Peanuts stamp designer interviewed

 https://comicsdc.blogspot.com/2024/11/meet-antonio-alcala-usps-stamp-designer.html

Combat Insignia / War Insignia albums for World War II Disney unit stamps

These were done by Disney cartoonists, and other animation studios, and at least 201 were printed. There's information from Douglas H. Henkle about the first 5 volumes (#s 1-201) at https://www.folklib.net/fdc/wwii-combat-insignia.shtml and https://www.folklib.net/fdc/wwii-combat-insignia2.shtml and for the mysterious volume 6 which apparently had 200, most of which were not repeats of the first 200. Also, he's found horizontal and vertical versions of the stamps.

 

Box cover

 

One thing Mr. Henkle may have missed is that the first 4 albums were also sold as a boxed set. I recently bought one on e-Bay. I've emailed him my photos.

Just the thing to round out your cartoon stamps collection - Mail Carrier Ziggy

A recent flea market find.

 

Marvel Value Stamps: A Visual History (2023) book

 I had meant to write something about the actual book, never got around to it, and so never mentioned that the book by Roy Thomas exists. 

There was a calendar in 2024 ...

and a new one for 2025. The cover is exactly the same art, but with a different color. I'll bet it's just an updated version of last year's.

and did I ever mention this 2017 giveaway folder?

Comic Strip Classics 1995 stamp album by Mort Walker featuring Beetle Bailey

 A friend of mine bought this in an auction and sent it to me. I'd never seen it before. It's published by Fleetwood in a black pleather folder.

Marvel and DC 1976 Super Hero Stamps Cinderellas

 A friend told me about these today. They appear to be numbered DC 1-6 and Marvel (M) 7-12. Images harvested from Amazon, which doesn't have any of them for sale. 

Guelph's Seth to be featured on new Canada Post stamp

Guelph's Seth to be featured on new Canada Post stamp [audio]

Craig Norris, host of CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's The Morning Edition,

 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/seth-guelph-cartoonist-canada-post-stamp-1.7206547

Canada Post has unveiled a new stamp series featuring Canada's graphic novelists. Among the four artists is Seth of Guelph, who is known for his Palookaville comic series, part of which was published as the award-winning graphic novel Clyde Fans.

Guelph cartoonist Seth 'flabbergasted' to be included in new stamp series

'I did not expect that at any point I'd end up on a stamp,' Seth says

Craig Norris,

CBC News · May 19, 2024 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/seth-guelph-cartoonist-canada-post-stamp-1.7206547

Canada Post Graphic Novel Stamp Panel from TCAF recorded by Jamie Coville

Canada Post Graphic Novel Stamp Panel (1:07:56, 155mb)

Miles Baker did the introduction, then Carrie Chisholm from Canada Post announced they made new stamps with Seth, Jillian & Mariko Tamaki, Chester Brown and Michel Rabagliati based on their books Clyde Fans, This One Summer, Louis Riel and Paul à Québec respectively. Ho Che Anderson then interviewed the Seth, Jillian Tamaki and Chester Brown. They spoke about how they got involved with Canada Post, the process of making the stamp and working with Canada Post, Jillian spoke about collecting stamps as a child and always wanting to make one as a kid, the exposure and prestige of their work on a stamp, comics as art and their progression from the 1980s to now, how in comics there are different parts that want comics to be respected vs. subversive and which 'camp' they fall into, if Chester would do Louis Riel differently today, how there are a lot more young cartoonists now, becoming 'elder statemen' of comics, the state of comics today and the industry, how big their respective OA was and thinking about how it will look when it's shrunk down to stamp size, working with scanners and digitally, the reduction of quality in non-digital art tools, how Seth and Chester influenced each other, Jillian learning how to draw comics by reading comics, Jillian being a part of a generation of comics creators that didn't grow up reading Marvel and DC comics, if they felt trapped by the success of their earlier works, Chester's Paying for It being turned into a film and what new work they are doing.

from Jamie Coville's MP3 Files at https://www.thecomicbooks.com/audio.html#TCAF2024

A surprise Rube Goldberg piece of cartoonphilately

Does this book, A Night Out by Edward Peple (NY: Moffat, Yard and Company, 1911 5th printing) look like a piece of philately to you? 

I picked it up recently just for the Rube Goldberg drawing of a cat for the cover and frontispiece, which is the only cartooning in it.

 

But when I went to scan it today, I noticed the back cover for the first time.

As you can see, this small book, roughly 4.5" x 7" was meant to be mailed.

And this copy was in fact mailed, or somehow delivered to Mr. C.A. Schwab, Deacons Hospital, Longwood, Mass. Probably hand-delivered since the "Place a Five Cent Stamp Here" block was not used. That postage rate looks good - according to an online calculator, that 5 cent stamp would only cost $1.65 today.

I had originally planned on just scanning the cat and giving the book away, but now I'm adding it to my cartoonphilately collection.

Here's the cat by himself for downloads.

