Tuesday, July 21, 2026

Review: "Storm Tide," Paul Doiron


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

The New Yorker covers: April 20, 2026

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.


R. Kikuo Johnson
"Meet-Cute"

And now, a few words from . . . Winston Churchill


I think I can save the British Empire from anything — except the British.

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

"Maria, the Pretty One," 1914, Joaquín Sorolla

Movie Posters, 1987: Two adults, please, and a large popcorn!

Today in the history of the American comic strip: July 21


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.

7.21.1948: Garry Trudeau, the creator of Doonesbury, is born in New York City. He won the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning, the 1994 Newspaper Comic Strip award from the National Cartoonists Society, and the 1995 Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year award from the National Cartoonists Society.

7.21.1968: Tales of the Green Beret, which debuted with a Vietnam War setting in 1965, ends its run.

Doonesbury

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.

Monday, July 20, 2026

The New Yorker covers: November 1, 2010

October 31 is commonly associated with trick-or-treating, costume parties, haunted houses and jack-o’-lanterns, but Halloween also has religious roots as All Hallows' Eve, which precedes a Christian holy day honoring saints. The origins of the holiday are open to dispute. Just make sure you get the candy ready!


Ivan Brunetti
"Dressed Down

And now, a few words from . . . Claude Monet


Everyone discusses my art and pretends to understand, as if it were necessary to understand, when it is simply necessary to love.

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

"Manhattan Skyline," 1936, John Held Jr.