The National Cartoonist Issue 2

The NCS goes cruising!
Jack DAVIS dreams

Tom RICHMOND caricatures
Mark FIORE animates
The
National
A PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL CARTOONISTS SOCIETY

Vol. 1, No. 2
............................................................................................................................................................................................
The
FIRST CARTOONIST I Ever Met

THENATIONALCARTOON!ST
Portfolio
ii
Reuben Award-winning
Cartoonist of the Year, 1991
Editorial cartoon, Dayton Daily
News, 1973
(Above) Self-caricature, 1970s
Artwork 2015 Mike Peters
Mike Peters
Harold Foster
Reuben Award-winning Cartoonist of the Year, 1957
Prince Valiant detail, Jan. 21, 1951

Prince Valiant 2015 King Features Syndicate
Roy Doty
Five-time
Reuben
Advertising
Illustration
Division
Award
recipient
NCS Gold Key
Award, 2010
Artwork 2015 Roy Doty
Advertising
illustration,
1950s
Artwork 2015 Bud Grace
....................................................
Comic Scripted
When I cant
think of good
ideas, I draw
bad ideas.
Bud Grace,
J. Campbell
Cory,
J. Campbell Cory
editorial
cartoonist, in his
political cartooning
instructional book
The Cartoonists
Art (1920).
Al Hirschfeld,
on newspaper
reproduction, in a 1998
interview in The Comics
Journal.
Jeff Smith,
on negotiating a 1990s deal with

Nickelodean Movies for a full-length
animated version of Bone, but only after
a Nickelodean executive bounced the
character off his young son.
Jerry
Scott,
Artwork 2015 Jeff Smith
Its printed on toilet paper

really, that is, blotting
paper, and they havent
improved the process.
As a matter of fact, its
retrogressed, I think.
I drew a lot
of Snoopy
thats how I got
to meet girls. I
didnt stretch
myself to draw
Charlie Brown
too much
because I knew
how hard it
was.
in a profile
in the San
Luis Obispo
Tribune.
.................................................................................................................................
When I first started drawing this strip,

I was a young, slimmish guy with a full head of hair.
Now Im a middle-aged guy with an expanding waistline and a
receding hairline, so I think Im actually turning into Earl.
Brian Crane,
creator of Pickles, on whether he modeled
his character Earl on himself.
Artwork 2015 Brian Crane
The maker of
comic pictures,
or the creator
of a humorous
series, is no
more entitled
to be called a
cartoonist than
is a rough-andtumble, slapstick comedian
to be hailed
as a legitimate
actor. His work is
entertaining if not
instructive but he
is not a cartoonist
any more than a
bass drum is a
violin.
............................................................................................
Hirschfeld 2015 The Al Hirschfeld Foundation
creator of The Piranha Club, on

writers block.
.........................................................................................................................
Our
entire fate
was in the
hands of
an 8-yearold.
The ability to
draw will no
longer be a
prerequisite. It
will be helpful
if you know
Photoshop.
Mick
Stevens,
New Yorker
cartoonist, on
being asked how
cartooning will
change, in an
interview from
the Cartoon Bank
website.
Snappy Answers to
Fifty years ago violence was the principal ingredient of the

humorous cartoon. A sequence had to end with a kick in
the pants, a sock on the head or a plunge from a forty-story
building, all to accompanying sounds like Klunk, Zowie,
Voom and Pow. Today the reader must follow a strip to a more
subtle conclusion, or no conclusion at all. Which is the better
Stupid Questions, to
of the two eras? Dont ask me. Im originally a Pow man.
I gave one of my
paperback books, called
a friend. I met him a
If the
world still
read the
comic
page
Rube Goldberg,
couple of months later
responding to the question What is the difference between comic

strips in the early days and strips today? in the spring 1957 issue of
The Cartoonist.
and he said and this

is one of my favorite
comments Al, I cant
and they werent the

size of 2 stamps
I would still do it. But
their days as a topic of
national conversation
are over I fear. There
are a great many more
distractions of a more
visceral nature to
compete with.
your intelligence doing

this kind of crap!
Al Jaffee,
in an interview in
The Boston Globe
Magazine.
Artwork 2015 Rube Goldberg, Inc
figure it out, a man of
Berkeley
Breathed,
on whether he
missed drawing a daily
comic strip, in an
online interview at
PvPonline.com.
Artwork 2015 Berkeley Breathed
Id advise aspiring
cartoonists to give up.
Unless they feel they have to cartoon. In that case, Id advise them to draw incessantly.
Get comfortable with the idea that a lot of people may not like your work but that some
people might like; it a lot. Rejection is an integral part of success. Cartoon to please
yourself. Dont give up. Sit up straight. Eat your spinach.
William Haefeli,
New Yorker cartoonist, in an interview at The Cartoon Bank.
xxx 2015 xxxxxx
Walt Kelly,
creator of Pogo, writing about his upbringing
in the book Five Boyhoods, (Doubleday & Company,
1962).
......................................................................
........................................................
Not being a great man for writing, [my father]

believed that the true means of communication
is the picture. We are, he said at one point,
bad at talking, bad at remembering language,
and bad at spelling; but we are just great at
remembering pictures.
Nuns made more

great cartoonists
than any other
force of nature.
Mike Peters,
responding to a
question about his
military Catholic high
school upbringing, at
PlanetCartoonist.com.
Chairman
Steve McGarry
mac@stevemcgarry.com
THE NATIONAL CARTOON!ST
Art Director
Frank Pauer
NATIONAL CARTOONISTS SOCIETY
BOARD
Honorary Chairman
Mort Walker
President
Bill Morrison
First Vice President
Jason Chatfield
Second Vice President
Hilary Price
Third Vice President
Darrin Bell
Secretary
John Kovaleski
Treasurer
John Hambrock
Membership Chairman
Sean Parkes
sean@seanparkes.com
National Representative
Ed Steckley
ed@edsteckley.com
COMMITTEES
The Cartoon!st
Frank Pauer
Ethics
Steve McGarry
Education
Rob Smith Jr.
Greeting Card Contracts
Carla Ventresca
For general inquires about the NCS
and the NCSF email:
info@reuben.org
The National Cartoon!st is
published by the National
Cartoonists Society,
P.O. Box 592927, Orlando, FL
32859-2927. The views expressed
herein do not necessarily reflect
those of the NCSF. Contents 2015
National Cartoonists Society
Foundation, except where other
copyrights are designated.
All artwork contained herein is
2015 by the respective artist
and/or syndicate, studio or other
copyright holder.
The National Cartoonists

Society website:
www.reuben.org
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

FOUNDATION
The
National
15
Cartooning for Kids

Launching a new NCS Foundation initiative
16
Preserving Comic Art

Suggestions for cartoonists and collectors
19
NCS Reuben Awards Weekend

Photos from this years event in Washington, D.C.
22
Drawing Caricatures with

Tom Richmond
Relationships of features by the celebrated MAD Magazine cartoonist
26
Jack Davis on the Comics Page

Dream of syndication left on the drawing board
30
The First Cartoonist I Ever Met

Stories of mentors and inspiration
38
Cartooning in a Flash
Mark Fiore and the art of animating political cartoons

.............................................
1 PORTFOLIO
6 COMIC SCRIPTED
9 FIRST PANEL
42 NCS ARCHIVES
46 FROM THE COLLECTION OF
54 THE NATIONAL CARTOONISTS SOCIETY
60 DO YOU CARTOON?
Cover Artwork 2015 Al Jaffee
s a former two-term President of

the National Cartoonists Society
and current President of its charitable arm, The National Cartoonists
Society Foundation, it is my great
pleasure to welcome you to the
second issue of our free magazine,
The National Cartoon!st. Its our hope that you will

enjoy the insider glimpses into our profession and all
the rare, and in many cases previously unseen, pieces of
art and in the process, learn a little bit about the NCS
and its rich history.
The National Cartoon!st is just one of a number of
initiatives that the NCSF currently has underway, such
as our video archive project that will make hundreds of
hours of interviews with cartooning greats including
the likes of Charles Schulz, Jeff MacNelly, Will Eisner
By
..........................
Steve
McGarry
and Jack Kirby freely available to the public.

In April, we launched Cartooning for Kids, a
nationwide program of ongoing visits to childrens
hospitals, with an inaugural event at St. Jude Childrens
Research Hospital in Memphis. Soup To Nutz creator
Rick Stromoski has a detailed report of the event on
Page 15, so Ill just say that being able to provide a
welcome distraction and bring a little joy and fun into
all those young lives for a few hours was a genuinely
heartwarming and rewarding experience for those of us
who participated.
Charitable and education works have been the hallmark of the NCS since its inception in 1946, when a
group of cartoonists first got together to entertain the
troops. The NCS Foundation works in tandem with the
NCS to continue this tradition of using the talent and
resources at our disposal to help and comfort where
needed and to promote awareness and appreciation of
................................................................................................................................................................................................
First Panel
Read it.
Post it.
Follow us.
THE NATIONAL
CARTOONISTS SOCIETY
@NATCARTOONSOC
@NATIONALCARTOONISTS
THE NATIONAL
CARTOONISTS SOCIETY
THE NATIONAL
CARTOONISTS SOCIETY
WEBSITE:
www.reuben.org
the artform we all love, whether that means offering financial help to cartoonists and their families
in times of need ... to drawing for wounded troops,
both at home and abroad ... to providing scholarships to students seeking to enter the profession
or any of the many other important programs the
NCSF undertakes and underwrites.
If you would like to help us continue and expand
these endeavors and have an absolute blast in the
process! please consider joining us this winter on
the inaugural NCS Celebrity Cartoonist Caribbean
Cruise to help raise funds for the NCSF. Well be
cruising the Caribbean for a week with a stellar array
of speakers and a schedule of splendid events that
no fan of comics and cartooning will want to miss.
Youll have the chance to meet and mingle and
wine and dine with some of the biggest names in
cartooning, get autographs and sketches and enjoy
a tremendous program of seminars, panels and parties. All proceeds go to the NCS Foundation so its all
for an exceptionally great cause and it comes with
a free booze package! How can you possibly say no?
Youll find full details of the NCS Celebrity
Cartoonist Caribbean Cruise beginning on the
next page, there are updates on our website at
www.reuben.org and when you are ready to book
the trip of a lifetime, go to www.ncscruise.com and
sign up!
Hope to see you on the high seas!

Best wishes,
Steve McGarry
Steve McGarry
.......................................................................................
A two-term former President of the National Cartoonists

Society, Steve is the current Chairman
of the National Cartoonists Society
Foundation, the charitable arm of the
NCS. He received the prestigious NCS
Silver T-Square Award in 2012 for his
outstanding service to the profession.
Having designed record sleeves for a
number of new wave luminaries in his
native England, including Joy Division
and John Cooper Clarke, Steve became one of Britains
most successful newspaper and magazine illustrators in
the 1980s, before creating the long-running comic strip
Badlands (right) for Britains biggest-selling daily
newspaper, The Sun, in 1989. Later that same year, after
signing his first U.S. syndication contract, he relocated
with his young family to California.
His sports and entertainment features, including the
syndicated strips Biographic, Kid Town and Trivquiz,
appear in newspapers worldwide, from the New York
Daily News to the South China Morning Post, and Steves
magazine clients include SI For Kids, FHM and a host
of European sports and teen magazines. Six times
nominated for a Silver Reuben, he was the first artist
in history to receive Illustrator of the Year Awards from
both the National Cartoonists Society and the Australian
Cartoonists Association. He has also recently ventured
into the world of animation, most notably working with
Illumination on Despicable Me 2 and The Minions,
and was a story artist on the new game Minions Paradise
from EA Games.
He lives in Huntington Beach, Calif., with his wife,
Deborah, who is the colorist on the long-running daily
cartoon strip Baby Blues. Their twin sons, Joe and Luke,
are award-winning artists and also form the Los Angeles
indie band Pop Noir.
See more of Steves work at www.stevemcgarry.com and
on the new soccer site www.thetogger.com.
Artwork 2015 Steve McGarry
Follow @stevemcgarry on Twitter
10
THE NATIONAL CARTOONISTS SOCIETY PRESENTS
THE CELEBRITY CARTOONISTS

CARIBBEAN CRUISE 2016!
Sponsored in part by
Art by Tom Richmond
A fundraiser in support of
JOIN THE NCS ABOARD

THE FREEDOM OF THE SEAS
JAN 17-24, 2016
HOORAY!
PRICING
INCLUDES
FREE
BOOZE!
11
MEET THE CARTOONISTS!
The National Cartoonists Society, the worlds largest and most prestigious organization of professional cartoonists, is
going on a Caribbean Cruise and youre invited! This is your chance to meet and mingle with some of cartoonings
most illustrious names, hear them talk about their careers, watch them at work and play and have them draw for YOU!
Sponsored in part by
JIM BORGMAN
Pulitzer Prize and Reuben

winner, co-creator of Zits,
appearing in 1,700 papers
BILL MORRISON
Award-winner renowned
for his work on The
Simpsons and Futurama
LYNN JOHNSTON
JEFF KEANE
Reuben-winning creator of
For Better Or For Worse,
appearing in 2,000 papers
Artist and writer on The

Family Circus, appearing
in 1,400 papers
STEPHAN PASTIS
MICHAEL RAMIREZ
Pearls Before Swine

creator and best-selling
childrens book author
Two-time Pulitzer winner,

editorial cartoonist with
Investors Business Daily
RICK KIRKMAN
Reuben-winning co-creator
of Baby Blues, which
appears in 1,200 papers
MIKE PETERS
Reuben and Pulitzer-winning

editorial cartoonist, creator of
Mother Goose and Grimm
MIKE LUCKOVICH
AJC and Newsweek

editorial cartoonist, winner of
two Pulitzers and a Reuben
TOM RICHMOND
Reuben-winning illustrator
and caricaturist acclaimed for
Mad Magazine movie parodies
STEVE McGARRY
Biographic & Kid Town

comic strips creator and
Minions story artist
JERRY SCOTT
Reuben-winning
co-creator of Zits
and Baby Blues
RICK STROMOSKI
Illustrator and Greeting

Cards artist, creator of the
comic strip Soup to Nutz
JOIN US THIS WINTER ABOARD

THE FREEDOM OF THE SEAS!
With additions inspired by Oasis-class ships,
Freedom of the Seas is destined to ignite your
imagination. See Shrek parade across the deck as
part of the just-added DreamWorks Experience.
Then end your evening with a selection of reds or
whites at the now-more-intimate Vintages wine bar.
AND ITS ALL IN A VERY GOOD CAUSE!

