Cartoons With My Dad

A poignant history of the cartoonists and illustrators from the Connecticut School For a period of about fifty years, right in the middle of the American Century, many of the the nation’s top comic-strip cartoonists, gag cartoonists, and magazine illustrators lived within a stone’s throw of one another in the southwestern corner of Connecticut—a bit of bohemia in the middle of those men in their gray flannel suits. Cullen Murphy’s father, John Cullen Murphy, drew the wildly popular comic strips Prince Valiant and Big Ben Bolt, and was the heart of this artistic milieu. Comic strips and gag cartoons read by hundreds of millions were created in this tight-knit group—Superman, Beetle Bailey, Snuffy Smith, Rip Kirby, Hagar the Horrible, Hi and Lois, Nancy, Sam & Silo, Amy, The Wizard of Id, The Heart of Juliet Jones, Family Circus, Joe Palooka, and The Lockhorns, among others. Cartoonists and their art were a pop-cultural force in a way that few today remember. Anarchic and deeply creative, the cartoonists were independent spirits whose artistic talents had mainly been forged during service in World War II. Illustrated with never-before-seen photographs, cartoons, and drawings, Cartoon County brings the postwar American era alive, told through the relationship of a son to his father, an extraordinarily talented and generous man who had been trained by Norman Rockwell. Cartoon County gives us a glimpse into a very special community—and of an America that used to be.

Here are 80 affectionate, wise and very funny cartoons that will make fathers laugh and groan, mothers smile knowingly, and children breathe a sigh of relief, realizing that they have the perfect Father's Day gift at last.

Author's name given on cover as: Christopher Grady.

A young child starts off this laugh-out-loud picture book by listing all the ways his dad is NOT a superhero: he can't leap tall buildings, run faster than a speeding bullet, or shoot webs out of his wrists. Each spread illustrates how Dad doesn't have super powers but is still a hero at heart. The sweet ending depicts all the cool—if not super—activities Dad does do with the child, like throwing a baseball, playing checkers and going toy shopping. Ethan Long's spot-on artwork perfectly accompanies this super funny and super sweet story. Praise for Ethan Long: "A nicely illustrated tale that speaks volumes about the bond between a dad and his son...a great story that will be perfect as a gift for any dad or son." —The New York Journal of Books

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLER • WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER • LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER “I've always looked upon cartooning as comedy’s last frontier. I have done stand-up, sketches, movies, monologues, awards show introductions, sound bites, blurbs, talk show appearances, and tweets, but the idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me. I felt like, yeah, sometimes I’m funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny. You can understand that I was deeply suspicious of these people who are actually funny.” So writes the multitalented comedian Steve Martin in his introduction to A Wealth of Pigeons: A Cartoon Collection. In order to venture into this lauded territory of cartooning, he partnered with the heralded New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss. Steve shared caption and cartoon ideas, Harry provided impeccable artwork, and together they created this collection of humorous cartoons and comic strips, with amusing commentary about their collaboration throughout. The result: this gorgeous, funny, singular book, perfect to give as a gift or to buy for yourself.

"Doug Sneyd's scintillating cartoons have graced the pages of Playboy magazine since the early 1960s. This collection features nearly three hundred of the most sumptuous, striking, and hilarious of Doug's full-page, full-color cartoons. Readers will be charmed by the gorgeous, scantily (and even non-) clad 'Sneyd' girls and the clever one-liners they so ably illustrate."--Page 4 of cover.