Man that’ s one lucky dude! This photo so fuels my two girl fantasy!

The Rueben Awards were this last weekend at the National Cartoonist Society annual meeting. I went to the ceremonies a couple of times and it was non-stop laffs. Some dude won this year that I never heard of. The award was named after Rube Goldberg. Here’s a photo of the statue and Rube the year he won.

Rube Goldberg

Mort Walker, whose strip about the National Cartoonist Society meeting Roy Lichtenstein is in the Arf Museum book, tells about the creation of the statue: “Years ago, Rube Goldberg, our leader in lampooning, had designed a lamp base for people weary of cupids and curlycues on their lighting fixtures. It was a horrible looking creation consisting of four nude gnomes doing acrobatics, or something, Nightmarish. The minute we recoiled from the sight of it we knew we had the design we’d been searching for. It was hideous and disrepectful and honest enough that no cartoonist would feel finkey handing it to another and saying, ‘Here. Take the stupid thing. You won it by majority vote of the members who think you’re the outstanding cartoonist of the year. You deserve this.’ ”

Mort goes on to relate, “Bill Crawford removed the lamp socket from the top most gnomes rear end and replaced it properly with a…Higgins Ink bottle. He had it cast in bronze and set it on an onyx base. We call it the “Reuben” and it has served us well…there has been lots of grumbling about its lack of beauty, which makes us very proud. It fits us. So does grumbling. Nevertheless, it is our highest tribute to the top men in our craft. And if is the greatest thrill to be voted by your colleagues to receive it. At least no one has ever returned one”.

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Here’s a sketch Rube did of the completed statue. You’ll see a lot more wacky sculpture drawings by Rube in Arf Musem. Some pretty wild and a few a little risque.

Following are some drawings featuring the Reuben Award by some winners and esteemed cartoonists from the National Cartoonist Society, where, actually, everybody’s a weiner (I say that as one of the members)!

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So, in Arf Museum, you’ll see more drawings of Rube Goldberg statues and read a early 1900′s essay by Rube where he talks about making a wacky lamp like the Rueben award statue for his foyer and then proceeds to make fun of modern artists. And you’ll read this comic drawn by Mort Walker about when the National Cartoonist Society invited Roy Lichtenstein to their meeting in order to ambush him. This is drawn especially for Arf. You can see a preview of both by clicking on the preview of the Arf Museum cover on the upper left of this page. Order your copy quickly as the boat from the Orient with the copies is just about to hit the shore. Shore nuff!

Here’s some synergy…a drawing of Rube by Mort (on Rube’s 80th birthday)!

When I plugged that upcoming Alex Toth book a couple of posts ago I didn’t mention that the artist was sick, I didn’t feel like dwelling on his misfortune, but instead I wanted to celebrate, a bit, his brilliant art. I had read recently that he was infirmed and I wrote him warm thoughts along with many other fans who filled up 20 large post office bags of well wishes. But, apparently the well wishes weren’t enough. It was Toth’s time to go. And our loss is great. His thoughts on comics was inspiring to me as his art itself. I must haved read an interview Alex did in Graphic Story Magazine a hundred times, literally. His vision for the potential of comics expressed in that interview deeply affected me.

When I assembled "Jubilee", my first book of comics (with the help of Rick Griffin), I quoted Toth at length as a way of introducing what I was trying to accomplish. I will again quote this passage from Toth’s Graphic Story Magazine interview. Keep in mind that Toth said these things in the late 60′s far, far before any of his ideas were realized. And even in 1975 when "Jubilee" was published Toth’s vison seemed like a dream that one hoped but didn’t count on coming true. Here’s what Alex said:

"If comic books are going down the drain, and if newspaper strips are being killed off by ads crowding ever deeper into the pages-and by the lack of any real contributing function of their editors-then I think the strip may be finished. If they would readh out into new subject areas, maybe graphic novels will happen as dollar or two dollar soft covers in black and white or color. The medium deservesa beter shake than it has gottenfrom its pradctitioners who’re making it go on the way it’s been going down. (Somebody needs to be doing esxperimentation and planning for new ofshoots orf the strip.

"We all talk about it, but nobody’s doing anything about it. And what about distribution? Distributors don’t want to deal with books irreguarly publsihed or one-shots. That’s why I think the adult comic book, or another version of it, will wind up in bookstores. It’s going to hagfe to update itself and improve its quality and change its fcesomehow so it can go in bookstores and stay on shelves for a time and make it as a dollar or two item-but only if it tackles other subject areas that are taboo in other comic strip formats".

Most of Alex’s vision has amazingly come true. There are aspects, though, between the lines and ideas Alex expressed elsewhere that still beg to be explored. Too bad Alex isn’t here to help do that by his own work and the encouraging of others both which he did in big ways while on this planet.

WhenI was an art director in Chicago I commissioned Alex to do some work on a children’s magazine. No fan, freind, fellow artist or relative of Alex will be surprised to hear that Alex was almost impossible to work with. The editors themselves were super picky and opinionated. This pissed off Alex royally and it was a miracle we got through the assignment and that he made the changes the editors asked for. I didn’t bother sending him a subsequant asssignment for that magazine. I have the beautiful art he did around here SOMEWHERE (I hope!). Alex had many people who he couldn’t work for because of situations like this. But, I’m sure not one art director or editor who had bridges burned between them and Alex didn’t also greatly respect that the guy surewas a man of convictions. And great art to back them up.

My correspondence kind of went the same way. He always wrote back to my letters in the beautiful handwriting and fascinating insights he was famous for but at some point he just stopped answering me. I had did or said something that made him mad and my inquiries and apologies (for something I wasn’t really aware of that I did) went ignored. But I admired him to this day.

And I certainly never stopped loving his art and being inspired by it’s innovation and quality. AndI wil always be inspired by what he said in that Graphic Story Magazine interview. That really changed my life. I saw that comics were a serious medium -that I could haved a lot of fun with. And for that I’m really thankful for Mr. Alex Toth.

This is my last post till Tuesday. I don’t usually post on the weekends. And I’m gonna take off Monday to honor the brave soldiers that defended our freedom to publish books, blog, etc. Freedoms we shouldn’t take for granted and should heartily defend against external and internal forces that want to curtail them. Really. (You might wanna check out the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, BTW).

And, will spend SOME of this Memorial Day also pondering the brave WWII U.S. soldiers that fought purple, orange and green dinosaurs, according to the good old D.C. Star Spangled War Stories.

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Brother! As I mentioned yesterday, Will Elder was the life of the party at the bash I threw for Harvey Kurtzman. And I have a party in my pants looking at the new book Arf’s publisher Fantagraphics just published of rare Elder sketches. This tome, Chicken Fat, is a real treat that I strongy suggest you gobble up. If you click on the cover below you’ll get a slide show preview. BTW it was announced yesterday that Kurtzman, Will’s friend and the writer and editor of most of Will’s material, just won the Bill Finger award. Named after the writer of Batman the award honors comic book scribes. Details on Tom Spurgeon’s always terrific blog, The Comics Reporter.

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Dear Craig!

First let me thank you for the latest entries on your Arf Lovers Blog. Because of your interview with him I think I may be in love with Glenn Head. He says what I’ve been thinking, and haven’t said. So I feel validated now. I pre-ordered Hotwire and I do wish I could have been in Brooklyn for the Hotwire signing.
-Beth Davis/Esteemed Comic Critic

Here’s a photo montage of the Hotwire Rocketship signing, That’s me with Danny Hellman, I’m the good looking one. I stole this from Mike Lynch’s excellent blog, one of my favorites.

Yo, Beth!

Babe, you’ve got another chance. There’s gonna be a signing at Jim Hanley’s Universe next to the Empire State Building on June 8th at 6:00 p.m.-see you there! Glad you’ve fallen in love with Glenn. Matchmaking is just one of the services I hope to provide on the Arf Lovers Blog. -CY

Yo, Craig!

I was wowed by the Seron cartoons. A google search failed to turn up anything on the artist. What can you tell me about him? Any leads on a good book or two of his cartoons?

-Greg Fink/Stinging Monkey Publications

Yo, Greg!

Dude, when I met Seron at Angouleme he knew no English and I can’t speak French, so I could only smile broadly and shout “Ooo-la-la” over his sexy drawings, that kind of thing. Here’s the cover of the book I scanned from a couple of posts ago. Maybe there’s a French Arf Lover out there that can fill us both in. -CY

You can see from my portrait by Kelly Freas at the top of the page that I bear an uncanny resemblance to Alfred E. Neuman. I’m not the only one. I had a party for Harvey Kurtzman, the creator of Mad magazine, at my crib back in ’92. As part of the festivities we had a Alfred look-alike contest judged by Mr. Kurtzman himself. Not surprisingly, maybe, my son Donovan (to Harvey’s right) won (the nut doesn’t fall far from the tree).. Just above Donovan is my daughter Valissa, she didn’t make a bad Alfreida. I see Brian (Hi and Lois) Walker in the crowd there and Karen O-Connell, co-author of the George Herriman bio. Karen’s hubby Patrick McDonnell was also at the party, as was Al Jaffee and the great Will Elder (who was the hilarious life of the party). The beautiful Jan Arneson, the Art Director of The United Nations is above Valissa. A good time was had by Alfred look-alikes!

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Here’s a self-portrait by Harvey that I love…

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It reminds me of the portrait Dean Yeagle did of Reamer Keller for my soon to be released Arf Museum book. Great cartoonists think alike, I guess!

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A lot of the Wacky Wonder Women are sent into the Arf Lovers Blog by my pal David Burd. Speaking of pals, David also just sent me this letter column from a 1967 issue of Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen. The first letter is the funniest thing I ever read in a comic book and that includes John Stanley’s Little Lulu to Johnny Ryan’s Angry Youth Comix!

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So Arf Lovers, let’s form a J.O. Club!!! And wait till you see my idea for the secret handshake! Meanwhile you can download this spiffy membership card and paste in on a piece of cardboard. Be sure to bring it to our first meeting. Watch for the time and place here in the Arf Lover’s Blog!

By the way, I also see a letter in that ish of Jimmy Olsen from one of the world’s most interesting bloggers, Mark Evanier. Maybe Mark would like to be a charter member of our new Arf Lovers J.O. Club! Mark, let me extend a warm hand to welcome you as a potential member.

P.S. David also sent in a Jimmy Olsen cover that is in the new Arf Museum book in the “Get Your Hands Off of Me You Big Ape!” chapter. Jimmy marries an ape in a ceremony officiated by Witch Doctor Superman! What a J.O.!

Endsville!

While I’m in Washington here’s some more strips by Seron who I had the privilege of meeting in France plus a drawing he did for me. I told him I was an Ass Man and he drew to please…

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