The cruise is a fundraiser for the NCS Foundation, the charitable arm
of the National Cartoonists Society. From offering financial help to
cartoonists and their families in times of need ... to visiting Childrens
Hospitals to draw for the patients ... to drawing for wounded
troops, both at home and abroad ... to providing scholarships to
students seeking to enter the profession ... to working to preserve
important works and share
sha them with the public ... to supporting
cartoon events and educational institutions dedicated to the
artform ... the NCS Foundation, a registered 501(c)3 charity,
works in tandem with the National Cartoonists Society
to continue the charitable and education works that have
been the hallmark of the NCS since its inception in 1946.
Your support of the NCS Cruise
will help us to continue and
expand these worthy endeavors.
12
For more information about the NCS

and the NCSF visit: www.reuben.org
Experience the innovative and complimentary

features Freedom of the Seas has always been known
for FlowRider surf simulator, rock climbing wall,
Freedom Fairways mini golf course, H2O ZoneSM
water park and more.
Enjoy the fabulous dining options, the casino,
the sensational shows, the bars and the
nightclubs ... theres
even karaoke! If you feel
the
sporty, theres everything from a jogging
track to a basketball court, from a
fitness center to an ice skating rink!
10 100+ 1360
Pools and
whirlpools!
Luxurious spa
treatments!
Crew members
to serve you!
WHAT A STELLAR LINE-UP!

Boasting a collective trophy haul of 7 Reubens, 6 Pulitzers, 26 NCS Division awards,
4 Sigma Delta Chi awards, one ACA Stanley and an Eisner ...
and a Star on the St. Louis Walk Of Fame!
SUNDAY, JANUARY 17:

Depart Port Canaveral, Florida 4.30pm
7.00 - 8.00pm: MEET THE CARTOONISTS cocktail party!
MONDAY, JANUARY 18: At sea
8.30 - 10.00am: ZITS & BABY BLUES with the writer and two artists
behind two of the most popular newspaper comic strips in the world,
JERRY
SCOTT & RICK KIRKMAN & JIM BORGMAN
JER
2.00 - 3.15pm: THE SIMPSONS and FUTURAMA with artist, writer,
art director and current NCS President BILL MORRISON
3.30 - 5.00pm: EDITORIAL CARTOONING with Pulitzer Prize winners
MIKE PETERS, MIKE LUCKOVICH and MICHAEL RAMIREZ
TUESDAY, JANUARY 19: Labadee, Haiti 8.00am-4.00pm
2.30 - 3.45pm: RICK STROMOSKI Humorous illustrator, Greeting Cards artist and
creator of the syndicated daily comic strip SOUP TO NUTZ
3.45 - 5.00pm: STEVE McGARRY talks about his features BIOGRAPHIC & KIDTOWN and a career
that spans record sleeve design, award-winning sports illustration and now working with THE MINIONS!
10.00pm - Midnight: QUICK ON THE DRAW SHOW - The hilarious must-see improv cartoon extravaganza!
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20: Falmouth, Jamaica. 10.00am-7.00pm
5.30 - 7.00pm: CARTOONING AS A CAREER seminar with insight from our top professionals!
10.15pm - Midnight: Signing, sketch and caricature session with all the cartoonists!
THURSDAY,
JANUARY 21: George Town, Grand Cayman 8.00am-4.00pm
THURSD
3.45 - 5.00pm: FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE with LYNN JOHNSTON, one of the most
successful female cartoonists in comics history talks about her illustrious career!
FRIDAY, JANUARY 22: Cozumel, Mexico 10.00am-7.00pm
5.45pm - 7.00pm: STEPHAN PASTIS talks about his hit strip PEARLS BEFORE SWINE
and becoming a best-selling childrens book author!
10.15pm - Midnight: Signing, sketch and caricature session with all the cartoonists!
SATURDAY, JANUARY 23: At sea
8.30 - 9.20am: TOM RICHMOND talks about his career and working for MAD MAGAZINE!
9.30am - Noon: TOM RICHMONDS CARICATURE CLASS! Learn to draw like the genius
behind all those TV and Movie parodies ... a first-ever masterclass by the Mad Mag maestro!
2.00 - 3.15pm: THE FAMILY CIRCUS with JEFF KEANE! The real-life Little Jeffy
talks about taking the reins on his dads beloved newspaper panel.
3.30 - 4.30pm: MOTHER GOOSE & GRIMM with MIKE PETERS!
simply, one of the funniest men on the planet!
Quite simpl
4.30 - 5.30pm: FINAL SIGNING SESSION
7.00 -8.00 pm: Farewell cocktail party
SUNDAY, JANUARY 24:
Arrive Port Canaveral, 6.00am
Schedule timings
subject to change
All illustrations
respective
owners and
used by permission
2015 NCSF
All rights reserved
13
BOOK ONLINE AT
ncscruise.com
JAN 17-24, 2016
Sailing from Port Canaveral, Orlando ...

Calling at the private beach resort of
Labadee, Haiti ... Falmouth, Jamaica...
George Town, Grand Cayman ...
and Cozumel, Mexico!
CABIN PRICING:
Prices include all gratuities, taxes, port fees, drinks

package and all NCS seminars, events, receptions, dinners
and NCS Goodie Bag. Does not include airfares, etc.
Inside Stateroom
150-172 sq ft
Two lower beds convertible to one queensized bed, flat panel TV, private bath with
shower, safe
Double $1,426 pp Single $2,179 pp
Ocean View Stateroom

174 sq ft
Ocean-view windows, two lower beds

convertible to one queen-sized bed, flat
panel TV, private bath with shower, safe
D3
IF YOU ARE ARRIVING SATURDAY, BOOK THE
PRE-CRUISE HOTEL PACKAGE (includes hotel,
evening reception, breakfast, motor coach
transport from hotel, portage, fees and taxes, etc.)
FULL DETAILS ON THE BOOKING SITE
JS
GS
DINNER WITH A CARTOONIST!
BEVERAGE PACKAGE INCLUDED!
Beverage package includes house wine by the glass, beer, fountain soda, and
well/call/premium cocktails and frozen drinks.
In order to join NCS events, all cruises

MUST be booked via our travel partner:
Junior Suite with balcony

287 sq ft + 78 sq ft private balcony
Two lower beds convertible to one queen-sized

bed, private bath with shower, large sitting area,
private balcony, flat panel TV, floor-to-ceiling
windows, safe
SEMINARS, PANELS & SHOWS WITH THE CARTOONISTS!
MEET AND MINGLE WITH THE CARTOONISTS

AT TWO PRIVATE COCKTAIL RECEPTIONS!

windows, safe
HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
SPECIAL AUTOGRAPH AND SKETCHING EVENTS WHERE

THE CARTOONISTS WILL SIGN & DRAW JUST FOR YOU!
Superior Ocean View with balcony

Grand Suite with balcony


windows, safe
OS
Owners Suite with balcony

Queen-sized bed, bathroom with tub & shower,

large living area with sofa bed, large private
balcony, flat panel TV, floor-to-ceiling
windows, safe

* PP=per person. Double=double occupancy
Single=single occupancy cabin
* A deposit of $500 per person is due with the
completed cruise application. Balance due: 10/16/15
* Rates for third and fourth passengers in cabin with

2 full fare guests vary, please call us at 770.952.1959.
* If you are
a a single looking to share a cabin, please
indicate on the cruise application and we will do our
best to accommodate your request
14
...................
Members of the National Cartoonists Society visited St. Jude

Children's Research Hospital in
Memphis on April 28 to launch
our Cartooning for Kids program.
The program involves professional cartoonists visiting young
patients at hospitals and healing
centers all over America. The
Cartooning for Kids program was
underwritten by the National
Cartoonists Society Foundation
and included donations of materials from Universal Uclick, Dick
Blick art supplies, Strathmore
paper company, Lynn Johnston
and the National Cartoonists
Society Foundation.
Seventeen professional cartoonists, representing
expertise in television and feature animation, syndicated newspaper comics, comic books, children's
books and children's publishing, drew pictures for
more than 200 patients. The children ranged in age
from 3 years old to 15.
Many of the children
were inpatient residents of the hospital
but some were visiting
from places as far away
as Costa Rica, Canada
and France.
Initially scheduled
for 3 hours, the event
ran for an extra hour
due to the
enthusiastic
response from
the patients
and staff of St.
Jude. Caroline
Kuebler, Senior
Director of St.
Jude, said it was
their most successful event of
the past 10 years.
The event was covered by the local Memphis
television, radio and newspaper media. The children
...................
Cartooning for Kids kicks off at

St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital
went away happy carrying their Cartooning for

Kids goodie bags stuffed with art supplies, T-shirts
and cartoonists books donated by the NCSF. Participating artists included Tom Richmond, Lincoln
Peirce, Stephan Pastis, Jeff
Keane, Tom Richmond,
Bill Morrison, Steve
McGarry, Greg Cravens,
members of the Southeast
NCS chapter and myself.
Id like to thank Steve
McGarry and the NCS
Foundation, Lynn Johnston,
John Glynn, Chris Craver,
Maria Scrivan, Dick Blick
Art Supplies, Universal Uclick, Andrews
McMeel Publishing,
The Strathmore Paper
Company and all of
the featured cartoonists who made this
event so successful.
We look forward
to continuing this
program nationwide through the various NCS local
Chapters. If you have a suggestion or question about
a childrens hospital in your area please contact me at
soup2nutz@cox.net.
Rick Stromoski
15
2015 Frank PAuer
Preserving
cartoon art
Suggestions for cartoonists and collectors

16
In response to inquires about the care and collecting of original cartoon art, the
Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum put together a primer for both the novice
and experienced cartoonist or collector. This should answer many of the basic
questions, though the Museum is happy to answer inquiries that may not be
information.
Dating work when it is drawn
can save hours of checking later.
Use pencil (not ink because it
may show through) and note the
date the cartoon was drawn on
the back.
Finished work should never
be rolled for mailing in a tube.
This can damage the edges and
loosen adhesive films and pastedon corrections. Instead original
cartoon art should be placed in a
protective envelope before being
wrapped for mailing. Cartoons
should always be supported with
cardboard that is heavy enough
not to bend during shipment.
When mailing a number of
drawings, several smaller packages are preferable to one large
box because of the possibility for
damage to heavy oversized boxes.
CARTOONS PRODUCED ON THE
COMPUTER
What constitutes an original
when cartoons are created on a
computer is an interesting question. A printout signed and dated
by the cartoonist is as close to an
original as is possible.
Some cartoonists create their
cartoons using ink and paper,
but scan them in order to add
color using a computer. In this
instance, a signed and dated color
printout might be an alternative
or supplemental original to the
ink and paper version.
..........................................................................................................................................................
DRAWING CARTOONS
The most important thing
a cartoonist can do to provide
physical longevity for his or her
work is to use the highest quality
materials appropriate for the job.
All-rag illustration board may not
be necessary for every drawing,
but it will remain in good condition much longer than ordinary
photocopy paper. The same can
be said for inks: India ink is more
durable than the ink from felt-tip
pens. If a soft medium such as
conte crayon or pastels is used, it
should be fixed carefully.
If corrections need to be made,
do not use cellophane or magic
tapes because they will eventually
discolor and leave a glue residue. Avoid rubber cement, too,
because it inevitably turns brown
with age. White water-soluble
glue is preferable and is available
either as a glue stick or as a liquid. Sticky notes should never be
used on original art because they
also leave a glue residue.
Some cartoonists are selfconscious about their drawings
and erase all of their preliminary
sketches from the inked drawing.
From a historical perspective,
such roughs give documentation
of the creative process. Marginal notes indicating reduction
percentages or errors to be corrected should also not be erased.
Cartoons are working art and
these notes provide interesting
..........................................................................................................................................................
covered here. Email cartoons@osu.edu.
Because of rapid technical

changes, instability of computer
files, and potential incompatibility problems with future generations of computers, cartoonists
should print out at least one copy
of each cartoon they create and/
or color using a computer. Having a permanent archive on paper
may seem primitive, but it is the
best way to insure that a record of
ones work survives. Using highquality paper for the printouts
and storing them in a cool, dry
place is recommended.
COLLECTING CARTOONS
Provenance is the term archivists and historians use to describe the origins of a document.
The provenance of cartoons in
your collection is important. Did
you trade for them? If so, what
did you trade and when? Did
you purchase them? If so, from
whom, where, and at what price?
Keeping a record of such information will help you (or your estate)
in the future when the disposition of the collection must be
decided. These records can also
serve as an inventory of your collection and may act as the basis
for any insurance you may wish
to carry.
Many collectors want to place
ownership marks on the cartoons they have acquired. Ink
stamps on the back of a cartoon
should be avoided because they
17
18
......................................................................................................................................................................................................................
............................................................................................
...................................................
can bleed through the paper

