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© The Weirding, 2019
A rambling melange of pop-culture.
Showing posts with label comic strips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label comic strips. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
Monday, June 04, 2018
Memoirs of a Very Stable Genius - Shannon Wheeler
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| Memoirs of a Very Stable Genius - Shannon Wheeler |
© The Weirding, 2018
Monday, December 04, 2017
Monday, July 07, 2014
Monday, February 28, 2011
Did Scots Invent the Comic Book?
A new documentary entitled Scotland's amazing Comic Book Heroes claims that The Looking Glass periodical was the first comic book. The first installment of the periodical was released on June 11th, 1825; the last was published the following year. However, some insist certain characteristics of the magazine founded by John Watson make it the first comic magazine in history. Is a comic no more than the mere inclusion of such phrases as "To be continued..."?
The Looking Glass became The Northern Looking Glass, and it was during this run that experts say it introduced the word balloon. William Heath is the cartoonist who added those three words to a comic strip entitled "This Soldier's Life." Heath moved to London and became one of the most successful caricaturists of his day. He revived The Looking Glass years later, but it quickly folded and William Heath died shortly thereafter.
© C Harris Lynn, 2011
The Looking Glass became The Northern Looking Glass, and it was during this run that experts say it introduced the word balloon. William Heath is the cartoonist who added those three words to a comic strip entitled "This Soldier's Life." Heath moved to London and became one of the most successful caricaturists of his day. He revived The Looking Glass years later, but it quickly folded and William Heath died shortly thereafter.
© C Harris Lynn, 2011
Friday, September 24, 2010
2010 Record Year for Syndicated Comic Strips
So far, seven features have been launched this year -- four more than in 2009 -- and most were launched prior to Cathy Guisewite's announcement that she is ending her long-running, award-winning feature, Cathy, after 34 years. The Chicago Tribune enlarged its comics features earlier this year, as well, leading one to wonder if the Comics page is on its way back in?
Obviously, this is an attempt to improve circulation and save the newspaper -- which is quickly fading, largely due to the rise of the Internet and smart phones. Will it work? It certainly can't hurt. In fact, the newspaper industry owes a lot to the Comics page, and it could be argued -- probably isn't anywhere near the truth, but it still could be argued -- that newspapers survived the advent of TV with the Comics page, yet isn't faring so well with the advent of the Internet... without said Comics page. Huh? Right?
Our colleagues over to Comics Alliance have a Rundown on all seven features, including samples from each.
© C Harris Lynn, 2010
Obviously, this is an attempt to improve circulation and save the newspaper -- which is quickly fading, largely due to the rise of the Internet and smart phones. Will it work? It certainly can't hurt. In fact, the newspaper industry owes a lot to the Comics page, and it could be argued -- probably isn't anywhere near the truth, but it still could be argued -- that newspapers survived the advent of TV with the Comics page, yet isn't faring so well with the advent of the Internet... without said Comics page. Huh? Right?
Our colleagues over to Comics Alliance have a Rundown on all seven features, including samples from each.
© C Harris Lynn, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Little Annie Gets Orphaned
The Chicago Tribune announced today that it is canceling the famous Little Orphan Annie comic strip. Experts say this is yet another sign of the financial problems newspapers across the country are facing, but Annie is only run in about 20 newspapers across the country these days.
In her heyday, the 1920s-40s, Little Orphan Annie was a major comic strip. Though her 1982 hit movie and Broadway musical have continued to make Little Orphan Annie a popular commodity, the truth is that Annie is meant to appeal to children - which she does - and children do not generally read newspapers. Annie will continue, though; the "last" comic strip of her ends with a cliffhanger. The story will continue in another format - "whether it's comic books, graphic novels, in print, electronic," said Steve Tipple, president of the company that handles Annie's licensing.
Little Orphan Annie ran for 85 years. The last sequence will appear in newspaper on June 13th.
© C Harris Lynn, 2010
In her heyday, the 1920s-40s, Little Orphan Annie was a major comic strip. Though her 1982 hit movie and Broadway musical have continued to make Little Orphan Annie a popular commodity, the truth is that Annie is meant to appeal to children - which she does - and children do not generally read newspapers. Annie will continue, though; the "last" comic strip of her ends with a cliffhanger. The story will continue in another format - "whether it's comic books, graphic novels, in print, electronic," said Steve Tipple, president of the company that handles Annie's licensing.
Little Orphan Annie ran for 85 years. The last sequence will appear in newspaper on June 13th.
