This year the San Diego Comic Con hit its 40th anniversary. This is the comic book fan convention that started them all, and continues to set the standard – well, if the standard you are looking for is an all-media convention. This con’s focus is primarily on movies and television for which the filmmakers and performers come out in droves to promote their upcoming projects. Comic Con also celebrates toys, card games, animation, video games, illustration, fantasy, science fiction, books and – oh yeah, comics.
This shot featuring a lifesize Transformer helps show a little of the crowded experience that defines Comic Con.
While I don’t attend every year, when I do go, it is purely to seek out and revel in the creative accomplishments of cartooning. If you can squeeze your way through the throngs of 125,000 fans (many of which come dressed as their favorite pop culture figures), you just might stumble across a great artist or two tucked between a few mega corporate booths. Many of these artists are creating spectacular work that really MUST be seen, but usually is not heralded by companies with big distribution channels. The independent spirit is alive and well at Comic Con.
The Great Silver Age comic book artist Gene Colan with his wife Adrienne and Chad Frye.
But most of all, Comic Con is a spectacle. Every time you turn your head it’s another astonishing display. You might see giant robots, movie actors such as John Heder and Richard Dreyfuss, moms with strollers carrying lightsabers, movie directors, the cast of NBC’s Chuck or CBS’ Ghost Whisperer, someone speaking in Klingon, a girl who made a dress out of Warner Bros. big cloth giveaway bags, Matt Groening, Sergio Aragonès, twelve Wonder Women, a girl dressed as David Shannon’s book A Bad Case of Stripes, film score composers like Christopher Young and Bear McCreary, security throwing out people without badges, a family dressed like The Incredibles, etc. etc. Comic Con is a veritable wonderland.
So, for those of you who missed the menagerie, I have a few photos to help you experience Comic Con. Maybe next year you’ll grab your deerslayer and lightsaber like this fella and come as your own Jedi detective, too!
Sherlock Holmes envisioned as a Jedi – he even has Argyle socks!A blue-haired fan chatting with great cover artist Adam Hughes.Chad Frye with wonderful illustrator Steve Chorney standing in front of some of Steve’s originals.The amazing comedian and voice actor Stan Freberg with his wife Hunter at their very first Comic Con appearance! Stan was the beaver in “Lady & the Tramp”, and did a host of voices for Warner Bros. such as Pete Puma, Jr. Bear, and one half of the Goofy Gophers among others.A terrific Captain America who spontaneously got into a fight with this other costumed character who was on stilts! Some of these fans go all out when they make their costumes!I hung out at the National Cartoonists Society (NCS) booth quite a bit. Here Richard Thompson (cartoonist of “Cul-de-sac”) is chatting with John Kovaleski (who was selling collections of his “Bonanas” comic).This is a set piece used in the upcoming “Where the Wild Things Are” movie.One of my favorite things about Comic Con is hanging with cartoonists. Here at one party I’m hangin’ with Andrew Pepoy (“Fables” inker), Dave Dotson (“Outzkirts” comic strip), me, Denis LeBrun (formerly of the “Blondie” comic strip), and my writer friend Steve D’arcangelo.Some folks came in teams of costumes. Never saw these people buy anything.Sometimes you’d see the real deal on the show floor. Leonard Nimoy was there for several days cleaning up signing autographs at $60 a pop.Chad Frye with terrific artist Jim Lee.Former Seinfeld writer/producer Tom Gammill who now creates the comic strip “The Doozies” with David X. Cohen (co-creator of Futurama), his wife and Chad Frye.A great trio of Disney villains.Some booths just have huge neat geeky exhibits and photo ops.A homemade Han Solo in carbonite costume. I was happy to just put on my store bought clothes.
Each year at Comic Con, the Eisner Awards are given to the best and brightest talents in comics. Hosted by Bongo Comics’ Bill Morrison and assisted by his lovely wife Kayre, the Eisners have become a fun event of professional schmoozing and back slapping. It’s a true blend of the new young talent all the way through those who helped set the standard. If you attended, you would have rubbed shoulders with Neil Gaiman, Paul Levitz, Jane Wiedlin, Murphy Anderson, Stan Freberg, Bernie Wrightson, Bill Sienkiewicz, Gary Gianni, Scott Shaw!, Kazu Kibuishi, and many others.
The Eisner Awards (named after Will Eisner) honor the best in the comic book business. Here Mark Evanier and the legendary Jerry Robinson (creator of the Joker) are presenting the Bill Finger Award for lifetime achievement in comics writing.Comedian and voice of Ratatouille Patton Oswalt at the Eisners. The Eisners were hosted by my friend Bill Morrison who strangely is not in any of my photos, but his lovely wife Kayre is here in the background as she tended the trophies.Eisner presenters and the writers of the Night at the Museum movies Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant on either side of Chad Frye.The best part of the Eisners was when my friend Russ Heath was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Here he is accepting his trophy from Sergio Aragones.Here’s a closer shot of Russ with his Hall of Fame Eisner trophy. As the only living recipient this year, Russ said, “I’m just glad to be alive to accept this thing. Thanks!” That was it! He got thunderous applause.There’s no better way to complete my Comic Con photos than with a shot of my favorite costume from the 4-day affair. Nothing says “The End” like a whoopie cushion.
Welcome to the conclusion of my photo albums showcasing the goings on at the 2009 National Cartoonists Society’s Reuben Awards weekend that took place over Memorial Day weekend in Hollywood, California. The previous post ended with the actual Reuben banquet night. Today you will see more of what happened on Sunday, May 24 at the home of Cathy Guisewite, and then the karaoke party that followed back at the Hollywood & Highland complex.