film can be purchased and cusand damage the work. The best
tom-sized sleeves made. Cartoons
ownership marks are unobtrusive.
using conte crayon, charcoal or
They should be placed in the
other soft media should not be
same relative location on each
placed in plastic sleeves because
item in the collection. If identifistatic electricity from the plastic
cation is the goal, initials or nummay lift the drawing medium
bers lightly penciled in the lower
from the paper.
left corner of the back of each
cartoon might serve as an ownerSTORAGE CONDITIONS
ship mark since any attempt at
Original cartoons should be
erasure would leave a trace. If
stored in a cool, dry place. They
security is the reason you want to
should be housed in acid-free
mark the pieces of
boxes or in
your collection, a
painted drawers.
Displaying original
conservator should
Unpainted wood
be consulted.
emits gasses that
cartoons involves a
Several specially
will discolor
tradeoff for their owner:
formulated inks are
paper. Regular
For the enjoyment of
used by some rare
cardboard boxes
living with the art, she or
book libraries to
are very acidic
indicate ownership
and they, too,
he exposes the work to
and are available
will damage
potential damage from
for purchase by
paper. Original
light, heat, and water.
private collectors.
cartoons should
These risks should be
be protected
MATS AND FRAMES
from dust, light,
weighed carefully before
If you decide to
and possible
deciding which work to
mat and/or frame
insect damage.
frame for home or office.
your cartoons, use
Basement storonly acid-free mat
age should be
board. Other mat
avoided because
boards can burn or discolor
many are damp and prone to
original art due to their high acid
flooding.
content. An acid-free under-mat
should be used with colored mats
DISPLAYING ORIGINAL CARTOONS
that do not come in an acid-free
Hanging framed cartoons on a
version. Pressure-sensitive tapes
wall is a wonderful way to enjoy
such as masking tape, cellophane
them every day, but improper
tape, and duct tapeshould never
framing and display can ruin a
be used when matting a cartoon.
prized original. The key for longLinen hinges may be purchased
term pleasure is to mat and frame
and many books describe the
the work carefully and then to
various techniques for hinging
hang it where it will not be damoriginal artworks to mat board.
aged.
An alternative to matting is
The back of each frame should
to place original cartoons drawn
be sealed to protect the cartoon
with ink in clear plastic sleeves
from dust, air pollution, and inmade of inert polyester film (such
sects. Bumpers should be placed
as Mylar). Many photographers
on the four corners of the frame
use this type of sleeve which is
to allow air to circulate behind it.
widely available in smaller sizes
Often the bumpers supplied by
at photography shops. Larger size
framers are too thin to allow for
sleeves may be ordered from speadequate air circulation. A bottle
cialty dealers, or rolls of polyester
cork can be cut into 3/8-to-1/2-
inch thick pieces and used instead

of the commercially available
frame bumpers.
Environmental conditions can
damage original art even if it has
been properly framed. Sunlight
(both direct and indirect) and fluorescent lights are especially high in
ultraviolet rays that are harmful to
paper, certain inks and watercolors.
Art should be displayed in rooms
with incandescent lights and/or
weak daylight. Ultraviolet filtering
Plexiglass can be used in frames,
but direct exposure to sunlight and
fluorescent lights should still be
avoided.
Framed cartoon art should never
be hung near heat sources or in
areas of high humidity. Mold and
mildew growth is likely to occur
when the relative humidity is 70%
or more. An air conditioner or
dehumidifier can help to protect original cartoons against the
bloom of mold and mildew (which
also fosters foxing in older papers). Displaying original cartoons
involves a tradeoff for their owner:
For the enjoyment of living with
the art, she or he exposes the work
to potential damage from light,
heat, and water. These risks should
be weighed carefully before deciding which work to frame for home
or office.
APPRAISALS AND DONATIONS
Current tax law does not permit
the creator of an artwork to receive
a charitable deduction when an
art work is donated to a nonprofit
institution. The appraised or market value of gifts-in-kind of work
by other artists may be deducted.
An appraisal is not necessary for
gifts-in-kind valued at less than
$5,000 by the donor. Additional
information on appraisals and who
constitutes a qualified appraiser is
included in the Internal Revenue
Service form 8283 which must
be filed by persons claiming the
deduction of a gift-in-kind valued
at more than $500.
Jeff and Melinda Keane
The venerable Mort Walker Cartoonist

of the Year for 1953 presents this years
Reuben Award to Roz Chast.
Newly installed NCS president Bill Morrison

with his wife Kayre and Medal of Honor recipient
Mort Drucker
Betty and Luanns Greg Evans with their

daughter Karen
Tom Gammill and Mo Willems
Hilary Price and Matt Diffee
Mike Luckovich, Mike Peters and Jan Eliot
Guest speaker Nick Galifianakis, who

spoke on Authenticity: Cultivating Our
Most Artistic Selves.
Washington, D.C.,
plays host for a capital
Reuben Awards Weekend
.....................................
Over the Memorial Day weekend, the National Cartoonists Society held its annual Reuben Awards Weekend
in Washington, D.C. More than 150 of the worlds top
cartoonists gathered at the historic Omni Shoreham Hotel
for the festivities, which included speakers, fine dining
and a spectacular awards show.
The weekends slate of great speakers included
Mark Anderson, Juana Medina, Doug Mahnke, Nick
Galifianakis, Brian Crane, Mort Drucker (with John
Reiner, Nick Meglin and Sam Viviano) and a panel on

free speech and cartooning that included Ann Telnaes,
Joel Pett and Garry Trudeau.
Friday morning began with a public event at the
Library of Congress. King Features Syndicate is celebrating a milestone 100th birthday this year, and was the
focus of a pair of events. Other than sponsoring Fridays
Reuben Weekend Welcome Party, we traveled to the
Library for a presentation highlighting the syndicates
19
Ed Steckley winner for Advertising/Product Illustration
On-Line Comics Short Form

winner Danielle Corsetto
Newspaper Illustration Award

winner Anton Emdin
Tom Richmond with his award

for Magazine Feature/Magazine Illustration
Editorial Cartoon Award

recipient Michael Ramirez
Hilary Price, winner in the Newspaper Panel Cartoon division
Reuben Awards Master of Ceremonies

Jason Chatfield with Tom Stemmle
Bobbi and Red and Rovers Brian Basset
King Features comics

editor Brendan Burford
Joel Pett and Garry Trudeau were part of the Saturday afternoon
panel on free speech and cartooning.
Caroline and Cartoonist of the Year for 1983
Arnold Roth
Don Peoples
Pete Gallagher and John Read
20
Famous Morts times three: Drucker, Gerberg and Walker
The weekend kicked off Friday at the Library of Congress with a program celebrating the centennial anniversary of King Features Syndicate. The presentation
included, from left, Hilary Price, moderator Brendan Burford, Patrick McDonnell,
Brian Walker, Jeff Keane, Ray Billingsley and Mike Peters.
Steve Kelley with Gary Brookins
The presentation by Mort Drucker featured moderator John Reiner with fellow
MAD-men Nick Meglin and Sam Viviano.
Lynn Johnston, Bunny Hoest and Jeannie Schulz
Chip Bok
Teresa Roberts Logan and Carolyn Belefski
TIm Oliphant
Jeff Knurek with Rich Powell
........................................................................
centennial. Joining moderator and King comics editor

Brendan Burford on the panel were Hilary Price, Patrick
McDonnell, Brian Walker, Jeff Keane, Ray Billingsley
and Mike Peters.
After Saturday mornings full breakfast buffet and the
members general business meeting, the afternoon saw
four more informative panels. On Saturday evening, the
Reuben Awards Banquet was hosted by master of ceremonies Jason Chatfield. Aside from the numerous division
awards handed out throughout the black-tie-attired night,
the event was highlighted by the Silver T-Square Award to
Jeff Keane (The Family Circus) for outstanding dedication
to the NCS, and the newly minted NCS Medal of Honor
to Mort Drucker, bestowed in recognition of a lifetime of
excellence and the highest of achievements in a career of
cartooning.
The awards banquet closed with the Reuben Award for
Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year going to The New

Yorkers Roz Chast.
Sunday saw the premiere screening of a documentary
produced by Caroline Roth featuring Al Jaffee, Arnold
Roth, Mort Walker and others on the beginnings of the
Society, which was followed by a panel discussion. The
weekend closed with a Haunted Farewell Party a nod
to the Shoreham being one of the most haunted hotels in
the eastern U.S.
Who will be nominated and win next year at the
Reubens? If youre a professional cartoonist and want to
find out in person, join us next Memorial Day when the
70th Annual Reuben Awards Weekend will be held in
Memphis, Tenn.
For more information about the NCS see Page 54, or
visit www.reuben.org.
21
Caricature is not about choosing one feature

and making it bigger, its about all the features
together and how they relate to one another.
Dr wing
Caric tures
............................ ..
A good caricature is not about choosing one feature among many in a given
face and exaggerating it out of propor............................ ..
tion. It is the relationships between features that are the driving force behind
caricature:
............................ ..
Caricature is not about choosing one
feature and making it bigger, its about
all the features together and how they relate to one another.
Actually caricature is about changing the relationships between
features, meaning their distance, size and angle relative to one
another, from what they truly are and what is considered normal.
Deciding what relationships to change and how much to change
them is one of the caricaturists most important jobs, and one of the
most difficult to learn.
The actual difference between the relationship of features of most
humans does not add up to much in terms of physical measurements a big nose may be only a fraction of an inch larger than a
normal nose. Yet we can see different feature relationships on almost everybody, some which seem very pronounced. That is because
we spend basically our entire lives looking into peoples faces we
go it when we interact, work, play, go shopping or to church. We are
social beings and our faces are both our identities and our method of
communication. Our ability to observe minute differences becomes
very fine tuned. Mostly its unconscious, but we see that fraction of
an inch larger nose as big, or we see this persons eyes as large or
this persons mouth as small based not on physical measurements
but on our overall perception of the features and how they relate to
one another.
Consciously making those observations, especially for those faces
in which the unique aspects are not obvious, is the most difficult part
of drawing caricatures. There are some techniques and methods you
can use to help make those observations.
Relationship
of Features
By
Tom
Richmond
22
ACTION AND REACTION
Its important to start somewhere, and the best place

is with what is considered normal relationships of
features for two reasons. First, knowing these classic proportions will help you as a caricaturist to observe where
your subjects face might differ by providing a point of
reference to compare it to. Second, once youve made
these observations you can use that same point of reference, the classic portrait proportions, as a guide to get as
far away from as possible to create your caricature.
Lets start out looking at the classic human proportions in traditional portraiture (this is boring, but its
important). One method that has been used for centuries is by using the width of an eye, from corner to
corner, as the
primary frame
of reference, AT
LEFT.
In this
method, the
head is five eye
widths wide,
with a single
eye width between the eyes,
and between
the outside eye
corners and
the outside of
the head. The
nose is one eye
width wide, and therefore the nostrils are equal to the
corners of the eyes.
Another simple method for establishing the normal
relationship between eyes and mouth is via the equilateral triangle that should be formed by the points of the
outside corners of the eyes, and the center point of the
bottom of the lower lip. Every book on learning to draw
the human face has some similar method of standardizing the proportions of the average face.
Do human faces really conform to these exact relationships? No, of course not. Thats the point. There are
differences from this face to that, some very slight and
some more pronounced, and the caricaturist exaggerates
these differences to create a caricature. Knowing what
is supposed to be there is half the battle of seeing where
things are different.
Again, making these observations is the trickiest part
of doing caricature, but the good news is you dont have
to come up with a shopping list of deformities in order
to do a caricature. In fact, all you have to do is come
up with one good observation. Just one, and you can
use that as your cornerstone and build your caricature
around it.
It could be as simple as: this person has a skinny
face or big eyes or a small mouth or a square
jaw or a bent nose or whatever. More than one is
better, but just one will suffice.
Why is only one observation enough? Because no

feature is an island. What I mean is that all the features
relate to one another fundamentally, and you cannot
make a change to one feature without it affecting the
others. This is one of the few constants you can rely on
with respect to drawing caricatures: Action and Reaction.
In physics every action causes an equal and opposite
reaction. In caricature the action of changing the relationship of a single feature to the others causes the others to react in often predictable ways. You cannot change
the eyes without affecting the nose, mouth, head shape,
etc. and how it affects those other features follows (for
the most part) a predictable path.
Say we make an
observation about
our subject that
the eyes seem far
apart. If we move
the just the eyes
farther apart and
leave the rest of
the face untouched, we have
a bizarre looking
result, AT RIGHT.
We cant ignore
the effect on the
other features.
There is an awkwardness to the caricature
The act of moving
the eyes father apart forces the other features to react.
Typically when the eyes move father apart, the nose
moves closer to the eyes, the
mouth moves along with the
nose, the head becomes wider
and, in turn shorter, AT LEFT.
Additional observations can
change the path of the reaction.
Say our observations are that the
eyes are far apart, but the mouth
is also far from the nose.
Because of that action, the
lower part
of the face
must be
longer,
The features work
and
better together here
therefore
the top part of the head becomes
smaller, AT RIGHT.
Head shape is often the most
affected, and is not coincidentally a big focus. In fact part
three of this series will deal entirely with head shapes. For
now we will stick with the
Hmmm looks like my
interior features and their
brother
relationships.
All arwork 2015 Tom Richmond
CLASSIC PORTRAIT PROPORTIONS AND OBSERVATION
23
THE T SHAPE
In my previous article I talked a lot about simplifying the face by boiling it down into the five shapes,
but it can get even simpler than that in terms of both
making observations and in playing with the relationships of features to make
a caricature.
In fact I believe there
are two absolutely
crucial, key components
to any caricature: The
head shape and the T
shape AT LEFT. These are
the two elements of a
face I look at first and
try to make observations about, because with them I
can push, stretch and exaggerate the face to great effect
with relative ease.
When I talk about the T Shape I am speaking of
the geometric shape created by the eyes and nose as a
single unit. In simplest terms they create a capital T.
Sometimes the T can be short and wide, sometimes
it can be long and thin, or somewhere in between
BELOW.
I treat the T not as a set of simple lines but as a