New stamps celebrate Canadian graphic novelists

May 10, 2024

  https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/blogs/personal/perspectives/graphic-novelists-2024/

Graphic novelists tell rich stories by deftly interweaving words and images. Since emerging nearly a half-century ago, this narrative form – which can include anthologies, memoirs and other non-fiction works – has steadily grown in popularity and captivated readers around the globe. Canada Post is pleased to celebrate some of the most talented and influential authors of the genre in a set of stamps that includes Chester Brown, Michel Rabagliati, Seth and cousins Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki. Individually, these five graphic novelists have inspired readers at home and abroad and elevated the graphic novel form. Collectively, they have helped establish Canada's reputation in the comic arts world.

While Canada Post has issued stamps featuring comic book superheroes, it has never before showcased the unique work created by Canadian graphic novelists. When designing these stamps, each artist collaborated with Canada Post to create original drawings, exclusively for this stamp issue, of their main characters from their most beloved books engrossed in their own stories.

Chester Brown

Louis Riel, from Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography (Chester Brown)

Born in Montréal, Quebec, in 1960, Chester Brown studied art at Montréal's Dawson College before moving to Toronto at age 19 with the ambition of becoming a comic book artist. He began self-publishing comic strips in 1983 and soon attracted a cult following. A pioneering and influential cartoonist, Brown's off-beat and often deeply personal storytelling tackled subjects from mental health to religion and anti-authoritarianism.

In 2003, Brown published what is now his best-known work, Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography, after receiving the first Canada Council for the Arts grant awarded to a graphic novelist. Critically and commercially acclaimed for its powerful, minimalist style, Brown's exploration of the enigmatic Métis leader became the first graphic novel on a Canadian non-fiction best-seller list.

Michel Rabagliati

Paul, from Paul à Québec (Michel Rabagliati)

Born in Montréal in 1961, Michel Rabagliati was in his late 30s and working as a professional graphic designer when he switched gears to pursue his childhood love of comics and create his alter ego, Paul. After first gaining recognition in Quebec, it didn't take long for the rest of the world to fall in love with the character Paul and Rabagliati's delicate pencil strokes.  Over the course of his sensitive, semi-autobiographical works, a whole chapter of modern Quebec history unfolds in 10 graphic novels, including Paul à Québec (2009; The Song of Roland, 2012).

From Paul's childhood to his first loves, from his first apartment to his divorce, tender snapshots of daily life packed with references and details rekindle memories of an entire generation. Rabagliati is an indisputable ambassador of Quebec culture, having received numerous awards at home and abroad, including the distinctions of Compagnon de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Quebec, 2017) and Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France, 2022). In 2023, he published his first illustrated novel, Rose à l'île, a tender tribute to Paul's love and pride for his daughter Rose, now a dynamic, assertive young woman.

Seth

Simon Matchcard, from Clyde Fans (Seth)

An influential leader in the underground comic book movement, Seth (the pen name of Gregory Gallant, born in 1962 in Clinton, Ontario) spent much of his youth drawing comics and poring over Charles Schulz's Peanuts and Marvel comic books. After studying at the Ontario College of Art in Toronto (now OCAD University), he took over art duties for Marvel's Mister X series in 1985 before launching his mock autobiographical Palookaville comics series. His uniquely introspective works rendered in a monochromatic style have captivated readers for decades.

In 1996, Seth collected the Palookaville comics in a book titled It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken – his first graphic novel. Seth continued the Palookaville series in the years that followed, telling the story of two brothers coping with the gradual demise of their family's electric-fan business. In 2019, those works were combined and published as the award-winning graphic novel, Clyde Fans.

Jillian and Mariko Tamaki

Rose and Windy, from This One Summer (Mariko Tamaki, Jillian Tamaki)

Whether for their famed collaborations or their outstanding individual creations, cousins Jillian and Mariko Tamaki have received critical acclaim for their graphic novels. Mariko, born in Toronto, Ontario in 1975, had already amassed an impressive writing career with several books under her name before working with her illustrator cousin, Jillian, who was born in Ottawa, Ontario in 1980 and raised in Calgary, Alberta.

Witty and insightful, Mariko's writing style proved to be a perfect fit alongside Jillian's skillful illustrations. Together, their moving graphic novels have garnered awards and won the hearts of readers worldwide. In 2014, the cousins published This One Summer, a powerful coming-of-age story told from the perspective of pre-teen Rose. This One Summer became their second prize-winning graphic novel and the first graphic novel to receive the Caldecott Honour (U.S.), awarded to the most distinguished children's picture books.

New stamps celebrate Canadian graphic novelists

Available now

Canadian comic book stamps are coming in May

Posting on the cartoonphilately blog for the first time in months to note...

I'm reliably told that this "A new stamp series showcasing Canadian graphic novelists will be issued in May." is imminent and features 6 modern Canadian cartoonists, or rather images of their artwork. The stamp launch is at TCAF on May 10th and is by invitation only I think.

A fairly short list of major Canadian creators who are at TCAF could probably be fairly easily deduced, but I can wait two weeks. Today's press release lists Seth, Jillian Tamaki is in an earlier one, I'm pretty sure that the first major breakthrough Canadian alternative cartoonist, Dave Sim and Cerebus will not be featured but he should be except for the honoring part, since he's now go some pretty unsavory opinions about many things including women. I think Lynn Johnston also deserves one, but she's a comic strip artist.

Several years ago, editorial cartoonists were featured. Before that were Canadian superheroes including Nelvana and Superman (if you squint you can sort of see the logic).