A unique experience at this year’s Reubens that did not echo the usual routine from years past was a trip out to the lovely estate of Cathy Guisewite, the creator of the “Cathy” comic strip. Four touring buses picked up convention goers at the hotel in the afternoon and took them to her wonderful home nestled in a quiet, unassuming neighborhood that I’m sure had no idea that many of the country’s top names in cartooning were descending upon them. Cathy’s parents were there to greet everyone with a smile and a mini “Cathy” book as a gift. But I’ll let the photos do all the talking….
Cathy Guisewite, looking more and more like her creation every day, greeted the cartoonists at her home for a Mexican style dinner party.Cathy Guisewite’s parents actually were the official greeters, both of whom were sporting little mustaches in the spirit of the theme.While the entire expansive estate was open for all the guests, the tennis court was set up with tables for dinner and decorated for the event.The wall leading up to Cathy’s swimming pool had bodies of mariachi singers and dancing girls with some of the visiting cartoonists faces pasted on.Chris Houghton, winner of the Jay Kennedy Memorial Scholarship, with “The Family Circus” creator Bil Keane.Chad Frye with cartoonist Chari Pere.Editorial cartoonist Mike Luckovich chatting with Hunter and Stan Freberg.Another broad shot of Cathy’s tennis court.Cathy had a white Shroeder-like piano and a white pot for everyone to sign like a guest book. Here Cedric Hohnstadt is adding his doodle along with Hilary Price (“Rhymes With Orange”) at left, Patrick McDonnell (“Mutts”) at right, and Jerry Van Amermongen (“Ballard Street”) in the back.Reuben Award nominee Stephan Pastis (“Pearls Before Swine”) maintaining the festive mood.Here’s a shot of the little piano COVERED in drawings!And the piano from another angle.Jeff and Bil Keane working on adding a little something to the pot.Here’s one side of Cathy Guisewite’s guest pot.Another view of the pot.And a third view of the pot.Terrific cartoonist and Reuben first timer Cedric Hohnstadt with Disney guy Chad Frye.Our hostess for the afternoon, Cathy Guisewite with the great comedian Stan Freberg and his wife, Hunter.Every great party must come to an end. Here on the bus back to the hotel is John Reiner (“The Lockhorns”), Stan Goldberg (Archie Comics), and behind them is Pauline Goldberg and a surprised Sam Viviano (MAD Magazine). Just making it into the shot in the aisle is Greg Walker (“Hi & Lois”).
After the buses returned everyone to the Renaissance Hotel in Hollywood, things started up with a final party for the weekend with the 2008 Pulitzer Prize winning editorial cartoonist Michael Ramirez performing with his band, after which the karaoke kicked in!
Jeff Keane, John Kovaleski, a gentleman from Australia, Mark Parisi, Susie Cagle, Jenny Robb, Rick Kirkman, and Steve McGarry. And no, having more of them up there all at once does not mean they sang any better.Bongo Comics’ Bill Morrison with friend Chad Frye.Cartoonist Sean Parkes, Paul Gilligan (“Pooch Cafè”), and John Glynn of Universal Press Syndicate.Canadian cartoonist Leif Peng, his wife Wendy and Chad Frye cheesing it up.
Our fearless President Jeff Keane (“Family Circus”) who donned a wig and sang with all his might Randy Newman’s “I Love LA”.
Dan Piraro and David Silverman sit in shock. Shock because of Jeff Keane’s performace above? Or shock of Mark Tatulli’s below? You decide.Yes folks, this is Mark Tatulli, cartoonist of “Lìo” and “Heart of the City”, singing his heart out on “Part of Your World” from Disney’s The Little Mermaid. And to think that only yesterday he was in a tuxedo winning an award for his work.
And on that note, I have come to the conclusion of my photos of the 2009 Reuben Awards. Many thanks to those whose photography is represented in this Part 4 Reuben Report: Cedric Hohnstadt, Chari Pere, Sean Kelly, Bill Morrison, Wendy Peng and even a few of my own.
And thank you to our hostess Cathy Guisewite for a terrific afternoon in her home. She was very brave to have a bunch of unpredictable cartoonists invade her private space. Casa Cathy will probably never be the same, nor will her 5 bathrooms.
And thank you to Jeff and Melinda Keane who spearheaded a terrific Reuben Weekend. Only 11 more months until the next one!
For more information about the National Cartoonists Society, please visit www.Reuben.org!
Welcome to part three of my posts on this year’s National Cartoonists Society’s Reuben Awards weekend. Today’s post will focus on the actual Reuben Awards themselves! They took place in the Grand Ballroom of the Renaissance Hotel in Hollywood, California on the evening of May 23.
For those of you not familiar with the Reuben Awards (named after the great Rube Goldberg), they are bestowed annually on the best and the brightest in the cartooning business. Awards are given in several categories of illustration, comic strips, animation, comic books, comic panels, and editorial cartooning. And of course, there is the very prestigious Reuben Award itself that is given to the Cartoonist of the Year. You can see all the categories and read about the history of the awards on the NCS website.
So, that being said, let’s get on with the photos, shall we? There are lots of cartoonists to see – cartoonists in ball gowns and tuxedos no less! You don’t see THAT every day!
