News archive August, 2008
Posted by Winter on August 21, 2008
University of Missouri Classes:
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Posted by Winter on August 15, 2008
On August 23rd, the State Historical Society of Missouri will debut an exhibit called 100 Years of Election Cartoons: 1908–2008, featuring many Missouri political cartoonists. From the website:
This exhibit will feature original editorial cartoon drawings critiquing and commenting on a century of presidential elections in the United States. Among the artworks represented will be original cartoons by such celebrated artists as Daniel Fitzpatrick, Bill Mauldin, and Tom Engelhardt.
The Society will open another exhibition on September 6th called Engelhardt on Elections, featuring the work of retired editorial cartoonist Tom Engelhardt. From the website:
From 1962 to 1997, Thomas Engelhardt drew over 8,000 editorial cartoons for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, a body of work that can be viewed as a challenge to the status quo and, in many instances, a weapon of attack against social injustice. Engelhardt dealt with tough political issues such as money and influence, smear campaigns, and “spin,” as evidenced in elections that debated the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, the environment, poverty and crime in U.S. cities, and the actions of state and local government. Engelhardt on Elections will be on display until January 17, 2009.
The 1898 Society will host a member only reception for Engelhardt on September 5th, but he’s also scheduled to give a public talk October 18th at 2pm in the main gallery.
The Columbia Tribune has an article about the exhibitions and a cartoon slide show as well. The exhibits are being held in conjunction with MU’s School of Journalism Centennial & Dedication happening September 10th - 12th.
Updates: The Missourian and the Maneater have stories about the exhibits as well.
(updated 10-01-08)
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Posted by Winter on August 8, 2008
The MU University Archives now digitally holds the entire run of the MU campus humor magazine Missouri Showme. You can browse the collection or search the collection online. The magazine included a lot of comics and illustrations from students over the years, so the digital archive holds a lot of Mid-Missouri comic history inside its pages.
As mentioned in my earlier post this week, Jerry Smith’s recently written history of the Missouri Showme is also included in the online records: Missouri Showme - the Final, FINAL issue: Memories of staff members of the University students’ humor magazine - 1946 thru 1963. Smith’s project started when Karen Worley, who is an editor for the Mizzou - the magazine of the Mizzou Alumni Assocation, asked Smith if he’d be interested in writing down a history of Showme last March. Parts of the history were used in the Spring 2008 Issue of Mizzou, but the whole 28,000 word history is now available online for the first time.
Here’s a little information about the Missouri Showme from the website:
Articles in the Missouri Showme and earlier and later titles consist primarily of spoof and parody of campus and student life. The magazine had many titled theme issues among which were: Escape, Showme Girl, Sex, Expose, Hangover, Sweatsock, The Ozarks, Insanity, Halloween, Take Home to Mother, Saturday Evening Pest, The Draft, Hanukah, Alcoholic, After Truman, who? O’Toole for President, A Freshman’s Handbook of Misinformation, Get Your Hand Out of My Stocking, Confidential, and Communist Exchange.
Posted in: Uncategorized
Posted by Winter on August 7, 2008
The newspaper comic Alley Oop turns 75 today, and the time traveling caveman is celebrating his birthday in the comic strip too!
In the current strip storyline, the citizens of Moo are preparing a party to celebrate Moo’s anniversary on August 7th, but Alley Oop thinks everyone has forgot that it is his birthday as well. Angry about the situation, he breaks the fourth wall and visits past comic creators of the strip including V.T. Hamlin and Dave Garue as well as current creators Jack and Carole Bender. When they can’t fix his problems, he returns to Moo to find a surprise.
Other newspaper comic strips are paying tribute to the caveman today: Frank & Ernest, The Born Loser, Moderately Confused, Gasoline Alley, and B.C.
You want in on the comic strip celebration? If you’re a kid ages 2-17, you can enter an Alley Oop dinosaur drawing contest. Several drawings of dinosaurs will be picked from different age groups and will appear in a future Alley Oop strip in the Fall.
Be sure to check out the 75th anniversary events happening in Columbia Missouri in September.
