The Cartoon!st - Jan-Feb 2017

Briefings from the Jovial Office . . . by Bill Morrison

Inspiration: for the future and from yesteryear

It’s April and the Reuben weekend in Portland, Oregon is just around the corner! In last issue’s column I’m sure I overwhelmed you with our fun-packed schedule of speakers, events and parties, so this issue I’m taking a break from Reuben talk …except for one thing! OK, maybe two things! First, we’re delighted to add another terrific seminar to the already impressive slate! If it had been added in time to make the Reuben brochure, you would have read about it like so:

The New Creative Middle Class: Re-defining Success in Comics

There was a time when cartoonists were either aspiring or discovered. That culture binary was shattered when the web democratized comics forever. A new creative middle class is thriving between the lines. Many cartoonists are not only earning money, but making a living and supporting families on their cartooning. How does this new creative middle class get by, and what do they know that the establishment doesn’t? Scott Kurtz and Cory Casoni of Toonhound Studios, LLC (PvP, Table Titans) share their thoughts and experience.

Also, I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate our

2016 Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year nominees: Lynda Barry, Stephan Pastis, Hilary Price, Mark Tatulli, and Ann Telnaes! Naturally, the winner will be announced at the Reuben Awards dinner on May 27 in Portland, so if you haven’t registered to be there yet, do it right away! If you can’t locate the registration form that came with your brochure, that’s OK because we prefer that you register online anyway. Just contact Latisha Moore in the home office at latisha@reuben.org.

So, setting our Reuben Weekend plans aside for a moment, I’d like to write about a cartoonist who inspired me at a young age to enter this profession.

He passed away a few weeks ago from brain cancer at the age of 68, and his name was Bernie Wrightson.

Like most of us, I grew up reading comic books and newspaper strips and always dreamed that one day I might draw cartoons for a living. But initially my aspirations were sort of vague and scattered. Maybe I’d draw greeting cards or work as an animator, or possibly even become an illustrator. Above all I wanted to draw comics (specifically Batman, or if that wasn’t available, Spider-Man, please!), but growing up in Detroit I figured there wasn’t much chance of that happening. I would’ve had to move to New York first, and that was a nonstarter because in the 1970’s New York was a scary place (at least that’s what they told us on Kojak and in Martin Scorsese movies!) And as I mentioned, I lived in DETROIT! (The evil you know, etc.!)

But as I developed as a young artist I narrowed my focus toward comics in spite of my Big Apple phobia and started to

We’ve appropriated — but adapted — Terri Libenson’s cover from Invisible Emmie for a cover of our own. Turn to Page 7 for an exclusive excerpt from Terri’s new young adult book that has been called “a humourous and surprising debut graphic novel perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier and Jennifer L. Holm.”

NCS BOARD

Honorary Chairman

Mort Walker President

Bill Morrison 805-579-9827

First Vice President

Jason Chatfield

Second Vice President

“The Cartoon!st” is the official publication of the National Cartoonists Society, P.O. Box 592927 Orlando, FL 32859-2927. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the NCS. Entire contents ©2017 National Cartoonists Society, except where other copyrights are designated.

The Cartoon!st needs your news, opinions, drawings and photos. Address all materials to: Frank Pauer, 53 Beverly Place, Dayton, OH 45419. Phone: 937-296-0502 home, 937-229-3934 days. Email: fpauer1@udayton.edu

Deadline for the next issue: April 14

Hilary Price 413-586-0223

Third Vice President

Darrin Bell 510-205-8592 Secretary

John Kovaleski 717-334-5926 Treasurer

John Hambrock 262-658-2676

Membership Chairman

Sean Parkes 480-626-2702

National Representative

Ed Steckley 413-478-4314

NCS COMMITTEES

The Cartoon!st

Frank Pauer 937-229-3934 fpauer1@udayton.edu

Ethics Steve McGarry mac@stevemcgarry.com

Education Rob Smith Jr. (rob@robsmithjr.com)

Greeting Card Contracts Carla Ventresca 615-480-7931

NCS FOUNDATION President Steve McGarry 714-593-0514 mac@stevemcgarry.com

For questions about accounting, membership, database and dues renewals, contact:

National Cartoonists Society P.O. Box 592927 Orlando, FL 32859-2927 407-994-6703 info@reuben.org

The National Cartoonists Society Web Site: www.reuben.org.

by the respective artist and/or syndicate, studio or other copyright holder. Road trip to the Ireland, Mr. Ollie?

Please address correspondence to: Frank Pauer, 53 Beverly Place, Dayton, OH 45419, or fpauer1@udayton.edu

emulate my favorites artists. My holy trinity of comic book superstars were Jim Steranko, Neal Adams, and Bernie Wrightson, but Bernie was the guy I swiped from the most.

Even though I was a big superhero fan, there was something about Bernie’s horror stories in Creepy and Eerie magazines and DC’s horror comics that really sparked my creative engine. For an artist who mostly drew stories about dead things, his drawings had so much life and power. Plus, there was always an underlying element of humor in his work, and I’ve always been drawn to dramatic adventure stories and art that have a sense of humor and don’t take themselves too seriously. Of course, Bernie was inspired by a pair of masters who excelled at mixing humor with adventure and horror: EC artists Jack Davis and Wally Wood.

I remember my wife Kayre (then my girlfriend) chipping in with one of my best friends to buy the original edition of A Look Back for me for my birthday when that amazing — and expensive! — book of Bernie’s work came out in 1979. It’s still one of my most treasured books, but definitely not in mint condition because of all the time I’ve spent flipping through the stunning pages over the years.

More than any other art hero it was Bernie Wrightson whose wonderful

drawings inspired me to focus my ambition and once and for all decide that I wanted to draw comic books. Even though my career took my art down a more cartoony path, I followed Bernie’s work through the years and he continued to influence and motivate me.

Eventually I had the crazy childhood-dream-cometrue experience of actually working with my idol! As editor of Matt Groening’s Bongo Comics line I hired Bernie and writer Len Wein to create a story for Bart Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror No. 11. It was a sidesplitting parody of their famous co-creation from DC Comics’ House of Secrets No. 92, Swamp Thing. This Simpsonized parody was titled “Squish Thing” and featured Homer as the victim of a Squishee machine explosion that turned him into a walking heap of green slush hell bent on revenge!