contour shape with thickness. Therefore the stem (or
nose) of the T can be thicker or thinner at one end
or the other, and the arms (or eyes) of the T can also
change in thickness to accommodate big round eyes
or narrow, squinty ones. Imagine a contour capital T
drawn around the eyes and nose in varying relationships.
That T shape isnt strictly a T with everyone.
It can sometimes become an arrow shape or a Y
shape, depending on the angle of the eyes to the center
24
line of theface a useful benchmark for seeing that

relationship and possibly exaggerating it BELOW.
The shape of the T reacts to changes you make to

the relationship of the eyes and nose. In most cases
the eyes and nose work in a predictable tandem within
their relationship.
Imagine that the eyes and nose are connected by
a string that travels through a two wheel pulleys
located in the center of the eyes BELOW. The length of
the string is constant. If the persons eyes are moved
farther apart, the string pulls
the nose closer into the eyes.
If the nose is made longer,
then the eyes are drawn
closer together. All of this
takes place within the T
shape.
The mouth, nose and chin
have a similar connection. They have a constant amount of distance
between each other. If
the mouth is perceived as
being close to the nose,
the chin moves a little
farther away as a reaction. There are similar
rules that apply to the
head shape, which well get
into next time.
This is extreme simplification, but as I have said before
the simpler you can make the
shapes you are working with,
the easier it is to exaggerate
them and create your caricature.
If you imagine a shape as simple as a T, its very
easy to exaggerate that T shape and then plug in the
features as they really look within your simple shape
and you have your caricature.
Take a look at these caricatures and the T shapes
within their head shapes OPPOSITE, TOP.
The T Shape and head shape combine to create the
base of your caricature, over them the 5 shapes further
define the relationships of the features, and over the
5 shapes the features themselves are drawn and things

like bone structure, anatomy, expression, skin, hair and
other details work to create the likeness and bring the
underlying structure to life. Its still all built on these
simple foundations.
I would suggest as an exercise to forget about rendering and drawing details caricatures for a moment and
fill up a few sketchbook pages with nothing but the
head shape and T shape of the faces you see when
paging through a magazine. Draw one quickly using just
your initial observations and first impressions of the
face. Then look back at it and try to see where it differs
from the normal template of classic proportion, then
try it again, this time exaggerating your first try. Do this
with a dozen faces a day, and see how your ability to
see the caricature in a given face develops.
n n n
You can learn a lot more about drawing caricatures from
Toms best-selling instruction book The Mad Art of Caricature! A Serious Guide to Drawing Funny Faces, available directly from the author at www.tomrichmond.com, or
wherever art instruction books are sold.
A humorous illustrator,
cartoonist and caricaturist,
Tom began his career as a
caricaturist at a theme park
in 1985
at age
18 while
studying
art in
St. Paul,
Minn.
He now
works as a
freelancer
for a great variety of clients
including Scholastic, Sports
Illustrated for Kids, GQ, National Geographic World, Time
Digital, Penthouse, Marvel
Comics, The Cartoon Network,
WB Animation, and many, many
more. He designed the character Achmed Jr. for superstar
comedian and ventriloquist
Jeff Dunham, for whom he also
does product illustration.
His art and character designs have

been featured on
the animated MAD
TV show as well
as in several
feature films and
commercials. He
is best known
as one of the
Usual Gang of
Idiots at MAD
Magazine, where
his caricatures
and illustrations have
been featured in
film and TV parodies
and feature articles
regularly since 2000.
His work has been honored
with several awards, including
twice being named Caricaturist of the Year by the
International Society of Caricature Artists, and with NCS
NC
2015 E.C. Publications, Inc.
Tom
Richmond
.............................................................................................................................................................
Silver Reubens for Advertising

Illustration in 2003, 2006 and
2007 as well as for Newspaper
Illustration in 2011. In 2012,
he received what is arguably
cartoonings highest honor: the
Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year
from the National Cartoonists
Society.
Tom is the current president of
the NCS, serving in his second
term.
He works from a studio in his
home near Minneapolis, Minn.
Follow Tom on Twitter
@art4mad
25
26
Jack Davis, the celebrated cartoonist and illustrator and Reuben Award-winning
Cartoonist of the Year and Milton Caniff Award for Lifetime Achievement
recipient has had a career thats been represented in virtually every medium.
Hes been an unbelievable success at everything hes ever attempted. Save one: His
childhood dream was to create a syndicated comic strip. Over the years Davis drew
up almost a dozen or so submissions, only one of which came close to any real
success. In this brief conversation, Davis talks about his earliest work, how much he
loved lettering dailies, and his one comic strip attempt that was sold to a syndicate
and one that hardly anyone ever saw.
Dream of syndication
left on the
drawing board
All artwork 2015 Jack Davis
Q: Out of the thousands of pieces of commercial work, hundreds of comic book pages, more than 80 books and almost 50
movie posters, there was one endeavor that always eluded you.
A: I always wanted to be syndicated. When I was in the
Navy I drew a daily comic panel called
Boondocker [right] on Guam. I was a master
at arms and a brig warden and did the strip
on the side. Wasnt anything else to do.
When I got out of the Navy I went back to
Georgia and even then I was thinking about
syndication.
Boondocker looks a lot like Sad Sack.
I loved George Bakers stuff. The paper
there had only syndicated stuff Mauldins Willie and Joe and Hank Ketchams
stuff. I thought that something local might
be of interest.
floor and devour every inch of it. The front page had Maggie and Jiggs, which was beautifully drafted. On the next
page would be Alex Raymonds Jungle Jim and the next page
would be Prince Valiant. Full pages! I studied every stroke. I
wrote Harold Foster a fan letter and he sent
me an original, one of Valiants first pages
the second Sunday, I think autographed to me and everything.
Youve had that for a while.
I have. And you know, Ive just had it in
a drawer never had it framed. I just pull
it out once in a while and look at it.
I imagine you drew a lot in school.
Oh yeah. I drew posters and drew for
the school paper. I did some work for the
Journal and Constitution in Atlanta one summer did some spot cartoons and covered
a trial once.
Thay Doc, thats ma tongue ya got!!!

Were you influenced more by strips, comic
books or
When I was kid I would put the Sunday paper on the
You did have some formal art training at the University of
27
Georgia.
I did, but it was all fine art. They
didnt teach any commercial art. I had
a great professor who would let me
take courses over again. He knew that
I wanted to become a cartoonist and
figured that I wasnt going to graduate
with a BFA and become a teacher. He
let me just keep taking life drawing
classes.
And then you hooked up with Ed Dodd
on Mark Trail.
I guess hed seen my work somewhere. He needed an inker, so I would
get on a streetcar to go to the other
side of Atlanta and ink for him. Hed
do the main figures and I did backgrounds. Then I would do the lettering, and Im the worlds worst letterer.
I learned a lot of things from him.
He was paying me $100 a week and I
thought Oh man, this is great. That
was the only thing I could do I was
not a good student. He finally said,
Jack, you ought to take your last year
on the GI Bill and go to the Art Students League in New York, where he
had gone. So I worked up some strips
of a football player that had just gotten out of college. I carried that up to
New York and nobody liked it. It was
really bad. It was not good. (Laughter)
But I made the rounds.
This was always something that you
thought you could do.
I thought I could, but I couldnt.
(Laughter)
You only went to school at night?
I looked for work during the day.
Id bought a suit, and some wingtip shoes I still have an in-grown
toenail from it. (Laughter) It hurt. I
went to King, I went to Hall. I did do
something later with Ed Dodd. He was
trying to start another strip about a
frontiersman. I did a couple of months
or more and it never did go and I
never got a cent out of it. I didnt
even get my originals back. I never did
think very much of Ed after that.
You ended up inking The Saint.
Id heard they needed someone to
ink The Saint at the Herald-Tribune. I
28
rushed down there with my portfolio

and they gave me some strips. I got
the job, and worked with Mike Roy for
a year. It was good training. Again, I
was making a little more than a $100
a week. I was thinking about getting
married and things
were rolling right
along and then the
Herald-Tribune folded,
and I was out on the
street again.
You were already primarily a brush artist.
In art school I
did a figure drawing
where the line would
go from thick to
thin like an arm or
leg and with a pen
I couldnt get that
flexibility. The brush
seemed to hold the
ink longer, and even
when Id crosshatch
it came out pretty
good. I did a lot of
crosshatch stuff for
Random House with
a crowquill pen, and
it nearly killed me.
It just didnt pay off
youd spend hours
doing that.
papers, for one, did not like it you

know, poking fun at it. And that killed
that. So I thought, forget it Id
made a stab at it. Again, it was all on
spec. I did a lot of spec work trying
to get syndicated. Then when I did
get work in advertising that was very
lucrative. I hit it at
a good time I did
the Mad, Mad World
poster and I was
knocked out when
it turned out to be
about a $3,000 job.
Were you ever asked
to do another strip?
No, never. In a way
I feel that maybe I
couldnt have done
it. Its so regimented
youve got to have
ideas, youve got to
turn it out, youve got
to make it funny. I
had done a lot of my
own writing. And it
was bad. (Laughter) I
could count on one
hand who I think is
really good today. I
love Schulzs work,
though Ive never
met him. I dont write
fan letters but I wrote
him because I love
Peppermint Patty
she reminds me of
myself in school.
After The Saint you

worked for E.C. Comics,
The title character from Daviss
but after that
best shot at syndication
Beauregard!
After I left MAD I
kept trying to do a
strip again. It just never did work out.
Doing such a strip for some five deOne was called Matt Dullard, a takeoff
cades is something that you never could
on Matt Dillon. A guy who had writhave done.
ten for Al Capp approached me. He
No. No way. But it just fits him so
had this idea but it was exactly like
well it must just pour out of him.
Lil Abner, except Abner was blond
It might have poured out of me but at
and had a hat on. And it was just not
the time Id just sit there and couldnt
funny. (Laughter)
think of anything funny. And when
youre forced to think of something
And then you finally did sell Beaufunny it just isnt. But Ive no regrets.
regard!, a strip about the exploits of a
Im happy and very pleased to be
Confederate soldier in the Civil War.
where Im at. I just sit in a little room
That was exciting. That was with
by myself like all of you, doing my
McClure. They picked it up, printed
thing and thats what comes off. You
it up, and sent it out. But because the
look back and you know, what the
war was still a serious thing Southern
heck N C
Above, Beauregard!, the comic strip that Davis sold to the McClure Syndicate. Below, among the half-dozen or
so attempts at syndication, samples from the Davis drawing board included Matt Dullard, an unnamed
Western strip, and Clem Mayflower.
29
The First
Cartoonist
I Ever Met
30
L.D. Warren was the first

cartoonist I ever met. I was
just finishing my second
year at a school for commercial art in Cincinnati.
In those years there wasnt
much room for a daily
newspaper in a students
meager portfolio, but here
or there I would somehow see his daily editorial
cartoon in the Cincinnati
Enquirer.
Never mind the politics, I was simply struck
by the artwork each
one a beautifully designed
drawing of a clarity that
demanded attention and
then made its point to
boot.
There never seemed to
be a line out of place, a
spotted black that didnt
belong. And those blacks
delicious, dense pools
of ink that made you wonder if his drawings ever did
dry. I wondered how long
he must have pored over
the intricacies of design
or when to stop laying
in those pools of black for
the satin-like wash of a
litho crayon instead.
He probably didnt pore
Above, a 1964 editorial cartoon
by the Cincinnati Enquirers
L.D. Warren
.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
too long. There was always another cartoon the

next day.
Seeing L.D.s work and
knowing that he was
in the same town made
me realize that this was
something I, too, might
be able to do. I wrote him
a letter to beg a visit.
Ive no idea anymore
just what we talked about
that day. Im sure I must
have been just another
kid asking the same tired
questions. He gave me an
original cartoon and then
something just as important a box of his litho
crayons. The secret to
achieving that distinctive
tone was in my hands
as inspiring as any advice.
And I used them once,
and then quietly put
them away in the back
of the taboret. I was not
going to be another L.D.
Warren, and whether he
knew that or not, the
inspiration was there
nonetheless. It was just
going to take a little more
work.
I wondered about the
stories from other artists
about meeting that first
cartoonist and whether
the inspiration they received then would have a
lasting influence.
Only one or two had a
hard time placing a face
with the event; for others
it was as if it had happened just the day before.
On the following pages
are stories of that initial
brush with a cartoonist
and the passion that it
inspired. For some it was
a life-changing encounter.
For others it was an affirmation of something they
already knew they could
do they knew where
they were going, and only
needed someone to allow
them the way in.
Frank Pauer
billHOLBROOK
While I was growing up in Huntsville, Ala., my dream was always to do a comic strip.
However, after going to Auburn and getting a job at the Atlanta Constitution, I got sidetracked into other areas of illustration.
Thats when I met Charles Schulz.
In April, 1982, I took a trip to visit relatives in Santa Rosa, Calif. As it turned out,
my cousin was a friend of one of Schulzs sons, and I was invited to meet Mr. Schulz
at his ice rink. It lasted 20 minutes. I had a few of my illustrated charts from the Constitution that Id brought to show my relatives, and he was kind enough to critique
them.
I told him about the comic strips Id done in college, and this is what he told me:
Sit down and draw fifty strips. Of those, maybe five will be funny. Build on those
and throw out the rest. Do fifty more. Now perhaps ten
will be usable. Repeat this process again and again.
I did. Despite the odds, I developed a comic strip
called Winston Lewsome and later that year it
was rejected by all the syndicates. I listened
to the criticisms, and applied the lessons to
a new project that became On the Fastrack.
In March of 1984 it debuted in 150
papers worldwide.
Bill Holbrook is the creator of On the Fastrack,

Safe Havens and Kevin and Kell.
alJAFFEE
The first working cartoonist I met some
seven and a half decades ago was Rube
Goldberg.
I was a senior at the High School of Music
and Art in New York City at the time. I was
heavily into wood engraving. I had done an
ex libris for the school library and one of my
teachers commissioned me to do one for
her family library. She was so pleased with
the result that she asked her husband if he
knew anyone who might help advance my
ambitions in the art world. It so happened
that he and Rube were members of the same
club and he persuaded Rube to meet me.
After carefully viewing my entire school
portfolio, Mr. Goldberg gave me an honest
critique. In as kindly a manner as he could,
he said I needed more training. He said he
could not take an assistant but that would be
a good way to go. Otherwise more specialized

schooling would help.
Naturally it was a letdown. At that age,
after years of schooling, we are all eager
to enter the world of art. But I did heed his
advice. I took art courses that summer at
the Y and enrolled in Cooper Union in the
fall. I also managed some free lance comic
book work until the Air Force called.
The reason I often remember my experience with Rube those 70-odd years ago is
that now I often find myself in the same
boat. It is not easy telling young hopefuls
that they dont have what it takes just yet.
I only hope that Im as honest, helpful and
considerate with them as Rube was with me.
Al Jaffee has conceived and drawn a MAD
Fold-In for virtually every issue of MAD
Magazine since April, 1964.
31
COULSON
The first real cartoonist
I ever met was Pete Hansen, who did the comic
strip Lolly.
His son and I were
best friends in junior high
school and in a fledgling rock band together
(Fluid Pressure, ca. 196869). I used to envy Brian,
who got paid for doing
the color guides for his
dads Sunday strips. Pete
seemed to be as interested or more in golfing
than he was in the strip,
but boy, was he a good
cartoonist!
I learned about Strathmore, zip-a-tone and the
Gillott 170 pen from him.
I also tried submitting
ideas for Lolly, but to no
avail. But this early inspiration really helped set me
on my path.
Now when I see original
Lolly, ca.
1960,
by Pete
Hansen
Lolly strips on e-Bay, I still

marvel about how great
they are. I think Hansen
should get more recognition than he has, and was
surprised that Lolly wasnt
included in Brian Walkers
The Comics Since 1945.
David Coulson is a
freelance cartoonist in
Pittsburgh, Pa.
32
........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
david
Off the Mark

courtesy of
Mark Parisi
stephaniePIRO
In my quest to become
a published cartoonist
(syndication was just a
dream then) and to circumnavigate the middle
men (or editors) and get
my work seen by the
public, I taught myself
silk-screening.
I began screening some
of my cartoons onto
T-shirts and taking them
to craft shows and street
fairs around New England. I had these large,
life-sized plywood figures
of some of my characters
and I used to stretch the
shirts over them.
It was at one of these
shows, in Cambridge,
Mass., that I actually first
met another cartoonist.
We were selling away,
and this young man approached and introduced
himself. He told me that
he, too, was a cartoonist, and he was interested
in my marketing techniques. I cant remember
if hed been published at
that point.
We did the Cambridge
show again in the spring
and, lo and behold, who
had a booth set up and

was also selling T-shirts
but the same guy Id
met in October! I had a
chance to see his work,
and I still remember

the first cartoon of his I
saw: a nail that had been
nailed in, and another
nail saying something
about how hed heard a
loud bang and then he
was gone.
Mark Parisi has gone
on to the fame and
fortune we know him by
today and yet, despite his
grahamNOLAN
The first cartoonist I ever met was C.C. Beck, who (along
with Bill Parker) created Captain Marvel.
I met C.C. at the 1977 OrlandoCon. I have since heard
tales that he was a bit of a curmudgeon, but he was the nicest
gentleman to a 15-year-old kid. I had been waiting for him
to show up and eventually spotted him in the hallway. I
nervously approached him and asked him to sign a copy of
Captain Marvel Adventures No. 52 that I had bought in the
dealer room earlier. He opened up the issue and commented
on its age and what nice shape it was in. He also pointed out
the stories that Pete Costanza illustrated along with the ones
he did.
He was a great guy and along with the treasured memory,
I still have the signed comic!
Graham Nolan is the creator of Joe Frankenstein and Sunshine State.
success, he is still
the same down to earth
guy (and has not even
gotten a big head by winning a Reuben Division
award).
Not only
was it great
fun to meet
another cartoonist back
in the early
1990s, but
now we also
get to hang
out once in a
while at the
parties, judgings and even
the New England Chapter
lunches.
With the
internet, Ive
met and corresponded
with a lot of wonderful
cartoonists.
But Mark will always
hold a special place in my
heart because he was
the first!
Stephanie Piro is one of

King Features team of
cartoonists of the comic strip
Six Chix.
sandraBELL-LUNDY
The first cartoonist I ever met
was Bunny Hoest. In 1994 I went
to New York to meet with the
sales team at King Features
prior to the launch of my strip.
After the meeting everyone went
to lunch and one of the people
there was Bunny. Our meeting
was very brief actually, it was
only an introduction.
In truth, the whole scenario
was a bit of a whirlwind. I do
remember thinking though how
charming and friendly she was.
About seven or eight years
later, I attended my first Reuben
weekend. It happened that I
was seated next to Bunny at the
banquet. She told me that she
remembered meeting me at that
lunch. I was surprised because I
really didnt expect her to. It just
reaffirmed what I had instinctively felt back then that she
really is a down-to-earth, warm
and friendly person.
Its probably not really considered a meeting, but the first
cartoonist I ever had the opportunity to actually talk with was
Lynn Johnston. This was probably
about 1991 or 1992 and before
King had contacted me about
the possibility of syndication.
I was self-syndicating
Between Friends to a number
of southern Ontario dailies and
was also working full-time at
the Fort Erie Duty Free Shoppe.
I had sent a package of my

cartoons to Lynn hoping she
might find the time to critique
them. I wanted to improve my
work but there was no one for
me to ask how.
It was useless to
ask friends or coworkers because I
would inevitably get
the same response
that they looked
great. I knew they
didnt.
My schedule
at the Duty Free
consisted of
12-hour shifts and
alternated between
days and nights.
After working a
Saturday night shift,
I had come home
and fallen into
bed exhausted. It
was about 9:30 in
the morning and I
had been asleep
for the better part
of an hour when
my husband came in the room
and shook me awake. He kept
saying to get up because Lynn
Johnston was something-something. I thought he was trying to
tell me that Lynn was on television and figured I would want to
see it. So I stumbled out of bed
and finally realised that he was
trying to tell me that Lynn was

waiting for me on the phone. It
was obvious from my voice that
I had been sleeping, and she
told me to go and have a coffee
and call her back when I felt

more awake. I told her I was fine
because I didnt want to explain
that I wasnt about to wake up
I was about to go back to bed
for the day. And I certainly wasnt
about to hang up when I had
Lynn Johnston on the phone.
She talked with me about my
work for a good 40 minutes. She

was very direct in her comments
and I recall she mentioned that
I might think she was being
harsh but if she didnt critique
me honestly, it
wouldnt be very
helpful. I couldnt
have agreed with
her more. I think
Lynns phone call
was a major factor
in moving the
quality of my work
up a notch. Thank
goodness I had the
presence of mind
(as dozy as I was)
to hit the record
button on my
answering machine
so I could listen to
the conversation
later when I was
more coherent.
I was very
appreciative of
the advice Lynn
gave me then, but
after facing my own
incessant syndication deadlines
for ten years now, I have a very
clear understanding of just
how generous she really was to
give that much of her time to a
struggling cartoonist.
Cover art
for It All
Comes
Out in
the Wash
by Lynn
Johnston
Sandra Bell-Lundy is the creator

of Between Friends.
...........................................................................................................................................................................................
tomRICHMOND
The first professional cartoonist I ever met was a gentleman named George Karn, who worked with one of the illustration
studios in Minneapolis. I was a young illustration major on a field trip and we stopped into Georges studio for a few moments
on our tour. George primarily did advertising cartooning, and he was best known for his work with General Mills,
where he designed the cereal characters Trix Rabbit, Lucky the Leprechaun and Count Chocula, among others.
George was a bear-like man with a bristling beard and greeted us very warmly. His
studio was chaos itself, with cartoons and papers all over, and enormous jars full of
drawing utensils on every surface. His samples showed he worked in many different
styles, and he told us about the world of cartooning in advertising.
I remember my big question was, What do you use to ink with? thinking I would
learn of some secret tool that would be the gateway to professional looking cartooning.
He picked up and showed me a Flair felt-tipped pen and replied, Im using this
today. Ask me again tomorrow and Ill have a different answer!
Tom Richmond is a freelance illustrator, frequent contributor to MAD Magazine, and immediate past president of the National Cartoonists Society.
33
Herb Williams
cartoon courtesy of
Malcolm Whyte
johnROSE
I was a junior in college when I met Mike Peters.
I had been drawing editorial cartoons, news illustrations
and comic strips for The Breeze, the school newspaper at
James Madison University. I knew I wanted to be a cartoonist, but I really wasnt sure how to go about it. Each
year we had a Fine Arts Week, and that year Mike was the
featured speaker.
One of my art history professors was on the committee
that brought him in and, to my surprise, she invited me to
dinner with Mike and the committee members.
I was pretty nervous. I had never met a real cartoonist
before. But Mike was so nice and so very excited about
cartooning that he was really easy to talk to. I especially
enjoyed getting to know him over dinner and, after we
ate, I ran back to my dorm to get some of my samples to
show him.
His slide show and chalk talk was really hilarious!
He spoke about his editorial cartoons and Mother Goose
and Grimm, which he was just about to launch. After his
talk, he looked over my samples and gave me some
pointers.
All of which Im sure I still use to this day. I had always
dreamed of being a cartoonist, but after meeting Mike and
seeing how pumped up he was about cartooning, I began
to really believe I could do it. During my remaining years
of college, I mailed him samples of my work, and he would
offer suggestions.
His cartoons are among my very favorites to this day.
Ill always be thankful to Mike for spending time with me
on an evening which I consider a real turning point in my
career.
John Rose is the writer and artist on Snuffy Smith.
Mike
Peters
editorial
cartoon
from
1983
34
Did you tell the milkman to stop delivery for two weeks?
malcolmWHYTE
The first professional cartoonist I met was Herb
Williams, in 1961. He worked in the same building
in which I started my greeting card business.
Herb was a slight, dapper, gentle soul with a
pencil moustache and a strong bent for spiritus
fermenti. His freelance work for magazines such
as the Saturday Evening Post, Colliers and The New
Yorker was very fluid with a slight sardonic edge to
the gag. He gave me my first examples of original
cartoon art.
My second cartoonist encounter was with Morrie Turner in 1969. Morrie came into my shop I
was now a book publisher with a parcel of his
strips under his arm and an idea of doing a coloring book of famous Black Americans using his
syndicated Wee Pals characters to dramatize a brief
history of each personality. This was just after
Martin Luther Kings assasination; Morries timing
was perfect, his concept ideal, and his enthusiasm
undeniable.
Together we produced the Black & White Coloring Book (Troubador Press, 1969) that featured
stories and portraits of 15 African-American
pioneers from Benjamin Banneker (surveyor of
Washington, D.C.) to Mathew Henson (North Pole
co-discoverer with Admiral R. E. Peary).
Working with Morrie was not only a delight,
but it also produced a significant document
that, in turn, became the foundation of Morries
weekly, biographical Soul Corner in his Sunday
Wee Pals.
It also produced a treasured friendship that
lasted some 45 years.
Malcolm Whyte is the founder of the Cartoon Art Museum

in San Francisco.
Art from a 1946

autobiographical
comic book, Al
Capp By Lil Abner
tom k.RYAN
ronFERDINAND
I had a rather interesting first.

It was, I believe, in 1965 or 1966. Tumbleweeds had been launched
a few months earlier, when Al Capp came to the local Ball State College
in Muncie, Ind. It was in the heyday of the student revolt era, and Al
was making his
famous college
tour, in which
he did a great
one-man rebuttle
of everything the
students in the
auditorium threw
at him. He was
brilliant they
couldnt stump
him.
After the show
my wife and I got
to go backstage
and meet him. He was pleasant, but, understandably the icon that he
was, was not impressed by us.
Days later at his next Midwest college appearance they nailed Al for
coming onto a coed in her room. It gave them the chance they needed
to eliminate this fly in the zeitgeist ointment. It was the beginning of
his decline.
Im glad I got to see and meet him at the zenith of his popularity
a great humorist and cartoonist.
The first cartoonist I ever met was Art Gates.

