Former Phoenix Tribune Editorial Cartoonist Mike Ritter dies at 48

Mike Ritter, art director for the GA Voice, died shortly after midnight on Sunday, March 30, 2014. He was 48.

Mike, far right with Garry Trudeau during the 2004 AAEC Convention in Lexington KY.
Photo: Brian Fairrington

The Doug Wright Awards Nominees for 2014

The Doug Wright Awards have announced their nominees for 2014. The Awards event takes place during the Toronto Comic Arts Festival.

The Ting Comic and Graphic Arts Festival

From Sequential.

The Ting Comic and Graphic Arts Festival takes place next month in London, Ontario and the fest has just revealed an amazing poster and t-shirt design by cartoonist Jesse Jacobs. As well, they have added Seth to their guest list.

Full details here.

Bob Mankoff: the story behind "How About Never?"

Bob Mankoff writes about The story of "How About Never"

Publishing a memoir naturally engenders certain questions, one of which is what I think my “legacy” will be. 

And because questions of legacy naturally engender thoughts of mortality, my preference is to avoid both the question and the thoughts, so I usually deflect them by joking that I’d like my legacy to be not dying.

Designing for The Grand Budapest Hotel

An interview with the film's lead graphic designer Annie Atkins in Creative Review.

The film's official trailer and the use of symmetry in Wes Anderson movies:

Reprint on the iPolitics website (16)

Today on the iPolitics website.

Bill Watterson/Richard Thompson’s OSU Show

Michael Cavna in Comic Riffs.

Curator Caitlin McGurk holding Bill Watterson's oil painting of Petey
from Richard Thompson's "Cul de Sac"

Calvin and Hobbs and Petey and Alice, plus Miss Wormwood and Mr. Danders, all came out to play over the past weekend.

With a cast of beloved characters like that, how could the real-life interlopers not have a good time, too?

Erdoğan bans Twitter in Turkey

Ayla Albayrak in The Wall Street Journal.

Higher Powers by Joep Bertrams

Turkish Internet users deployed one of the country’s most piercing weapons against government attempts to block Twitter late Thursday: humor.

Many of Turkey’s estimated 10 million Twitter account holders reacted to the ban by concocting ironic jokes and posting pictures lampooning the government.

Patrick Oliphant, Master of 'a Dying Art'

An interview with Ann Landi in The Wall Street Journal.

Illustration by Fred Harper

At his opening at the Gerald Peters Gallery in New York on March 20, you can probably expect veteran political cartoonist Pat Oliphant to be up on a ladder, drawing some of his trademark targets on a huge sheet of white paper.

Bob Mankoff’s ‘How About Never — Is Never Good for You?’

From The New York Times.

If anyone is entitled to pepper his memoir with New Yorker cartoons, it’s the cartoon editor of The New Yorker. So Bob Mankoff’s new book is half prose, half illustrations and tirelessly playful. But the artwork and text work together to tell a fizzy, jokey story about a long and busy career. Its title, “How About Never — Is Never Good for You?” comes from a famous Mankoff cartoon that depicts a businessman on the telephone, dodging a lunch date. Now around 70, Mr. Mankoff depicts himself with a big grin and a lipstick mark on his forehead, saying those words to the Grim Reaper.

Calvin & Hobbes creator Bill Watterson talks to Ohio State Curator Jenny Robb

From the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum Blog.

Illustration from “The Indispensible Calvin and Hobbes”, 1992. © Bill Watterson 

Bill Watterson Deposit Collection, The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum

We are delighted to welcome you to two exhibitions of original cartoon art by Bill Watterson and Richard Thompson at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, opening March 22, 2014. 

The shows will provide a unique opportunity to see—up-close—the original art of these two gifted cartoonists.

Curator Jenny Robb recently chatted with Bill Watterson about comics and the upcoming exhibit:

Cul de Sac creator Richard Thompson talks to Ohio State Curator Caitlin McGurk

Richard Thompson’s “Cul de Sac”, November 4th, 2007 © Richard Thompson, collection of the artist – Used by permission of Richard Thompson

Exhibited along with Bill Watterson’s work is the immensely talented creator of Cul de Sac, Richard Thompson.

