The New Yorker covers: December 11, 1948

I don’t get too excited about holidays, with one major exception. I’ve always had a warm spot in my heart for Christmas. The New Yorker has run many Christmas covers over the years, some of which, such as those by the late George Booth, are quite memorable.

William Cotton
(covers untitled until February 1993)

And now, a few words from . . . Groucho Marx

The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you've got it made.

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

"Narcissus," 1597-99, Caravaggio

Movie Posters, 1966: Two adults, please, and a large popcorn!

Today in the history of the American comic strip: October 20

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.

10.20.1889: Connie creator Frank Godwin, who also created Rusty Riley, is born in Washington, D.C. Connie ran from 1927 to 1944; Rusty Riley from 1948 to 1959.

10.20.1893: Lyman Young, the cartoonist behind Tim Tyler’s Luck (1928-1996), is born. He was the younger brother of Blondie creator Chick Young.

10.20.1906: Crockett Johnson, the creator of Barnaby (1942-1952), is born in New York City.

10.20.1928: Hal Foster’s comic strip adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan novels debuts.

10.20.1935: Sidney Smith, the creator of Old Doc Yak (1912-1919) and The Gumps (1917-1959), dies in a head-collision. He was 58.

10.20.1946: The Sunday installment of Radio Patrol, a police comic strip, is canceled. The daily version of the strip continued until 1950.

10.20.2015: The Library of American Comics releases Beyond Mars, a single volume containing the entire series of the science-fiction strip, which ran from 1952 to 1955.

10.20.2019: Mooch, the resident cat in Patrick McDonnell’s Mutts, makes a reference in today's strip to George Herriman’s legendary Krazy Kat comic.

 

10.20.2023: The Washington Post reports that Flash Gordon is returning to newspapers after a two-decade absence. The reborn strip is in the hands of cartoonist Dan Schkade.

Barnaby

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: July 24, 1937

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.

Arnold Hall
(covers untitled until February 1993)

And now, a few words from . . . Lenny Bruce

Every day people are straying away from the church and going back to God.

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

"Houses and Figure," 1890, Vincent van Gogh

Movie Posters, 1921: Two adults, please, and a large popcorn!