English author Brian Sibley has received e-mail from Jean Schulz, and he’s posted it on his blog. Click here to read.
Category: Cartooning
Doggone Biographers
If you haven’t read Monte Schulz’s comment on Mr. Media‘s audio interview with David Michaelis, and how the book came to be written, click here. This Peanuts cartoon seems somewhat apropos. Note that the word balloon in the first panel is not touching the top border. I’m sure you must know why!
©UFS
Cartoonist and Charles Schulz admirer Jimmy Johnson seems to have started his commentary on the Michaelis biography of Schulz. I’ve figured out how to link directly to Jimmy’s posts, so click here for the first one, and here for his second. At the moment it appears Jimmy has a missing image at that link. In reference to his former wife Rheta’s authorized biography of Sparky Schulz, Jimmy says, “As I indicated in an earlier post, I was not just a bystander to all this.” I’m looking forward to what he has to say.
For Double Or For Entendre
Today’s For Better Or For Worse caught me by surprise and made me laugh.
Bob Andelman, Mr. Media
Bob Andelman, aka Mr. Media, makes a comment on one of my posts about Monte Schulz, at this link. Andelman has posted an audio interview with David Michaelis, the author of the controversial book Schulz and Peanuts.
I’m going to do something I don’t normally do, and that’s hotlink to Mr. Andelman’s MP3 file. I think he should give streaming audio a try, and this is my way of nudging him in that direction. I would also suggest editing the properties of the MP3 files to include an artist and title, so the player could display something like “Mr. Media” and “David Michaelis Interview.” First, the David Michaelis interview…
[audio:http://www.andelman.com/mrmedia-pod/MM-DavidMichaelis101707.mp3]I recommend listening to what Michaelis has to say, but as I’ve said before, while reading the book I’ve come around to an understanding what Monte and his sisters Amy and Jill are getting at in their criticism of Michaelis’ analysis of Charles M. Schulz as a man and as a father.
I’m very pleased to see that Andelman has also posted an interview with none other than Joe Sinnott, who I saw in New York a week ago. Thanks very much for this, Bob!
[audio:http://www.andelman.com/mrmedia-pod/MM-JoeSinnott071007.mp3]Big Apple Con — Marvel Comics Panel
Mark Evanier comments at this link on a panel he moderated at the Big Apple Con last weekend. Hey, I recognize that photo! My best friend Dennis took it, and Evanier gives him credit for it. Here’s another version. Refer to Mark’s post for the names.
I could have listened to these guys talk all day! Dick Ayers told some great stories from WW2, and it was fascinating hearing these talented pros delve into their past as comic book creators, when they were all sitting at home drawing and writing, working as freelancers, yet bonded together in the minds of fans by Stan Lee’s insistent descriptions of Bullpen camaraderie.
The PA system at the hotel was, to say the least, inadequate. I hate — emphasize HATE — technical problems such as these. Evanier complained, and the A/V boy in me sprang into action, doing the best I could to make the audio sound as good as possible.
Gary Friedrich wrote many issues of Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos, as well as the 70’s version of Ghost Rider that was turned into a movie earlier this year that I didn’t much care for, as I stated here. During the Q&A portion of the panel I made a point of telling Gary that he helped me think through my opposition to the Vietnam War when I was 14. I cited the Sgt. Fury summer double issue from 1969, but it was actually the 1970 annual special. Click the thumbnail picture to see the particular page I was thinking of.
Mallard Fillmore Gets It Wrong Again
One of the worst comic strips I know of is Mallard Fillmore, by Bruce Tinsley. The Mallard character is like Howard the Duck, except he’s a neo-con. Mallard Fillmore is amusing to me only when Tinsley says something so inanely misinformed or misleading that I laugh at his idiocy. An excellent example is the installment from a few days ago, about Stephen Colbert.
I saw Stephen Colbert last week in New York, and he certainly had no difficulty being funny and entertaining, entirely on his own. Colbert is as much a writer as he is a performer, with improvisation and ad-libbing being what he does best! I don’t know if Tinsley doesn’t know this, or if he’s deliberately trying to create a false impression, but once again he has proven himself to be a cartoonist with no other point than the one at the tip of his pen.