© C Harris Lynn, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Scripps Sells Snoopy WAAAAAAAAUUUUUGGGHHH!
E.W. Scripps Co. sold the unit which controls the Peanuts comic strip properties, including Snoopy and Charlie Brown, to Iconix Brand Group, Inc. -- the company which controls the licensing for such brands as Joe Boxer, London Fog, and more. Iconix paid a reported $175 million for control of the the Peanuts properties licensing.
The sale also creates a new partnership between Iconix Brand and Peanuts' creator, Charles Schultz', surviving family members. The Schultz family will pay 20% of the sale's price in exchange for 20% ownership.
Peanuts holdings include numerous TV specials, movies, the iconic comic strip, and more. The characters have also appeared in commercials for companies such as Met Life and CVS, and on products from Hallmark, Old Navy, and others. Licensed Peanuts merchandise is estimated to generate nearly $2 billion, annually.
© C Harris Lynn, 2010
The sale also creates a new partnership between Iconix Brand and Peanuts' creator, Charles Schultz', surviving family members. The Schultz family will pay 20% of the sale's price in exchange for 20% ownership.
Peanuts holdings include numerous TV specials, movies, the iconic comic strip, and more. The characters have also appeared in commercials for companies such as Met Life and CVS, and on products from Hallmark, Old Navy, and others. Licensed Peanuts merchandise is estimated to generate nearly $2 billion, annually.
© C Harris Lynn, 2010
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Bill Watterson's First Interview in 20+ Years
In what is believed to be his first interview in nearly 20 years, Cleveland resident and Calvin and Hobbes creator, Bill Watterson, answered a handful of questions from a local reporter who actually knew what he was doing (unlike... um, some other interviewers).
Watterson says he misses "the groupies, drugs, and trashed hotel rooms" of the Calvin and Hobbes era, and that he has "never regretted stopping when [he] did." Watterson also believes that, had he continued the strip, the fans who miss it would not feel the same -- in fact, those very fans would be cursing him for "[running] the wheels off it."
While brief, the interview is enlightening and certainly welcome. Watterson's work had an indelible and lasting impression on many of us and Calvin and Hobbes' end, along with that of Bloom County and some of the other strips of the time, signaled the true end of comic strips.
© C Harris Lynn, 2010
Watterson says he misses "the groupies, drugs, and trashed hotel rooms" of the Calvin and Hobbes era, and that he has "never regretted stopping when [he] did." Watterson also believes that, had he continued the strip, the fans who miss it would not feel the same -- in fact, those very fans would be cursing him for "[running] the wheels off it."
While brief, the interview is enlightening and certainly welcome. Watterson's work had an indelible and lasting impression on many of us and Calvin and Hobbes' end, along with that of Bloom County and some of the other strips of the time, signaled the true end of comic strips.
© C Harris Lynn, 2010
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Berkeley Breathed, Bloom County, and the 80s
It's pretty weird when I realize someone I know didn't experience the 1980s. This was never more apparent than with Michael Jackson's recent passing; I would venture to estimate as much as 30-40% of the viewers who saw that had no real idea why it was on, nor how truly big a star he was.
But the hardest thing for me to truly comprehend is just how timely everything in the 1980s was; nothing that happened during that decade could have happened before or after then. The 1980s became the true height of the Cold War, and saw its end; Ronald Reagan literally brought showmanship to the Presidential office; "Reaganomics" ushered-in Dynasty and cocaine, the drug du jour, brought in Miami Vice and both helped define the fashion; Michael Jackson was the last, great superstar; and Bloom County made sure we all realized these very things. Everything in the 1980s - everything about the 1980s - was so over-the-top, in retrospect: the decade of John Hughes, crack cocaine, synth-pop, AIDS, and MTV; the 1980s never just did something, it did the living shit out of it!
More than a comic strip, Bloom County was "Gonzo..." Well, Gonzo-something. One day, it was skewering the zeitgeist, the next, reveling in its place within it. It was also - again, in retrospect - the end of many, many things... cocaine as the drug du jour, the Cold War and the Berlin Wall, John Hughes movies, the black Michael Jackson, and the syndicated comic strip.
As this excellent, short interview with Breathed explains, within five years of Breathed's departure, Bill Watterston of Calvin & Hobbes had quit (but not before blowing-up at a convention and calling Charles Schultz "a fucking dinosaur" [I love that story]) - never to be seen or heard from again - and Gary Larson had thrown-in the towel, as well. And, just like that, it was over - it was all over.
