2008: A FINAL LOOK BACK

A Few of the Things That Peeved or Pleased Me in 2008

Willie is free at last: the image of Mickey Mouse in “Steamboat Willie” is now in the public domain. (fullsome details at RCHarvey.com. Opus 230)

Diesel Sweeties is no longer desecrating the funnies.

Superman’s birthplace was saved from falling into ruin.

Landmark Publications: Fantagraphics' complete reprinting of Bill Mauldin’s Willie and Joe; Jackie Ormes biography; Garfield Minus Garfield; reprinting of Charles N. Landon’s cartoon correspondence course lessons.

Anniversaries: Garfield, 30^th; and the two Alleys, Oop, 75th and Gasoline, 90th.

Number of full-time staff editorial cartoonists drops to 87, losing 13 in six months.

Jules Feiffer returns to the Voice by invitation. (Op. 230)

The New Yorker’s Obama cover reveals wannabe cartoonist Barry Blitt’s shortcomings as a satirist; ditto the editors of the magazine, who, apparently, didn’t understand how Blitt’s cover drawing could be misinterpreted; or did they?

Mystery of the year: Who was the guy doing “Bad Cartoonist” and where is he now when we need him?

Stay Tooned, an excellent reincarnation of Cartoonist PROfiles-style magazine debuts.

Peter Parker and Mary Jane split.

Dick Tracy/Chester Gould Museum closes in  Woodstock, Illinois. (Op. 218)

Tenth of February Movement and How It Failed — or not; at least it asked the question: why is there only one comic strip by and/or about a racial minority in most newspaper comics lineups? (Op. 218)

Mort Walker’s International Museum of Cartoon Art holdings go to OSU’s CRL, which now has a new name: instead of Cartoon Research Library it is now the Cartoon Library and Museum, which, they say, better reflects the facility’s mission (particularly with its holdings of original art, the world’s largest. (Op. 223)

Al Jaffee gets NCS’s Reuben.

Spiegel heirs inherit half of Superman. (Op 221)

Endings: Opus ends. Again. Another five years, shot to hell (Op. 231). Loveless ends; ditto Y: The Last Man — I couldn’t make much thematic sense of either series, but they were fun to read. DC finished reprinting all of Will Eisner’s Spirit, an archival treasure in 26 hardcover packages. For Better or For Worse ends original stories and goes into reruns, for better or for worse (Op. 231).

(Note: There is much more in this anyule vein at RCHarvey.com, Op. 235.)

 

The Best Stuff of the Year 2008

I did a longish piece on the “best of the year” for The Comics Journal, No. 296 (out soon), and I won’t repeat that here; I will, however, add a little to it:

Best comic strips of the year: 9 Chickweed Lane, Doonesbury, Zits, Frazz, The Knight Life (best new), Luann (particularly when the Brad and Toni romance is featured); others that are awfully good but usually overlooked: Betty, Arlo and Janis, Zippy (which, after reading daily for 18 months, I now believe I’m on the cusp of understanding).

Best new comic book titles: Rasl, Echo.

Best continuing comic book titles: 100 Bullets, Love @ War, Bomb Queen.

Best continuing series of comics-related books: Two Morrows’ Modern Masters series.