The New Yorker covers: October 17, 2011

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.

Barry Blitt
"The Book of Life"

And now, a few words from . . . W. H. Davies

Now shall I walk / Or shall I ride? / “Ride,” Pleasure said; / “Walk,” Joy replied.

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

"Woman and White Cat," 1971, Will Barnet

Movie Posters, 1972: Two adults, please, and a large popcorn!

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

10.5.1914: Harry Shorten is born in New York City. He and Al Fagaly created Bitter Laff (later known as There Oughta Be a Law!) in 1945.

10.5.1922: Bill Keane, creator of The Family Circus, is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The cartoon is now drawn by Keane's son Jeff.

10.5.1924: Bob Thaves, who cooked up Frank and Ernest, is born in Burt, Iowa. Thames died in 2006, and his son Tom is now at the helm.

10.5.1952: Will Eisner's The Spirit, featuring a masked vigilante who fights crime, ends its run after 12 years.

10.5.1970: Lieutenant Jackson Flap, the first permanent African American cast member in Beetle Bailey, makes his initial appearance in Mort Walker’s comic strip.

10.5.2009: Author Nevin Martell releases Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and his Revolutionary Comic Strip. The comic ran from 1985 to 1995. Since then, Watterson has largely disappeared from public life.

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 4, 2007

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.

Mark Ulriksen
"Last Exit"

And now, a few words from . . . Walker Percy

Before, I wandered as a diversion. Now I wander seriously and sit and read as a diversion.

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

"Nude Descending a Staircase, No.2," 1912, Marcel Duchamp

Movie Posters, 1948: Two adults, please, and a large popcorn!