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The Reuben night began with a cocktail reception outside the Renaissance Hotel’s ballroom where the annual Governor’s Ball for the Oscars is always held. On one side of us were the exit doors from the upper level of the Kodak Theater, and on the other was the ballroom.
MAD Magazine fellas Sergio Aragonès, Sam Viviano, and Nick Meglin. You can see animation guy Stephen Silver just over Sam’s head.The New Yorker’s Mort Gerberg with his wife.Brad “Marmaduke” Anderson who hails from, um, who comes from…. shoot, which state is he from again?Another crowd shot with the witty Dave Blazek (“Loose Parts”) in the front right.Reuben Award nominee Dan Piraro (“Bizarro”) with his wife Ashley Smith.David Folkman, designer of “Hogan’s Alley” magazine, is always the official photographer for the Reubens. However, none of these shots are his this time.Another crowd shot with Megan and Max Keane (Glen Keane’s son) chatting with his Aunt Melinda.Karen O’Connell, her husband Patrick McDonnell (“Mutts”) and MAD man Sergio Aragonès.
Once the cocktail reception ended, the party moved indoors where guests were treated to a wonderful dinner prepared by Wolfgang Puck’s crew. Dinner was accompanied by a big band, and lots of shmoozing. Thankfully, there was a coffee table open throughout the night as the dinner and awards did not let up until close to midnight.
New NCS member from New York Chari Pere with “Dilbert” cartoonist Scott Adams and his wife, Shelly.Pauline and Stan Goldberg, longtime artist of Archie comics including the upcoming issues dealing with Archie’s impending nuptials to Betty. Or is it Veronica?Mell Lazarus (“Momma”) with Bill Janocha who works as an assistant to Mort Walker of “Beetle Bailey” fame.A variation on a photo from Part 1. It’s the New Jersey contingent. Tom Stemmle, Don Wimmer (“Rose Is Rose”), Chad Frye (who grew up in Jersey), Patrick McDonnell (“Mutts”) and Peter Gallagher (“Heachcliff”).The band. Profound, I know.The three folks on the left are Mark Tatulli (“Lìo”) and his son and wife, and on the right are Rob and Amber Harrell (“Big Top” and “Adam@Home”).Cartoonists Chari Pere, Rich Moyer, John Kovaleski, Paul Jon Boscacci, Sean Parkes, and Terry Willis.There were awards to be won, after all. Here is the winner of the Newspaper Panel Division award Mark Parisi (for “Off the Mark”) flanked on either side by Ron Boychuck and Brian Boychuck, creators of the “Chuckle Bros.” strip.Jeff Bacon, winner of the Silver T-square Award for volunteerism in the profession with Rob Smith, Jr. Jeff has been responsible for getting many cartoonists together to travel as U.S.O. ambassadors to visit wounded U.S. soldiers here and abroad. Rob recently went on one of the trips with Jeff to Germany.Dave Coverly (“Speed Bump”), winner of the Reuben Award for Cartoonist of the Year being congratulated by fellow nominee Dan Piraro (“Bizarro”).Jim Borgman (“Zits”) posing with Reuben Winner Dave Coverly (“Speed Bump”).
Even though the evening was late, many convention goers headed down to the lobby to continue socializing. They weren’t down there for long when Dave Coverly came down to round everyone up to head on up to the spacious Presidential Suite to join President Jeff Keane and wife Melinda. And so the party continued!
The party in the Presidential Suite where you might see Jerry Van Amermongen (“Ballard Street”) chatting with Vic Lee (“Pardon My Planet”) and Rick Kirkman (“Baby Blues”), Sally & Mell Lazarus with Darrin Bell (“Candorville”), and many others.Mike Peters (“Mother Goose and Grimm”) with Amy Lago, comics editor of the Washington Post Syndicate.From Glasgow, Scotland, the two Meehan brothers who attended the black-tie awards banquet in traditional kilts. Here, David Meehan (left), brother of King Features’ “Pros and Cons” cartoonist Kieran Meehan (right) flank Kenny Zelnis, the former Michigan high school teacher who encouraged Reuben Award winner Dave Coverly to get into cartooning.A parting shot of the Presidential party that went through the night. Hilary Price (“Rhymes With Orange”) can be seen in the forground chatting with Amber Harrell, Tom Gammill (“The Doozies”), and The Simpsons’ David Silverman while in the background is Amy Lago and Steve McGarry among others.
If you were hoping to find a complete list of winners from the night’s festivities, I invite you to check out my post in Part 1 of these Reubens Reports. All the winners are listed there!
Many thanks to illustrator Sean Kelly, and cartoonists Chari Pere,Rob Smith Jr. and Tom Stemmle for the use of their photos in this post. Come back again tomorrow when I will have my last of the 2009 Reuben photo spreads featuring the events on Sunday that include a late afternoon meal at the home of Cathy Guisewite and the evening karaoke party!
And a little P.S. to the Reuben Awards – This is Nicolas Marlet, character designer for Dreamworks Animation’s “Kung Fu Panda” movie. Unable to attend the Reubens himself, I dropped by Dreamworks to hand Nico his Feature Animation Division Award.
At the end of Part 1 of my Reuben Report, I promised you more photographs from the National Cartoonists Society’s 2009 Reuben Awards that took place this year during May 22-24 at the Renaissance Hotel in Hollywood, CA. For those of you who have anxiously been waiting, the payoff is sweet.
The Hollywood and Highland complex as seen through the lens (and computer) of Rick Detorie.
