In my mind, I’ve been associated with Playboy for roughly 40 years—I was roughly 10 when I discovered my dad’s box of old magazines in a cardboard box on top of the standup cedar wardrobe in the attic. Hello, Miss May, 1966! “Discovered” may not be the right word—at 10, I was finally mischievous... Continue Reading →
Biographer? Stalker? Seeking Calvin and Hobbes’ cartoonist! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Today's Guest: Nevin Martell, author, Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and his Revolutionary Comic Strip There are plenty of creative people whose work I love but you’ll never catch me pursuing an interview with them. Bruce Springsteen, for one. I like the idea of leaving a little mystery... Continue Reading →
In cartooning, Christopher Hart is Humongous, it’s true! PODCAST INTERVIEW
When I was a little boy, it was common to see matchbook covers with ads saying things like “Learn to Draw!” The idea was that if you could draw the pokey little donkey, you, too, could one day become a famous and wealthy artist. (More people smoked back then, so matchbooks were everywhere. Not... Continue Reading →
Monte Schulz writes of Jordan, tells of cartoonist dad Schulz! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Today's Guest: Novelist Monte Schulz, author of This Side of Jordan, son of Peanuts cartoonist Charles Schulz. When his father wrote adult characters, they sounded like muffled trombones. When Monte Schulz writes grown up dialogue, there is no doubt that the words are not from the mouths of babes. To wit: Something blunt struck Alvin... Continue Reading →
Ziggy cartoonist Tom Wilson shares scenes from a heartbreaking life! PODCAST INTERVIEW
When I was a teenager—back during the Ford Administration, if you must know—a time when Peanuts was the best thing going in daily comic strips and years before The Far Side shook up the quiet world of single-panel strips, there was Ziggy. The roly-poly, philosophical mensch was widely quoted, appeared on a zillion greeting... Continue Reading →
Brendan McGinley sends Hannibal to Rome! PODCAST INTERVIEW
If you’re worried about the future of comic books, drop by IndelibleComics.com. It’s the online home of one writer and four artists, a place to see examples of their work as well as full graphic novels, plus you can order hard copy of their products. BRENDAN McGINLEY podcast excerpt: "If you're working with good... Continue Reading →
Historian Paul Buhle talks Kurtzman, Wisconsin comics scene! PODCAST INTERVIEW
What’s so special about Wisconsin, anyway? My home state, New Jersey, has tomatoes, Sinatra, Springsteen, Atlantic City, the Turnpike and The Sopranos. What’s Wisconsin got? Cheese, the Green Bay Packers, cheese, comics, cheese—did I mention cheese? PAUL BUHLE podcast excerpt: "Al Capone vacationed and hid in Wisconsin. And was caught. That should tell you... Continue Reading →
Archie Marries Betty and Michael Uslan is there! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Today's Guest: Michael Uslan, comic book writer, "Archie Marries Betty" I remember the first time I encountered Archie, Jughead, Betty, Veronica, Reggie, Moose, Mr. Weatherbee, Miss Grundy, Hot Dog and the rest of the Riverdale gang. It was in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, 1971, and we were visiting our cousins, the Sirotkins. Fred Sirotkin, the youngest... Continue Reading →
394 Free time? Tony Isabella’s 1000 Comic Books You Must Read! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Today's Guest: Tony Isabella, comic book writer, creator, "Black Lightning," author, 1,000 Comic Books You Must Read I remember the day I met Tony Isabella back in the mid-1970s. I was in the back of my friend Bob Pinaha’s brown Ford Pinto—the car in which I later learned to drive—and we drove to Newark International... Continue Reading →
A Boy Named Curtis created by a cartoonist named Ray! PODCAST INTERVIEW
There are a number of daily newspaper comic strips that we tend to take for granted. “Cathy,” by Cathy Guisewite, is one. Mort Walker’s “Beetle Bailey” and “Hi & Lois” are two more. And then there is my friend Ray Billingsley’s strip, “Curtis.” “Curtis” shares the adventures of a young African-American boy whose age... Continue Reading →