#United Feature Syndicate

[driveintheaterofthemind]

Original Art - Tarzan Sunday Comic Strip (Apr15th1945)

Art by Burne Hogarth

United Feature Syndicate

[acmeoop]

KLONK! “Garfield 3-4-79” (1979)

[chernobog13]

SPARKLER COMICS (vol. 2) #1 (July, 1941). Cover (probably) by Reg Greenwood, co-creator of Spark Man.

This issue marked the first appearance of Spark Man (later Sparkman), an original superhero inserted inside a comic book filled with newspaper comic strip reprints.

As he was brand new to readers, Spark Man decided that he should explain his powers to the readers before his main story began:

All I have to say is this guy had to be real careful before rubbing his eyes or scratching his nose, or he was probably gonna blow his face off.

[funnypages]

"You wanna know how to get Capone? They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That's the Chicago way!"

-Nancy

[browsethestacks]

Vintage Comic - Tip Topper Comics #025

Pencils: Ernie Bushmiller

Inks: Ernie Bushmiller

United Feature Syndicate (Oct-Nov1953)

[teresabeadle5]

S is for Snoopy Skiing in Snow by linda_lou2 Via Flickr: This is an “extra” one for the letter S. I just happened to take this today, and it’s the letter S day, so I had to! Serendipity! February Alphabet Fun Month 2021

[mewnette]

Tiny Dinos Pin Back Button 1987

[thehauntedrocket]

[onlylonelylatino]

Tarzan by Hal Foster

[acmeoop]

Well, I Hope You’re Happy

Original sketch and final art by Jim Davis from a Garfield Sunday strip, published by  United Feature Syndicate, July 18, 1982.

[allergictocolor]

The Addams Family Through the Years

Before I get into character profiles, let me first do a run-through of the incarnations of the Addams family through the years.

As I wrote in my first post, Charles Addams created the nameless, bizarre family in some of the many comics he drew for The New Yorker starting in 1938. Morticia and Wednesday were named in 1962 when dolls of them were released. Charles Addams was asked for a list of names and descriptions for them and the other family members when the TV show was in development in 1963, but had little other involvement with the show.

The show ran for two seasons from 1964 to 1966, totalling 64 episodes. This was the same time that a similar show, The Munsters, was also on the air. Both shows were about wacky families of monstrous weirdos living in American suburbia. Both were in black and white, and both were canceled in 1966, possibly due to the rise of color television.

After a cross-over with Scooby-Doo, Hanna-Barbera produced a 16-episode animated series in 1973 which featured the family on a road trip in a creepy camper that looked like their mansion. It featured the same actors who played Lurch and Fester voicing their previous characters, and a 10-year-old Jodie Foster as the voice of Pugsley!

There was a reunion special in 1977, which reunited most of the cast of the show, called Halloween with the New Addams Family. The original show had remained popular, running in syndication for years. It was especially popular in Australia. According to one fan, this was because the Addams family was “less American” than the Munsters. 

In 1991, a feature film was released after a tumultuous production. Raul Julia became the new face of Gomez Addams in the popular consciousness. It was followed by a sequel called Addams Family Values in 1993, and in between there was another animated series. John Astin reprised his role as Gomez in that animated series. 

There were plans to continue the film series, but Raul Julia suffered from stomach cancer and died suddenly in 1994, canceling those plans. Although both films performed poorly at the box office, they gained a loyal following on home video and remain popular to this day. In 1992, an Addams family pinball machine was produced featuring original voice acting from Raul Julia as Gomez and Angelica Huston as Morticia. It became the most popular pinball machine of all time, selling over 20,000 units.

In 1998, a TV movie called Addams Family Reunion was produced by Saban, featuring Tim Curry as Gomez and Daryl Hannah as Morticia. The only returning actors from the 1991/93 movies were Carel Struycken and Christopher Hart's hand, who played Lurch and Thing, respectively. I have not seen it, and can not attest to its quality, or lack thereof. That movie was also meant to be the pilot for a TV show called The New Addams Family, but most of the cast was different. It ran for 65 episodes, none of which have I seen. (Hat tip to @tenthirtyone for pointing this out.)

After a try-out in Chicago, a musical debuted on Broadway in 2010. I was lucky enough to see that for my birthday that year. It starred Nathan Lane as Gomez and Bebe Neuwirth as Morticia. It was pretty entertaining. It would have been better if Lane wasn’t trying to be Raul Julia. He did a very fake Spanish accent, and it was terribly distracting. The musical was panned by critics and didn’t last long, but it was popular enough that it is now performed by high schools across the country. In fact, my friend Sarah and my cousin Charlie were both involved with different productions of it this past Spring.

That same year (2010), the rights were purchased by Illumination Entertainment, and they announced that they were going to produce a stop-motion film with Tim Burton. However, he decided to go with computer animation instead. That eventually turned into the 2019 film, after Tim Burton dropped out. This version was the closest in appearance to the original comics. Although the characters are rendered in 3D, the animators aimed to make them look as much like Charles Addams’ drawings as possible.

You’d think Tim Burton had been involved since at least the 1991 movie, but he hadn’t. Black and white stripes? Bats? Other goth things? That sounds like Tim Burton, but oddly enough, he actually hasn’t been attached to any Addams Family property until the Netflix show in 2022. It’s a natural pairing, and perhaps he would have been great friends with Charles Addams, had he been born several decades earlier. 

Now the Netflix show, centered on Wednesday, is in production for its second season after its first season was one of the streaming service's most popular shows to date. It's not the first time the Addams family has spawned a viral dance sensation. Way back in the 1960s, the original TV show started a dance craze called “the Lurch”.

In coming posts, I’ll go into how Charles Addams originally portrayed each of the nine characters in the Addams family pictured above (Gomez, Morticia, Pugsley, Wednesday, Fester, Grandmama, Lurch, Thing, and Cousin Itt) and how they evolved, or didn’t, over time.

[driveintheaterofthemind]

Original Art - Peanuts Sunday Comic Strip (Feb21st1954)

Art by Charles Schulz

United Feature Syndicate

[acmeoop]

Power Pig “U.S. Acres” (1989)

[strayflowersstarsandlove]

𝙴𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚆𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚞𝚝 - a Han Jisung short au!fanfic

Part 1

💫PART 2💫

The bottle comes to a halt at angle once more, it's in between Felix and Minho. You're safe. It sounds disgusting in your head but kissing either would be much like kissing your nonexistent brother. Not that you would ever consider that okay if he were real. The way you feel about them is closer to neutral than anything so you're not too worried about it.

Something flashes in Felix'eyes but something even more fleeting, ephemeral, even, flashes in Minho's. You don't fully catch onto that but he subtly meets someone else's eyes before crawling forward, already leaning towards you, "it's me. It's definitely more lopsided towards me", he asserts.

Minho smirks and pats his lap, "come to oppa, little one", he puckers up his lips and you laugh at him, shaking your head amusedly as you lazily make your way to him, "gross", you joke. He is a surprisingly good kisser, his lips are soft and round nicely against yours, he tastes a bit like the tequila he had earlier but it's not overpowering.

He, of course, can't help himself when your tongues meet, he just has to slide down his hands on your lower back. To be fair he stops just short of your bum, he merely stabilizes you since your balancing yourself on your knees and calves.

The timer goes off just in time for you to start gasping for a little air, and soon enough your sitting back in your place, not too unphased but not overwhelmed either, though you're sure you're blushing. The same shade of red tinging the tips of Minho's ears too.

You look around you as subtly as you can, briefly locking eyes with Felix who's uncharacteristically frowning, he tries to smile his best, comforting warm smile but you can see the corners of his mouth still pointing down slightly. Hyunjin looks like his mind is wandering off somewhere else. Han looks just pissed. It's that sort of tensely still calmness you can feel in the air before a thunderstorm. It takes over his usually delicate, sweet features like a mask.

Minho spins and the tense anticipation that lingers in the air around you is almost palpable. The bottle lands on Hyunjin, who looks a little shocked and a little intimidated too. Minho whistles complacently, "well well well well I'm getting ALL the kisses tonight", he says in a  sing-songy tone while he crawls over to the tall brunette who's sighing and wincing already.

"For fuck's sake", murmurs Han, on the other side, watching as two of his best friends interlock lips, "look at this bastard, he's getting kissed left and right and I get none. Felix, Seungmin-ah we should unite, syndicate this shit", he adds frustratedly, making everyone laugh, including the pair currently exchanging saliva whom giggle in between kisses.

Felix pouts adorably and pats his knee gently, making a kissy face himself, "it's okay honey, we'll get our time to shine", he reassures and they both laugh sincerely at that, "oh I'm good bro, no kisses for me it's actually fine", comments Seugmin who promptly gets playfully slapped on the arm by Chan's slipper.

The timer goes off again and while Minho gloats and smirks, Hyunjin repeatedly dabs his mouth with the back of his hand, dramatically pretending to be utterly disgusted, "I knew you were a fucking good kisser with lips like those", the older guy points out, which makes Chan burst into the loudest laugh, soon followed by everyone else too.

Except for Hyunjin who yells something incoherent before fiercely grabbing the bottle, "please God don't make me do this ever again please", he pleads, looking through the glass as if some tiny, invisible magic creature is stored in there. He places the bottle in the middle of the floor again and goes to spin it when Chan shouts "tiiime!", much to Seungmin relief who lays down on the floor breathing heavily and lifting up his hands to the ceiling: "THANK YOU", he repeats over and over.

Chan sighs and groans as he stands back up and helps the others, everyone patting each other on the back, congratulating themselves over the game while they stretch out and yawn loudly, you sigh in relief and yawn as well, the late hour finally catching up to your tired body.

You let Felix help you up from the floor and massage your back soothingly, "that was a good game ye? Did you have fun?", he asks quietly, clearly sober now but definitely a little sleepy as you can tell by the way he rubs his eyes and tries to hold in the yawn that's puffing out his cheeks, "yeah, it was interesting to say the least, but yeah I had fun. What about you? I'm sorry you didn't get much action actually", Felix shrugs and takes your hand in his, "it's alright, watching you all was entertaining enough. Care to cuddle with me to sleep?", he offers, you nod without a second thought.

You really are so tired, nothing sounds better than falling asleep in his arms right now. One of the things you loved the most about your friendship with Felix was just how comfortable and cuddly you two were, he was sunshine personified, always smiling warmly at you and offering endless cuddles and silently holding your hand just because. He made you feel cherished and appreciated without ever asking for anything in return.

You give his hand a little squeeze and nod your head towards Chan, who's quietly cleaning up with Seungmin while Han, Hyunjin and Minho are playfully bickering and fighting each other about the sleeping bags arrangement they plan to make upstairs, "I'm going to help Channie clean up in here and then I'll be upstairs. Make sure you beat those pabos and get the best spot, I don't want to hear Changbin snoring", you suggest as you pick up stray garbage and crumbs from the table, Felix giggles and finally lets a loud yawn escape, "will do, I'll see you later".

Chan dismisses you kindly after a little over 20 minutes, reassuring you that he's literally just going to sweep the floor a bit and then head straight to bed himself, "thank you noona, I got this", he says quietly, removing the broom from your hands and giving you a little side hug, officially sending you off to sleep.

You make your way into the upstairs bathroom and get yourself ready for bed, ultimately checking into the kitchen for a glass of water for your dehydrated self. You find Hyunjin in his grandpa's checkered beige pijama pants and a white oversize t-shirt, quietly sipping what seems to be milk from a steaming cup, perched up on a chair despite his size. Half of the time you're convinced he doesn't realize just how tall and long limbed he is, notably so when he lunges on top of poor Jeongin.

"Hey", you greet him quietly, heading for the sink, ready to fill your glass, he smiles gently at you and nods, lifting up his cup as his way of saying hello, "what'cha drinking?", you inquire, smelling something faintly sweet and earthy, "moon milk. Sourt of. Chan hyung owns next to no spices so I had to make do with just some honey, nutmeg and cinnamon. It's calming and digestive, helps me sleep", he explains quietly.