Exhibition Curator Caitlin McGurk got the opportunity to chat with Richard:

Reprint on the "Yahoo! Canada" website (8)

The above cartoon was featured today on the Yahoo! Canada website.

"The Auld Acquaintance" Exhibition

From the Scottish Cartoon Art Studio.

Logo design by Danny Cardle

2014 marks the 15th anniversary of political devolution in Scotland. It also happens to be the 15th anniversary of the Scottish Cartoon Art Studio. In the coming months the people of Scotland will consider and finally vote upon the matter of independence. It has been noted by many commentators that the constitutional debate has lacked humour; we at the Studio thought we could do something about that. After all, what would politics be without political cartoons?

National Newspaper Awards 2013 (my submission)

Here are the five cartoons I submitted to the National Newspaper Awards.

Le Droit, September 9, 2013

Gerald Scarfe Talks to Noise Festival 2014

The Sunday Times' editorial cartoonist Gerald Scarfe talks about the profession.:

The Cloned Cone

From Joe la pompe.

THE ORIGINAL?
New Yorker Cartoon – 02/2013
Source : CondeNast Store
Artist : Liam Walsh (USA)

Reprint on the "Yahoo! Canada" website (7)

The above cartoon was featured yesterday on the Yahoo! Canada website.

What Goes Around Comes Around

From Demilked.

Photo on the left by Richard Avedon

By juxtaposing iconic fashion images from the past and the present on her blog, fashion historian Lilah Ramzi beautifully illustrates this industry’s cyclical nature. Her "Part Nouveau" series reveals how images from the past serve as roots for the fashion elements of the present.

Milton Glaser Draws "Mad Men 7" Poster

Steven Heller in Print.

The New York Times reported on Friday that Milton Glaser was enticed to return to the psychedelic graphic style that helped put him on the map in the ’60s. It is for the campaign promoting the new and final season of “Mad Men,” which takes place in the epoch of sex, drugs and rock n’ roll. What a brilliant idea! The man behind the Dylan poster reprising the ’60s.

Humorous Company Slogans

A selection from "50 Company Slogans If They Were Honest About It" on Tickld.

"Male Call" by Milton Caniff

From Hairy Green Eyeball 3.

The beauty of Milton Caniff’s artwork matches the beauty of pin-up Miss Lace in the classic strip, Male Call, done for GI newspapers during World War II. A hardbound compilation from Simon and Schuster came out in 1945, and contained 112 strips.
Part one and part two of the book.

Here is a small sample:

Edward Koren Appointed Vermont’s Second Cartoonist Laureate

From the Mike Lynch Blog.

Vermont resident Ed Koren was appointed Vermont Cartoonist Laureate on February 27, 2014.

Restaurant Closings in "Richard's Poor Almanac"

From Cul de Sac.

The first appearance of "Restaurant Closings" in Richard Thompson's strip.

Like many newspapers, the Washington Post runs a column listing various health code violations for the week. Each entry describes the circumstances leading to a closure of a food establishment by the investigating health department. Here's a sample of a recent column:

‘Mr. Hublot’: The Oscar Winning Animated Short

Sunday night, the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film went to Mr. Hublot. Set in a mechanical world, Mr. Hublot follows a man with OCD who brings a robot puppy into his life.

Laurent Witz wrote and directed the award-winning short, which manages to transport us fully to its world of factories and gears while maintaining a strong emotional core. It's easy to see what made it Oscar-worthy.

Mike Parker, Godfather of Helvetica, Dies

From Fast©Design.

Mike Parker, a legendary typographer, type designer, and historian who is perhaps best known for his work giving the world Helvetica, died Sunday night. He was 85.

Nick Park's "Creature Comforts"

I'm very happy to share a very funny animated short by the creator of "Wallace & Gromit".

Reprint on the "National Newswatch" website (4)

The drawing published in Wednesday's edition of Le Droit was reprinted in the National Newswatch website.