Does anyone remember this short lived comic strip (1984-1988) by The Walker Brothers (Brian, Morgan, Greg, and Neal, the sons of Beetle Bailey’s Mort)? This was the height of Garfield’s popularity, and the thought of pairing these two classic, and essentially orphaned, properties must have been intriguing to King Featuures.

I just found this Sunday page from January 13th 1985 while I was rumaging through my files this weekend. Not a particularly funny entry, but it’s all I have as reference. Was this ever reprinted in book form? Or is it anywhere on the internet?

Another discovery, for me, at the recent Book Expo was this new book from University of Michigan Press. Jackie Ormes: The First African American Woman Cartoonist is not about an animator, but is the fascinating true story of a female black comic strip artist who achieved considerable success between the years 1937 and 1956. The author has set up a nice website devoted to Ormes with samples of her comics work, excerpts from the book (by Nancy Goldstein), and images of the Patty-Jo doll, inspired by her most popular strip. Publishers Weekly has an in-depth article about how Ormes’ work was rediscovered and turned into this biography. If you are interested in the history of comics, Ormes’ story is a long-forgotten part of its legacy.

A fun week of strips at Mike Peter’s Mother Goose and Grimm.

The MoCCA Art Festival is coming up this weekend in Manhattan. I’ve heard only good things about the event; it’s been described to me as kind of like a mini-San Diego Comic-Con, comprised entirely of people who are serious and appreciative of the comic art form. In other words, no sword play or collectible card games at this convention.

Many animation folk will be present at MoCCA: Chris McDonnell will be at the Meathaus table promoting the new book he created about Ralph Bakshi, various Blue Sky artists will be there to launch the new volume of Out of Picture, and other artists like Mo Willems, Bill Plympton and JJ Sedelmaier will be presenting projects at various booths. Also, on Saturday, Plympton will receive the 2008 MoCCA Art Festival Award, and on Sunday the festival will present a program of contemporary Nordic animation. Complete exhibitor list and programming guide can be found on the MoCCA website.

The Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco will be presenting a major exhibit of Harvey Comics artwork, “From Richie Rich to Wendy the Witch: The Art of Harvey Comics” from June 28 through November 30. Casper, Wendy, Richie Rich, Hot Stuff, Sad Sack, Joe Palooka, Little Dot, Little Audrey and many more will be showcased with original art from various Harvey comic books and merchandise by stalwarts such as Warren Kremer (1921-2003), who along with animator Steve Muffatti (1880-1968), defined the Harvey look.

The exhibition features artwork by Warren Kremer, Ernie Colón, Sid Couchey, Howard Post, Fred Rhoads, Ham Fisher, Dom Sileo, Marty Taras, and many more. Image above, a Bill Tytla Little Audrey gag drawing, will not be in the show (but you can click here to see a larger image). Details regarding the opening reception and other upcoming Harvey events will be announced shortly on the Museum’s website.

(Thanks, Karl Cohen)

As written up on the Brew yesterday, Dumm Comics is a new daily comic site launched by some of the today’s top talents working in TV animation. All of the Dumm artists recently worked on Nickelodeon’s El Tigre!, and prior to that, their combined credits include The Buzz on Maggie, Ren & Stimpy: Adult Party Cartoon, Mucha Lucha!, Coconut Fred’s Fruit Salad Island, Brandy & Mr. Whiskers, Dexter’s Laboratory, The Ripping Friends and Teamo Supremo, to name just a few.

This past Tuesday, May 20, I conducted an online chat via instant messaging with all the comic artists involved in Dumm Comics: Luke Cormican, Ricky Garduno, Fred Osmond, Katie Rice, Gabe Swarr and Sean Szeles. Our conversation touches on a wide range of subjects: why a group of successful animation artists would choose to branch into comics, artistic influences, Cintiqs, their working process, and what’s wrong with the TV animation biz. To maintain the flavor of our rapid-fire anything-goes IM exchange, I’m presenting the discussion largely in its original form and with minimal edits.

Discussion follows after the jump.
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Skadi by Katie Rice and Luke Cormican

Beautifully drawn cartoony comics are now available on a daily basis at Dumm Comics. The site was started by some of the most talented folks currently working in the TV animation biz (I know because I’ve worked with a number of them in the past), and every weekday one of them presents a new comic: Big Pants Mouse by Gabe Swarr on Mondays, Through the Port-Hole by Sean Szeles on Tuesdays, Skadi by Katie Rice and Luke Cormican on Wednesdays, 1930 Nitemare Theatre by Ricky Garduno on Thurdays, and Earthward-Ho! by Fred Osmond on Fridays.

I recnetly conducted an online roundtable chat with all the Dumm artists involved, and will be posting that tomorrow. It’s a lively and fascinating discussion that you won’t want to miss.

Today’s The Argyle Sweater, Scott Hilburn’s new panel cartoon, recently launched in 130 newspapers by Universal Press.