Jim Keefe is the current artist of the Sally Forth comic strip. From 1996-2003 he was the writer and artist of the Flash Gordon comic strip. A graduate of the Joe Kubert School, Keefe likewise teaches Comic Art. Teaching and speaking engagements include SVA in Manhattan, Hofstra’s UCCE Youth Programs, and most recently the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
Wishing King Features Senior Comics Editor Evelyn Smith a happy retirement!
As her social media presence is purposefully nil, here’s a pic of her swiped from John Kovaleski’s blog holding the press kit for the launch of his new strip Daddy Daze.
The Daily Cartoonist states that Evelyn spent the 1980s and 1990s as a Managing Editor for Tribune Media Services, then the 2000s and 2010s as a King Features Syndicate editor.
I worked with her during her King Features’ stint – first as a colorist – and more recently as the artist on Sally Forth. She’s one of those people who worked behind the scenes and in the trenches in this business, making sure deadlines were met and that the trains ran on time. She always had my back when needed during a deadline crunch and was a pleasure to work with.
Here’s wishing her a well deserved rest from the daily grind of comic deadlines!
I was recently asked the following question through Facebook Messenger:
“I want someone to review my work so I can get feedback on what I’m doing right or wrong. I have no idea how to initiate that kind of conversation or who to turn to. What do you recommend I do?”
Quick thoughts: Sending your art unsolicited to a professional cartoonist for a critique is usually a bad idea.
It’s like wanting your car fixed, and instead of making an appointment, just driving it into an auto repair shop and parking your car on a mechanic’s lift – then expecting them to get to work.
Not good.
Posting it online on social media for a critique can be hit or miss. There’s simply no way of knowing the experience and/or professionalism of those giving their two cents worth.
From personal experience I find Artists Alleys at comic cons to be a good bet. The reason being that the artists on hand are specifically there taking the time to touch base with readers and fans. This one-on-one from an artist you respect can be invaluable.
Just make sure to ask if they’re open to doing a portfolio review. They may not depending on time constraints/sketch requests, and that’s perfectly understandable.
Also a heads up that the critique you get can be instructive and/or eviscerating depending on the artist’s demeanor. Be prepared for either.
I would also recommend the Joe Kubert School Correspondence Course (and no, I don’t get paid for this endorsement). In this case it’s a matter of getting what you pay for.
You can check out the Kubert School at Comic Cons they’re scheduled to appear at as well. The above pic is Kubert School Alum Brigid Allanson and Angie Fernot at C2E2 from a few years back.
Hope the preceding was of assistance and wishing you all the best in your artistic ventures!
I’m using a copy of the recent Action Comics #1000 cover to pay tribute to the memory of real life Superman, Jim Gainey.
Jim died January 11, 2016 at the age of 34 of colorectal cancer. Jim was my cousin Maureen’s son. Here’s a pic of Jim with his wife Catherine and the kids, Shamus and Finn.
“I had an amazing life. I regret nothing because everything I did made me who I am. I’m proud of the family I came from. I’m proud of the people I call friends. I was lucky enough to meet my soulmate and have her family become my family. Most of all, I’m so proud of my boys and I love them more than air.”
Word on the street was that Ulysses Klaue was in Chicago April sixth through the eighth looking to fence a stash of stolen Vibranium. My Command Center for the weekend was at McCormick Place – concurrent to some convention called C2E2 (whatever that is).
As luck would have it I found an ally.
Enter – The Black Panther!
Unfortunately before we could pool our resources, Doctor Otto Octavius (street name Doctor Octopus) attacked! Thankfully Spider-Man happened on the scene and was able to subdue him before any injuries were incurred.
Derailed on my search for Klaue, I ran into a new formidable adversary…Killmonger!
I’ll add that he was NOT at all happy that I called him “Killraven” by mistake.
The look he gave me after the fact was to die for – literally.
But before Killmonger could wipe that smug look off my face, we were set upon by Galactus, devourer of worlds!
Thinking fast, I made it known to the all-powerful Galactus where the nearest McDonalds was (to satiate his endless hunger) and the threat was over.
But Killmonger had escaped!
I barely had time to catch my breath before running into none other than…
Killmonger…AGAIN!
And he had obviously bulked up since our last encounter (something about a heart-shaped herb he ingested – a plant native to Wakanda).
But before he could exact his revenge on me, I was saved by the combined forces of none other than Supergirl and Wonder Woman!
My mind reeling from the licensing and copyright issues of a DC/Warner Brothers & Marvel/Disney crossover, I commandeered the nearest vehicle and made my escape.
Bud Grace:‘The reason is because we tried a promotion here in the States, and we thought that by changing name we might pick up some papers. That didn’t work, so now I’m going to change my name to Bill Watterson.”
From that same Q&A, when asked if there was any Robert Crumb influence in his drawing style, Bud responded,
“I started drawing in an underground style, originally. While I can’t draw nearly as well as Robert Crumb, I’m not surprised you can see the influence. I was also influenced by underground cartoonist Kim Deitch.”
In 1989 Bud Grace received the the Adamson Award presented by the Swedish Academy of Comic Art as Best International Comic-Strip Cartoonist – and in 1993 he won the National Cartoonist Society’s Reuben Award for Best Newspaper Strip.
Bud Grace Fun Fact:
• Born in 1944, Bud Grace received a doctorate in physics from Florida State University before turning to cartooning.
From the National Cartoonist Society member album.
I was lucky enough to meet Bud Grace when I worked at King Features on staff as the colorist in the Comic Art Department. The cartoonists that didn’t come in regularly to drop stuff off (generally because they didn’t live near New York – we’re talkin’ pre-internet here) we’d get the chance to see if they stopped in before the annual King Features Christmas party.
Bud always reminded me of Groucho Marx when I’d see him at King. If you ever saw a Marx Brothers film, the energy would always pick up a notch when Groucho entered a scene. It was the same with Bud.
Bud Grace and fellow Comic Art department veteran Jerry Craft. December of 1992.
When you worked in the Comic Art department at King you got to see the originals before they saw print. Here’s an example of an Ernie strip circa 1995 pre-edit.
Bud of course knew that the above strip wouldn’t make it through editorial without a change to the language in the last panel. That he sent it in anyway was what made him a favorite in the Comic Art Department up at King.
Here’s another example from 1995 where editorial actually made Bud change the drawing.
And so with the final strip on February 3, 2018, we bid adieu to the Piranha Club.
Fortunately we don’t have to say adieu to Bud Grace. You can still check in on Bud at BudGrace.com.
And for those interested in book collections of Ernie/Piranha Club dailies, here’s a heads up from Bud’s website…
“All the daily cartoons that were published plus many that were not. The 88-89-9o book has about 230 pages of comics. The 2017 book (Which also has the month of January 2018) has about 100 pages. The other books contain about 160 pages. The books are 8.5 by 11 inches, black and white. The best price is direct from Lulu.“