He was a free-lance guy and was my friends dad.
This was back in the 1970s. He worked out of a small
bedroom in their apartment in Jackson Heights,
N.Y., and turned out hundreds of cartoons a week
for banks, department stores, newspapers and more.
The guy was incredible.
He had a wife and two sons and I always used to
think, Wow, this is the best job ever! Lord, please
let me do this for a living!
And now here I am, years later working out of
a small bedroom with a wife and two sons. Coincidence? Fate? You be the judge.
Ron Ferdinand is the artist for the Sunday Dennis the

Menace.
Art Gates
cartoon
courtesy
of Ron
Ferdinand
Ill bet you dont forget anti-freeze next year!
Tom K. Ryan is the creator of Tumbleweeds.
...........................................................................................................................................................................................
I dont dwell on the subject, but from time to time
Ive wondered: Would I be
doing what I do today had
it not been for my mentor,
Sam Cobean?
Sam Cobean was one of
the brightest stars in The
New Yorker in the 1940s and
1950s. His influence on
other panel cartoonists of
that period was profound,
and to this day his work is
regarded by many as some
of the best ever.
Maybe Id be drawing
humorous illustrations
for books and advertising,
and even gag cartoons.
Id still be sketching while
watching TV, drawing on
placemats and doodling
while on the phone. But
meeting Sam shortly after
my discharge from the
jimWHITING
En garde!
Navy in 1946 opened a

door that allowed a peek
into the wonderful world
of cartooning. While not
telling me what direction I
should choose, he did make
me aware of some of the
options available.
He took the time to
look at my first efforts and
patiently answered questions. He put tracing paper
over my drawings, and with
his pencil made suggestions
that improved the composition and the gag. Although

kind and considerate, he
got the message through:
Go to school, Jim.
I did, and he continued
to encourage me. Im glad
he lived to see my work appear in The New York Times
Book Review. It was not
until after his death at 33
in an automobile accident
that my cartoons began
to sell to major magazines
with any degree of regularity.
It was an honor as well
as my good fortune to have
had one of the masters as
my mentor.
Jim Whiting did gag cartoons

and was syndicated by General Features Corporation and
L.A.Times Syndicate.
35
Chuck Ayers editorial

cartoon from 1974
markSZORADY
Detail
from a
1981 Born
Loser
by Art
Sansom
The very first cartoonist I met was Jack Gullo. My

folks bought a summer home when I was 15 years old
and he lived on the other side of the lake. Jack was an
old-school commercial artist who worked for General
Electric and had the job of cartooning Mr. Magoo for
displays and advertising. His little studio overlooked the
lake. Id sit and spend hours just poring through the
material he had drawn.
It had a great effect on me. So much so, that when I
started at Ohio State University, I knew what I wanted
to do. Luckily, I got a slot in the school newspaper
drawing my comic strip George.
Shortly after starting, Milton Caniff came to town
for the dedication of the Milton Caniff Room (now the
Cartoon Research Library). Lucy Caswell graciously invited me to attend a luncheon with him, and I had the
opportunity
to speak with
him. Milton
Caniff! I was
absolutely
floored when
he said,
Heres my
phone number; call me
anytime.
And I did
repeatedly. He was such a nice man, a great help
and very, very giving of his time.
After graduation I attended the first Festival of Cartoon Art, where I met Fred Lasswell, Mike Peters and
countless other cartoonists. I also met Art and Chip
Sansom of The Born Loser fame. And Art, like Caniff,
said, Call me anytime. Come over to the house.
He lived on the west side of Cleveland, so every
Saturday found me at his home showing him my latest creation. He showed me which pens and pencils to
use, the kind of paper to use, the right kind of ink, and
more.
Each of these cartoonists came into my life at a
point to further my cartooning aspirations.
And as I type this, Im sitting in my studio overlooking the same lake Jack Gullo overlooked, drawing a
funny comic strip using similar tools Art Sansom used
and telling aspiring cartoonists to call me anytime just
like Milt Caniff did for me.
Its been very good!
Mark Szorady is the creator of George.
36
pollyKEENER
By the time I met another
cartoonist, I guess I already
was one, too.
After drawing and selling
cartoons and humorous illustrations (to the despair of
my fine arts professors) and
teaching a cartooning course
at the University of Akron, a
letter came from an editor
at Prentice Hall asking me to
do a textbook for cartooning
based upon my course.
Although cartoon material,
books and clippings about
cartooning were rampant in
our house, I knew less about
the working life of a political
cartoonist and wanted to add
that to the books chapter on
political cartooning.
So feeling bold, I called
the Akron Beacon Journal
and asked cartoonist Chuck
Ayers if he would consent to
be interviewed. It turned out
that he had also once taught
a cartooning course and had
funny stories about that. In
fact, Chuck had funny stories
about almost everything.
He then put me in touch
with Tom Batiuk, creator of
John Darling, Funky Winkerbean and, later, Crankshaft.
I interviewed Tom for the
comic strip chapter of my
book and he, in turn, suggested other cartoonists to

interview. I was astounded to
find there were so many real
cartoonists hiding out here in
the heartland.
Eventually, the interview
with Chuck led to three dozen
other interviews. Since then,
Chuck has collaborated with
Tom on Crankshaft and now
pencils Funky Winkerbean,
too. Chuck and I were once
guests on a cable TV show,
and periodically we encounter
each other at book signings.
We used to have daughters at
the same school and ran into
each other at school auctions
where his original art was
always a hit.
The interview with Chuck,
being the first one for my
lengthy book project, gave
me the confidence to call
other cartoonists. He showed
me that cartoonists are
delightfully approachable, are
excellent communicators and
are altogether the sort of folks
I like!
Polly Keener, author of
Cartooning (Prentice-Hall), is
the creator of Hamster Alley,
Mystery Mosaic and Sudoku
Happi.
craigBOLDMAN
To the best of my recollection, that distinction goes
to the amazing and wacky Craig Yoe.
The year was 1973, give or take a
few. My brother Loyd (with one l)
had arranged to interview Craig for
some magazine. I was familiar with
Craigs retro, Fleischerish/Disneyish,
quasi-underground style, and
so I wanted to meet him, too.
We made the road trip from
Fairfield, Ohio to Akron in a
car that wasnt really up to the
task.
I remember looking at Craigs
art and being amazed at how clean
and meticulous it was and
that he drew on heavy illustration board, like Crescent
board. Im not sure why that
impressed me, unless it suggested
a real commitment to and confidence in the
drawing you couldnt just wad up a piece of heavy

board and toss it away. At that point in time, few of the
drawings I was doing were keepers.
Anyway, the rest of the meeting is largely a blur, but
the meeting paid off in dividends. Craig and I have
stayed in touch over the years and weve worked on
projects together. I spoke to him recently, and
he reminded me that at that first meeting he
attempted to do me a favor and warn me away
from becoming a cartoonist.
As first contacts go, Craig was a pretty
good choice. Not only was/is he a swell
cartoonist in his own right, but hes
also a fan whose knowledge of cartoonists and cartooning runs deep. Craig
has turned me on to several great artists
from the early days whose work I
would have otherwise missed.
Craig Boldman has been writing for Archie

Comics since 1992.
duckEDWING
I just got out of the Navy
and decided to go to art
school to further my pursuit
of that fleeting butterfly of
my dreams: to become a cartoonist. I knew that research
was a self-taught requirement
of this business. I also knew
the advice of my elders
Dont quit your day job
was sound, but discouraging
to live by.
I signed up at the School
of Visual Arts in Manhattan,
and had to travel acres of
miles every night to attend,
by taking buses from Jersey,
then subways, then a crosstown bus.
One night I stumbled
across a ne w magazine
called Help!, which was
put together by one of my
childhood heroes, Harvey
Kurtzman. The magazine had
a section where aspiring cartoonists could submit their
wares and be paid a whopping $5 for their troubles.
I submitted about 20 cartoons, then the next day an-
other 20, then repeated this

bombardment for months
at a time. It worked. I got
paid and published again
and again.
Then one day I got a call
from an editor that Harvey
Kurtzman wanted me to
come to their office and
meet with him.
My mouth turned powder dry; just the very idea
that Harve y Kur tzman
wanted to meet me had
me twitching and anticipating the ways I could
blow this, and be condemned to my grueling
day job for eternity.
I took the journey, and
along the one-hour commute
from Jersey my mind was
spinning. My imagination
ran amok and that damn
inner voice was telling me
about my failure as a human
being, suggesting I should
turn around and crawl into
a hole. But before I knew
it I was standing outside a
door that had big red letters
on the door saying Help!

Magazine. I entered and
there he was!
Im pleased to say he
was a very cordial, relaxed

individual and believe it
or not, so was I. Harvey told
me I was a shot in the arm
to the cartooning world. He
added, Youre the best idea
man in the business.
Well, I can tell you that
Mama Edwings little boy
had just been shot to the
moon with those words.
Inside I was flying, and at

the same time I was mentally
recording every innuendo,
movement and word so I
could repeat this to the nonbelievers of the Keep your
day job movement!
Then came the words
that changed my life forever.
Harvey said, Im going to
send you to MAD Magazine. I
think youve got what theyre
looking for.
MAD received me with
open arms. All of this took
place in September, 1961
and Im still with MAD.
When Harvey passed away
a few years ago I could feel
the hole in my soul.
And still do.
An off-the-wall magazine
cartoonist since 1961, Duck
Edwing was adopted by
MAD Magazine that same
year and became part of
the family that no one likes
to talk about while eating,
or wherever good manners
preside.
37
All artwork 2015 Mark Fiore
38
Mark Fiore, who the Wall Street Journal has called

the undisputed guru of the form, creates animated
political cartoons in San Francisco, where his work has
been featured on the San Francisco Chronicles web
site, SFGate.com, for over ten years.
Beginning his professional life by drawing traditional
political cartoons for newspapers, in the late 1990s he
began to experiment with animating political cartoons
and, after a short stint as a newspaper staff cartoonist,
Fiore devoted all his energies to animation.
Mark Fiore was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for political cartooning in 2010, a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award in 2004 and two awards for his work in
new media from the National Cartoonists Society,
among other awards.
Cartooning
in a Flash
Frank Pauer: For those of us among the johnny-come-technologically-lately, what is it that youre doing on the Web?
Mark Fiore: In a nutshell, its animated political
cartoons. I produce one a week, sometimes more. Its
an evolution to doing animated work; it was just the
next step after doing print work for so long. My early
political cartoons that were on the Web were essentially just extensions or reworked versions of a print
cartoon. I might have a multi-panel cartoon that appeared in print, scanned it in, and essentially chopped
it up on the computer and doled out the panels over
the course of the animation.
I assume this was in addition to doing your regular print
39
work. Was the animation just for fun?

Initially it was just for fun and experimenting, but I was
also thinking that this was sort of on the cutting edge.
When I first got into it, it was in the heady dot-com days.
So in the back of my mind I thought well, if newspapers
dont work out theres this Web stuff. Initially it started
out as from a business perspective, as far as having something that was more profitable. But then I started to like it
on the creative side a lot better and really got into all the
things that you could do, whether it was the music or the
voices or the motion. When I really went full board into
doing animated political cartoons it was when the dotcom stuff hit the fan, and the bubble burst. Which was
fine it still worked out better for me than newspapers.
So for whom do you do these now?
The longest client that Ive had with the animated work
has been The San Francisco Chronicle, through SFGate.com,
which is their web site. Ive done work with AOL, Mother
Jones. And also CBS, so Im starting to get into more mainstream, less leftist, notorious places.
Now are these sponsors, or are these clients?
Theyre clients. The way that I make my money is by
selling them these animations to put on their site. Im selling them the licensing rights, the reproduction rights. I do
it the same way that I was selling print political cartoons
to newspapers. I essentially do the same business model,
and I think thats what kept me afloat through the dotcom days, because I never got into Internet-type deals, as
far as revenue share or that type of stuff. Ive always said,
You want this? Pay that. On my site Ive been building
traffic, but only recently have I tried to make the site work
for itself and become profitable. And really all Ive done
with that is to just sell mostly prints and DVDs.
You primarily use Flash animation.
The main program that I use is Flash. That program
is what really got me started into doing this in the late
1990s. I had done a very little bit of animation on a
couple freelance jobs, so I sort of knew the very basics of
how you do it essentially how to make a flip book.
Youre self-taught?
I guess you could say mostly self-taught in animation.
And then taught on the job. When I learned Flash it was
like version 2 it was a very new program. At the time,
to supplement my political cartoon income, I was doing freelance work for one company, and they wanted to
experiment into doing Flash animation. So for a couple
months I was in this room with two other guys and we
were all learning Flash for this project. We figured it out
as we went along. From there I took what I learned and
applied it to my political cartoons. Flash is what allows
people to do all the animation by themselves, which was a
huge breakthrough. You cant do that in a studio environment, especially if youre just starting out. You cant just
show up at FOX and say Hey, Ive got these ideas, and
expect to get a show. But you can do that if you can do
the animation on your own, and distribute it yourself.
40
Are you drawing on paper and scanning work in, or do you

