Virgilio Martínez Gaínza (1931-2008 Cuba) is a commercial artist and one of Cuba's most notable cartoonists. He began his career as a commercial artist in 1949, publishing his first political cartoon in A Barrer and then worked extensively in the underground press, such as Mella and Carta Semanal. Among his first comic creations was the lucky character 'Pucho', which later became 'Cucho', whose adventures appeared in the clandestine magazine Mella in the 1955-1959 period. He signed the strip with Laura, to protect himself from the repression of the Fulgencio Bastista regime. - Lambiek Comiclopedia
Hand drawn or painted FDC (first day covers) have been done since the 1940s. Over the past few years I have begun combining my collection of comic character hand drawn sketches with FDCs. This blog is being maintained for the purpose of sharing my collection...
Friday, November 21, 2025
Pucho - Cucho : 2006 Cuba
Tuesday, November 18, 2025
Peanuts : 2025 Royal Mail
Royal Mail are marking the 75th anniversary of the internationally loved comic strip 'Peanuts' with a set of eight stamps. The stamps, all 1st class and in se-tenant pairs, feature images in a British theme including the classic Snoopy pose on a Royal Mail pillar box, playing football, Charlie Brown and Snoopy 'enjoying' the British weather and a birthday tea party.
Monday, November 17, 2025
100 Years of Comics : 2011 Norway
Mjau mjau by John Arne Sæterøy, who signs his work with Jason, is one of Scandinavia's most prominent artists of alternative comics. Born in 1964 in Molde, he started his comics career when he was only fifteen years old, publishing in the alternative Norwegian magazine KonK. In 1987, he enrolled at he Art Academy of Oslo to study graphical design and illustration, and subsequently studied at the National School of Arts and Industry. In 1995, a year after graduating, he published a realistically drawn graphic novel, 'Lomma full av Regn' ('Pocket Full of Rain'), for which he won the Sproing Award. - Lambiek
Hold Brillan by Christopher Nielsen - Nielsen is a Norwegian comics/graphic novels maker, dramatician and animation movie director. He is "grand old man" of Norwegian underground comics, and has enjoyed success also in more mainstream culture (theatre, movie, national TV) with his often grotesque characters and stories from the marginalized subcultures and classes of Norway: junkies, alcoholics, prostitutes, "rednecks" and so on – Good Reads
Nemi by Lise Myhre - Myhre is a Norwegian comic artist. She created the popular comic 'Nemi', about a goth girl. In a presentation of the Nemi strip, Myhre says that she thought her up for a goth-page in the Norwegian edition of The Far Side magazine in 1997, and that she never meant the series to have a main character. She just ended up liking Nemi so much she couldn't let her go. Myhre counts the Swedish cartoonist Charlie Christensen, Walt Disney ("as a kid") and Don Martin among her graphic influences – Lambiek
Pondus by Frode Øverli - Pondus is a comic strip created by the Norwegian cartoonist Frode Øverli. Since its start in 1995, it has become one of the most successful comic strips in Scandinavia. It has been translated to several languages, including Danish, English, German, Finnish, French, Icelandic, Latin, Sami, Swedish and Esperanto - Wikipedia
Saturday, November 15, 2025
Osamu Tezuka : 1997 Japan
Osamu Tezuka – (1928-1989) Japanese manga artist, cartoonist and animator. Considered to be among the greatest and most influential cartoonists of all time, his prolific output, pioneering techniques and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such titles as "the Father of Manga”. Additionally, he is often considered the Japanese equivalent to Walt Disney, who served as a major inspiration during Tezuka's formative years.
Thursday, November 13, 2025
Pippi Longstocking (Pippi Långstrump) : Astrid Lindgren
The first English language translation was published late in 1950 by The Viking Press in the United States with illustrations by Louis S. Glanzman.
Monday, November 10, 2025
Walt Disney : 1901-1966
In the early 1920s and set up the Disney Brothers Studio (now the Walt Disney Company) with his brother Roy. With Ub Iwerks, he developed the character Mickey Mouse in 1928, his first highly popular success; he also provided the voice for his creation in the early years.
As a film producer, he holds the record for most Academy Awards won (22) and nominations (59) by an individual. He was presented with two Golden Globe Special Achievement Awards and an Emmy Award, among other honors. Several of his films are included in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress and have also been named as some of the greatest films ever by the American Film Institute.
While postal regulations at the time stated that any non-presidential individual honored on a commemorative stamp must be dead for ten years, the support for a Disney tribute was overwhelming. The Office of the Postmaster General corresponded with hundreds of Americans requesting a Walt Disney stamp, receiving letters from private citizens as well as the Walt Disney Studios, Governor Ronald Reagan, actors Fess Parker and John Wayne, and a number of United States Congressmen.
Saturday, November 8, 2025
Lucca Comics & Games : 1996 Italy
The Salone Internazionale dei Comics ("International Congress of Comics") was launched by a Franco-Italian partnership, consisting of Italians Rinaldo Traini and Romano Calisi and Frenchman Claude Moliterni (forming the International Congress of Cartoonists and Animators), and was first held 21–22 February 1965 in Bordighera, Imperia.
In 1993, after the Salone Internazionale dei Comics left Lucca, city leaders launched a new convention called simply Lucca Comics that was a reprise of the old one. In 1995, it changed its name to Lucca Comics & Games.
Friday, November 7, 2025
Dick Tracy - Classic Comics : 1995 US
Dick Tracy – Chester Gould (1900-1985) Although his Sunday pages utilized flat colors, Tracy's world was black and white: good vs evil, right vs wrong. The Villains especially – Flattop, the Brow, Mumbles, Pruneface – were as ugly as their natures. The strip bergan in 1931. ©Tribune Media Services Inc. - printed on the back of the stamp
Wednesday, November 5, 2025
The Little Prince : 2014 Germany
Tuesday, November 4, 2025
Garfield : 2014 Switzerland
Garfield is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis. Originally published locally as Jon in 1976 (later changed to Garfield in 1977), then in nationwide syndication from 1978, it chronicles the life of the title character Garfield the cat, Odie the dog, and their owner Jon Arbuckle


















