I’m so grateful to Bernie Wrightson for the inspiration he gave me and for setting me down the path toward a rollicking career in comics. I’m sure that all of us in this profession had a Bernie Wrightson in their youth; someone who inspired, galvanized and motivated us to attempt to do what we’re doing now.

If your Bernie is gone, raise a glass to that person. If your Bernie is still with us, call or write that person and let her/ him know that they changed your life. Tonight I’ll be raising a glass to Bernie. Over and out, Bill Morrison prez@reuben.org

Yada Yada Yada

Superhero comics … were originally in the hands of writers who would actively expand the imagination of their 9- to 13-year-old audience. These days, superhero comics think the audience is certainly not 9 to 13, it’s nothing to do with them. It’s an audience largely of 30-, 40-, 50-, 60-year-old men, usually men. Someone came up with the term graphic novel. These readers latched on to it; they were simply interested in a way that could validate their continued love of Green Lantern or Spider-Man without appearing in some way emotionally subnormal. This is a significant rump of the superhero-addicted, mainstreamaddicted audience. … I think it’s a rather alarming sign if we’ve got audiences of adults going to see the Avengers movie and delighting in concepts and characters meant to entertain the 12-year-old boys of the 1950s.

Alan Moore, creator of V For Vendetta, Watchmen and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, on modern superhero comics, in an interview with The Guardian

I want to write literature that pushes people into their lives rather than helping people escape from them. Most comic books are vehicles for escapism, which I think is unfortunate. I think that the so-called average person often exhibits a great deal of heroism in getting through an ordinary day, and yet the reading public takes this heroism for granted. They’d rather read about Superman than themselves.

Harvey

Pekar, creator of American Splendor, in a 1980s Comics Journal interview

Harvey Pekar by ROBERT CRUMB

Top: A self-portrait/self-promotion piece from Bill Morrison’s art school days, inspired by the work of Bernie Wrightson and EC Comics. Above, from a comic shop signing for Bart Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror No. 11, with, from left, Marv Wolfman, Bill Morrison, Bernie Wrightson and Len Wein.

VOODOO DOUGHNUT

Located in Old Town’s popular nightlife district, Voodoo Doughnut is one of the city’s most unusual and delicious culinary destinations. The doughnuts, topped with creative ingredients such as bacon, Captain Crunch and Oreos, are almost as fun to look at as they are to eat. Locals and visitors line up 24 hours a day for some of the most innovative doughnuts in the world.

www.voodoodoughnut.com

OREGON

PORTLAND ART MUSEUM

Since the construction of a new wing in 2005, the Pacific Northwest’s oldest art museum has really become two facilities in one. In the original building, special attention is given to the Far East as well as American Impressionist paintings, and a much-heralded Native American art collection. The adjacent new wing is devoted primarily to modern and contemporary works, with an excellent photography collection.

www.portlandartmuseum.org

DISTILLERY ROW

A handful of innovative small distilleries are making handcrafted, locally distilled spirits available for the first time since prohibition. In an inconspicuous neighborhood of small warehouses and light industrial buildings in Southeast Portland, eight independent distilleries have begun producing more than 20 unique liquors. They make everything from vodkas and gins, rums and whiskeys, to more specialized spirits such as absinthe, aquavit, and flavored liqueurs.

www.distilleryrowpdx.com

PORTLAND ROSE FESTIVAL

At the heart of Portland’s popular culture for more than a century, the Rose Festival has its roots in tradition, with inspired programming that embraces both the contemporary and the nostalgic. The Rose Festival’s waterfront activities kick off with Opening Night Fireworks on May 26 at 5 p.m. for Memorial Day weekend (and three consecutive weekends).

www.rosefestival.org

TOM McCALL WATERFRONT PARK

Once the site of a freeway, this downtown riverfront park is a popular place for jogging, in-line skating and cooling off in Salmon Street Springs, a fountain whose water patterns change with the city’s mood. This 1.5-mile stretch of green along the Willamette River is home to many annual events, including the Portland Rose Festival. The Japanese American Historical Plaza is located at the north end of the park.

… So you have the afternoon to kill,

or you really weren’t all that interested in the presentation by (insert name here). Here are a few suggestions to keep you occupied otherwise.

POWELL’S CITY OF BOOKS

From storefront beginnings in 1971, Powell’s has grown into a Portland landmark and one of the world’s great bookstores. Covering an entire city block, Powell’s City of Books contains more than 1 million books in 3,500 different sections. Get a cup of joe at the in-store coffee shop, grab a map to the nine color-coded rooms, and lose yourself in the largest independent used and new bookstore on Earth.

www.powells.com

OREGON ZOO

Located three miles southwest of downtown Portland, the 64-acre Oregon Zoo is the oldest zoo west of the Mississippi. The zoo is currently home to more than 250 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates, including endangered species like Asian elephants, African crocodiles, and Peruvian penguins. The Washington Park and Zoo Railway runs its one-mile zoo circuit daily and its 35-minute, four-mile Washington Park circuit April through September.

www.oregonzoo.org

WASHINGTON PARK

Occupying a forested ridge high above downtown Portland, this park has enough sights and attractions that it’s easy to spend a full day here. If time is short, focus on the International Rose Test Garden and its 8,220 rosebushes, and the serene Portland Japanese Garden, whose pebble lanes and pathways pass through five distinct landscapes. If you have more time, or kids in tow, check out the Oregon Zoo, World Forestry Center Discovery Museum, or the Portland Children’s Museum. Or take the time to wander through Hoyt Arboretum, which contains more than 1,000 species from around the world.

www.washingtonparkpdx.org

OREGON MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY

DIVISION STREET

Booming since 2014, this several-block stretch is filled with eateries, from inexpensive food trucks to high-end eateries like Ava Gene's.

One of the nation’s leading science museums, OMSI is spread through five enormous halls, bringing science to life with hundreds of interactive exhibits and displays. You can experience an earthquake, take part in live lab demonstrations, see a movie in the Empirical Theater, explore the universe in a world-class planetarium and even tour a real submarine.

www.omsi.edu

Dan Spiegle, 1920 -2017

By Mark Evanier

This is an obituary for a man I think was one of the greatest comic book artists who ever lived and inarguably one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. Loved his artwork in comic books I read long before I ever imagined I’d know him and work with him. Loved the guy who did that artwork and not just because he was a joy to collaborate with and he made my scripts look good and my job, when I was an editor, as simple as it could possibly be.

