Categories
Artist Spotlight Artists - Cartoonists Dick Guindon

Guindon 1935-2022

Back cover photo from a 1977 Minneapolis Tribune Guindon cartoon collection.

Copy that went with the photo shown above:

“Dick Guindon’s first cartoons, dealing with a character called Hugger Mugger, were published in the Minnesota Daily. Hugger Mugger eventually was syndicated and appeared in 100 college newspapers. Guindon then went to New York, where, as a freelance cartoonist, he sold his work to Downbeat, Playboy, Esquire and New York Magazine. The Realist sent him abroad for a year as a kind of cartoonist-correspondent in Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Israel. Guindon was born December 2, 1935, in St. Paul. He began cartooning when he finished three years in the army, and he joined the Minneapolis Tribune in 1968.”

Guindon in his own words from the foreword…


I grew up on Guindon – he was one of my favorites. His cartoons nailed the archetypal Minnesotan in a way that no one else has come close. The caricatures in the Coen brothers movie Fargo are the popular stereotype, but Guindon went more to the core.


In 1981 Guindon moved from Minneapolis to Detroit. YouTube has the following time capsule of the event. There are quick cameos of a young Louie Anderson and Garrison Keillor among others…


And here’s an interview with Guindon in Detroit.


Tragedy struck in April 1987 when the studio Guindon had in a historic four-story building in Traverse City, Michigan was destroyed by fire. More than 5,000 cartoons and sketches burned.

Click on image to see larger.

In February 2005 Patty Stearns interviewed Guindon for Traverse Magazine. Here’s some excerpts…

Gaze over to the floor-to-ceiling bookcases in
Guindon’s living/dining room and scan the titles: The
Catcher in the Rye, Marcella’s Italian Kitchen, Salt: A
World History, The Lies of George W. Bush.
There’s an
entire section devoted to the works of novelist Elmore
“Dutch” Leonard, whose late wife, Carol, brought back
one of Guindon’s prized espresso pots from a trip to
Europe. A case of the cartoonist’s favorite wine,
Côtes du Rhône, fills another couple of shelves.
Next to that stands a three-quarter-sized rendition
of the artist himself—a painted board with a cutout
for a wristwatch, which is missing. Guindon calls
it his “Grandfather Clock,” although he is not yet
a grandfather.

Guindon has produced cartoons that are part of the Smithsonian
Institution’s Archives of American Art and The Ohio
State University Cartoon Research Library. He has authored
six books, and collectors sell pieces of his life from galleries and
over the Internet for big bucks.

None of this has gone to his head.

Guindon has never socialized much with his fellow cartoonists.
“I find them a little bit sad, frankly,” he says. “They
tend to work on kitchen tables and not think of themselves
very professionally and that sort of thing.” He gets a smirk on
his face.

You never really know when he’s kidding.

“Everyone who’s ever been around me is always surprised by
how much goes into it, because you always think, well, they’re
just potato heads,” Guindon says.

But screenwriter Kurt Luedtke, a friend and former executive
editor of the Free Press, has seen this artist in action.
“The truth about Guindon is that he draws unusually well; a
lot of folks miss that, I think, perceiving him as a very funny
guy with an offbeat sense of humor who’s a cartoonist. Study
those panels for a while and you realize that his oblique take
on life is just the beginning of a process that really ends with
a masterful pen.”


According to Wikipedia, Guindon announced his retirement the same year as the preceding interview – 2005.

A few Guindon cartoon collections

The Detroit Free Press reported that Richard Gordon Guindon, 86, died the evening of Feb. 27, 2022 in Northport, Michigan, after a long illness with his son at his side.

“Can’t you do that outside?”
Original art to 1977 Minneapolis Tribune book collection.

You can check out more of Guindon’s work at
The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum Blog.

Categories
Artist Spotlight Jerry Craft

Shout Out to Jerry Craft

Jerry Craft with a few of his young fans.

Spotlight on writer/illustrator Jerry Craft!
Jerry is an African American Literary Award winner (five times no less) and cofounder of the Schomburg Center’s Annual Black Comic Book Festival.

Jerry Craft at one of his many school lectures.

In addition to his numerous graphic novels and books he’s illustrated, Jerry is also the creator of the acclaimed comic strip Mama’s Boyz.

