Uncovered at last, the comic book story that made little, tow-headed 8-year-old Donald see himself as Superman.
Category: Cartooning
Game On
22 Years in the Making!
Denro took this photo on September 4, 2004. That was when I first met comic book creator Colleen Doran. Among the items I bought was the beautifully rendered pencil page of art she was holding.
I asked Colleen if she could ink it for me. She agreed and we would work out the delivery arrangements later. It turned out to be very much later!
Both of us sort of lost track of it. The commission request was forgotten by 2012, when I bought the cover painting for the third collected volume of Colleen’s trademark series, ‘A Distant Soil’.
Last year, at my first National Cartoonists Society event, Colleen told me she’d found the page and would make good on the commission. Which she did four weeks ago, at this year’s NCS event! We shared a laugh over the 22-year delay.
Colleen felt the paper wasn’t a good surface for inking, so she scanned the image and inked the copy. Now I have both the pencil original and the finished copy.
A Glorious Past
One of my favorite true stories is about the humor magazine HELP! Published by James Warren and edited by MAD Magazine’s creator Harvey Kurtzman, Harvey’s first editorial assistant was Gloria Steinem.
Gloria moved on and Terry Gilliam stepped in. Terry met John Cleese and put him in an issue of HELP! Before Terry left to follow Cleese to England, he arranged for Robert Crumb to be his replacement. Crumb arrived, only to be told the magazine was folding.
Gloria, Terry, and Robert each went on to bigger and greater things. Gloria is now gone.
Midwestern Merriment
More photos from this year’s National Cartoonists Society gala in downtown Columbus, Ohio.
https://www.hoganmag.com/blog/2026/8/28/the-2026-ncs-reuben-awards-in-photos
Next year? San Diego!
NCS Redux
It feels as though I just attended the Reuben Awards dinner, but that was already two weeks ago.
While admitting that I am only an “adjacent” member of the NCS, I very much agree with this decision by the board of directors.
81st Annual Reuben Awards and NCS Conference San Diego, August 12–14, 2027 You may be thinking — didn't we just go to San Diego? We did, in 2024! And we're going back on purpose. A few years ago, with feedback from members, the NCS board decided to trial a "hub city" model — rotating between three partner cities (San Diego, Boston, and Columbus) instead of a new city every year. Why? Because building real community partnerships takes time, and returning to cities where we've already built relationships means better public-facing events, lower expenses, and less burnout for the volunteers who make this all happen — all while keeping your registration costs as low as possible. San Diego is home to partners like the San Diego Comic-Con Museum and, after our great 2024 visit and the success of our new public-facing programming in Columbus, we're excited to be building a robust experience with a ton of fun at the Town and Country Resort. Stay tuned for a chance for members to give input this fall. We can't wait to celebrate the 81st Reuben Awards together!