While my first post was of my photos, in the weeks that have passed, many friends and colleagues have passed along their photos to me. I’ve picked some of the best at my disposal to share with you. Since I’ll be putting these in chronological order from the weekend’s activities, I’ll acknowledge my contributors right now! Many thanks to the following who have graciously allowed me to post their great shots: Sergio Aragonès, Sean Kelly, Chari Pere, Bill Morrison, Wendy Peng, Rob Smith, Jr., Cedric Hohnstadt, Tom Stemmle, and Rick Detorie.
FRIDAY, MAY 22
The fun begins at check-in where you start to bump into friends and colleagues from all over the world. Here is Chad Frye and New Jersey cartoonist Tom Stemmle.Friday afternoon the seminars started. Peering over the shoulder of Brad Anderson (“Marmaduke”), the first speaker of the day was Steve Moore, cartoonist of the “In the Bleachers” strip. He chatted primarily about selling ideas in Hollywood. Sony Pictures animated “Open Season” from a couple years ago was his project.Rob Smith, Jr. from Florida with illustrator Drew Struzan. Drew was the third speaker on Friday, following the great Disney animator and director Eric Goldberg.Former NCS President Steve McGarry (on the left) asking Drew Struzan to sign his “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” movie poster.A number of fellas came up to chat with Drew after his talk. Here is Grey Blackwell, Nick Meglin (former editor of MAD), and Ed Black chatting with Drew.There were many parties around the rooftop pool at the hotel such as this one during the dinner reception at the conclusion of Day 1. While you can’t see it in this shot, the famous Hollywood sign is on the side of the mountain in the background. That’s Dan Piraro (“Bizarro”) in the foreground.Here’s a nice shot by Sergio Aragonès of “Mutts” cartoonist and “Up” visual development artist Patrick McDonnell with Disney guy Chad Frye.
SATURDAY, MAY 23
Saturday morning came too soon as the Reuben attendees gathered around the pool for breakfast.Well, perhaps this shot showcases the breakfast a bit better.Stephan Pastis (“Pearls Before Swine”) was among the attendees.Pulitzer winning editorial cartoonist Mike Luckovich (Newsweek) with his youngest daughter, Lucy, who both hosted the awards ceremony later that night.Photographer Greg Preston who is currently working on the sequel to his fabulous coffee table book “The Artist Within”.Mike Peters of “Mother Goose and Grimm” fame who is probably sketching a Grimm for a colleague.Glenn McCoy and his wife. Glenn works on “The Duplex” strip, “The Flying McCoys” with his brother Gary, and has his hands in greeting cards, books, and editorial cartooning.“Lìo” and “Heart of the City” cartoonist Mark Tatulli.Greeting card queen Barbara Dale with Dr. Susan Schulz. You never know who you’ll see at a Reubens – that face you see between the ladies is jazz musician Grant Geissman.Tom Gammill, television writer/producer for SNL, Letterman, Seinfeld and currently The Simpsons, interviews Jeannie Schulz (and a number of other NCS convention attendees) for a very funny video promoting his comic strip “The Doozies”. Jeannie (wife of the late Charles Schulz) later helped him out of the hotel swimming pool after he “fell” in, fully-clothed.Another shot of the Reuben Saturday morning breakfast.“The New Yorker’s” Mort Gerberg with “Momma’s” Mell Lazarus. Off to the right in the background is “Mulan” co-director Tony Bancroft.Joe Wos, curator of the Toonseum in Pittsburgh, Tom Stemmle, and Chad Frye.
On Saturday during the seminars, several posters and a large banner were set out for us to draw on that were to be given to various groups of the U.S. military. Over the past year, NCS member Jeff Bacon has been spearheading the efforts for NCS members to join with the U.S.O. in visiting injured troops here and abroad. He has led several trips of cartoonists that have been so very well received and appreciated by our soldiers. So, some of these are related to that project, and others to another troop project headed up by editorial cartoonist Michael Ramirez. The following are some shots of those banners.
Bruce Higdon adding his contribution to the banners for the servicemen.This close-up shows cartoons by Bill Gallo and Patrick McDonnell.In this shot you can see doodles by Bill Hinds (“Tank McNamara”), Stephan Pastis (“Pearls Before Swine”), Andy Eng (Betty Boop), Cathy Guisewite (Cathy), Peter Gallagher (“Heathcliff”), an alligator from Rob Smith, Jr. and even a little something by Bobby London.More drawings by Michael Ramirez, Tim Burgard, and Stephen Silver (Kim Possible).More by Stan Goldberg, Dave Coverly, Michael Fry, Mike Peters, Jeff Bacon, Dave Blazek, Sam Viviano, etc.Art by Sean Kelly, Tom Richmond, and a little Don Wimmer off to the right.Hilary Price (“Rhymes With Orange”) adding to the large banner right next to a Mickey Mouse by Chad Frye.Ok. You figure out who drew what in this one.Are you beginning to see how much the cartoonists appreciate our troops?In between seminars there was time for talking shop with colleagues. Rob Smith snagged this shot of Chad Frye showing a couple of his paintings (that Rob asked him to bring) to Andy Eng and John Norton.
Well, this has been an awful lot of pictures today. There’s more where that came from. I shall post more shots tomorrow from the actual Reuben Award banquet, and on Wednesday, I’ll have my final post about the 2009 Reubens with more shots from Cathy Guisewite’s Sunday afternoon party followed by a few parting shots of cartoonists doing karaoke. I’ll close out today’s post with a few photos of Hollywood as seen from the Presidential Suite at the Renaissance Hotel.
