Cartoonacy!

On May 5, 1895, "Down Hogan's Alley" by Richard Outcault first appeared in color in the New York World. It featured a character named Mickey Dugan, later known as "The Yellow Kid," the first newspaper cartoon character to become a major commercial icon. In the early 1990s, the National Cartoonists Society had May 5 declared Cartoonists Day to commemorate the occasion.

This year, Cartoonists Day happens to coincide with Free Comic Book Day, the first Saturday in May, on which participating comic book shops around the United States distribute free comics from various publishers. Click the banner above to get a list of the issues that will be given out this year, and to find a participating shop near you.

Joining the celebration this year is Tom Heintjes, editor of Hogan's Alley magazine. If you send him an e-mail request on May 5, he will send you a free back issue (his choice) of Hogan's Alley. Don't forget to include your name and mailing address in the e-mail, so he'll know where to send it! His address is hoganmag@gmail.com

Good news for comics fans in the New York area. Three upcoming museum exhibits focus on comic books and comic strips.

The first will be at the Great Neck Arts Center on Long Island from August 12 to October 1. Featuring the Who's Who of the world of cartooning, illustration, manga and animation. From Popeye and Batman to Archie and The Lockhorns; from MAD Magazine to Playboy; from Reader's Digest to the Wall Street Journal; original cartoons and illustrations from your favorite artists. Participants include Sy Barry (The Phantom); Mort Drucker (MAD Magazine); Stan Goldberg (Archie); Bunny Hoest (The Lockhorns); Rina Piccolo (Tina's Groove) and 42 more of your favorites.

JOIN US FOR FREE GUEST LECTURES & SURPRISES

OPENING RECEPTION & MEET THE CARTOONISTS
SUNDAY: AUGUST 20, 4 - 6:30 PM

"THE ESSENTIAL CARTOONIST"
A CONVERSATION WITH YOUR FAVORITE CARTOONISTS
Featuring:
Mike Lynch (magazine cartoonist)
Mort Drucker (MAD Magazine)
Stan Goldberg (Archie Comics)
Rina Piccolo (Tina's Groove & Six Chix)
WEDNESDAY: SEPTEMBER 13, 6:30 PM

"SEE YOU IN THE FUNNY PAGES"
A CONVERSATION WITH MORE OF YOUR FAVORITE CARTOONISTS
Featuring:
Mike Lynch (magazine cartoonist)
Mark Anderson (magazine and greeting card cartoonist)
Isabella Bannerman (Six Chix & Funny Times)
Ray Billingsley (Curtis)
Jim Salicrup (Spider-Man editor, CEO Papercutz manga line)
SATURDAY: SEPTEMBER 16, 7 PM

GREAT NECK ARTS CENTER
113 MIDDLE NECK ROAD
GREAT NECK, NY 11021
PHONE: 516. 829.2570
http://www.greatneckarts.org

Then from September 15, 2006 through January 28, 2007, the Jewish Museum in Manhattan and the Newark Museum in Newark, New Jersey will jointly host an exhibit called MASTERS OF AMERICAN COMICS.
The Newark Museum will concentrate their portion of the exhibit on newspaper comic strips from the first half of the 20th century, including the work of Winsor McCay (Little Nemo in Slumberland), Lyonel Feininger (The Kin-Der-Kids), George Herriman (Krazy Kat), E.C. Segar (Popeye), Frank King (Gasoline Alley), Chester Gould (Dick Tracy), Milton Caniff (Terry and the Pirates, Steve Canyon), and Charles M. Schulz (Peanuts).
The Jewish Museum will take a look at comic book creators and "underground" cartoonists, including Will Eisner (The Spirit), Jack Kirby (the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Captain America, the X-Men, etc. etc. etc.), Harvey Kurtzman (MAD Magazine), R. Crumb (Zap Comics), Gary Panter (Raw), and Chris Ware (Acme Novelty Library).

The Jewish Museum is located at:
1109 Fifth Avenue at 92nd Street
New York, NY 10128
Phone: 212.423.3200
http://www.thejewishmuseum.org

The Newark Museum is located at:
49 Washington Avenue
Newark, NJ 07102-3176
Phone: 973.596.6550
http://www.newarkmuseum.org

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's the United States Post Office's new series of stamps, released on July 20, 2006, commemorating the superheroes of DC Comics. Ten classic superhero

es are featured, each depicted in one pose and on one actual comic book cover. On the back of the pane of 20 stamps are short blurbs describing each character.

The series includes Superman (drawn by Curt Swan & Sheldon Moldoff), Green Lantern (Neal Adams), Wonder Woman (Ross Andru & Mike Esposito), Green Arrow (Jack Kirby), Batman (Jim Lee & Scott Williams), the Flash (Carmine Infantino & Murphy Anderson), Plastic Man (Dick Giordano), Aquaman (Jim Aparo), Supergirl (Swan & Stan Kaye), and Hawkman (Anderson). The covers depicted are from Superman #11 (1941, drawn by Fred Ray), Green Lantern #4 (1961, Gil Kane & Joe Giella), Wonder Woman #22 (2nd series, 1988, George Perez), Green Arrow #15 (2002, Matt Wagner), Batman #1 (1940, Bob Kane), The Flash #111 (1960, Infantino & Giella), Plastic Man #4 (1946, Jack Cole), Aquaman #5 (1989 miniseries, Swan & Al Vey), The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #1 (1982, Rich Buckler & Giordano), and The Brave and the Bold #36 (1961, Joe Kubert).

Coming to you in June 2006: Hogan's Alley #14 featurning interviews with the current artists on Dennis the Menace; a look at the evolution of Pogo; Thurl Ravenscroft, the voice of Tony the Tiger; Bob Clampett, the creator of Beany and Cecil; an article on comic strips and music; and a Now and Then column by Yours Truly on the late, great Lone Ranger artist and creator of "Flower" Potts, Tom Gill!

Look for it at your local Barnes & Noble, Tower Records, Borders Books, or comic book shop; or order it direct from Hogan's Alley

Crossword puzzles are as much of a passion for my wife Patty as cartoons are for me. (Fortunately, our newspapers don't print both on the same page, or there would be a battle for the paper every morning.) Now, there's a book that melds both of our interests perfectly. Cartoonist and crossword constructor Patrick Merrell has created Punchline Puzzles, a collection of 50 cartoons with missing or incomplete captions, each one accompanied by a crossword puzzle. You have to solve the puzzle to complete the caption and find the gag. Each page also has a smaller cartoon tucked into a corner, with an additional clue to the solution. I found the gimmick clever and the puzzles fun, though they're a bit too easy for Patty.

Ironically, the book's introduction is written by Will Shortz, the Crossword Editor of the New York Times, a paper known for its challenging puzzles as well as its lack of a comics section. You can see sample pages from Punchline Puzzles at Merrell's home page.

The National Cartoon Museum, formerly the International Museum of Cartoon Art, will be reopening in the Empire State Building in New York City in early 2007. The Museum, originally located in Rye Brook, NY, relocated to a larger space in Boca Raton, Florida, over a decade ago. The visitors in that area were too few in number to support the museum's expenses, however, so the Museum will be moving once again to what may be the busiest neighborhood in the country.

The Museum was founded in 1977 by Mort Walker, creator of Beetle Bailey, Hi and Lois, and many other popular comic strips. Its collection is huge, and it definitely will be worth a visit if you're traveling to the Big Apple... or regular visits if you live or work there.

The Museum could still use a little support to get things going, though, so please visit their website to find out how you can be a part of the fun.