The New Yorker covers: September 8, 1980

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.

Paul Degen
(covers untitled until February 1993)

And now, a few words from . . . Elbert Hubbard

Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive.

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

"The Moon," 1928, Tarsila do Amaral

Movie Posters, 1980: Two adults, please, and a large popcorn!

Today in the history of the American comic strip: February 24

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.

2.24.1954: Jim Borgman, the co-creator of Zits (with Jerry Scott), is born in Cincinnati, Ohio. Borgman was the editorial cartoonist at The Cincinnati Enquirer from 1976 to 2008. Launched in 1997, Zits stars high schooler Jeremy Duncan as he copes with family, friends, romance and school.

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: "Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library," Chapman

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

The New Yorker covers: November 14, 1970

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.

Charles Addams
(covers untitled until February 1993)