a large popcorn!