Dan Spiegle left us on Jan. 28 at the age of 96. He had been in poor health for some time … and it was tough for me to think of Dan that way because until about ten years ago, he was a very healthy individual, often out on the tennis court.

Dan was born in Cosmopolis, Washington, on Dec. 12, 1920. He drew a lot in high school and then in the Navy, where among other duties, he painted insignias on airplanes. Following his discharge in 1946, he attended Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles, thanks to the G.I. Bill. Funny story how he got his first real job doing comic art. He answered an ad in the L.A. Times from someone looking for an artist to draw a newspaper comic strip. The address was that of Capitol Records and it turned out the strip was Bozo the Clown

Years later, Dan could have handled that with ease but at the time, he was more of a serious illustrator so he told the man he met with there that the project was not for him. The man looked at Dan’s samples anyway, noted some fine drawings of horses and said to him — approximately — “My cousin works for William ‘Hopalong Cassidy’ Boyd and they’re looking for someone to draw a newspaper strip. Why don’t you go see him?”

Dan went directly there and Mr. Boyd, aka “Hopalong” happened to be there and he liked how Dan drew horses, too. Before the day was out, Dan had the job of drawing a Hopalong Cassidy newspaper strip, which he did from 1949 to 1955.

Dan was very fast so around 1951, he took samples of the strip to the Los Angeles office of Western Printing and Lithography, which produced the Dell Comics line. He walked in, showed his work and walked out with a comic book to draw. He drew for Western for about the next 30 years and only stopped when the firm did. His work there included dozens of different adaptations of TV westerns, including a long and acclaimed stint on Maverick. He drew many of their adaptations of Disney movies and the best-selling comic book, Space Family Robinson, which has recently been reprinted in fancy hardcover volumes. He was also the artist for years on Korak, Son of Tarzan. His editor for much of this period was a man named Chase Craig, who was also my editor for many years. I once asked Chase, “Of all the hundreds of artists you’ve employed, who was the most reliable?“ Without pausing to

think, he replied, “Dan Spiegle.” Then he added, “It’s always on time and it’s always wonderful.”

My own association with Dan started one day in ’72 when Chase asked me if I would take over writing the Scooby Doo comic book. I wasn’t a huge fan of the TV show and started to decline when Chase mentioned that Dan Spiegle was now drawing it. That made all the difference.

Scooby Doo was not really in Dan’s wheelhouse at the time but the comic needed an artist and Chase, because Western was cutting back on adventure-type comics, needed an assignment to keep work on Dan’s drawing board. We became friends and frequent collaborators. We worked together for around a dozen different companies including Blackhawk for DC and Crossfire for Eclipse. Neither of us made a lot of dough off Crossfire but it was Dan’s favorite project and mine, as well.

Other companies grabbed him when I couldn’t keep him busy. He worked for DC, Marvel, Dark Horse and many other publishers. Editors and writers would tell me how much they envied me being able to work as often as I did with Dan and his artistry was much admired by other artists. Gil Kane would say that Dan was the best comic artist ever when it came to "spatial relationships," meaning that in each panel, the figures and items were placed in perfect proportion to each other, perfectly setting the scene.

And I want to underscore that Dan was one of the nicest men I’ve ever met. We never had an argument of any kind. Not one.

I’ll tell you a quick story about how devoted this man was to his artwork. We had to do a batch of comic book stories for a publisher in South America. The publisher had been publishing terrible, badly-drawn comics and Hanna-Barbera had insisted they better their product by paying to have us do some of the material. The pay was low so I told Dan and the others working on these stories to knock them out fast, not to put in a lot of detail.

When Dan’s art came in, it looked just like what he did on the regular, decently-paying art. I thought he’d made a mistake and confused which scripts were supposed to be done with all possible shortcuts so I called him. It turned out he hadn’t been confused. He said, “I drew it the way you wanted it but I didn’t like it and couldn’t hand in something that looked like that. So I redid it so it pleased me.”

How can you not love an artist like that?

— a longer version of this appeared in a Jan. 30 posting on Mark’s terrific blog, newsfromme.com.

More obits, Pages 18, 19

REVEALING INVISIBLE EMMIE

By Terri Libenson

In 2014, I thought I had it all together. I was in my eighth year of writing The Pajama Diaries, which I loved beyond belief (still do). I had a small contract with American Greetings, my employer for more than 20 years. I had started there after college, working in-house as a humorous writer/illustrator and then switching to part-time writing (exclusively) after having kids, and then ultimately — when I got syndicated — as a part-time contract writer. Gradually, as the comic strip gained momentum, my writing for AG dwindled down to one day a week. It was a great schedule.

Meanwhile, in the fall of 2014 I had a conversation with a friend who writes middle-grade novels (no name dropping here). He mentioned it was something I might want to try, especially as a female cartoonist. I said to myself (as someone who works at home often does), “Why not? What can it hurt to try?”

So I tried.

I began the book in November, 2014, and continued on and off over the next six months.

In January, 2015, I got a call from my manager at AG with the news that they weren’t going to renew my contract. It wasn’t a big contract, and I know they kept me around years longer than most contract writers, but it still stung. And without this chunk of my income, it put the pressure on to finish the book.

I wrote it without an outline or a clear idea of what the story would entail. This is unusual

because that goes against my structured nature. I’m not sure how, but eventually it gelled. Don’t get me wrong — it was hard, and I often struggled with plot and character development. It also went through a lot of rewrites. But I quickly grew to love the storytelling and its catharsis. It brought my 13-year-old self back to the surface. Not that I really wanted to see her again, but there she was.

Like the main character, Emmie, I was a shy and introverted kid who would rather communicate with a pencil and paper. It was surprising how naturally I could channel my old angst. Emmie also grew from my penchant for visual storytelling. Like cartooning, creating this book was an outlet and a way to connect with others. It’s personal like nothing else is. It’s a rediscovery of an inner child who still needed to be heard.

In the fall of 2015, Emmie was peddled to the publishing houses. I was hoping for one response. I got nine offers, and the book was put up for auction. I had the unbelievable luxury of choosing an editor and eventually partnered with someone whom I feel shares the same vision as I do for the book series.

It’s been such a challenging and rewarding experience, and the book hasn’t even started selling! But no matter how well it does, I’m happy I put myself out there. At least I’ll be able to say I tried.

