Today’s Guest: Todd DePastino, biographer, Bill Mauldin: A Life Up Front, Willie & Joe: The WWII Years
If you were a dog soldier in World War II, there were probably days when the only thing you had to look forward to was the latest issue of Stars & Stripes and the single-panel cartoons of Bill Mauldin.
Mauldin’s adventures of “Willie & Joe” became legendary for the laughs they brought to America’s soldiers – and the contempt they generated in high ranking officers.
Mauldin was the first artist to make a reputation for himself in the military, always signing his name to his work. Soldiers pledged allegiance to the American flag, baseball, apple pie – and the cartoons of Bill Mauldin.
Todd DePastino brings us a triple-dose of Mauldin to the artists’ legion of fans this year, first with his biography, Bill Mauldin: A Life Up Front from W.W. Norton, and second with Willie & Joe: The WWII Years, a collection of the beloved artist’s cartoons, published in a two-volume deluxe set by Fantagraphics.
Todd DePastino Goodreads • Wikipedia
Bill Mauldin WGBH • Coopertoons • Wikipedia
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