Sunday Funnies - Library of Congress - 3 of 3

Happy Sunday and time for part 3 of 3 of "Featuring the Funnies" from The Library of Congress.

This week featuring glimpses at "Child's Play" (Ray Billingsly, Charles Schulz), "WorkingWomen" (Martin Micheal Branner, Dale Messick, Alfred E. Hayward), "Crime Pays" (Alex Raymond, Chester Gould, Charles W. Kahles), "Masterpiece Theatre" (Winsor McCay, Walt Kelly, Martha Orr) and "Gags" (Mike Peters).

It would have been grand to see this exhibit for real and see the other works featured in the articles.  Original inks by Segar, McCay, Kelly and all the grand masters.  To be in the same room as works by Schulz, Herriman and Grey.  My head and heart reel.

sigh.

Talk to you soon.

Sunday Funnies - Library of Congress - 2 of 3

Happy Sunday Funnies, kiddoes!  Week 2 of 3 of The Library of Congress' celebration of 100 years of the American Newspaper comic strip back in 1995.

This week taking a look at "Cartoon Stereotypes" (Vic Forsythe, Mort Walker), "Love Story" (William Overgard, Allen Saunders), "Adventures in Time and Space" (Milton Caniff, Burne Hogarth, Alex Raymond), "Dream Worlds" (George Herriman, Winsor McCay, Lyonel Feininger), "Home Front" (Bud Fisher) and "Politics as Usual" (Gary Trudeau, Jules Feiffer, Harold Gray).

This really gives a sense of the overall scope of subjects the Sunday funnies conquered in it's best moments of creativity.

Dig in! 

Talk to you soon.

Sunday Funnies - a Retrospective, 2 of 5

Week two of Richard Marshall and Bill Blackbeard's "The Sunday Funnies" from 1978, this week celebrating the newspaper comics giants of the 1910's!  

As I tried to express last week, a good part of the fun of this publication was that it was printed FULL size as you would have read it in 1915 as a supplement in your Sunday paper.  Never-the-less, I trust the fun and enjoyment comes through, even in this humble blog.

This week our eyes are treated to the grand works of Winsor McCay ("Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend"), Rube Goldberg ("Boob McNutt"), Carl E. Schultze ("Foxy Grandpa"), Bud Fisher ("Mutt & Jeff"), George McManus ("Their Only Child"), Harold Knerr ("The Katzenjammer Kids"), James Swinnerton ("Little Jimmy") and some lesser-known, under appreciated but no less deserving, Raymond Crawford Ewer "Slim Jim") and Johnny Gruelle ("Mr. Twee Deedle").

Dig in kids.  Sunday is the most nutritious meal of the week.

Newt Sunday:  Those Roaring Twenties you're all heard about.

Talk to you soon!

Sunday Funnies - a Retrospective! part 1 of 5

Never fear, "Li'l Abner" lovers!  My weekly postings of the good folks of Dogpatch will return now that I've resumed full-time blogging again, but I wanted to post this handy dandy nifty keen cool thingy first.

This is something I've been toting around with me since my mom bought it for me wayyyyyyyyy back in 1978 or 9.  It's not a book, but rather a box with 6 over-sized (actually newspaper sized) 8 sheet wonders inside, each unfolding into a retrospective of the great newspaper comic strips of the first 5 decades of The Twentieth Century.  The sixth being an editorial of the collection which is all put together by the great Richard Marshall and Bill Blackbeard of "Nemo: the Classic Comics Library" fame.

I thought it would be a nice way of getting up and going again with this-hyar blog and besides, I finally found a way to scan these monstrosities.

This week alone we have the fabulous works of Richard Felton Outcault ("The Yellow Kid, "Buster Brown"), Frederick Burr Opper ("Happy Hooligan", "And Her Name Was Maude"), Lyonel Feininger ("Wee Willie Winkie's World"), James Swinnerton ("Little Tigers"), Rudolph Dirks ("The Katzenjammer Kids"), George Herriman ("Major Ozone, the Fresh Air Fiend"), Ed Carey ("Simon Simple"), F.M. Howarth ("Lulu and Leander") and the master of them all, Winsor McCay ("Little Nemo in Slumberland")!

It's an item I've treasured for 34 years and I have always wanted to share it.  I hope you dig it too.

Next Sunday:  The 1910's and all their four-color glory.

Talk to you soon.

Craig Yoe Comic Strip Sirocco - Unca Jeffy's Toy Box!

Continuing from last weeks peek at the nifty Craig Yoe Studios sirocco figurines of classic comic strip characters that were distibuted by the smart folks at Dark Horse Comics and continuing pimping the new "All Color Sunday Funnies" right here inside my head, here's a look at a few more!

From George Herriman's "Krazy Kat", everyone knows Krazy loves Ignatz Mouse who does NOT love her back, but Offica Pup does. Here he's got his standard "Move along mouse, and stay out of Kelly's Brick Yard look. See 'em every Sunday right here.


"Hully Gee!" Here's he very first newspaper comic strip star ever, Richard Felton Outcault's Mickey Dugan from right outen Hogan's Alley, "The Yellow Kid"!


Everyone what has any sense already knows, my blogger buddy Thomas Haller Buchanan celebrates the wonderfully talented Walt Kelly regularly in his blog "Whirled of Kelly" which covers all of Kelly's work, including the land of Pogo Possum in the Okefenokee Swamp. Here's Pogo's pal, "Albert Alligator"!

The king of fantasy art in the comics, master of design and perspetive, innovator in animation Winsor McCay is represented on my library shelf with "Little Nemo in Slumberland"! You can check out all of his adventures in high-res scans at this h'yar web page "The Comic Strip Library"!

And finally for today's batch. Everyone knows my love for the epic work of Harold Gray and his famous little redhead, "Little Orphan Annie".

More next week.

Talk to you soon.

Whitney Museum and More Vulgar Modernizm!

The Whitney Museum of Art Comic Art show covered the gambit of cartooning from comic strips to comic books to todays topic, animation.

Vulgar modernism sounds like an insult. I'd say it's pure Americana. My favorite flavor!

Enjoy!

Talk to you soon.