Invisible Emmie is published by HarperCollins, for ages 8-12. It comes out in stores May 2, but you can pre-order through my website at www. terrilibenson.com.

On the following four pages, read an exclusive excerpt from Invisible Emmie , courtesy of Terri and the fine folks at HarperCollins.

Plein As CAn B e

I’ve fallen in love with an old flame, as I’ve gotten back into my watercolors and discovered plein air painting. I enjoy spending time outside of the studio, to stand in a creek bed or an old field or urban alley, and paint. Outside of the NCS, I have recently joined three organizations — two local plein air groups and an area watercolor society — to explore my new-found passion. Additionally, I have already had the opportunity to exhibit some of my work in area museums and galleries. Anything to help explore my creativity a little more.

— Jeff Stahler

The file: Graduate of The Columbus College of Art & Design, 1977 Resides in German Village (an urban district in Columbus, Ohio) Syndicated with Andrews McMeel, with both editorial cartoons (33 years) and the comic panel Moderately Confused (14 years).

Chicago

T. Brian Kelly ragstandman@msn.com

We have been busy in the past year, and we are hoping for a great year coming up in 2017. In February our chapter put together a small band of intrepid cartoonists (Jim McGreal, Charles Boyce and Brian Diskin) for Odyssey 2016 at Adlai Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois, where they did funny presentations on cartooning and creativity for non-artistically inclined students. A sunny spring day in April found us on Michigan Avenue at a fine restaurant and bar for our 2016 Spring Chapter Meeting. We went over a few creative ideas and ambitious plans for the year, and then welcomed the one and only Kenny Durkin as the newest member of the Chicago chapter. We thought about having him sing a bawdy Greek sailing ditty for initiation (since we were so close to Lake Michigan) but decided not to do that when the owner informed us that it wasn’t actually a ditty bar. So a few members did cartoons for his wall instead which he seemed to like a lot better.

In Chicago, cartoonists not-so-anonymous included, front, from left, Bill Whitehead, John Hambrock, Kenny Durkin, Andi Durkin and Richard Pietrzyk. Middle Row: Charles Boyce, Ann Farrell, Anne Hambrock and T. Brian Kelly. Back: Daniel Beyer, Jim McGreal, Rich Mrozek, Spencer McGreal, Matt Hansel, Brian Diskin, Bruce Quast, Mark Anderson and Roger Schillerstrom.

ist Bruce Quast and yours truly helped draw cartoons for three hours for race participants and their families. We are invited back for this year and hope to continue the relationship for years to come. It’s a truly rewarding experience to bring a small amount of cartooning joy to children at very difficult times in their young lives.

Our chapter website is still a work in progress after a couple of years. We are starting a new feature next month highlighting the background history of our chapter members. The first man up is NCS Chicago member and Arkansas resident Gary Adamson, who has some interesting perspectives looking back on his 86 years of cartooning and general tomfoolery — which he combines into the wonderfully descriptive term: cartoonery. It’s a work in progress, he says with a grin.

The chapter continues to sponsor Cartoonists Anonymous drink-and-sometimes-draw get acquainted social events at friendly watering holes in Oak Park, Evanston, and the north side of Chicago. We started these in the fall of 2013, and they vary in attendance from 5-20 cartoonists, caricaturists, webcomic creators, animators, comic book artists and other kin-

Connecticut

Maria Scrivan maria@mariascrivan.com

dred spirits. The restaurants are getting used to us now and welcome us, as long as we provide original cartoons to the staff and management and don’t draw on the walls with Sharpies. Our first one in 2017 had a robust turnout of 22 (nearly equal to our chapter of 24 cartoonists) so we’re off to a good start. Of course there’s not a whole lot to do in Chicago in the middle of January, but we actually committed to a bimonthly schedule this year, so things are looking up in the organizing department. Our chapter signed up to help raise money for St. Jude on a cool Saturday morning this past September as part of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. They gave us a table next to the face painters in the KidZone tent at the St. Jude 5K Walk/Run event at Soldier Field. Webcomic creator Matt (Marty and Spud) Hansel, longtime Rockford editorial cartoon-

So far, so good in 2017. With any luck we may make progress on a few ideas that have been kicking around for a few years now: getting a signing table at C2E2, the huge Chicago Comicon in April; a chapter road trip in the summer to the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum at OSU in Columbus, Ohio; and the first ever NCS Chicago chapter group cartoon show for fun and profit.

Make no little plans, right? I think Daniel Burnham would approve.

Long Island

Adrian Sinnott

631-547-0778

On Feb. 16, members of the Connecticut Chapter gathered at Mort Walker’s spacious home and diligently viewed several hundred images from dozens of artists in four division categories: Comic Strips, Comic Panels, Editorial Cartoons and Panel Cartoons. On four computers, each delegated to one category, Brian, Greg and Mort Walker, Mary Anne Case, Bob Englehart, Bill Janocha, Rick Stromoski and Chapter Chair Maria Scrivan each chose eight finalists per category, with the tabulated results forwarded for further national consideration.

Great conversation over a delicious lunch, after our earnest effort, made for a very productive day.

This Chapter Chair has had a busy season so this report goes all the way back to October! That was the month for the Berndt Toast Gang’s annual Bill Kresse Memorial Spooky Drawing drawing. We also toast Bill in memory of his great work and help with both the Gang and the NCS. It was Bill’s idea to have everyone bring in a drawing, and then get to go home with someone else’s. The submissions are always worth making sure you don’t miss the meeting, and this year was no exception. We even had a special guest, Dione Booth came down with our own famous performer, Roberta Fabiano (look her up on iTunes!). I brought along my iskn Slate for the guys to try. It lets you draw on paper, using your

NCS members living in an area served by a regional chapter should contact the chairman, or contact national representative Ed Steckley at 413-478-4314. Chairmen, please send news, photos, artwork and information about your chapter to The Cartoon!st, in care of Frank Pauer, 53 Beverly Place, Dayton, OH 45419, or fpauer1@udayton.edu. Deadline for the next issue is April 14.

favorite pen or brush, while recording your strokes and digitizing them to your iPad or phone. You can save the image in multiple formats including as a .mov which will play back your drawing. You can also use the Slate as a tablet to color the finished drawing in your favorite program. An advantage is the traditional feel of pen on paper while still getting a digital file directly from the art.

