Before “meta” was physical, before Modernism became Posted, before Art Popped, cartoonists drew stories about cartoonists and cartooning!
Some of it was autobiographical (or possibly semi-auto… I doubt Milt Gross almost became Batman!), some of it was pure fantasy. (The pygmalian dream of a drawing come to life is represented twice in this volume, and I know of two more “adult” versions, one furry!) And some of it, well, there was probably a deadline looming, so why not draw a comic about how hard it is to draw a comic?
Craig Yoe, comics historian and archeologist, has collected some of the best comics about cartoonists, by noted and forgotten talent, into a new tome titled, appropriately enough, Comics About Cartoonists: Stories About the World’s Oddest Profession. Most of it obscure, but looking at the names below, you’ll discover a Hall of Fame of comics talent! Scroll down for some teaser images! If the table of contents doesn’t convince you to buy this book, then images by Webster, Kirby, Gross, Segar, Eisner, and Wood will! 230 pages of full color fun! Get your copy today!
PR below the previews!
The Table of Contents:
Artist Loves Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jack Kirby The Amazing Story of Walt Disney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edd Ashe Inkie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jack Cole Inkie/Do You Believe in Lucky Tokens? . . . . . . . . . . Milt Stein Scribbly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sheldon Mayer Joe Palooka and Me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ham Fisher Dick Tracy and Me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chester Gould Nancy and Me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ernie Bushmiller Steve Canyon and Me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Milton Caniff Kar Toon and His Copy Cat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Martin Filchock G.I. Joe: Beautiful Benny of Company B . . . . . . . Ernie Schroeder The Mad Artist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Al Stahl Pen Miller. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Klaus Nordling The Thrill That Comes Once in a Lifetime . . . . . . . . H.T. Webster Our Boyhood Ambitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.T. Webster Untitled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.T. Webster Life’s Darkest Moment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .H.T. Webster Li’l Abner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Al Capp & Frank Frazetta Night-Monster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jay Disbrow Covering the Cartoonists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Various Suzie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Attributed to Harry Sahle Grossly Xaggerated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Milt Gross Grossly Xaggerated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Milt Gross Hey Look . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Harvey Kurtzman Frankenstein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dick Briefer The Blue Men of Bantro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Steve Ditko The Peculiar Pacifier . . . . Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster, John Sikela Tale of Terror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lin Streeter Thimble Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elzie Segar Sergeant Spook . . . . . . . . . . . . . George Kapitan & John Jordan Squeedlegump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ken Hultgre The Spirit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Will Eisner Scoop Scuttle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Basil Wolverton Dream of the Rarebit Fiend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Winsor McCay Dream of the Rarebit Fiend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Winsor McCay Midsummer Day Dreams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Winsor McCay Comic Valentine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ogden Whitney My Daddy Should Have Listened . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vince Napoli My World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Al Feldstein & Wally Wood
The PR from IDW:
San Diego, CA (January 9, 2013) – Have you ever wanted to know what the life of a cartoonist is like? Well, if you don’t have one handy, why not have Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Wally Wood, Frank Frazetta, Charles Schulz, Jack Cole, Dick Briefer, Winsor McCay, Chester Gould, Sheldon Mayer, Milton Caniff, Ernie Bushmiller, Basil Wolverton, B. Kliban, Rube Goldberg, Jack Chick, Milt Gross, Siegel and Shuster, Will Eisner, Elzie Segar, Harvey Kurtzman, and many, many more tell you by drawing a comic or cartoon to explain about the cartoonist’s life?
Surely, we jest! The bounds of time and space must certainly render this endeavor impossible!
“Nay!” says Eisner-winner Craig Yoe, the acclaimed editor and designer!For the first time, decades of rare work about their lives and craft by these famous cartoonists has been collected into one mind-blowing, meta-tacular book: Comics About Cartoonists: The World’s Oddest Profession! Get the inside scoop from some of the most lauded and legendary names in the history of comics and learn what truly propels the cartooning soul. The comics and cartoons gathered here are both autobiographical fact and far-out fiction. The fanciful comics feature cartoonists as protagonists in nearly every genre, superheroes, science fiction, crime, funny animals, romance, war comics, teen-age humor and plenty of horror. Yoe has left no drawing table unturned, ensuring this full-color, hardcover collection will be as eye-popping as it is intriguing and entertaining.
Yoe asserts, “Cartoonists are my heroes. That makes this book featuring comics about the ink-slingers themselves drawn by the cartoonists themselves my very favorite book I’ve done. Cartoonists and the people that love them are going to go ape-poop over this one!”
The spectacular hardcover volume hits shelves today and has already earned some high praise!
“The book is fantastic. Unusual stories and seeing them collected in such a beautiful package is a real treat!” – Brigid Alverson, Comic Book Resources
“Comics About Cartoonists: Stories About the World’s Oddest Profession, is a mind-blowing, gorgeous, 4-color look at the “meta” concept of cartoonists in their own comics. Classic comic creators such as Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Will Eisner, and more present stories about their own unique profession — some cheerful, and some full of pathos.” – Valerie Gallaher, MTV Geek
“IDW Publishing’s Yoe Books, is a one-stop shop for visual thrills about comics and pop culture.” – Michael Dooley, In Print Magazine
Let’s face it, there simply isn’t another lineup like the one in Comics About Cartoonists!
Craig Yoe is available for convention appearances and interviews with the press in regards to this and his other books. Find Yoe Books’ online at http://yoebooks.com and http://www.youtube.com/theyoetube.
You had me at “Scribbly.”
andrew, wait till you see who where scribbly goes and who he meets!!!
Cool book and art and Site. :—)
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