The New Yorker covers: September 14, 1963

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.

James Stevenson
(covers untitled until February 1993)

And now, a few words from . . . Laurence J. Peter

If two wrongs don’t make a right, try three.

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

"The Passage of the Delaware," 1819, Thomas Sully

Movie Posters, 1989: Two adults, please, and a large popcorn!

Today in the history of the American comic strip: August 6

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.

8.6.1985: Ken Ernst dies while visiting his son in Salem, Oregon. In 1942, he took over as the artist on Mary Worth and illustrated that strip until his death.
 
8.6.1989: Berkeley Breathed discontinues Bloom County after nine years in print, although he revived it in 2015 as an online strip.

8.6.2013: Stan Lynde, the creator of Rick O’Shay and Latigo, two successful Western strips, dies in Helena, Montana, at 81.

Bloom County

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.

Review: "Victory at Yorktown," Richard M. Ketchum

Find exclusive book reviews, including this one, at The Walrus Said blog.

The New Yorker covers: November 13, 1954

The New Yorker has long been one of the most respected and influential magazines in the history of American publishing. So it comes as no surprise that many of its cover artists have chosen to showcase readers and reading.

Perry Barlow
(covers untitled until February 1993)

And now, a few words from . . . Georgia O'Keeffe

I’ve been absolutely terrified every moment of my life — and I’ve never let it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do.

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

"The Church in the Hollow," 1944, L.S. Lowry