This is looking down at the Renaissance Hotel’s pool and the Hollywood & Highland complex.The Hollywood hills with a Japanese restaurant in the top right corner, and down to the left is the famous Magic Castle.The world famous Grauman’s Chinese Theater actually shot from the level of the ballroom where the Reuben Awards banquet took place. More to come from Hollywood tomorrow!
Gallery Nucleus brings you the work of late illustrator Robert (Bob) Peak, a most prolific American illustrator whose extensive catalog of work delved into advertising, fashion, sports, fine art, and film – forever revolutionizing the look of the modern movie poster. Among the more than 130 films for which he did the posters were West Side Story, Camelot, My Fair Lady, Apocalypse Now, and five Star Trek features.
The World Premiere Exhibition will be the first solo show of Peak’s work spanning over three decades. The show will include a series of limited editions, and a special one-of-a-kind oversized edition of My Fair Lady to be auctioned off with all proceeds going to the Audrey Hepburn Children’s Fund.
Dubbed “the father of modern movie posters,” Peak’s design and color pallet were so fresh and vivid that it swept the Hollywood moguls off of their collective feet; leaving everyone wanting a Bob Peak designed movie campaign. During his lifetime, Peak, designed 20 covers for Time Magazine, 39 covers for T.V. Guide Magazine along with numerous star portraits including Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, and Spencer Tracy. A Hall of Fame member of the New York Society of Illustrators, he was also honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1992 by The Hollywood Reporter for his remarkable contribution to the film industry.
Each Memorial Day weekend, I look forward to the National Cartoonists Society’s (NCS) Reuben Award convention. It’s a time when cartoonists of all persuasions can gather, talk shop, hear some lectures, give each other awards, and socialize ’til all hours of the night. And boy howdy, do we ever!
This year’s Reubens were held at the Renaissance Hotel located at the Hollywood & Highland complex right next to the famed Graumann’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California. Cartoonists from all over the world converged on this hotel for some professional elbow-rubbing and rib-tickling. NCS President and “Family Circus” artist Jeff Keane (together with his lovely wife Melinda) put together a terrific three days that may require an additional three-day recovery period.
FRIDAY, MAY 22
The events got underway on Friday with a talk given by Steve Moore who draws the comic panel “In the Bleachers”. He brought along with him a creative executive from Nickelodeon and a producer of the upcoming Where the Wild Things Are movie to talk primarily about how to pitch animation ideas to the studios.
Following Steve was the great Eric Goldberg whom I had the pleasure of introducing to the audience. While Eric is widely known for his animation work for Disney (the Genie in Aladdin, co-directing Pocahontas, directing two sequences in Fantasia 2000, etc.), he gave a great talk about much of his career leading up to and including his time at Disney Feature Animation. His great experience can be read in his book Character Animation Crash Course!
Rounding out Friday’s talks was Drew Struzan, well-known for his movie poster illustration work (Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, Star Wars, etc.). Drew shared slides of his work peppered with anecdotes from behind-the-scenes of many images we all know and love. I was also honored to introduce Drew and assist with his slides.
Famed illustrator Drew Struzan chatting about his work to the cartoonists. You can barely see Chad Frye, but there he is behind that head on the right.
Friday night the convention goers enjoyed an opening night reception sponsored in part by Creators Syndicate around the rooftop pool of the Renaissance. Cartoonists and their families all gathered for some carved prime rib, turkey, shrimp, sushi, and other items as we greeted old friends and began friendships with new folks. One might see Bill Amend (“Fox Trot”), Vic Lee (“Pardon My Planet”), Stan Goldberg (Archie comics), Scott Adams (“Dilbert”), Sergio Aragonès (MAD Magazine), or Barbara Dale (greeting cards), Rick Kirkman & Jerry Scott (“Baby Blues”), Chris Browne (“Hagar the Horrible”), Stephan Pastis (“Pearls Before Swine”) or Sandra Boynton (cards & books). It was a who’s who all weekend long.
As things wound down at the pool party, the party continued down in the lobby of the hotel where almost every seat was taken by a cartoonist. In fact, if there wasn’t a scheduled social event throughout the weekend, the lobby lounge was the default meeting place for friends to gather.
SATURDAY, MAY 23
Saturday was a busy day. With a breakfast served to everyone in the pool area once again, I was able to gulp down a quick bite with my friend Michael Ramirez (editorial cartoonist for Investor’s Business Daily) and then ran off the to the annual member business meeting where many new faces were added to the board with Jeff Keane serving another two years as our fearless leader.
During the business meeting, we had a presentation from Bill Hoogterp about the non-profit group The League requesting that cartoonists mention something about participation in public service in their strips and shows at a date in the fall. To drive home his point, he brought along with him Star Trek director J.J. Abrams who mentioned that his shows LOST and Fringe will be participating in this big effort.
Rick Kirkman (“Baby Blues”), Greg Evans (“Luann”) and Daryl Cagle (MSNBC.com’s editorial cartoonist) at the Hollywood & Highland complex in Hollywood, CA.An impromptu lunch at a computer cafè where you had to order through the built-in computers on the tables. Daryl Cagle, Betty & Greg Evans, Rick Kirkman, and John Kovaleski.