draw directly on a tablet?
A little of both, though mainly its drawing on paper,
and then scanning it in. I really want to prevent my work
from looking too computery; thats the main way Ive
been able to do that. At the same time, I do things like
eye blinks and different mouth positions little bits of
animation right on the tablet. After a while, drawing
eye blinks and scanning them in seemed like that was
something that I could do with the tablet. (Laughs)
Do you storyboard these? Do you make up any of the visuals
as you go along?
Its pretty nailed down, initially. I have to work from
a pretty tight storyboard. My first day on one of these I
want to produce a pretty accurate storyboard, with the
way that its going to look in the end. Its essentially just
little thumbnails. I dont do a full-color test or anything; I
do that on the fly.
Do you limit yourself to the number of images per piece? Do
you keep the animation to a certain time frame?
Its not necessarily at like 45 seconds I think no more.
For me its the amount of time it takes me to tell the story.
The easy answer is that there isnt a set time frame, but I
do try to keep it fairly small. Small in a couple different
ways. One is file size, so its easy to download and not an
excruciating wait. The other is so its not a long piece for
someone to watch. I try and limit the number of drawings, and that ties into the file size. And the time in which
I have to create one of these the production phase
takes about three days. I have a hard and fast deadline
of Wednesday afternoon. So, partly a factor of time and
partly a factor of file size. Each additional drawing is more
information for the animation file to hold and pass over
the Web.
But Monday is pretty much writing?
Monday is always the hardest for me, in making the
story work and making it clear what youre trying to say. I
try to focus on doing cartoons that really say something,
and arent just some silly Britney Spears gags. Not that
theres anything wrong with that. (Laughs) But I want to
wrap that around genocide or some other fun topic.
Your background is in print journalism.
To make it more specific my background is in political
science. Its the same old story: I wanted to be a cartoonist, and early in high school I realized that there was such
a thing as a political cartoonist. Initially it was just an
excuse to draw cartoons. But then I got more serious about
it. I focused everything on getting that coveted political
cartoon job. But I majored in political science instead of
art because I figured if the cartooning didnt work out you
could do a lot more or so I thought with a political
science than an art degree. Lots of really weird decisions
that sort of cobbled together into something that worked.
Do you still do print work?
I dont, actually. I stopped doing that some years ago.
I buy the license for the music clips. There are sites designed to sell music to people who are doing commercials,
corporate presentations its essentially stock music. So
Ill put out a little bit of money on that each week. I would
love to have the time and luxury to get friends together
to play music, but for now I have to do it the hack, stock
music way. The voices, for the most part, are me just doing a voice that I think might be appropriate. And then
tweaking it a bit on the computer by upping or lowering
the pitch, messing with the tempo. Once in a while Ill
bring friends in. I mean, I can only do about four different
voices, and particularly if theyre in consecutive scenes it
starts to show through.
How many viewers do you average?
Its tough, because I cant tell how many all the different
clients get, but on my site its probably around 300,000
per month.
Are you surprised that more editorial cartoonists or even
comic strip artists arent taking advantage of the technology?
Yeah, you know, I am. I hope they do. They will at some
point, but Im surprised they havent already. Theres some
out there, but I think part of the reason that it hasnt
happened is that it takes a sort of weird cross between a
somewhat computery technical mind combined with an
artistic, cartoonist side of things.
Part of it was time. The surprising reason, which took me

a while to figure out, was that the thought process was
totally different. For me it felt like they were undermining
each other. I would work on a print cartoon and make it
really long and involved, and vice versa with the animated pieces. I finally decided to chuck the print work. It took
me about a year to figure that out, trying to do both and
wrapping my brain around it.
I was wondering about reaction to your work, and I guess
I wonder about the reactions to both the animation and your
politics.
As far as the animation, its changed, because peoples
expectations get higher and higher. As do mine. When I
first started doing these, youd have someone blink and
a little thought balloon would appear over their head
and people were just amazed. But now, you need a little
more motion, you need more music, more audio. So I
really want to make it a more of a full-out production,
in my limited amount of time. On the political side, that
reactions always fun and varied. You definitely get some
angry people, but also a lot of people who are supportive.
I think I get a lot more response appearing on the Web
its just easier to give feedback. Theres an e-mail button
next to the animation, so its easy for someone to fire back
at you.
You mentioned music and audio do you do any of that?
Id imagine that for many its simply a matter of finding

time they already dont have.
Thats part of it. You sort of have to make the jump, and
say, OK, Im doing something and not getting paid for it,
but Im doing it because theres going to be a return down
the road, or because I like doing it just for the sake of doing it. Its like cartooning in general. When someone gets
into it you dont already have a job doing it.
Is print editorial cartooning just about dead?
I dont think that itll ever die. It may extremely whither
(laughs), but I think there will always be print political
cartoons. The question is whether theyll be in newspapers
or tacked on telephone poles. I think at some point theyre
just going to turn into nothing but the Britney Spears-type
gags. For that I blame the cartoonists a little bit, but I also
blame the general direction of the media.
Ten years from now hell, five years from now what will
be cartooning be like on the Web?
It already seems like its getting closer to a TV sort of
medium. I think itll be some sort of weird cross between
where the Web is now and cable TV. Broadband stuff is
just going to continue to expand and hopefully in that
expansion theyll be room for political cartoons. But I also
dont think I hope, anyway that itll ever replace
newspapers. I think itll just merge more with TV. Its more
movin pictures; people just want them. N C
n n n
Mark Fiores work can be seen at markfiore.com.
41
Charles Schulz
from the 1970 issue of The Cartoonist, featuring a nod

to astrological predictions
Specialty art drawn by National Cartoonist Society members

for publications issued to coincide with the Societys annual
Reuben Awards Weekend.
42
Peanuts 2015 Peanuts Worldwide, LLC
NCS Archives
Dik Browne
Two-time Reuben Award-winning Cartoonist of the Year, 1962, 1973
Hagar the Horrible 2015 King Features Syndicate, Inc.
from the April 1980 Reuben Awards Dinner edition of The Cartoonist,
celebrating the 85th anniversary of the comic strip
43
Broom Hilda 2015 Tribune Content Agency
44
Artwork 2015 John L. Hart FLP
Russell Myers
Johnny Hart
Reuben Newspaper Comic Strip Division Award, 1975
from the April, 1974 edition of The Cartoonist
from the April, 1974 edition of The Cartoonist
45
Unpublished specialty art drawn by cartoonists from private collections.
From the Collection of ...
Sergio Aragons
Presentation sketch in a copy of MAD About Super Heroes
46
2015 Sergio Aragons
Jeff MacNelly
Two-time Reuben Award-winning Cartoonist
of the Year, 1978, 1979
2015 MacNelly
Self-caricature specialty sketch drawn in a copy

of A Political Bestiary
Edwina Dumm
NCS Gold Key Award, 1978
Tippie specialty sketch drawn in a
copy of Tippies Tuncs, 1944
47
Jim Borgman and Jerry Scott

Reuben Award-winning Cartoonist of the Year,
1993 (Borgman); 2001 (Scott)
Presentation sketch of Jeremy in a copy of Triple
Shot, Double Pump, No Whip Zits.
From the collection of Terri Libenson.
Walt Kelly
Reuben Award-winning Cartoonist of the Year,
1951
48
2015 Okefenokee Glee & Perloo, Inc.
2015 ZITS Partnership
Kelly self-caricature presentation sketch in a

copy of The Pogo Stepmother Goose.
2015 Disney
Joe Grant
Reuben Feature Animation
Award, 1995
2015 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
Sketch drawn in 1998 of the evil

queen/witch, the character that
Grant created for Disneys 1937
movie Snow White.
Walter Berndt
Cartoonist of the Year, 1969
Presentation sketch of Smitty
and Herby, 1975
49
Dan Spiegle
2015 Dan Spiegle
Hopalong Cassidy specialty painting, 2003
50
51
Specialty drawing, 2010
Reuben Feature Animation

Award, 1992, 2000
Eric Goldberg
2015 Disney
2015 Tony Cochran
Tony Cochran
Richard Thompson
Reuben Award-winning Cartoonist of the
Year, 2010
Presentation sketch of Alice in a copy of
Cul de Sac Golden Treasury, 2010
52
2015 Richard Thompson
Specialty drawing of Agnes and Trout from

Cochrans comic strip, Agnes.
2015 Bill Hinds
Bill Hinds
Reuben New Media Award,
2000
Presentation sketch of
Tank McNamara in a copy
of The Tank McNamara
Chronicles (also signed by
writer Jeff Millar)
Hank Ketcham
2015 Hank Ketcham Enterprises
Cartoonist of the Year,
1952
Presentation sketch in a
copy of Ketchams 1952
collection Dennis the
Menace, 1987
53
The
National Cartoonists
Society
(above)
Willard Mullin
cover art from the program of the

16th annual Reuben Award Dinner, April 23, 1962
54
ABOUT THE NCS

The National Cartoonists Society is the worlds largest and most prestigious organization of professional cartoonists.
The NCS was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the
troops. They found that they enjoyed each others company and decided to get together
on a regular basis.
Today, the NCS membership roster includes more than 500 of the worlds major cartoonists, working in many branches of the profession, including newspaper comic strips
and panels, on-line comics, comic books, editorial cartoons, animation, gag cartoons,
greeting cards, advertising, magazine and book illustration and more.
Membership is limited to established professional cartoonists, with a few exceptions
of outstanding persons in affiliated fields. The NCS is not a guild or union, although we
have joined forces from time to time to fight for members rights, and we regularly use
our talents to help worthwhile causes.
PRIMARY PURPOSES OF THE NCS

n To advance the ideals and standards of professional cartooning in its many forms.
n To promote and foster a social, cultural and intellectual interchange among profes-
sional cartoonists of all types.

n To stimulate and encourage interest in and acceptance of the art of cartooning by
aspiring cartoonists, students and the general public.
THE HISTORY OF THE NCS

The seeds for what evolved into the National Cartoonists Society were planted during
the volunteer chalk talks that a number of cartoonists did during World War II for the
American Theatre Wing.
The Society was born at a specially convened dinner in New York in March, 1946, that
saw Rube Goldberg elected as president, Russell Patterson as vice president,
C.D. Russell as secretary and Milton Caniff as treasurer. A second vice president, Otto
Soglow, was subsequently added.
Within two weeks, the Society had 32 members: Strip cartoonists Wally Bishop (Muggs
and Skeeter); Martin Branner (Winnie Winkle); Ernie Bushmiller (Nancy);
Milton Caniff (Terry and the Pirates); Gus Edson (The Gumps); Ham Fisher (Joe Palooka);
Harry Haenigsen (Penny); Fred Harman (Red Ryder); Jay Irving (Willie Doodle); Al Posen (Sweeney and Son); C.D. Russell (Pete the Tramp); Otto Soglow (The Little King); Jack
Sparling (Clare Voyant); Ray Van Buren (Abbie an Slats); Dow Waling (Skeets); and Frank
Willard (Moon Mullins).
Panel cartoonists Dave Breger (Mister Breger); George Clark (The Neighbors); Bob Dunn
(Just the Type); Jimmy Hatlo (Theyll Do It Every Time); Bill Holman (Smokey Stover); and
Stan McGovern (Silly Milly).
Freelance cartoonists and illustrators Abner Dean, Mischa Richter and Russell Patterson.
Editorial cartoonists Rube Goldberg (New York Sun); Burris Jenkins (Journal American);
C.D. Batchelor (Daily News); and Richard Q. Yardley (Baltimore Sun).
Sports cartoonist Lou Hanlon and comic book cartoonists Joe Shuster and Joe Musial.
By March 1947, there were 112 members in the National Cartoonists Society.
At the end of 1946, Milton Caniff left Terry and The Pirates to create the adventure
strip Steve Canyon, which debuted in 243 newspapers to instant acclaim. The following
May, he became the first artist formally honored by the group as the Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year. The trophy was a silver cigarette box, engraved with Billy DeBecks
Barney Google and Snuffy Smith characters. The Billy DeBeck Memorial Award
THE
REUBEN
AWARD
for
Outstanding
Cartoonist
of the Year
.......................
1946
Milton Caniff
Steve Canyon
1947
Al Capp
Lil Abner
1948
Chic Young
Blondie
1949
Alex Raymond
Rip Kirby
1950
Roy Crane
Buz Sawyer
1951
Walt Kelly
Pogo
1952
Hank Ketcham
Dennis the Menace
1953
Mort Walker
Beetle Bailey
1954
Willard Mullin
Sports cartoons
1955
Charles Schulz
Peanuts
1956
Herbert Block
Editorial Cartoons
1957
Hal Foster
Prince Valiant
1958
Frank King
Gasoline Alley
55
1961
Bill Mauldin
Editorial Cartoons
1962
Dik Browne
Hi and Lois
1963
Fred Lasswell
Barney Google and
Snuffy Smith
1964
Charles Schulz
Peanuts
1965
Leonard Starr
On Stage
1966
Otto Soglow
The Little King
1967
Rube Goldberg
Humor in Sculpture
1968
Johnny Hart
B.C. and The Wizard
of Id
Pat Oliphant
Editorial Cartoons
1969
Walter Berndt
Smitty
1970
Alfred Andriola
Kerry Drake
1971
Milton Caniff
Steve Canyon
1972
Pat Oliphant
Editorial Cartoons
56
LOCATION
The official headquarters of the National Cartoonists Society are in New York City,
with the Societys business offices located in Orlando, Florida.
CHAPTERS
In addition, the NCS has chartered 17 regional chapters throughout the United
States and one in Canada.
The early 1990s saw the introduction of
regional chapters within the NCS. Created to
encourage a deeper participation and interaction among NCS members while furthering
the aims of the Society, these chapters also
afford members a more active role at the
national level.
The Chapter chairpersons also serve as
members of the NCS Regional Council, which
serves and advises the NCS Board of Directors.
In addition, the position of National Representative on the NCS Board of Directors is
held by a Chapter Chair who acts as a conduit
between the NCS Board and the Regional
Council.
There are also many active Regional Chapters, including chapters in: Chicago, Connecticut, D.C., Florida, Great Lakes, Long Island, Los Angeles, New England, New Jersey,
Manhattan, North Central U.S., Northern California, Orange County and Southern
California, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Diego, Southeastern US, Texas, Upstate New
York and Canada. New Regional Chapters are continually forming.
The Regional Chapters convene on their own schedules, usually three or four
times a year. They engage in a variety of social and professional activities and are
always happy to receive visiting NCS members.
Piccolo
1960
Ronald Searle
Humorous Illustration
continued until 1953. The following year, the Reuben Award was introduced.
In 1948, Caniff was elected NCS President. Rube Goldberg was named Honorary
President and Al Capp became the second Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year.
In 1949, the Society volunteered to help the Treasury Department in a drive to sell
savings bonds by sending NCS members out on the road. A nationwide, seventeencity tour was undertaken by teams of ten or twelve cartoonists and a 95-foot-long
traveling display.
Through the Society, NCS members have continued to serve the nation in person
and through their art. Teams of cartoonists have toured war zones and military
installations around the world in cooperation with the USO. Others have entertained
at VA hospitals. NCS members have also contributed to many U.S. government
programs; their efforts have benefitted NASA, USIA, the Treasury Department Savings
Bond division and the Presidents Council on Physical Fitness. Other beneficiaries
have been the Boy Scouts of America, the American Red Cross and the United
Nations.
The tradition of lending our talents to worthy causes continues to this day. In
2001, for example, NCS members in the syndicated community dedicated their
newspaper strips and panels to a Thanksgiving initiative that raised some $50,000 for
victims of the 9/11 attacks, and members contributed a further $18,000 through the
proceeds of a private auction.
Rina
1959
Chester Gould
Dick Tracy
1973
Dik Browne
Hagar the Horrible
Dave
Coverly
1974
Dick Moores
Gasoline Alley
NCS MEMBERSHIP
There are four classes of membership in The National Cartoonists Society:
n REGULAR MEMBERS are professional cartoonists, the quality of whose work has
been judged and approved by the Membership Committee.