My daughter Tessa with the many Mama’s Boyz book collections we have that are dogeared from repeated viewings.

Jerry and I go back a ways. We met at King Features Syndicate back in the 1990s when we both worked in the King Features Comic Art Department.

Jerry and I commuting to work before the turn of the last century.
Jerry and I with the Production Supervisor of the KFS Comics Art Departm ent, Frank Chillino, at the 1993 King Features Christmas party.

And here’s a more recent pic. Jerry is one of those friends where even if you don’t see them for awhile you can just pick up from where you left off the last time you met.


Jerry has put Easter Eggs in his books for my family (like naming a character in one of his graphic novels after my daughter Tessa). And here’s me returning the favor in the July 8, 2018 Sally Forth Sunday page where the Forth family is at a comic convention.

Note the Mama’s Boyz banner on the back wall in panel 5.


And last but not least an unabashed plug for Jerry Craft’s latest graphic novel, New Kid.

It’s the story of seventh grader, Jordan Banks. He’s the new kid in school at a prestigious private school far from the neighborhood he grew up in. And as if navigating a new school isn’t tough enough, Jordan also just happens to be one of the few kids of color in his entire grade.

June 2020 Update:
Since my original post, Jerry’s book New Kid has gone on to win the prestigious Coretta Scott King Book Award and The John Newbery Medal! The award ceremonies with Jerry’s acceptance speeches are linked to below.


Jerry Craft wins the Coretta Scott King
Book Award for New Kid!


Jerry Craft’s graphic novel New Kid
wins 2020 Newbery Medal!

From The Comics Beat.

“The major award in libraries is the John Newbery Medal for “the most distinguished American children’s book published the previous year”. This year, Jerry Craft won for his graphic novel New Kid. Other graphic novels had previously received honor citations in this category, but this is the first time a graphic novel has won the medal outright, awarded for the best literary work, as a book, not as a graphic novel or illustrated work. It won because of the story presented, which just happened to be told in words and pictures.”

Jerry Craft’s Acceptance Speech starts at the 47 minutes and 28 seconds mark.

Congrats to Jerry!

Categories
Artist Spotlight

Tom Gianni 1960-2020

C2E2 2017

Tom Gianni was a fantastic illustrator. He was also a courtroom artist for WGN, NBC, and WTTW in Chicago.

I knew Tom through C2E2 and I made sure to stop by his table every year I went back. He was always up for talking shop.

Here’s a quick video from 2011 where he let me take a little video of a commission he was working on. (Sorry for the sound quality, but Artist Alley gets kinda noisy).

And here’s a few pics from over the years…

C2E2 2011
C2E2 2012
C2E2 2016
C2E2 2018

My favorite work of Tom’s was his illustrations of pulp fiction heroes like the Shadow and from Robert E. Howard stories.

©Lars Leonhard Drachmann

Fun side note – His work was awarded the Rankin Award for Artistic Achievement from the Robert E. Howard Foundation.

Best of all, his self-published Mechanic Anna.

An original Tom Gianni sketch on the Title page.

The last time I saw him at C2E2 in Chicago he had to leave abruptly as he was called to do some courtroom sketches. To see him take off harkened back to newsmen of the 1940s racing off to catch a story. And that’s how I’ll remember him…

He’ll be sorely missed…

My business card holder – purchased from Tom.
Categories
Artist Spotlight

Jim Keefe

Jim Keefe is the artist of the Sally Forth comic strip, written by Francesco Marciuliano. Sally Forth is syndicated worldwide by King Features.

A graduate of the Joe Kubert School, Jim started his career as the head colorist at King Features Syndicate coloring such world-renowned strips as Blondie, Beetle Bailey and Hagar the Horrible.

From 1996-2003 he was the writer and artist of Flash Gordon for King Features Syndicate.

Teaching and speaking engagements include SVA in Manhattan, Hofstra’s UCCE Youth Programs, the University of Minnesota and most recently the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

To follow Jim on social media, just click on one of the icons below.

Categories
Artist Spotlight John Prentice

John Prentice – Tribute

John Prentice (1920-1999) was born on October 17 in Whitney, Texas. From 1940-1946 he served in the Navy. Having survived the bombing of Pearl Harbor, he went on to serve on two destroyers through eight major military campaigns.