"Wanna try it?", he holds out his cup for you and you take a small sip, the sweet, warm, mildly spicy liquid flooding your tatstebuds really nicely, "mmh I wasn't expecting that, it's yummy!", you admit excitedly and he giggles, "here, we can share", he adds then, patting his lap softly so you can sit on it.

You quietly alternate sips from the large ceramic blue mug, the deep shade almost as dark as the sky outside the window which you look out from, "so... Is Minho hyung right? Am I a good kisser?", Hyunjin asks after a little while, and you chuckle, "I think so! Though I didn't get to kiss you kiss you, and I don't have many other guys to compare you to. If we include Chan and Minho, you're only the 5th guy I've ever kissed in my whole life", you confess shyly as the brunette knits his eyebrows together and frowns, "really? Who are the two other lucky dudes?".

This time you giggle more loudly, yet bittersweetly, the whole scene unravelling in your head sounding ironically hilarious: you know Hyunjin's just pretending to flirt, cause you guys's relationship is playful and sweet like that, but the mere thought that 3 out of his 7 best friends are the clear majority of your whole semi romantic history makes you want to either laugh in hysterics or cry in hysterics, that would work just as well.

Deep inside you know your sophomore year sweetheart is actually the only other person you actually kissed because of the feelings you had for the guy, who ended up breaking up with you not even 3 months into the relationship cause he fell for his ex again. And that doesn't even hurt anymore, that's well in the past, tons of water over the dam.

What still hurts, much more so because you can't really talk about it with anyone, is the fact that Han rejecting you like he did is the main reason you haven't dated anyone in years. Isn't it almost pathetic how you unwillingly resorted to a stupid game in order to go from having kissed 2 guys to having kissed 5, 4 of them all being your literal closest friends?

Hyunjin pinches your sides, clearly having noticed how you spaced out for a sec, "what is it? What's so funny?", he prods you gently, you shake your head and hand him the nearly empty mug, "it's nothing. Those guys... Mean nothing". A knot in your throat makes it hard for you to swallow properly, you force yourself to cheer up and pretend that the Han Jisung shaped hollow in your heart actually means nothing.

You can tell your friend isn't fully satisfied with your response but he doesn't press you any further, he brings the cup to your lips again, encouraging you to take the last few sips but as you politely refuse Minho walks in, looking at the both of you with a confused expression on his face, he lifts up his eyebrows and smirks: "oh look who's here! My two favorite kissers, sharing cups and cuddling at almost 3am, nice", he snarks jokingly, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge.

"It was so nice and peaceful before you came in", retorts Hyunjin, making a face, but Minho just chuckles and smacks the bottom of his bottle on the taller brunette's head, "dream of me tonight, Hyune", he says giggling as he walks out. The tall brunette gives him a side eye and sucks on his teeth, "this man... he's actually a good kisser, but don't tell him I said so or I'll never see the end of it".

Cuddle piles were pretty much the norm wherever you guys slept over at each other's houses, hence the current spread of sleeping bags, blankets and pillows on the floor was nothing unusual: full heads of hair peeking out from fluffy blankets and limbs spreading out on top of each other, the boys sprawled out on the floor in whatever position, it was all very normal.

You walk into the living room trying not to step over anyone and let Felix phone screen guide you towards him in the otherwise almost complete darkness, the shapes of the sleeping bodies underneath the colorful sleeping bags looking like shadowed blobs all over.

As predicted, you know Changbin is relatively close to you cause you can hear him snoring, Felix gives you an apologetic smile once you slot yourself beside him in his large sleeping bag and blanket arrangement: "I'm sorry ...he was sleeping already but he was so warm and I felt lonely. I needed the cuddles", he confesses sheepishly and you giggle softly as you settle against his shoulder, his arm automatically wrapping around your back.

From what you can guess, Changbin is a little over to Felix's side, Chan is uncomfortably snuggling up on the couch, a single foot hanging out of the blanket he has spread on top of himself while Seungmin turned himself into a burrito on the other side of the coffee table that sits in the centre of the room. Hyunjin is currently rolling over on top of Jeongin who groans in his sleep from in the impact.