n ASSOCIATE MEMBERS are those individuals who work as professionals in the
cartooning industry or whose expression of interest has been established.
n HONORARY MEMBERS are cartoonists, surviving spouses or patrons of the art for
whom the Society desires to express its esteem and appreciation.
n RETIRED MEMBERSHIP is granted to existing members 65 years of age and older
and retired.
If you are a professional cartoonist and are interested in applying for a Regular
Membership or if you work in an allied field and feel you would qualify for one of the
limited number of Associate Memberships, please contact:
National Cartoonists Society
P.O. Box 592927
Orlando, FL 32859-2927
407-994-6703
info@reuben.org
ELIGIBILITY FOR REGULAR MEMBERSHIP

Cartoonists who are currently earning a substantial part of their income from
cartooning and have done so for at least the past three years; Work must be of a high
professional quality and their reputation good.
Application must include two letters of recommendation from NCS members,
a short biographical sketch and samples of current work bearing a signature. Applications must be accompanied by a check covering one years dues, which will be
refunded if the candidate is not accepted by the Membership Committee.
A candidate is eligible for membership when accepted by a unanimous vote of the
Membership Committee.
If you are a professional cartoonist and are interested in applying for a Regular
Membership, or work in an allied field and feel you would qualify for one of the limited number of Associate Memberships, please contact:
Sean Parkes, Membership Chair
16647 E. Ashbrook Drive Unit #A
Fountain Hills, AZ 85268
1975
Bob Dunn
Theyll Do It Every Time
1976
Ernie Bushmiller
Nancy
1977
Chester Gould
Dick Tracy
1978
Jeff MacNelly
Editorial Cartoons
1979
Jeff MacNelly
Shoe
1980
Charles Saxon
The New Yorker
1981
Mell Lazarus
Miss Peach
1982
Bil Keane
The Family Circus
1983
Arnold Roth
1984
Brant Parker
The Wizard of Id
1985
Lynn Johnston
For Better or For Worse
1986
Bill Watterson
Calvin and Hobbes
1987
Mort Drucker
MAD Magazine
57
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE NCS
1991
Mike Peters
Mother Goose and
Grimm
The National Cartoonists Societys officers and Board of Directors are elected by secret
ballot of the entire membership. The Board meets twice a year and a general business
meeting is held annually during the NCS Reuben Awards Weekend.
There are several standing committees, including Ethics, Social Media, Education and
Publicity. These committees function as clearing houses for information pertinent to
the rights of cartoonist members, help to air grievances and post warnings about any
dubious practices of the firms with which cartoonists do business. The NCS, however, is
neither a guild, nor a union.
1992
Cathy Guisewite
Cathy
1993
Jim Borgman
Editorial Cartoons
1994
Gary Larson
The Far Side
OTHER NCS ACTIVITIES AND FUNCTIONS
1995
Garry Trudeau
Doonesbury
1996
Sergio Aragons
MAD Magazine
1997
Scott Adams
Dilbert
1998
Will Eisner
The Spirit
1999
Patrick McDonnell
Mutts
2000
Jack Davis
2001
Jerry Scott
Baby Blues and Zits
2004
Pat Brady
Rose is Rose
2005
Mike Luckovich
Editorial Cartoons
58
Dave
2003
Greg Evans
Luann
Whamond
2002
Matt Groening
The Simpsons
The Cartoon!st, the official newsletter of the National Cartoonists Society and
distributed only to NCS members, covers the professional and personal activities of
the NCS membership. It also contains general information of interest to the professional cartoonist, such as copyright laws, new publications, preservation of comic art,
upcoming regional and national shows, events and conventions.
The National Cartoonists Society sponsors special cartoon-related excursions
abroad. Recent destinations have included Canada, England, Ireland, Italy and Australia. The NCS and its Regional Chapters have also organized cartoon auctions for
charity, art shows, educational seminars and golf and tennis tournaments.
The National Cartoonists Society maintains relationships with other organizations
for professionals in cartooning and various other fields of communication, both
domestic and foreign. It works especially close with newspaper and publishing groups. The NCS also often
provides introductions for American
cartoonists traveling abroad.
Through the National Cartoonists
Society, members have served the nation in person and through their art.
Teams of cartoonists have toured war
zones and military installations all
over the world in cooperation with
the USO. Others have entertained
regularly at VA hospitals in various
parts of the country. NCS members
also contribute tirelessly to certain
US government programs; their efforts have benefitted such agencies
as NASA, USIA, the Treasury Department Savings Bond division and the Presidents
Council on Physical Fitness. Other beneficiaries of members talents have been the
Boy Scouts of America, The American Red Cross and the United Nations. In 2001, the
NCS organized the Thanks & Giving Tribute in the nations newspapers, syndicated
cartoonists raising some $50,000 for the September 11 fund.
The National Cartoonists Societys Reuben Awards Weekend is a gala annual event,
which takes place at a locale selected by the President, Board and the NCS Foundation. There, during the black-tie Reuben Award Dinner, the prestigious Reuben Award
(a statuette designed by and named after the NCSs first president, Rube Goldberg)
is presented to the NCSs Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year. Cartoonists in various
professional divisions are also honored with special plaques for excellence. These
Silver Reuben awards are voted on by the general membership by secret ballot).
Members and their families have enjoyed the annual get-together at recent locations
such as: Washington, D.C.; New York, New York; Chicago, Illinois; Pasadena, Cali-
2006
Bill Amend
FoxTrot
2007
Al Jaffee
MAD Magazine
2008
Dave Coverly
Speed Bump
Ramirez
2009
Dan Pirarro
Bizarro
Michael
2010
Richard Thompson
Cul de Sac
2011
Tom Richmond
MAD Magazine
fornia; Scottsdale, Arizona; Boca Raton, Florida; Toronto, Canada; Cancun, Mexico;
Hollywood, California; New Orleans, Louisiana; Boston, Massachusetts; Las Vegas,
Nevada; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; San Diego, California and even on a cruise ship in
the Caribbean.
THE NCS FOUNDATION

The National Cartoonists Society Foundation is the charitable arm of the National
Cartoonists Society. The Foundation was formed in 2005 to continue the charitable
and educational works that have been a hallmark of the NCS since its inception in
1946.
The National Cartoonists Society Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) charity that
works in tandem with the NCS to advance the ideals and standards of the cartooning profession, to stimulate and encourage aspiring cartoonists through scholarships and educational programs, and to provide financial assistance to cartoonists
and their families in times of hardship, through its Milt Gross Fund.
The Foundation also encourages the active involvement and participation of NCS
members in the charitable and educational projects undertaken by the Foundation,
thereby utilizing the Societys greatest assets and strengths. The NCS has a treasured
tradition of members donating their expertise and talents to good causes in person
and through their art.
2012
Brian Crane
Pickles
Rick Kirkman
Baby Blues
2013
Wiley Miller
Non Sequitur
2014
Roz Chast
The New Yorker
...........................................................................................................................................................................................
National Cartoonists Society, Inc.
P.O. Box 592927
Orlando, FL 32859-2927
Phone: 407-994-6703
Fax: 407-442-0786
For further information, visit the NCS website at:
www.reuben.org
59
Do You Cartoon?
The Jay Kennedy Memorial Scholarship is here to help.
In these tough financial times, no one looks forward to taking on student debt. Now
in its eighth year, the annual Jay Kennedy Memorial Scholarship aims to make that
burden a bit lighter for those college students with an eye on a career in cartooning.
To that end, the scholarship awards $5,000 annually to a rising Junior or Senior.
(Applicants do not have to be art majors to be eligible.) But its more than just money
thats provided its also an opportunity to meet professional cartoonists at the
2015 Derek Desierto
National Cartoonists Societys Reuben

Award Weekend.
The National
Cartoonists Society
Foundation has
helped students
from the College
for Creative Studies,
Ringling College of
Art & Design, Rhode
Island School of
Design, Rochester
Institute of
Technology, Savannah College of Art
and Design, and
UCLA.
Derek
Desierto
The most recent recipient is Derek Desierto, an Animation major at the Sheridan
College in Ontario, Canada.
The first winner of the Jay Kennedy Scholarship was Juana Medina, who now teaches
at the Corcoran College of Art & Design. She has just turned in her illustrations for
a childrens book called Smick, written by Doreen Cronin (Click, Clack, Moo; Duck for
President), which will come out this year. Juana has also signed a multi-book deal with
Candlewick Press, for a series loosely based on my childhood adventures, in my native
Bogot, Colombia, with my sidekick and dog-friend, Lucas. The first of these books
should be out in the Fall of 2016. (Juana also designed the promotional art for this
years scholarship.)
Chris Houghton, the second scholarship recipient, is currently a Storyboard Director
on an upcoming Nickelodeon show called Bad Seeds, that premiered in early 2015.
He has had similar duties on the animated TV shows Wander Over Yonder, Gravity
Falls, and Fanboy and Chum Chum. In addition, Chris has done work for Adventure
60
2015 Chris Houghton
2015 Juana Medina
Juana
Medina
Chris
Houghton
61
2015 Diana Huh
Diana
Huh
2015 Charlotte Mao
Time comics, Simpsons comics, MAD Magazine and his own creation
for Image Comics, Reed Gunther.
Other recent recipients include Diana Huh, a storyboard
revisionist for the Titmouse Inc./Netflix show Turbo FAST;
Charlotte Mao, who works at Launchpad Toys in San Francisco,
a mobile gaming company that develops educational childrens
apps; and Renee Faundo, a character animation major at the
California Institute of the Arts.
The Jay Kennedy Memorial Scholarship was established in
memory of the late King Features editor, and funded by an initial
$100,000 grant from the Hearst Foundation/King Features Syndicate as well as additional generous donations from Jerry Scott,
Jim Borgman, Patrick McDonnell and many other prominent
cartoonists.
2015 Renee Faundo
For more information, visit cartoonistfoundation.org
Charlotte
Mao
Renee
Faundo
62
63
The
National
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gocomics.com
The NCS goes cruising!

Jack DAVIS dreams
es
Tom RICHMOND caricatur
Mark FIORE animates
The
National
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TY
NAL CART OONI STS SOCIE
A PUBL ICATI ON OF THE NATIO
Vol. 1, No. 2
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national-cartoonist-
......
magazine
I Ever Met
T
IS
N
O
O
T
The FIRST CAR
THENA TIONA LCART OON!S
Exclusively at
gocomics.com/the-national-cartoonist-magazine
Follow the NCS ...........................................................................................................................................
for news, art and features
64
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The NCS goes cruising!

Jack DAVIS dreams

A PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL CARTOONISTS SOCIETY

FIRST CARTOONIST I Ever Met

Artwork 2015 Mike Peters

Prince Valiant detail, Jan. 21, 1951

Prince Valiant 2015 King Features Syndicate

Artwork 2015 Roy Doty

Artwork 2015 Bud Grace

on negotiating a 1990s deal with

Artwork 2015 Jeff Smith

Its printed on toilet paper

When I first started drawing this strip,

Artwork 2015 Brian Crane

Hirschfeld 2015 The Al Hirschfeld Foundation

creator of The Piranha Club, on

Fifty years ago violence was the principal ingredient of the

of the two eras? Dont ask me. Im originally a Pow man.

a friend. I met him a

couple of months later

responding to the question What is the difference between comic

and he said and this

and they werent the

your intelligence doing

Artwork 2015 Rube Goldberg, Inc

figure it out, a man of

Artwork 2015 Berkeley Breathed

xxx 2015 xxxxxx

Not being a great man for writing, [my father]

Nuns made more

The National Cartoonists

NATIONAL CARTOONISTS SOCIETY

Cartooning for Kids

Preserving Comic Art

NCS Reuben Awards Weekend

Drawing Caricatures with

Relationships of features by the celebrated MAD Magazine cartoonist

Jack Davis on the Comics Page

The First Cartoonist I Ever Met

Mark Fiore and the art of animating political cartoons

s a former two-term President of

The National Cartoon!st. Its our hope that you will

and Jack Kirby freely available to the public.

A two-term former President of the National Cartoonists

Artwork 2015 Steve McGarry

Follow @stevemcgarry on Twitter

THE NATIONAL CARTOONISTS SOCIETY PRESENTS

THE CELEBRITY CARTOONISTS

Art by Tom Richmond

JOIN THE NCS ABOARD

MEET THE CARTOONISTS!

Pulitzer Prize and Reuben

Artist and writer on The

Pearls Before Swine

Two-time Pulitzer winner,

Reuben and Pulitzer-winning

AJC and Newsweek

Biographic & Kid Town

Illustrator and Greeting

JOIN US THIS WINTER ABOARD

AND ITS ALL IN A VERY GOOD CAUSE!

For more information about the NCS

Experience the innovative and complimentary

WHAT A STELLAR LINE-UP!