In November, we received news that the inimitable Mort Drucker will soon be inducted into the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame. As far as we’re concerned, this is a long overdue recognition of one of cartooning and illustrations greatest practitioners — and the nicest guy you’ll ever meet. With Mort’s elevation to the SI Hall of Fame, the Berndt Toast Gang is now able to boast that we can count two Hall of Famers amongst our creative rabble.

Every December, we make sure to attend the Huntington Choral Society’s annual Holiday concert. We never miss it as the BTGs den mother, Bunny Hoest, adds her voice to the event. This year there was an addition to the choir as Bunny’s son, Dr. Chip Jungreis, joined in the choral group. Most of the rest of the Berndt Toast Gang are only called upon to sing when the room needs to be cleared. The very tall Ed Steckley and the fabulous Heather, along with the not-sotall Ray Alma and the wonderful Caryn, joined the long-suffering spouse of this author in the balcony. There’s always a big crowd and it takes a while to gather the members of the Gang spread around the auditorium for an after-concert dinner. We all wandered up to Mazza’s Pizzeria for some great coalfired fare. Gathered around the table were Roberta Fabiano and her partner Frank, Tony and Carmen D’Adamo, Joe and Shirley Giella, John Pennisi, Sy and Simmy Barry, Howard Beckerman and Doris Polansky, Mark Saskin, Helen Murdock-Prep and the rest of us that climbed down from the balcony. To add to the holiday spirit, it started to snow.

Famed illustrator Mort Kunstler has loaned his lifetime collection of illustrations to the Heckscher Museum in Huntington. Mort is a friend of Bunny’s and with all the talent in the Gang, it was only appropriate that we find some time to visit the exhibition.

The Museum is just down the road from Albert’s, our luncheon venue. With a few phone calls, we arranged to have a docent from the museum bring us around the show. I forewarned her that she’d have a tough

crowd. Some of the Gang had stories from their careers about a few of the illustrators whose incredible work was on display. One or two are lucky enough to own work from them, too. Some illustrators represented included Christy, Cornwell, Gibson, Homer, Leyendecker, Parrish, Pyle, Rockwell and Wyeth, among others. There’s so much wonderful work that we thought Mort’s walls at home must be quite bare. After the tour, we made our way back to Albert’s to raise the monthly Berndt Toast, and to end out the year it was for all the members who are gone. The list has grown too long in the

last few years. But we hope they know they are solely missed and never forgotten.

The Gang’s Ray Alma joined in with fellow artists Elana Amity, Jane Archer, Barbara Garrison, Dayna Gonzalez, Stefano Imbert, Ellie Rahim and Maria Scrivan for a January Ink Well Foundation event at the Ronald McDonald House. This time out they helped the kids draw and color on baseball caps. Always a wonderful time at an Ink Well event — kids are always clamoring for us to return because they love what we do. And we come away the richer for it.

Greg Fox, the creator of Kyle’s B&B brought along a copy of “Love is Love,” a 144-page anthology which made The New York Times best-selling list. Greg had a story included

Upstate New York

Scott Jensen

jensencreative@stny.rr.com

The Upstate NY Chapter hosted a Cartoonists’ Lunch in Syracuse, N.Y., this past December. A fun group of NCS members and Syracuse-area cartoonists enjoyed some good conversation and laughs at the first of what are hoped to be several more regional gatherings in the coming year.

John Reiner admires an original illustration at the Heckscher Museum. Right, the illustrious Berndt Toast Gang.

A sampling of originals from the Bill Kresse Memorial Spooky Drawing drawing.

Greg Fox

The Gang gathers for dinner after the Huntington Choral Society’s annual Holiday concert.

Above, from left, are David Hammond, Frank Cammuso, Amy Lago, Frank Mariani, Bill Abbott, Randy Elliott, Scott Jensen and Dave Gilbert.

in the collection. From the IDW website: “The comic industry comes together in honor of those killed in Orlando.

Co-published by DC and IDW, this contains moving and heartfelt material from some of the greatest talent in comics, mourning the victims, supporting the survivors, celebrating the LGBTQ community, and examining love in today’s world. All material has been kindly donated with all proceeds going to victims, survivors, and their families. It doesn’t matter who you love. All that matters is you love.” Congratulations, Greg!

We had a great turnout for a January and we raised a Berndt Toast to the great Disney artist on Bambi, Tyrus Wong, and also actor/cartoonist Dick Gauthier (remembered by anyone who was a kid in the late 1960s as Hymie the Robot in Get Smart). We were thrilled to welcome back the singularly funny Arnie Levin, longtime King Feature artist and toy designer Andy Eng and the constantly busy Tony Tallarico along with his lovely wife, Elvira.

Florida Mark Simon

marksimonbooks@yahoo.com

The Florida Chapter was scattered among a few smaller events this past month.

Mark Simon gave the first-ever live streaming presentation for SIGGRAPH from downtown Orlando. His talk was a presentation of the power of the Storyboard Pro software. He

was joined by a few fellow cartoonists such as local chapter member Brystal Cauthen. If you are suffering from sleep deprivation and need a cure, you can watch the presentation at https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=_3DYl2vCLNA.

Mark Simon and chapter member Alex Saviuk (Spider-Man comic strip) also got together to celebrate two animated shorts, The Peculiar Adventures of Willow B Star and The Key, which Mark had in the Love Your Shorts Film Festival. LYSFF took place in a classic old movie theater in Sanford, Florida. Non-drinking Mark even chugged a beer on stage with the other directors, having been the victim of festival peer pressure.

Central Florida artists Jon Pinto and former Florida Chair Eddie Pittman donated their time and talents to draw caricatures for

Night to Shine in Clermont, Florida. The nationwide event, sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation creates a prom night experience for people with special needs, providing guests with a VIP experience complete with red carpet entrance, limousine rides, dancing and more.

Southeastern

John Sheppard

sheart@aol.com

In a bloodless coup, leadership of the SECNCS was transferred to John Sheppard, who will be ably assisted by Greg Cravens. Mr. Ollie (Tim Oliphant) will continue on as Secretary/Treasurer. James “Doodle” Lyle steps down after serving our chapter first as Vice Chair and then as Chairman. He was a model we all should strive to be like. Thank you, Doodle for your service!

