The New Yorker covers: October 2, 1954

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. 

Charles E. Martin
(covers untitled until February 1993)

And now, a few words from . . . H. L. Mencken

For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.

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

"The Orchard," 1887, Thomas Cooper Gotch

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

Today in the history of the American comic strip: August 27

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. 

8.27.1946 American underground cartoonist, publisher, author and agent Denis Kitchen is born. He founded Kitchen Sink Press in 1970 to publish, among other works, reprints of classic comic strips. The company closed in 1999.

8.27.2011: Signe Wilkinson discontinues Family Tree after only four years. The strip explored the challenges faced by a family trying to live in an environmentally responsible way.

Family Tree

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: "The King at the Edge of the World," Arthur Phillips

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

The New Yorker covers: September 4, 1943

The New Yorker ran many covers related to or inspired by World War II. While some of these covers carried a sober message, others used humor to illustrate interesting situations involving military personnel or civilians, at home or abroad.

Rea Irvin
(covers untitled until February 1993)

And now, a few words from . . . Oscar Wilde

To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.

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

"Girl with a Fan," 1881, Pierre-Auguste Renoir