Saturday afternoon began with a seminar about the state of syndicated comic strips with panelists from PARADE Magazine, King Features Syndicate, United Media and others. The big question on everyone’s minds was what the future holds for comics when newspapers seem to be failing left and right and the internet, where content is usually always available for free, is the primary source for information. Quite frankly, there were no real answers or decent suggestions brought up during the talk. Perhaps each syndicate has their own plan and didn’t wish to reveal it to the competition sitting next to them.
The second seminar was with the two time Pulitzer award winning editorial cartoonist Michael Ramirez who shared his approach to his work. While he draws his opinions from the Right (even his new book is titled Everyone Has the RIGHT to My Opinion), the brilliance his work was appreciated by Righties and Lefties both in the audience.
Can you spare a dollar? Economic times are tough for a cartoonist. Actually, I was sitting there with Rick Detorie (“One Big Happy”) when Michael Ramirez dropped a dollar at our feet in pity. Cartoonist Rob Smith dropped a twenty. I should have stayed there the rest of the afternoon! Probably could have covered my gas and parking.
Saturday night the strictly black tie Reuben Awards banquet was held in the Renaissance’s huge ballroom with a cocktail hour hosted by King Features Syndicate and a dinner catered by Wolfgang Puck’s company. This ballroom is right outside the upper exit doors of the Kodak Theater where the Oscars are held every year, and is, in fact, the ballroom where the Oscar’s Governor’s Ball is held.
Hosted by another Pulitzer winning editorial cartoonist Mike Luckovich (his work often appears in Newsweek Magazine), the evening went on with awards given for all forms of cartooning. I’ll let the photos do the talking, but here is a list of the winners that should be announced shortly on the NCS’ official website www.Reuben.org:
The first award to be handed out was the NCS Foundation’s Jay Kennedy Scholarship award winner Chris Houghton whom I blogged about a few weeks ago. Chris was on hand to accept his award, and turned out to not only be talented, but also a pretty nice guy.
Jay Kennedy Scholarship award winner Chris Houghton with Usagi Yojimbo’s Stan Sakai, his wife Sharon, and Chad Frye.
Kicking off the awards, Bil Keane (“Family Circus”) and Mell Lazarus (“Momma” and “Miss Peach”) were awarded the Gold Key Award, their induction into the NCS’ Hall of Fame.
Greeting Card Division: Jem Sullivan
Comic Book Division: Cyril Pedrosa (Three Shadows)
Advertising Illustration Division: Craig McKay
Gag Cartoon Division: Mort Gerberg (New Yorker magazine)
Television Animation Division: Sandra Equihua and Jorge Gutierrez (El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera)
Feature Animation Division: Nicolas Marlet (character designs on Kung Fu Panda)
Magazine Illustration Division: Sam Viviano (MAD Magazine)
Magazine Illustration Division Award winner Sam Viviano flanked on either side by his wife Diane Bloomfield and Sergio Aragonès.
Newspaper Illustration Division: Mark Marturello
Book Illustration Division: Mike Lester
Editorial Cartoon Division: Michael Ramirez (Investor’s Business Daily)
Newspaper Panel Division: Mark Parisi (“Off the Mark”)
Newspaper Strip Division: Mark Tatulli (“Lìo”)
And the Reuben Award, the NCS’ highest honor for the best cartoonist of the year, was awarded to Dave Coverly who draws the comic panel “Speed Bump”.
My one shot for a photo with Dave Coverly with his trophy, and the photographer cut off Dave’s head and trophy. Yay.“Red and Rover” cartoonist Brian Bassett with Chad Frye.Cartoonists Keelan Parham, Sam Viviano, Tom Richmond and Chad Frye.New Jersey cartoonists Tom Stemmle, Chad Frye (who used to live in New Jersey), Don Wimmer (“Rose Is Rose”), Patrick McDonnell (“Mutts”) and Peter Gallagher (“Heathcliff”). That’s as mafia as we get.Melinda Keane (wife of Jeff) with Chad Frye.Chad Frye with animation guru Glen Keane who was present for his father’s (Bil Keane) induction into the NCS Hall of Fame. Bil got to meet his first great grandaughter (Glen’s grandaughter) for the first time that night.Greg Evans (“Luann”), Dave Coverly, and Betty Evans with Dave’s brand spankin’ new Reuben Award designed by the late, great Rube Goldberg.A more formal shot of Greg Evans, Dave Coverly, the lovely Betty Evans, photographer Greg Preston (who shot the photos for the amazing “The Artist Within” coffee table book, Todd Miller (Greg’s assistant), and Chad Frye.Kayre & Bill Morrison (Bongo Comics) along with The Simpsons Movie director David Silverman at one of the Reuben after parties.The great Bil Keane (“Family Circus”) and the so-so Chad Frye.Reuben winner Dave Coverly, Jay Stephens (“Tutenstein” creator), Paul Gilligan (“Pooch Cafè”) with his back to us, and another Canadian cartoonist, John Martz.Bill Amend (“Fox Trot”), Rick Kirkman (“Baby Blues”), Sean Kelly (an illustrator nominated for the Newspaper Illustration Division this year), Mike Peters (“Mother Goose and Grimm”) and Bill Schorr (editorial cartoonist) enjoying a 3am moment in the Presidential Suite.Two two-timing cartoonists! Mell Lazarus (“Momma” and “Miss Peach”) and Darrin Bell (“Rudy Park” and “Candorville”). This is probably one of the rare times neither of them are writing or drawing something to meet a deadline!Chad Frye with a David Silverman shoulder growth.NCS President Jeff Keane (“Family Circus”) chatting with editorial cartoonist Michael Ramirez (Investors Business Daily).
