News
March 19th, 2010 | Posted in News
This just in from the Illustrator’s Partnership: FROM THE ILLUSTRATORS’ PARTNERSHIP White House Seeks Artists’ Comments to Improve Copyright Protection 3.18.10 New Copyright Czar begins Joint Strategic Plan to Protect Intellectual Property Victoria Espinel is the first U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC), also known as the Copyright Czar. Congress created IPEC by an Act of Congress. Ms. Espinel serves within the Executive Office of the President to coordinate with all the federal agencies that fight the infringement of intellectual property. Ms. Espinel and her team are specifically tasked with formulating and implementing a Joint Strategic Plan to help protect the ingenuity and creativity of… READ MORE
March 15th, 2010 | Posted in MAD Magazine
I was the subject of a short piece on the weekend edition of the FOX9 newscast here in the Twins Cities: It was flattering to be contacted by the station and have them ask if I’d do this. It’s too bad that MAD hadn’t announced it’s switch to bimonthly before they did the final editing. It’s also unfortunate that my braces make it sound like I have a worse lisp than The Music Man’s Winthrop Paroo. Some of the quotes I give seem odd because the question the reporter asked me doesn’t proceed them. For example, the last comment I make about getting all my… READ MORE
March 12th, 2010 | Posted in MAD Magazine
Good news! Today MAD editor John Ficarra sent out an announcement to all MAD contributors to say that DC Comics would be increasing the frequency of MAD from quarterly to bimonthly, stating with issue #504. The news stand date of MAD #504 is June 15th, so we should see MAD #505 on August 15th or so, and then an issue every other month after that. That is great news on several fronts. First, it’s two more issues of MADness every year, but as John points out in his letter it gives MAD the opportunity to do more topical and timely material. Quarterly publication really limited… READ MORE
March 8th, 2010 | Posted in News
Legendary war cartoonist Bill Mauldin is being honored with a stamp from the United State Postal Service. The stamp gets released sometime this month. Mauldin’s cartoons, often featuring his characters Willie and Joe, were honest and supportive of the enlisted soldiers defending the country during World War II while making fun of the brass, which endeared him to millions of “regular guys”. They told real stories of the front lines and the difficulties our soldiers endured using humor, which comforted both the G.I.’s and the people back home who loved them. I only met Mauldin once, at my first National Cartoonists Society Reubens in 1999… READ MORE
March 5th, 2010 | Posted in News
David Paccia is the author of the interesting blog “David-Wasting-Paper“, which features interviews with cartoonists in the form of a series of survey questions. There has been a great run of terrific cartoonists interviewed on David’s site, but I’m afraid that run has come to an end. Yes, David has finally scraped the bottom of the barrel and has stooped to interviewing me for his blog. Looks like he redeems himself next with my friend Rick Stomowski (Soup 2 Nutz), but in the meantime he wears the yoke of shame. However, do not let that dissuade you from visiting David’s Wasting Paper and reading the… READ MORE
February 27th, 2010 | Posted in News
The eternal fanboy question. Turns out (at least for now) in the context of capitalism Batman owns Superman. Just days after the record shattering sale of Action Comics #1 for $1,000,000.00, a private collector has purchased a copy of Detective Comics #27, featuring the first appearance of “The Bat-Man”, for $1,075,500 at a Dallas auction through Heritage Auction Galleries. According to the story, the seller originally bought the copy in the 1960’s for $100. Holy Compound Interest, Batman! Assuming he bought it in 1969, that’s about a 25.4% annal return on that investment over 41 years. Thomas Wayne would have been proud! READ MORE
February 25th, 2010 | Posted in News
Cover art by Bill Janocha I received a pleasant surprise in my mailbox yesterday… the newest issue of Stay Tooned! Magazine in all it’s hot-off-the-press glory. I also got a lot of pre-approved credit card offers, but they were considerably less thrilling. Still, anything addressed to me (and I count “Current Resident” as being addressed to me) in the mailbox in the middle of a Minnesota winter is something. When your mail is delivered by dogsled even the junk mail is welcome. Stay Tooned! is far from junk mail, though… that is genuine “glad to see it” mail. Publisher John Read continues his string of… READ MORE
February 24th, 2010 | Posted in MAD Magazine
While Dick De Bartolo is not actually a monkey as depicted above (this was the only caricature I have drawn of him, hence the silly post title) he will no doubt be doing plenty of monkeying around on “Stu’s Show” today on Shokus Internet Radio. If you are not familiar with Shokus Internet Radio, it’s a… wait for it…. radio station on the internet. Stu Shokus has a live broadcast on Wednesdays, and callers and e-mailers can pose questions to his guests who are “top celebrities from the world of television, both in front of and behind the cameras”. Writer extraordinaire Mark Evanier is a… READ MORE
