Al Scaduto original

I met Al Scaduto at one of Bunny Hoest's summer bashes in upstate New York sometime before 9-11. We traded stories about Jimmy Hatlo and I asked Al for an original so I could hang it alongside Jimmy Hatlos framed original. He said no problem and he was nice enough to send me the one you see here. I always thought Al did a fantastic imitation of the Jimmy Hatlo style. Amazing. He was a helluva nice guy.

Jimmy Hatlo original - 1953

This is a copy of the drawing Jimmy Hatlo sent me back in 1953. He told me that the syndicate held all the originals but that they would print one up for me on heavy, what looks like 2 ply bristol board, and like Jimmy said had all the qualities of the original . . . it was mighty nice for a pro like Jimmy Hatlo to give an 18-year old wannabe cartoonist a drawing like this. What a classy guy.

New Yorker Covers You'll Never See

You'll never see it because it 's not real, it's make-believe, remember . . it's the funnies ! It's the funnies until someone dare print what I don't like. Like the Obama satirical cover on a recent issue of The New Yorker. How DARE Barry Blitt or a Ted Rall draw the cartoons they do !

Diffee in Ink ! ( Not Pencil )

In one of my travels to The Big Apple . . I found myself at the Union Square Barnes & Noble Bookaellers on the second Floor where one of The New Yorker Festival events was to take place . . The Mankoffer was giving a talk on the uniqueness ( is that a word ? ) of a New Yorker Cartoon.

Roz Chast gave a talk on HER particular material she does for The magazine. Also, Diffee was to speak later and I ran into him amongst the small mob . . I asked if he'd draw me a cartoon in my handy reliable sketch pad and he said yes . . I was kind of hoping he would've done it in PENCIL . . since all of his work I've seen in the magazine is rendered in pencil . . ( I thought, WOW! DIFFEE in INK ! I felt SPECIAL )
He seemed pre-occupied so we didn't chat . . he was probably thinking, who the hell is THIS guy ? I didn't get a chance to introduce myself and that was that.

Usually, most artists BEGIN their careers in pencil and then when the confidence builds they learn the skill of pen & ink with a pen point, brush . . but now most recently just skip directly from pencil to felt-tip pen . . ( except for Comic Books, thank God ).

Da Vinci, Michaelangelo, and most of the masters went on to master the tools of the trade ( charcoal, water colors, oils, etc. ) THEN they'd go and return to the basics . . the PENCIL . . It's what was done. And nobody questioned it.

Re: The New Yorker's Robert Weber drawings . . the loose pencil cartoons show the mastery of the pencil after years of rendering his cartoons in ink, finished washes and charcoal . . THEN and only THEN, like the masters before him, he earned the right to draw in pencil . . It's only MY opinion, but what the hell do I know . .

It's like juggling ONE ball ( with 2 hands ), while your collegues are juggling 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 balls with only ONE arm and one hand !

All this is masterfully done whilst DIFFEE is being called ( by the New Yorker staff ) the most talented new find of America's crop of the NEW New Yorker cartoonists !

Yes, he makes it look easy . . It's not him, it's me.

Lt. Flap in Boca Raton with Mort walker

In 2001, While attending the National Cartoonists Society Bash in Florida, I noticed Mort Walker standing nearby with a drink in his hand and I extended my hand and asked if he'd be so kind as to draw me the Famous Lieutenant Flap of Beetle Bailey fame. He said sure and I handed over my trusty sketchbook I carry with me for times such as these . . I told him I loved the character . . He'd tackled the difficult subject of adding an African-American character to his popular strip with class and the Lieutenant went on to become one of the most fan favorites of the comic.

New Yorker Cartoonist Patricia Roberts

This drawing on my trusty sketch pad I always carry around came in handy on June 20, 2002 while attending Bunny Hoest's annual summer bash. Patricia kindly drew on my pad . . and I remember the lovely lady speaking fluent Spanish ! Bunny's beautiful home with a back yard flowing down to her own beach with a private bathhouse was a great setting for her great party.
A party with nothing but famous cartoonists in attendance was memorable and I got to meet
a lot of greats . . to name just a few: I met Mike Lynch for the first time, I remember Al Scaduto, who just recently passed away, Erv Kaczmarek, a great writer and painter was there, Mort Gerberg dropped by, and many, many other greats!

The Lone Ranger by Tom Gill

I met Tom Gill in one my travels up to Westport, CT. starting in the 80's . . I think this drawing was done after a lunch session with Jerry Marcus, Bob Weber and Orlando Busino around 1986 in my trusty sketch pad I carry around ( You never know who you'll bump into ) . Tom had an illustrious career and was one of the artists who drew The Lone Ranger.
Tom passed away in 2005. A truly great talent, and all-around nice guy ! Mike Lynch Blog has some good info on Tom Gill.

West Coast Trip

Well-known magazine cartoonist and book author Donna Barstow from Los Angeles and Bob Weber, King Features Syndicated Cartoonist of Moose Miller and Slylock Fox & Comics for Kids, which he co-produces with his son, Bob Weber, Jr. We met at a nearby coffee bar and it was great to meet a colleague where we talked about the magazine cartoon business for a couple hours . . Donna's drawings have appeared in The New Yorker Magazine and all the majors . . Her work appears everywhere . . all the biggies.

West Coast trip Sept. 2007

On September 9, While dining on some Chinese Take-Out in the lovely patio of Suzanne Lemieux Wilson's lovely mountain-side home and talking mostly about the business and Roland's career and looking at a few photos, this one caught my eye and I asked Suzanne if I could post it . . she said sure and when I returned home on Sept. 14 it was on my email.

Photo L to R: Suzanne, Marty Murphy, Michelle Urry and Rowland B. Wilson.
This photo, probably 1981 in Westport, Connecticut . . . Rowland won the award for Best Editorial Cartoonist and they were interviewing him Suzanne tells me.

West Coast Trip - - Jim Whiting's studio and book

I recommend Jim Whiting's new book: "ANALECTA - Selected reflections of a cartoonist's life ". The book is filled with cartoons and just as important, an interesting story of what happened along the way with many many cartoonists he met and worked with along the way . . all ' household names'. It's an informative book you'll enjoy reading, a beautiful 8 1/4 x 10 3/4 softcover ( 190 pages ). Get a copy from Trafford Publishing 1.888.232.4444 now.


Bob Weber Sr. and I rented a car in Tucson, AZ on Sept. 7, 2007 and drove to San Diego and after a couple calls, we were graciously invited to Jim and Bernita's 'place' . . a truly lovely home and studio in Encinitas.

Photo L to R . . ( In Jim's studio ) Jim Whiting, ( President, Southern California Cartoonists' Society ), George Gladir, ( Creator of SABRINA, THE TEEN-AGE WITCH ), Suzanne Lemieux Wilson, ( wife of the late renowned cartoonist, Rowland Wilson ), Suzanne's own fantastic creative art was ALL OVER the the animated classic, ANASTASIA . Top row on right is Bob Weber Sr., who has Molly & Moose with King Features Syndicate and Slylock Fox & Comics for Kids also syndicated by King with over 415 Newspapers. Slylock Fox is a popular comic recently picked up by The Los Angeles Times. Bob Weber Jr. is the creator and both Bobs produce the feature.

Important trivia point: The drawing table with built-in light box you see behind Jim and George was originally the one that belonged to SAM COBEAN ! Sam was Jim's mentor and Mrs. Cobean generously passed it on to Jim after Sam's sudden and tragic death.