The New Yorker covers: October 1, 2001

On September 11, 2001, Islamic terrorists launched suicide missions against the United States, using four hijacked airliners, two of which were flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. The third plane slammed into the Pentagon and the fourth crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. The New Yorker has devoted several covers to the devastatingly horrific attacks and their aftermath.

Edward Sorel
"Street Scene"

And now, a few words from . . . Maimonides

Truth does not become more true by virtue of the fact that the whole world agrees with it, nor less so even if the whole world disagrees with it.

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

"Shaman and Apprentice," ca.1980-85, Norval Morrisseau 

Movie Posters, 1989: Two adults, please, and a large popcorn!

Today in the history of the American comic strip: July 8

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.

7.8.1918: Irwin Hasen, co-creator (with Gus Edson) of Dondi (1955-1986), is born in New York City.

7.8.1949: Harold Knerr, who drew and wrote The Katzenjammer Kids for 35 years, dies in New York City, at 66.

7.8.1963: Fred Basset, Alex Graham’s strip about a male basset hound, debuts in Britain’s Daily Mail. It has since been syndicated around the world.

7.8.1974: Uncle Duke makes his first appearance in Doonesbury. He has too many “accomplishments” to list here.

7.8.2017: Bob Lubbers, who worked on Tarzan, Li’l Abner, and Long Sam, among other comic strips, dies at 95.

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.

Review: "The Dying Light," Ann Cleeves

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

The New Yorker covers: July 22, 1991

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.

Ann McCarthy
(covers untitled until February 1993)

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

Saving is a fine thing. Especially when your parents have done it for you.

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

"Frosty Morning," ca. 1813, J.M.W. Turner