SUNDAY, MAY 24
Usually the Saturday evening festivities go really late. I ended up hanging out at the hotel until about 4am just chatting with folks, only to return again for a 10:30am meeting with the non-profit NCS Foundation of which I am a board member. It was Sunday afternoon that held a special time, though.
Cathy Guisewite, the creator of the comic strip “Cathy”, hosted everyone at a soirèe held at her Los Angeles home. She welcomed all 350 of us with open arms and a copy of one of her books while inviting us to visit every nook and cranny of her beautiful abode. Most of the cartoonists made a beeline to see her elegant studio which was housed in an upper room in the main house.
Stephen Silver and Greg Evans at left having a look at Cathy Guisewite’s upper room studio.A closer look at Cathy Guiswite’s desk. She had little black placards taking us step-by-step through her process. Not sure how much of that time she has her head on the desk as the Cathy doll is positioned.In a lower room of Cathy Guiswite’s studio, she houses her flat files and some other mementos such as her Reuben Award on the left and an Emmy Award on the right. I have an old tennis trophy on the back of my toilet. Not the same thing at all, really.This is the view from Cathy Guisewite’s studio looking down towards her tennis court (behind the tall hedge) where the guests were enjoying their dinner.
Down on her tennis court, Cathy had tables set for us all to enjoy a Mexican food dinner accompanied by a Spanish guitar player. The weather was just perfect, and cartoonists young and old enjoyed their time in her lovely and secluded backyard. That was an event that will be spoken of for years to come. Her generosity in having us as her guests was truly a special and memorable afternoon.
Karen O’Connell with her husband Patrick McDonnell (“Mutts”) chatting with Cathy Guisewite. Cathy’s studio is located in that upper room you see on the left side of the house.Ashley Smith with husband Dan Piraro (“Bizarro”) and comedian Stan Freberg with his wife Hunter enjoying a moment on Cathy Guisewite’s tennis court.Jim Borgman (“Zits”) doodling in Cathy Guisewite’s piano room.Stan Freberg along with cartoonist Jerry Van Amermongen standing before a print of one of Jerry’s paintings in Cathy Guisewite’s living room.Hilary Price (“Rhymes With Orange”) with Karen O’Connell, Patrick McDonnell (“Mutts”), and Chad Frye all kickin’ back on the steps of Cathy Guisewite’s guest house.Cathy Guisewite had a white child’s piano and a giant white pot on hand for the cartoonists to sign as a guest book. Here Vic Lee (“Pardon My Planet”) and Chad Frye are working on their submissions on the piano.Johnny Hart’s grandson and the new artist of the “B.C.” comic strip Mason Mastroianni adding his doodle to the giant pot as Chad Carpenter (“Tundra”) holds it for him. Stand Goldberg (Archie Comics) is in the background working on the piano.Stan Sakai (Usagi Yojimbo comic books) along with Vic Lee (“Pardon My Planet”).Comedian Stan Freberg adding his moniker to the giant pot along with Bill Morrison (Bongo Comics) who is partially hidden, and Sam Viviano (MAD).Here’s a closer shot of the finished piano. I contributed the Mickey Mouse. You can click on this photo to see it bigger.Here’s a better shot of Bill Morrison with Heidi Silver, Chad Frye, Stan & Hunter Freberg and Brad Anderson (“Marmaduke”).One more of Stan & Hunter Freberg (I was helping them out by taking photos for them) along with Shelly and Scott Adams (“Dilbert”) and Sam Viviano (MAD Magazine) as they were in line for food.The great sports cartoonist Bill Gallo (New York Daily News) with Chad Frye holding a sketch Bill had just done for him in his monster themed sketchbook. Bill’s monster? George Steinbrenner.Animation folk Kim Patterson and Tom Sito outside of Cathy’s tennis court hedge.Our hostess Cathy Guisewite with Bil Keane. I’m beginning to wonder if Bil was emitting some radiation during the weekend as every shot I have of him came out blurry. Sigh.
Upon returning to the hotel, Bongo Comics hosted a final party at the Hollywood & Highland complex at which local cartoonist Michael Ramirez’s band played for awhile followed by karaoke. Many cartoonists seem to live for the karaoke. I am content to be an observer. Particularly when folks like “Lìo” and “Heart of the City” cartoonist Mark Tatulli set the bar so high when he comes in costume. While watching Mark and his son perform “Bella Notte” from Lady & the Tramp in full costume was entertaining, the most disturbing moment was when Mark came out in full fin and seashells to perform “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid.
Mark Tatulli (“Lìo”) performing “Bella Notte” during karaoke night with his son, and Amber & Rob Harrell (“Big Top” and “Adam @Home”) as the dogs.
The weekend as a whole was terrific fun! The photos say it all. If you are a fellow professional cartoonist in comics, animation, illustration – WHATEVER – I would encourage you to consider joining the NCS. There are local chapters all over the country (including one in Canada) that have their own events throughout the year, with the annual Reubens being a highlight of the year. I have attended 12 of the last 14 Reubens, and hate it when I have to miss one. Visit www.Reuben.org to learn more about the NCS!
Oh, and the title of this post indicates that this is only Part 1 of my Reuben report. Fear not. This is only the case because I have a feeling that within the next week I will have been given more photos from others that should be shared with you. So, stay tooned…..
On Thursday, May 7, I attended the opening of the Forest Lawn Museum’s wonderful new show of personal artwork by the great Marc Davis, one of Walt Disney’s famed Nine Old Men.