While it may seem strange to younger readers, these comic strips formed an awful lot of the 1980s' zeitgeist. These strips, along with Doonesbury and Garfield, were must-reads daily - something like The Rundown is now - and provided watercooler chat long before Jerry Seinfeld got a show. The images of these characters donned T-shirts, ballcaps, sweaters, beach towels...
That world seems so far away now.
Even harder to grasp is that it really did just suddenly stop.
© C Harris Lynn, 2009
But the hardest thing for me to truly comprehend is just how timely everything in the 1980s was; nothing that happened during that decade could have happened before or after then. The 1980s became the true height of the Cold War, and saw its end; Ronald Reagan literally brought showmanship to the Presidential office; "Reaganomics" ushered-in Dynasty and cocaine, the drug du jour, brought in Miami Vice and both helped define the fashion; Michael Jackson was the last, great superstar; and Bloom County made sure we all realized these very things. Everything in the 1980s - everything about the 1980s - was so over-the-top, in retrospect: the decade of John Hughes, crack cocaine, synth-pop, AIDS, and MTV; the 1980s never just did something, it did the living shit out of it!
More than a comic strip, Bloom County was "Gonzo..." Well, Gonzo-something. One day, it was skewering the zeitgeist, the next, reveling in its place within it. It was also - again, in retrospect - the end of many, many things... cocaine as the drug du jour, the Cold War and the Berlin Wall, John Hughes movies, the black Michael Jackson, and the syndicated comic strip.
As this excellent, short interview with Breathed explains, within five years of Breathed's departure, Bill Watterston of Calvin & Hobbes had quit (but not before blowing-up at a convention and calling Charles Schultz "a fucking dinosaur" [I love that story]) - never to be seen or heard from again - and Gary Larson had thrown-in the towel, as well. And, just like that, it was over - it was all over.
While it may seem strange to younger readers, these comic strips formed an awful lot of the 1980s' zeitgeist. These strips, along with Doonesbury and Garfield, were must-reads daily - something like The Rundown is now - and provided watercooler chat long before Jerry Seinfeld got a show. The images of these characters donned T-shirts, ballcaps, sweaters, beach towels...
That world seems so far away now.
Even harder to grasp is that it really did just suddenly stop.
© C Harris Lynn, 2009
Monday, April 28, 2008
Islam Denounces Barbie, Pokemon
Spokesmen for Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Saudi Arabia recently reiterated the 10-year old ban on Barbie dolls.
According to the Committee, Barbie was based on an actual woman who was of Jewish descent. In actuality, the Barbie doll was based on a short-lived German doll named Lilli which was based on a sequential art comic strip that ran as filler for the German tabloid, Bild-Zeitung. Lilli's exploits were often political or sexual in nature and aimed primarily at adults. When the doll was fashioned, it held three patents and was largely considered inappropriate for children. Mattel bought the rights and patents to the doll in 1964 and production ceased; the name of the new doll was Barbie, and was aimed at children.
While the actual model (if there even was one) for either doll is unknown, Lilli was popular enough to spawn a motion picture, in which she was portrayed by a Danish actress. As the story goes, the woman who "invented" Barbie actually used Lilli as the model from which she worked, so no actual living model (excepting Ann Smyrner, who appeared as Lilli in the 1958 film) ever existed.
The Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Saudi Arabia also denounced the popular Pokemon trading card game (CCG: Collectible Card Games) as a Jewish conspiracy to introduce children to gambling and other vices.
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
According to the Committee, Barbie was based on an actual woman who was of Jewish descent. In actuality, the Barbie doll was based on a short-lived German doll named Lilli which was based on a sequential art comic strip that ran as filler for the German tabloid, Bild-Zeitung. Lilli's exploits were often political or sexual in nature and aimed primarily at adults. When the doll was fashioned, it held three patents and was largely considered inappropriate for children. Mattel bought the rights and patents to the doll in 1964 and production ceased; the name of the new doll was Barbie, and was aimed at children.
While the actual model (if there even was one) for either doll is unknown, Lilli was popular enough to spawn a motion picture, in which she was portrayed by a Danish actress. As the story goes, the woman who "invented" Barbie actually used Lilli as the model from which she worked, so no actual living model (excepting Ann Smyrner, who appeared as Lilli in the 1958 film) ever existed.
The Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Saudi Arabia also denounced the popular Pokemon trading card game (CCG: Collectible Card Games) as a Jewish conspiracy to introduce children to gambling and other vices.
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
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