Having briefly attended the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, he moved to New York in 1947 where he worked on everything from comic books to magazine covers. Following Alex Raymond’s death in 1956 Prentice was chosen to carry on the strip and did so for 43 years.

His work on Kirby was awarded the National Cartoonists Society’s silver plaque for best story strip three times and Rip Kirby is an honorary member of the honor legion of the New York City police department.

The following is an excerpt written by Bill Crouch, Jr. from Maurice Horn’s book book 100 Years of American Newspaper Comics.

Rip Kirby celebrates his fiftieth anniversary as a syndicated comic strip in 1996, due in no small part to the excellent work done by John Prentice, who has done the strip for forty years.

John Prentice’s work remains on a level above many other story strips. The point-of-view angles move constantly; characters make eye contact with the reader; the Raymond technique of the establishing landscape continues; and creative and unique crosshatching is used.

Rip Kirby is a mature story strip with a bright future. Many hope that King Features will realize this and give Rip Kirby the promotional and sales push it seems to have lacked from the syndicate for many years.


John Prentice bio from the National Cartoonist Society directory.

Back in 1999 when John Prentice passed away I contacted some of his colleagues in the industry. They were kind enough to share the following reminiscences.


An immense talent. A consummate craftsman with a rock-solid work ethic. A man generous with his talents, gracious to his fans and a devout family man. John’s wonderful sense of humor was capable of taking twists and turns before hitting you on the funny-bone. Being with John was knowing you were at the best party in town… and knowing John was one of life’s little perks.

Dick Hodgins
Hagar – Henry


I first heard of John on the occasion of Alex Raymond’s untimely death in an automobile accident. The question on everyone’s lips was, “Who is capable of carrying on Rip Kirby?” George Raymond, Alex’s younger brother (and my assistant at the time) told me that John Prentice had been selected as Alex’s successor. The rest is history.

John had a wonderful sense of humor and was always a very gracious and generous person. Everyone liked and admired him and his work. He liked to tell stories of his naval career and always had an appreciative audience. In his later years he was fortunate to marry Antonia who proved to be an excellent helpmate. We will all miss John.

John Cullen Murphy
Prince Valiant – Big Ben Bolt


I first met John in January of 1960. He was looking for an assistant to go down to Mexico with him to help him out on “Rip Kirby”. I learned a lot from John Prentice. It was great working with him. It was fun. We were good friends – I’ll miss him.

Al Williamson
Star Wars – Secret Agent Corrigan


John Prentice was a close and admired friend. One of the foremost black and white illustrators in the United States. He was an extremely brave man. How else can you describe a young sailor who in the middle of all the strafing and bombing at Pearl Harbor commandeered an admiral’s tender and went out into the harbor looking for a gun to fire at the attacking Japanese? From then on he was on a destroyer involved in almost every big Pacific island battle.

He approached his “Rip Kirby” strip like an illustrator. After reading a new sequence script, he researched every detail. Using his vast personal morgue, he checked costume, architecture, geography, everything. It slowed him down, but oh, it was beautiful… and it made him one of the top adventure strip cartoonists. John was a sincere, decent man. We all loved him.

Gill Fox
Side Glances – Golden Age Comics


I’ve known John Prentice for 45 years. We’ve shared a studio. I assisted him for years since he started “Rip Kirby”. We’ve been close friends all those years. I enjoyed John’s good sense of humor and knowing him was to know someone who was always kind, honest, fair and always a true gentleman.

Frank Bolle
Heart of Juliet Jones – Winnie Winkle


After John Prentice died the decision was made by King Features to discontinue the Rip Kirby comic strip. Here is the final week of Rip Kirby dailies ghosted by Frank Bolle that wrapped up the last storyline.

Examples of John Prentice’s work on Rip Kirby.

June 20, 1967
February 28, 1968
December 17, 1970
August
buy pregabalin online https://www.dentistwaycrossga.com/slick/fonts/woff/pregabalin.html no prescription pharmacy
10, 1971
August 13, 1974

To see more of John Prentice’s exceptional work on Rip Kirby, check out Rip Kirby Volumes 5-11 from IDW Publishing – Highly recommended!