We're Celebrating National Cartoonist Day By Highlighting Eight Of The Most Influential Cartoonists Today
When it comes to the world of cartoons - whether it be a three-panel comic strip in the newspaper, superheroes who fight crime in comic books, musical characters who sing on the big screen, or animated characters dropping anvils on one another - there is always an innovative mind and a deft hand who had to work increidbly hard to bring these colorful characters to life.
Enstarz wants to celebrate some of our favorite artists on National Cartoonists Day with eight cartoonists who we love - and who helped bring the state of cartoons to the booming place it is today.
Charles M. Schulz
Going straight for the gold standard in newspaper comic strips and holiday specials, Charles Schulz created The Peanuts Gang in 1950, and has become an icon of the Sunday comics page ever since.
Written as a sort of avatar for Schulz, Charlie Brown - the naive yet dower star of the comic - plays as an everyman character who's as loveable as he is relatable. Whether it's getting the girl he likes to notice him or even just trying to kick a football, Charlie represents the sad kid in all of us.
The strip has evolved over the years, spinning off into an animated property in 1965 with The Charlie Brown Christmas Special.
The Peanuts characters each bring a different perspective to the world they inhabit. Lucy is the confident, bossy type, with her little brother Linus acting as the level headed confidant - despite his dependence on a security blanket. All the while, Snoopy, Charlie Brown's loyal dog, acts as the enthusiastic dreamer in all of us.
Charles Schulz put a lot of himself into his work, and by doing so, proved that life can imitate art in all the best ways.
Gary Larson
The Far Side was one of the best observational comic strips ever put into print. Written by Gary Larson, his high-brow takes on everyday life are put into a nonsensical context, and he would often only have to fill one panel to make its point. The strip ran from 1980 to 1995 and was punished in nearly 2,000 papers.
What makes The Far Side even more interesting, though, is how there was never a recurring character - each strip stood on its own merit. Larson was once quoted as saying during and NPR interview:
"They... wanted me to develop characters like Charlie Brown or something [who] would always come back. I instinctively thought of that as very limiting. And I also just didn't see humor as something that had to be confined to one particular character.
To me, what was exciting was trying to do something that would crack someone up. And I didn't see how characters or a particular character enhanced that. In fact, I think it would work against it in some cases. A certain face on a character would work in one instance but not in another.
Although admittedly, as the years went by, all my stuff got boiled down to about six faces."
Jack Kirby
A master at his craft, comic book artist Jack Kirby created some of the most important characters in history: Thor, The Fantastic Four, The Hulk, Black Panther, Iron Man...the list goes on. His influence in the world of comics shaped the modern landscape, given that The Marvel Cinematic Universe is the biggest franchise on the planet at the moment.
Nicknamed "The King" by some, Kirby also worked for DC comics and Hanna-Barbera Studios, amongst others, running the gamut of artistic expression which lives on today in his long list of notable accomplishments.
Aaron McGruder
Creator of The Boondocks, Aaron McGruder's comic strip turned animated show, brought a Black voice to the world of cartooning - a voice that was as prolific as it was controversial.
Often going against the grain, The Boondocks poked fun at race, politics, and cultural differences in society, while making a point.
The Boondocks was also a hit on Cartoon Network, where the storylines called out topics like R. Kelly's sex scandal, bigotry, the rap game, and inequality. Uncomfortable at times, the heart of the show was to give an honest perspective on the hot button issues people are sometimes afraid to discuss.
A jack of all trades, McGruder has gone on to become an executive producer, show creator, and even co-wrote the film Red Tails about the Tuskegee Airmen of WWII.
Bill Watterson
Bill Watterson gave the world of comic strips one of the most funny and honest titles of all time. Calvin and Hobbes told the story of an imaginative little boy named Calvin, who, with his best friend Hobbes (a stuffed tiger who only he can see in the flesh) gets into everyday adventures, all the while waxing philosophical about the world around him with the beautifully silly logic only a child's mind could create..
After six attempts to get a strip off the ground, his seventh was a hit with readers. Watterson turned down the chance to merchandise and animate the comic, citing that he loved his independence as a one man show, having creative control without the trappings of other creatives or mediums.
He abruptly stopped work on the comic in 1995, with a letter which read,
"Dear Editor:
I will be stopping Calvin and Hobbes at the end of the year. This was not a recent or an easy decision, and I leave with some sadness. My interests have shifted however, and I believe I've done what I can do within the constraints of daily deadlines and small panels. I am eager to work at a more thoughtful pace, with fewer artistic compromises. I have not yet decided on future projects, but my relationship with Universal Press Syndicate will continue."
"That so many newspapers would carry Calvin and Hobbes is an honor I'll long be proud of, and I've greatly appreciated your support and indulgence over the last decade. Drawing this comic strip has been a privilege and a pleasure, and I thank you for giving me the opportunity.
Sincerely,
Bill Watterson"
Alex Hirsch
Known for blending his love of conspiracies and cartoons, Alex Hirsch is the creator of Disney show Gravity Falls. Based on his memories of spending time with his twin sister at their aunt's cabin in the woods, the show tells the story of 12-year-olds Dipper and Mabel, who spend a summer with their weird Great-Uncle Stan. Grunkle Stan, as he is affectionately called, runs an oddities shop in the town of Gravity Falls, a supernatural epicenter of everything from cryptozoology to conspiracy theories.
The show's storylines often bled into one another, unraveling an overall two-season plot that must be seen to believe.
Not only an artist, creator, and producer, Hirsch has also lent his vocal talents to characters on his show, as well as others, like Phineas and Ferb and Rick and Morty.
His latest project, Inside Job, has been renewed for a second season on Netflix.
Rebecca Sugar
Creator of the popular Cartoon Network series Steven Universe, Rebecca Sugar has made a name for herself as not only a writer, director, and musician - and also as the first non-binary person to have a show on the network.
Steven Universe was a runaway hit with both kids and adults, telling the story of a young boy named Steven who finds out that his mother was a member of a race of powerful aliens, who can use different abilities derived from whatever gemstone they are attached to.
Though his mother is no longer alive, her friends - along with his bumbling mortal dad, from time to time - train the optimistically overzealous Steven to hone his half-alien abilities in order to become the hero he was born to be.
The show was an especially big hit with the LGBTQ+ community, given the found family aspect and the major romances that happen between the all-female race of aliens. It was and was a milestone for representation on a major network.
Neal Adams
Sadly, the world lost comic book artist Neal Adams recently, at the age of 80. He has done everything from writing on Batman, where he created the iconic villain Ra's al Ghul, to writing the first Black Green Lantern, John Stewart.
Adams was as avid about cartooning as he was about being an advocate for his contemporaries in the industry. Adams created Continuity Associates, which helped Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Simon Schuster not only get credit for the most popular character in comic's history, but also got them their pensions.
Adams' work in comics tackled everything, from drug addiction to bringing Batman back to his darker iteration after the 1960s series. A true pioneer, Adams left his mark on not only Batman, but X-Men, and The Avengers, for Marvel Comics too.
He even once had Muhammad Ali fight Superman. There was nothing he couldn't do.