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Posted by Winter on August 7, 2008
The newspaper comic strip Alley Oop is celebrating it’s 75th anniversary this year and a few local events are coming up to celebrate the milestone. The comic strip has ties to Mid-Missouri since the creator V.T. Hamlin and current artist Jack Bender attended MU. The MU Libraries holds a lot of original work by Hamlin as well.
Because of the local connection, the MU Libraries Special Collections division is organizing an Alley Oop exhibit (September 10th -30th) and several events related to the anniversary.
At this time here are the events:
- September 10, 2008
EXHIBIT OPENING, w/ Keynote Address: Inventing Our Own Alley Oop
Speakers: Jack and Carole Bender, current artists of Alley Oop
Location: Ellis Auditorium & Ellis Library Colonnade
Time: 5:30 PM
- September 11, 2008
Caveman: V.T. Hamlin and Alley Oop - Film Screening and Q&A
Speakers: Jack and Carole Bender, Frank Stack, and Mark Lambert, Producer
Location: Ragtag Cinema
Time: 7:30 PM
- September 14, 2008
Nice Work if You Can Get It: Comic Artists in the Digital Age
Speakers: Artists Matt Kindt, Mardou, Ted May, Jeff Zwirek & Moderator: Dr. Kristin Schwain
Location: Columbia Public Library
Time: 2:00 PM
Co-Sponsor: Columbia Public Library
- September 17, 2008 See You In The Funny Papers: The Rich Tradition of St. Louis Cartooning
Speakers: Dan Martin
Location: Ellis Library Colonnade
Time: 2:00 PM
- September 18, 2008 From Gags to Graphic Novels: Alley Oop in the History of Narrative Comics
Speakers: Dr. Andrew Hoberek
Location: Ellis Library Colonnade
Time: 1:00 PM
Co-Sponsor: MU Libraries Faculty Speakers Series
- September 24, 2008 Grad Student Panel
Speakers: Stephanie Kartalopoulos and Daniel Conner
Location: Ellis Library Colonnade
Time: 2:00 PM
- September 25, 2008 Alley Oop and the New World: a talk and Q&A with legendary underground caroonist and MU Professor Emeritus of Art Frank Stack
Speakers: Frank Stack
Location: Ellis Library Colonnade
Time: 1:00 PM
We’ll be writing separate posts about these events when the dates get closer.
According to an Editor and Publisher article, other anniversary events are also taking place at the Iowa Historical Museum in Des Moines Iowa, the Alley Oop Fantasy Land Park in Iraan Texas, the Pawnee County Historical Society in Pawnee Oklahoma, and the Toy & Action Figure Museum in Pauls Valley Oklahoma. In addition to these events you can also celebrate the anniversary by getting some official 75th anniversary memorab-ilia if you’re interested.
(updated 09-23-08)
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Posted by Winter on August 6, 2008
Graphic Novelist Lynda Barry is giving a free talk in St. Louis as part of the Authors @ Your Library series. She will speak August 25th from 7:00pm - 8:30pm at the Central Library branch of the St. Louis Public Library. She will also be signing her new book What it Is.
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Posted by Winter on August 4, 2008
Local artist/cartoonist Frank Stack is in an exhibit called Lifetime Achievement Showcase - Part Two - Professor Emeriti Exhibition at the Bingham Gallery on MU art department. The exhibit is open July 14th to August 7th, and it features some of his paintings as well as his comics. There are also two hallway displays with some of his comics in them too. The Bingham website has some of his images from the show.
Issue #22 of Mineshaft has just been released, which includes a “Dirty Diana” comic by Frank as well. The zine like book usually contains comix, art, and literature from many underground artists and writers. (Stack started drawing comics for the zine in issue #15.) You can order the new issue online, but you can also see older issues at the MU Libraries.
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Posted by Winter on August 2, 2008
Jerry Smith, a former writer for MU campus humor magazine Missouri Showme, recently wrote an article in the St. Charles Journal about the magazine. Apparently he’s compiled a 28,000 word history of Missouri Showme that will be housed at the MU University Archives in the future.
Smith also mentions that the MU University Archives are working to put digital copies of Missouri Showme online so people can view the issues on the web. With rare early comics from former MU grads like Mort Walker, this should be an important online collection when it’s complete.
Posted in: History
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