The Drawn To Help organization (led by chapter member Steve Barr) takes fun cartooning lessons and free art supplies to children in hospitals. His service has grown from one hospital to multiple treatment centers in seven states. Cartoonists from all over the country have begun getting involved and are deeply touched by what they have seen. On Feb. 7, Guy Gilchrist, Greg Cravens and Tom Bancroft joined Steve at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University in Nashville to start the ball rolling on Steve’s programs through Seacrest Studios. Seacrest Studios network several children’s hospitals together so more kids can access the programs via on-demand TV in their rooms. For info on Drawn To Help please email info@ drawntohelp.com

Northwest

Dan McConnell

appleandy@msn.com

A few of us from the NCS NW chapter met in Eugene, Oregon, at the “Aliens, Monsters, and Madmen: The Art of EC Comics” exhibit at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon.

We then had lunch and went to the home of Jan Eliot, where she gave us a tour of her home studio. I was particularly in -

terested in her drawing and lettering skills in addition to the materials she used to create Stone Soup . She works on a clay based paper, which is very smooth and can be cleaned up easily with the edge of an X-acto blade ... although she seldom makes a mistake. It was a thrill to see her in action in her natural habitat. And the EC Comics show was absolutely the best cartoon art show I’ve ever seen.

Just as a point of information, the SECNCS has six functioning subgroups within the chapter since we are so spread out geographically. We span 500 miles east to west and north to south. The groups in clude Asheville, Atlanta, Charlotte, Knoxville, Memphis and Raleigh. Memphis group’s Greg Cravens also visited the LeBonheur Children’s hospital to draw for patients on Jan. 19. Charlotte’s own Andy Smith’s Ominous Press will be dropping in July — stay tuned. And Atlanta’s Eisner award-winning editor/ publisher Tom Heintjes is finishing up the next issue

Jan Eliot in the studio with Dan and Aaron McConnell. Left, detail of an original by Basil Wolverton.

Mark Simon (rear, center) demonstrates in Orlando.

Mark SImon and Alex Saviuk get shorted at a film festival.

Jon Pinto and Eddie Pittman draw caricatures at Night to Shine

No. 21 of Hogan’s Alley, which should be out in April.

New Jersey

Dan Nakrosis Report by Tom Stemmle

On the evening of this past Dec. 15, a presentation and book signing took place at Labyrinth Books in Princeton, N.J., with Michael Tisserand and Patrick McDonnell. Patrick, of course, is the creator of Mutts, as well as being a Krazy Kat author, collector and expert. Michael Tisserand recently completed Krazy: George Herriman, a Life in Black and White, the most extensive biography to date of the Kat creator.

The Labyrinth Bookstore evening began with opening remarks by Tisserand, followed by a casual and very interesting discussion between Patrick and Michael. Tisserand explained that it took him more than ten years of extensive fact-finding to complete the book. Researching the Herriman family took Michael from Louisiana to Arizona, California, and New York City, interviewing surviving family and friends, with deep analysis of the artist’s work. Through written records he was able to bring this little-understood iconic figure to life, proclaiming Herriman as a true visionary artist. Interestingly, George Herriman was an African-American born to a prominent Creole family that had to hide their racial identity in the dangerous days of reconstruction.

Following the program and book signing, Patrick and his wife, Karen O’Connell, hosted an intimate dinner at near-by Teresa Caffe for Michael, some of his friends, Labyrinth staff,

Southern California/ Los Angeles

Matt Diffee

mattdiffee@gmail.com

Report by Chad Frye

Hey Ho Hey! The NCS LA has been having a busy winter dodging raindrops to spend time with our brothers and sisters in ink.

In January, we gathered at our favorite pizza spot in Silver Lake to hear from Disney animation veterans Bert and Jennifer Klein, who talked about their Pups of Liberty animated video series, a “pet” project of theirs made with the help of many traditional animation Disney experts including fellow NCSer Eric Goldberg.

In February, we gathered in hushed amazement to learn the digital secrets of Kyle Lambert, the illustrator behind the 1980s throwback Stranger Things art used in the print ad campaign for the first season

and N.J. Chapter members Dan Nakrosis and Tom Stemmle, as well as Tom’s wife, Marie, and Doug Goudsward.

New Jersey chapter member Peter Gallagher, who draws the iconic strip Heathcliff for Creator’s, syndicated in more than a thousand newspapers worldwide, is teaching a course in cartooning and illustration during the winter semester at Montclair State University. We hope to include more information about this in the next issue of the Cartoon!st.

Attention, cartoonists and illustrators in the New York, New Jersey, Philly, Connecticut, New York areas: the New Jersey Chapter has acquired a booth at the East Coast Comicon, which will take place on Saturday and Sunday, April 29-30, at the Meadowlands

of Netflix’s hit show.

Later in February, our chapter decided to put on our waders after one of the worst storms in recent memory to man our first booth at a comic convention at the Long Beach Comic Expo organized by our own Chari Pere. Besides having many cartoonists appearing in the booth, Chari also put together two great panel discussions, one about diversity in cartooning, and the other featuring the perspective of women in cartooning.

Then in March, special guest Michael

Expo Center in Secaucus, N.J. Email Chapter Chair Dan Nakrosis at dannakrosis@verizon. net for all particulars on utilizing our booth to showcase your work. We recommend that you do it as soon as possible.

North Central

Paul Fell pfell@nebr.rr.com

Report by Mike Edholm

Like so many others within the NCS, it was been Reuben’s judging time. The North Central Chapter, sworn to uphold the highest standards in our judging duties, held true to past successes we have known over the years. Under the watchful eye of our esteemed leader, Paul Fell, no one dared to screw up. And in the end we rose to the occasion despite a “YUGE” number of ties. With judging completed and ballots turned in, it was time for another beer and then it’s back to the drawing table or computer.

On a more MAD-dening note, Jackie Beilke, one of our North Central members made a pilgrimage with some of her fellow faculty members from the Sioux Falls school system to that little village on the east coast, New York City. Despite my warnings Jackie ventured on a little side trip to the offices of MAD Magazine. These kids will do anything for a thrill. She managed to sneak past the guards and actually get into the palatial office of the art director, Sam Viviano. As we’ve not heard from Jackie in over a week, we keep waiting for news of a ransom. So far, no word.

