October 16th, 2015

News Around the Kingdom: New York Comic Con Edition!

by The King

Last weekend over 150,000 hardcore comics fans descended on the Jacob Javitz Center in New York City for the East Coast’s largest and most exciting pop culture convention!  Comics Kingdom was on full Comic Con detail, celebrating what makes this increasingly popular annual event so unique and the hottest ticket in town.

In our Editor’s Dispatch, we look at Thursday’s daylong celebration of King Features’ 100th Anniversary!  Jeff Keane (“Family Circus”), Patrick McDonnell (“Mutts”), Ray Billingsley (“Curtis”), Hilary Price (“Rhymes With Orange”), and Brian Walker (“Hi & Lois”) all signed copies of King of the Comics: 100 Years of King Features.  After the signing, our Editor, Brendan Burford, moderated a panel on the history of King Features and the evolution of comics over the past century!  A fascinating slide show accompanied talks by the cartoonists.  And Flash Gordon made an appearance too!

Ray Billingsley (“Curtis”) signs a book

Jeff Keane, Patrick McDonnell, Ray Billingsley, Hillary Price, and Brian Walker sign books

Signed book page for those buying “King of the Comics:  100 Years of King Features”  at NYCC

In other news…

Last week was National Fire Prevention Week.  Our Tuesday’s Top Ten Comics looked at all things fire.

NPR did an in-depth review of Bill Griffith’s (“Zippy”) new book, “Invisible Ink“!

We asked cartoonists about their pet peeves!  Read what Bud Grace (“The Piranha Club”), Rina Piccolo (“Tina’s Groove”), John Hambrock (“Brilliant Mind of Edison Lee”), Dan Piraro (“Bizarro”), Isabella Bannerman (“Six Chix”), Ray Billingsley (“Curtis”), Ron Ferdinand (“Dennis the Menace”), Bill Holbrook (“On the Fastrack” and “Safe Havens”), and Alex Hallatt (“Arctic Circle”) had to say!

John Rose (“Barney Google & Snuffy Smith”) shares photos and posts about the National Cartoonist Society Southeast Chapter meeting in Greenville, SC last weekend!  It was an enjoyable time among a bodacious gathering of talent!

Brian Walker (“Hi & Lois”) talks about the popularity of comic strips in newspapers and shares a unique Sunday page from 1954 by Mort Walker (“Beetle Baiiley”). He also talks about aging and the concept of “getting old in bunches” coined by his father.

Dan Piraro (“Bizarro”) invites you to hire him to do comedy shows!  He’ll perform at corporate functions, conferences, festivals, public libraries, you name it!  He also talks geography and breaks down the hilarity behind his cartoons this week!

David Reddick (“Intelligent LIfe”) shares a drawing of Gwen as Velma from his Inktober Sketchbook!

Meanwhile, over at “Mallard Fillmore”, it’s zero tolerance week.

Finally, the Archivist shows us some rare items – King Features-oriented 45 rpm European records – from his collection!

Thanks for catching up on this week’s News Around the Kingdom!

See you again next Friday!  Have a great week.