The New Yorker covers: September 23, 1950

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.

Arthur Getz
(covers untitled until February 1993)

And now, a few words from . . . Gore Vidal

The four most beautiful words in our common language: I told you so.

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

"Alethea," 1895, John White Alexander

Movie Posters, 2018: Two adults, please, and a large popcorn!

Today in the history of the American comic strip: July 25

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.

7.25.1916: Fred Lasswell, who took over Barney Google and Snuffy Smith following the death of creator Billy DeBeck, is born in Kennett, Missouri. He was named 1963 Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year by the National Cartoonists Society, which also awarded him a Newspaper Comic Strip award the same year.

7.25.1939: A. E. Hayward dies in New York City. In 1918, he debuted Somebody’s Stenog (short for stenographer), which was one of the first daily strips focusing on an independent woman. The comic ran until 1941.

7.25.1950: Signe Wilkinson, an editorial cartoonist and the the creator of the Family Tree strip (2007-2011), is born in Wichita Falls, Texas.

7.25.1957: Ray Billingsley, the cartoonist behind Curtis, is born in Wake Forest, North Carolina. His strip, which launched in 1988, focuses on an urban black family.

7.25.1982: Hal Foster, the creator of Prince Valiant and the initial artist for Tarzan, dies in Spring Hill, Florida, at 89. Foster is a member of the National Cartoonists Society Hall of Fame.
 

Curtis

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: November 1, 1941

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.

William Cotton
(covers untitled until February 1993)

And now, a few words from . . . Franz Boas

Courtesy, modesty, good manners, conformity to ethical standards are universal, but what constitutes courtesy, modesty, good manners, and ethical standards is not universal.

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

"A Dull Afternoon," 1973, Edward Gorey

Movie Posters, 2015: Two adults, please, and a large popcorn!