Meanwhile Minho and Han are over on your side,a few breathes away from you, the empty space on the blankets and pillows covered carpet being the only thing separating you from facing Han's back directly. It looks like he's in a deep conversation with Minho, judging by the hushed tones they're whispering in. You try not to pay them any attention and focus on Felix's soft breathing and the TikTok videos he's showing you on mute.

"Are you gonna say anything or are you just going to pretend everything's fine?", Han blinks slowly at his inquisitive friend, the internal turmoil still swirling around his stomach, the pang of jealousy intermittently pulsating at the base of his throat: "what do you want me to say, Min? Did you enjoy kissing her?".

🥀PART 3

[elvis1970s]

Fairytale, a Pointer Sisters cover, was recorded by Elvis in early 1975 and featured as an album track on Today, released in May of that year. It would remain in the live set right up to the end. This joyous version was captured in a good quality audience recording during Elvis' dinner show in Las Vegas on August 20th, 1975. He's in such great form that it's actually quite hard to believe that following the second show that night, the engagement would be abruptly cancelled (just three nights in) and Elvis would be flown back to Memphis and admitted to hospital.

United Press international (UPI) issued a syndicated report on the sudden cancellation;

“…He just got very tired and fatigued and we thought it would be best if he cut his show here short this time rather than run into complications," said Dr. Elias Ghanem, the singer's Las Vegas physician. "We can't find much wrong with him. One of the liver enzymes is elevated and what he needs is rest…”

Dr Ghanem (1939-2001) enjoyed an enviable lifestyle from his business activities and from billing a number of wealthy and undoubtedly generous Las Vegas entertainers for treatment of, amongst other things, ‘Vegas Throat’ – raspy soreness caused by a combination of the dry desert air and the air-conditioning (and passive smoking) within the hotels and casinos. He was also a proponent of the sleep diet; a regimen of weight loss that appeared to involve the patient being sedated for much of the time and consuming liquid nutrition during rare moments of consciousness. Elvis himself had availed himself of this regime on at least one occasion.

The Irish Times wrote an obituary for Dr Ghanem upon his death from renal cancer in 2001.

“…He was Elvis Presley's personal physician, as well as the doctor for Elvis's posthumous son-in-law Michael Jackson. Although his patient list also included Liberace, Bill Cosby, Ann-Margret, and Virginia Kelley (the mother of former President Bill Clinton), it was Ghanem's relationship with The King which first brought him under the spotlight of unwanted notoriety. When ABC's television programme '20-20' reported that he had supplied the drugs which essentially killed Presley, Dr Ghanem threatened to sue - but he never did…”

The article also noted that Ghanem had been the subject of an FBI investigation over billing, but never charged, and that Colonel Parker had a financial interest in Ghanem's clinic situated conveniently adjacent to the Las Vegas Hilton.

"...Ghanem expanded his practice to include a chain of clinics around Las Vegas, treating literally thousands of patients. He proposed innovative umbrella health-insurance schemes long before they came into vogue, and signed contracts with the Hotel and Casino Workers' Union, by far the largest group of workers in Nevada. The arrangement was obviously a profitable one for Ghanem, but union leader John Wilhelm, recalled that during a protracted six-year strike at the Frontier Casino, Ghanem treated every worker free of charge and delivered over a hundred babies for the striking workers..."

Following the cancellation, Elvis was flown back to Memphis where he was admitted to a private suite on the top floor of Baptist Memorial Hospital. His next professional engagement was back in Las Vegas in December making up for the cancelled shows.

[colleendoran]

MOCCA Arts Festival

Announcing the 2023 MoCCA Arts Festival Featured Guests

The Society of Illustrators is proud to share a list of Featured Guests who will appear at the MoCCA Arts Festival, taking place April 1 - 2, 2023 from 11:00AM - 7:00PM on Saturday and 11:00AM - 6:00PM on Sunday. The Exhibitor Hall will be held at Met Pavilion, a spacious venue nestled in the heart of the Chelsea neighborhood, and is within walking distance to many great restaurants and attractions. Programming will be a few steps away at the SVA Flatiron Gallery, located at 133 West 21st Street. 

