The New Yorker covers: April 16, 2001

As with several other holidays, Easter is both religious and secular. The Christian Easter commemorates the resurrection of Jesus. The secular Easter gives a starring role to a mythical bunny that distributes chocolate eggs or other sweets to children. Why the Easter Bunny is a non-laying rabbit rather than a hen is beyond me.

Harry Bliss
"Bunnyasaurus"

And now, a few words from . . . Yogi Berra

He hits from both sides of the plate. He’s amphibious.

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

"The Reader," 1979, Will Barnet

Movie Posters, 1961: Two adults, please, and a large popcorn!

Today in the history of the American comic strip: June 5

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.

6.5.1893: Ben Batsford, the creator of Frankie Doodle, is born in Canada. He worked for a time on Little Annie Rooney, which was influenced by Little Orphan Annie.

6.5.1944: Frank Robbins launches the adventure strip Johnny Hazard, which ran until 1977.

6.5.1950: Little Lulu, who had appeared previously in The Saturday Evening Post, gets her own daily comic strip, which ran until 1969.

6.5.1955: Lance, a strip created and self-syndicated by Warren Tufts, makes its debut. It was notable as the last of the full-page strips.

6.5.1965: Prolific cartoonist and illustrator Vernon Greene, whose work included The Shadow in the early 1940s, dies from cancer. He was 56.

6.5.1983: The Sunday installment of Stan Lynde’s Latigo ends its run, killing the comic, which had previously discontinued the daily strip.

6.5.2022: Cartoonist Randy Milholland takes the reins of the legendary Popeye strip, following the retirement of Hy Eisman, who wrote and drew the comic for close to 30 years.

Latigo

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: March 29, 1993

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.

Edward Sorel
"Starry Night"

And now, a few words from . . . T. E. Lawrence

Freedom is enjoyed when you are so well armed, or so turbulent, or inhabit a country so thorny that the expense of your neighbor's occupying you is greater than the profit.

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

Illustration for "One Hundred and One Dalmations," 1961, Ralph Hulett

Movie Posters, 2025: Two adults, please, and a large popcorn!