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.

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

"Two Girls Reading," 1934, Pablo Picasso

Movie Posters, 1990: Two adults, please, and a large popcorn!

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

2.6.2000: Sally, Charlie Brown's younger sister, makes her last appearance in Peanuts. Creator Charles Schulz died on Feb. 12, 2000, and the strip ended its run the following day.

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: June 12, 2000

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.

William Joyce
"Father's Day"

And now, a few words from . . . Frank Zappa

Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid.