The New Yorker covers: December 8, 2025

The New Yorker has repeatedly rebuked or ridiculed Donald Trump on its covers since at least 2015. Several artists have contributed to the effort, with Barry Blitt seemingly serving as the most frequent go-to guy when the times call for yet another cutting reference.

Klaas Verplancke
"White House of Gold"

And now, a few words from . . . Sacha Guitry

You can pretend to be serious; you can't pretend to be witty.

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

Self-Portrait, 1886-87, Vincent van Gogh

Movie Posters, 2022: Two adults, please, and a large popcorn!

Today in the history of the American comic strip: February 7

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.

2.7.1926: Bill Hoest, creator of The Lockhorns, a strip about a constantly feuding married couple, is born in Newark, New Jersey.

2.7.1938: Donald Duck makes his newspaper entrance in a strip that carries his name. The comic ended in 1995.

The Lockhorns

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: May 31, 2010

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.

Ivan Brunetti
"Union Square"

And now, a few words from . . . Mae West

When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I've never tried before.