This is the cover of the program book for “The Fine Art of Marc Davis” exhibit featuring Marc’s 1952 oil painting “Captain Ahab’s Nightmare”.
Located high on a hill within the Forest Lawn Memorial Park (a cemetery for those of you not familiar with Los Angeles) in Glendale, California, the museum often hosts the most amazing rotating art exhibits of work by local artists. It is probably one of the best “secrets” of the LA art community having featured exhibits by animator John Pomeroy, pop artist David Willardson, a wonderful Tiki exhibit with traditional carvings from the islands as well as work done for Disney’s Tiki room and the very current artist Josh Agle better known as Shag, and even recently an exhibit of work done by and for blind folks. And it’s always free.
The striking “Dressed To Kill” painted in oil in 1950 by Marc Davis
If you are not familiar with Marc Davis’ name, you certainly are familiar with his work. As an animator at Disney, he was responsible for such characters as Flower from Bambi, Alice from Alice In Wonderland, Briar Rose and Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty, Tinker Bell from Peter Pan, and even Cruella De Vil from 101 Dalmatians. And if you’ve ever visited Disneyland, you’ve seen the results of Marc’s design work in The Enchanted Tiki Room, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion, It’s a Small World, and The Jungle Cruise to name a few.
Marc Davis’ “Queequeg Pursuing Moby Dick” painted in oil in 1956, and was my personal favorite of the show.
I had the pleasure of chatting with Marc several times before his passing back in 2000. I worked for Disney Feature Animation at the time, and Marc, together with his wife and fellow Disney Legend herself, Alice, would come give talks to us at lunchtime. Marc loved to talk, and often would go off on an unplanned rabbit trail which we rarely minded as every story he had to tell was so riveting.
The art in this current exhibit is Marc’s personal work that has hung in the home he shared with Alice for many years. Made up of almost 100 pieces, the work represented is from the 1930s all the way through the 1980s. His amazing sense of design, style, color and boldness is evident in a variety of subject matter, many of which were influenced by his world travels. Pencil, oils, gouache, watercolor – you name it, there was probably a hint of every medium present in this show – even wireframe sculpture!
Chad Frye, Disney animator Andreas Deja, and retired Disney animation artist Carl Bell who can tell stories of days at the studio when Walt was still around.
The opening of a show is always fun. Good art, a little food, live music, and lots of friends and colleagues were in attendance. One might have seen illustrator William Stout, Roger Gould from Pixar, Disney animators Andreas Deja and Pres Romanillos, Mulan co-director Tony Bancroft, Frank Thomas’ (another of the Nine Old Men) son Ted, Disney guru Bill Matthews, animation folk Tom & Pat Sito, Bob Kurtz, ASIFA-Hollywood President Antran Manoogian, voice of Wendy (Peter Pan) and Alice Kathryn Beaumont, the legendary 99-year-old Tyrus Wong (Bambi conceptual artist), and even folks from Studio Ghibli in Japan.
Artist William Stout taking in Marc Davis’ 1947 oil painting “Blood and Sand”.Animation colleagues Pres Romanillos, Bill Matthews, and Tony Bancroft.Marc Davis’ original painting of a tree he did in the short film made for the “Disneyland” television program called “4 Artists Paint 1 Tree”.A photo of the “4 Artists” with their version of the same tree taken in 1958. From L to R, Josh Meador, Marc Davis, Eyvind Earle, and Walt Peregoy.Chad Frye with the legendary 99-year-old Tyrus Wong who had worked on “Bambi” back in the day, and had an amazing career later with designing cards.Some folks checking out another of Marc Davis’ paintings.Some women taking a look at a Marc Davis painting of some women. Profound, I know.
If you will be in the Los Angeles area between May 8 and July 26 of 2009, make this a must-stop on your list of things to-do! Please check out the details of this show at the Forest Lawn Museum’s website! And if you would like to know more about Marc Davis and the other eight of the legendary Nine Old Men, I highly recommend John Canemaker’s book published in 2001 titled Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men & the Art of Animation.
Chad Frye with Lella Smith (director of Disney’s Animation Research Library), her husband Jim, and Marc’s widow Disney Legend Alice Davis (she created the costumes for “It’s a Small World” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” among other things).
Earlier this year when I first started this blog, my very first post was to share with you my “courtroom sketches” of a scoring session with composer Michael Giacchino and the music crew for the upcoming Star Trek movie directed by J.J. Abrams. The drawings were originally shown on the website ScoringSessions.com. At the time, Paramount didn’t want a lot of press that far in advance of the film, so the photographs had to be held back for awhile. Thus the reason for the less sensitive artist renderings that appeared on that site, and later on this blog.
Well, those photographic restrictions have been lifted, and Dan Goldwasser over at ScoringSessions.com has posted his wonderful photographs of the Star Trek crew hard at work. I’ve posted one here to wet your whistle – and yeah, I chose it because I’m in it, too.
Orchestrators Chad Seiter and Chris Tilton, director J.J. Abrams, music editor Steve Davis and composer Michael Giacchino. Illustrator Chad Frye is all the way over on the left side in the background.
To see the rest of the Star Trek recording sessions images, along with Dan’s great commentary on what was going on in the shots, please visit his website, ScoringSessions.com, by clicking HERE!
And if you’d like to see my “courtroom sketches” again, you can see them HERE on ScoringSessions.com, or HERE on my blog.
