The New Yorker covers: July 26, 1982

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.

 

André François
(covers untitled until February 1993)

And now, a few words from . . . P. J. O'Rourke

Everybody wants to save the Earth; nobody wants to help Mom do the dishes.

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

"The Card Players," 1890-92, Paul Cézanne

Movie Posters, 1992: Two adults, please, and a large popcorn!

Today in the history of the American comic strip: July 28

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.

7.28.1945: Jim Davis, the creator of Garfield, is born in Marion, Indiana. He was named 1989 Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year by the National Cartoonists Society. The same society also honored him with Newspaper Comic Strip awards in 1981 and 1985.

7.28.1996: Martin Branner's Winnie Winkle ends its 76-year run. The strip came to be seen as heralding a more independent role for American women after World War I.

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: July 31, 1971

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.

Saul Steinberg
(covers untitled until February 1993)

And now, a few words from . . . Voltaire

Let us read and let us dance — two amusements that will never do any harm to the world.

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

"The Servant in the Courtyard," ca. 1660, Pieter de Hooch

Movie Posters, 1929: Two adults, please, and a large popcorn!