Tisserand came to town to speak about his new biography Krazy: George Herriman, A Life in Black and White. Good ol’ George, of course, was one of our own LA greats from the past, creator of the Krazy Kat comic strip who was once saved from a runaway toboggan by Cornelius the Bear as our chapter theme song often reminds us. (Long live Corny.)

Much has been happening with the LA Chapter. Let us know if you are coming out our way for a visit so you, too, can say, “Hey Ho Hey” with us!

Michael Tisserand and Patrick McDonnell with each other’s Herriman tomes at Labyrinth Books.

The post-bookstore-signing group at dinner.

NCS LA at the Long Beach Comic Expo. The plaid lads, from left, are Tony Carrillo, Wil Panganiban, Lonnie Millsap, Robb Armstrong and Chad Frye.

Howard Shoemaker, 1931-2017

Howard Shoemaker, a Playboy cartoonist known for his quirky take on the world, died Jan. 28. He was 85.

Mike Edholm contributes his memories of the offbeat, unorthodox cartoonist.

It was so much fun hanging out (and drinking) with Howard Shoemaker.

Shoe was doing cartoons for Playboy and Road & Track magazines. I had been drawing for R&T for a year or so when the art director, Bill Motta, asked me if I knew Shoe. Bill gave me Shoe’s phone number and address and suggested that I get in touch with him.

I sent Shoe a letter and he wrote back and invited me to meet him at M’s Pub in Omaha. Even M’s is gone now, but Shoe was a fixture there. He had his own stool at the far end of the bar, and just as in“Cheers,” everybody there knew his name. We would talk cartooning and whatever topic was of interest at the time.

Shoe used to drive around town in his Porsche wearing dark glasses and a WWI Kaiser’s helmet, the one with the spike on top. His long, handlebar moustache made him recognizable from about a hundred yards off.

We had a lot of laughs over the years. As with so many friendships, at some point we lost touch. We never exchanged artwork, a mistake I don’t make too often these days. It was just last month I thought that I should see if I could track down Shoe and visit him.

Sadly, another opportunity missed.

I think about Shoe from time to time, as I do with so many friends who have fallen off the radar.  It might be a good time to start reconnecting. Love may be lost but it rarely dies.

Shoe and I met when I was just getting my cartooning career off the ground. He was a source of inspiration and enthusiasm, and I will miss him.

Jay Lynch, 1945-2017

Jay Lynch, a cartoonist who played a key role in the underground comix movement with his Bijou Funnies and other titles, died March 5 in Cantor, N.Y. of lung cancer. He was 72.

In a career that spanned almost six decades, he not only helped create the 1960s counterculture press — where he was best known for his comic strip Nard n’ Pat — but contributed to Topps’ Wacky Packages and Garbage Pail Kids. Lynch was also the main writer for Bazooka Joe comics from 1967 to 1990, contributed to MAD , and in the 2000s expanded into the children’s book field.

Born in Orange, New Jersey, Lynch moved to Chicago in 1963. Working a string of odd jobs to sup -

port himself, he wound up drawing cartoons for Roosevelt University’s humor magazine, the Aardvark, which got tossed off campus by college administrators after the first issue. In 1967 Lynch, with help from Skip Williamson, put out The Chicago Mirror , which lasted three issues and would become Chicago’s answer to Robert Crumb’s Zap Comix: Bijou Funnies , which contained early work by Lynch, Art Spiegelman, Gilbert Shelton and Skip Williamson. The comic was collected in 1975 in the book The Best of Bijou Funnies Lynch’s best known comic book

stories involve the human-cat duo Nard n’ Pat, recurring characters in Bijou Funnies . The weekly comic strip Phoebe and the Pigeon People , by Lynch and illustrator Gary Whitney, ran in the Chicago Reader for 17 years in the late 1970s and 1980s.

Beginning in 1968, Lynch became a major contributor to Topps’ Wacky Packages and Garbage Pail Kids, plus other Topps humor products. His children’s book, Otto’s Orange Day (Toon Books, 2008), was a collaboration with political cartoonist Frank Cammuso. Another collaboration, Mo and Jo Fighting Together Forever by Lynch with Dean Haspiel, was published in 2008.

Last year, Lynch’s personal collection of original art, comics, correspondence, magazines, press files and other ephemera was acquired by The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum.

June Patterson 1919-2017

June W. Patterson, widow of famed Disney/ MGM/GrantrayLawrence animator Ray Patterson, died in Los Angeles on Feb. 3. She was 97.

Patterson worked at Disney in the 1930s as one of the “ink-andpaint girls,” and was featured in a 2010 Vanity Fair article about female animators of the Golden Age — which included a photo of her in a swimsuit as a “contestant” in front of Walt himself, circa 1938.

“My most unfavorite colors were gray and purple: they streaked,” said June in the article, referring to her work on Monstro, the whale in Pinocchio. “And you had to work very, very fast so that they wouldn’t dry.”

She remembered getting her first big assignment on the Pinocchio “coach” scene, and painting it on the wrong side of the cel by mistake. “I was sure I was going to be fired on the spot,” she recalled, “but when I went to see it at the theater, they had used the scene but disguised it in a rainstorm.”

She met her husband Ray at Disney, and they both co-founded the TV studio that created those quasi-animated Marvel cartoons, followed by the 1967-68 animated Spider-man series, where she initially wrote scripts and was then the script supervisor.

Jack Mendelsohn, 1926-2017

Jack Mendelsohn, an American writer-artist who worked in animation, comic strips and comic books, died of lung cancer on Jan. 25. He was 90.

His father was an agent for the legendary Winsor McCay, and during Mendelsohn’s childhood in Brooklyn, he was an avid reader of cartoonist Stan MacGovern’s off-beat comic strip, Silly Milly, an obvious influence on Mendelsohn’s cartoon style. Dropping out of high school, Mendelsohn joined the Navy, and after World War II he contributed gag cartoons to The Saturday Evening Post and other magazines.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, while living in Mexico City, he wrote and drew his innovative comic strip, Jacky’s Diary. It began Jan. 11, 1959, and continued until 1961. The Sunday-only strip is regarded by many comics buffs as one of King Features most novel and clever humor strips.

“It purported to be the hand-illustrated, hand-written diary of a young boy, supposedly Mendelsohn himself in his extreme youth,” Don Markstein wrote at Toonopedia. com. “Thus, it was both written and illustrated as though by a small child. Week after week, Mendelsohn described trips to the circus, fishing expeditions, visits to members of his extended family, and all sorts of other adventures kids have, in a style simulating that of an actual kid — except, of course, for the fact that it was professionally rendered in every way.