Maia Kobabe is the author of Gender Queer (Oni Press), a critically acclaimed Young Adult graphic memoir that has also been named a Stonewall Honor book. Gender Queer was also ranked by the American Library Association as the most frequently banned or challenged book in the United States in 2021. Kobabe will talk about eir work in a special spotlight session moderated by Michele Kirichanskaya and will also participate in a panel on comics and censorship hosted by PEN America’s Jonathan Friedman.

In her career, Colleen Doran has written and drawn the long-running creator-owned series A Distant Soil and has worked on titles including Wonder Woman, Amazing Spider-Man, and many others. Her body of work includes a series of collaborations with writer Neil Gaiman which are the subject of the exhibit “Colleen Doran Illustrates Neil Gaiman,” running from March 22nd to July 29th at the Society of Illustrators. She will appear in conversation with Gaiman to discuss their comics collaborations and her overall body of work in a special programming event moderated by exhibition curator Kim Munson.

Barbara Brandon-Croft became the first Black woman to write and draw a nationally syndicated comic strip when Where I’m Coming From debuted in American newspapers in 1991. Featuring a cast of nine women of color commenting insightfully on current events, her groundbreaking comic strip has now been anthologized in a book edition from Drawn and Quarterly. Brandon-Croft will talk about her trailblazing work in a special spotlight session. 

Other featured artists at this year’s festival will include:

Kim Deitch, a pioneering underground comix artist who began publishing comics in the East Village Other in 1967 and whose most recent graphic novel, Reincarnation Stories (Fantagraphics) was published to critical acclaim in 2019. 

Drew Friedman, whose most recent book of portraiture, Maverix and Lunatix (Fantagraphics), celebrates the artists of the underground comix generation

Miriam Katin, whose out-of-print graphic memoir of escaping the Holocaust as a child refugee accompanied by her mother, We Are On Our Own (Drawn & Quarterly), will be republished in a forthcoming paperback edition. 

Toma Vagner, the award-winning illustrator who designed this year’s MoCCA key image and has produced striking graphics for clients including Harry Styles, Google, The New York Times, Bloomberg, and The New Yorker. 

Noah Van Sciver, whose body of graphic novels includes Joseph Smith and the Mormons (Abrams ComicArts), Fante Bukowski (Fantagraphics Books), and the forthcoming comic book series Maple Terrace (Uncivilized Books). 

These and other Featured Artists will participate in programming and signings, schedules for which will be announced in the coming days and weeks. A full list of exhibiting artists can be found on the MoCCA Arts website. 

About the Museum of Illustration at the Society of Illustrators and the MoCCA Arts Festival

Founded in 1901, the Society of Illustrators and its Museum of Illustration together comprise America’s longest-standing nonprofit organization dedicated to the art of illustration. The mission of SI/MI is to promote the art and appreciation of illustration and its history and evolving nature through exhibitions and educational programs. 

The MoCCA Arts Festival is a 2-day multimedia event, Manhattan’s largest independent comics and cartoon festival, drawing over 7,000 attendees each year. With over 500 exhibiting artists displaying their work, award-winning honorees speaking about their careers and artistic processes and other featured artists conducting demos, lectures and panels, our Festival mission accelerates the advancement of the Society’s broader mission to serve as Manhattan’s singular cultural institution promoting all genres of illustration through exhibitions, programs and art education. 

The Society will continue to release additional information about the Fest in the near future. Tickets are available to purchase online as well as at the door.  The Society is following all state and city safety protocols. Protocols are subject to change, so be sure to check back for the latest information. As of now, face coverings are optional at Metropolitan Pavilion and the Exhibitor Hall. Proof of vaccines, boosters and masks are required to enter SVA buildings and programming. 

To learn more about the Fest, please visit the website.

For media inquiries please contact:

Kate Feirtag

Director of Communications and External Relations

kate@societyillustrators.org