“King Features received complaints from those who didn’t ‘get’ it and thought the company was publishing the work of an actual child — or, in the case of those who noticed the byline (‘by Jacky Mendelsohn, age 32½’) by an adult whose abilities hadn’t progressed since childhood.”

Mendelsohn ghostwrote for other comic strips, and he also wrote for comic books, notably as a contributor to E.C. Comics’ Panic

In 2014, Mendelsohn received the Bill Finger Award.

An Emmy-nominated television comedy writer and story editor, he had numerous credits as a TV scripter, including Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, Three’s Company, The Carol Burnett Show and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Among his work for feature films, he was a co-screenwriter of Yellow Submarine (1968). In 2004, the Animation Writers Caucus of the Writers Guild gave him a Lifetime Achievement Award.

James Stevenson, 1929-2017

James Stevenson, a cartoonist who spent nearly 50 years and produced almost 2,000 images for The New Yorker, died Feb. 17 at his home in Cos Cob, Conn., from complications of pneumonia. He was 87.

“A master of all trades,” said fellow cartoonist Michael Maslin. “An abundance of wonderful, wonderful work.”

Stevenson’s work displayed “an effortless competence employed to structure a drawing for maximum comic effect,” Robert Mankoff, The New Yorker’s cartoon editor told The New York Times

Born in New York City on July 11, 1929, Stevenson was an office boy at The New Yorker while on summer vacation from high school. He joined the magazine in 1956, after serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, and then as a reporter for Life magazine.

“Keep up the good work, whatever it is, whoever you are.”

Aside from being one of the most prolific cartoonists in the field, Stevenson worked in a variety of formats, contributing written pieces to the magazine, along with covers and illustrations.

Apart from the magazine, Stevenson was the author or illustrator of more than 100 children’s books, as well as novels and an illustrated biography of Frank Modell, a fellow New Yorker cartoonist.

Nick Meglin takes the stage in announcing that an Equity production of “Tim & Scrooge – A Carol for a Later Christmas,” the musical sequel to the Dickens’ classic for which he wrote the book and lyrics to Neil Berg’s music, was given the 2016 BroadwayWorld Rockland/Westchester Award for Best Original Musical. Results were gathered from a record number of voters in more than 75 regions worldwide. Geared for local audiences around the country as a holiday season offering, Nick and Neil are hoping “Tim & Scrooge ” will be produced at a theater near you sometime in the future. One local reviewer wrote that “there is a wonderful story of love, redemption and family values at its core and glorious, effervescent melodies galore. … It’s a wonder this show isn’t already a holiday staple at every regional theater in the country.”

The latest volume in the series that was an Eisner Award finalist in 2016 for best archival collection is now available. Change is the operative word in Vol. 6 of The Complete Funky Winkerbean, with new characters, crossovers with John Darling and the story behind the rise of Crankshaft. All of that and a fun foreword by Roger (SpiderMan/Superman writer) Stern. … The latest from Jim Benton is the first of a new series — Let’s Do a Thing – Victor Shmud, Total Expert Geared toward the 7-10 year-old reader, the book from Scholastic features Victor, a total expert in everything, except for cleaning up his bedroom. “With his confidence, imagination, and trusty sidekick Dumpylumps (who happens to be a duck), there’s no telling what trouble he’ll get into. So when he finds himself at the center of an intergalactic conflict, he’s pretty sure the only way out is his top-secret kitchen concoction; his teacher, the extraordinary Mrs. Nozzleburp; and the help of his friend Patti. Will he be able to save the day and find his way back to class?” Available in May through all the usual outlets.

Jerry Dowling is drawing a monthly cartoon that appears on country music great Whisperin’ Bill Anderson’s website. Anderson also contributed the foreword to Jerry’s fifth book of caricatures, Drawing Grand Ole Country

– The Way it Was. See jerryjdowling.com. … Rhymes With Orange’s Hilary Price will lead “Writing and Drawing Single Panel Cartoons with Hilary Price” workshop at The Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vermont, this June 5-8. The 4-day intensive workshop examines the essentials for producing single panel comics — including characters, environment, plot and the gag. A combination of lectures and studio time provides an in-depth look into the form and an opportunity to leave with completed works. For both beginner and advanced adult and college students, see www.cartoonstudies.org for details … Graham Harrop, editorial cartoonist for the Vancouver Sun and creator of the strip Ten Cats, has just released Happy 150th Birthday Canada! Celebrating Canada’s sesquicentennial this year, Graham has created a colorful cartoon collection celebrating the event with a wildlife party featuring Canada’s iconic animals. Available on Amazon, or through the artist’s website (where you can check out his many other ventures) at www.grahamharrop.com. …

The Will and Ann Eisner Family Foundation has issued a challenge grant that would generate $70,000 for the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum (BICLM) and University Libraries. If the Libraries can raise $35,000, the Foundation will match that amount and establish an endowment that will generate funds for the Lucy Shelton Caswell Research Award. The endowment will provide funding for scholars to travel to Columbus and use the BICLM collections for research and publishing.

“Our vast collections include rare and unique items that in some cases must be viewed on-site,” Ireland curator Jenny Robb said. “Often scholars simply don’t have the funds to travel; this grant will provide significant assistance that will help us meet the growing demand for access to our resources.”

The work of Will Eisner (1917-2005), notably the creator of The Spirit who also popularized the term “graphic novel” with

the publication of his book A Contract With God, was one of the major collections acquired in the early years of the Library. The Will Eisner Seminar Room in the BICLM was named in honor of the late cartoonist, and the Eisner Family Foundation continues his support of the cartoon arts.

The award will be named for the founding curator of the BICLM, Professor Emerita Lucy Shelton Caswell. Prior to her retirement, her scholarly work and teaching focused on the history of newspaper comic strips and the history of American editorial cartoons. She has curated more than 75 cartoon-related exhibits and is the author of several articles and books, the most recent being the revised edition of Billy Ireland. Caswell is co-editor of The Ohio State University Press Studies in Cartoons and Comics series. She also serves as the vice president of Cartoon Crossroads Columbus, the annual citywide celebration of cartoon art.

The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum announces major challenge grant