Gaston Lagaffe : 2001

Gaston (1957-1997) is a Belgian gag-a-day comic strip created in 1957 by the Belgian cartoonist André Franquin (1924-1997) in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine Spirou. The series, serving as a spin-off of the magazine's primary series Spirou et Fantasio, focuses on the everyday life of Gaston Lagaffe (whose surname means "the blunder"), a lazy and accident-prone office junior who works at Spirou's office in Brussels.

Gaston is very popular in large parts of Europe (especially in Belgium and France) and has been translated into over a dozen languages.

In 2023, the series was revived by Franco-Canadian author Delaf.

André Franquin ws commemorated in 2024-Jan-25

 

Roy Crane - Buz Sawyer show cover

1953-Nov: Florex Convention - Orlando Ca

Buz Sawyer is a comic strip created by Roy Crane. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, it had a run from November 1, 1943 to October 7, 1989. During World War II, the adventurous John Singer Sawyer, nicknamed Buz Sawyer, became a Naval Aviator and flew as an ace Navy fighter and dive bomber pilot in the Pacific Theater where he had numerous adventures with his sidekick, enlisted Naval Aircrewman Rosco Sweeney.

1954

1962

 

Business envelopes - The Studios

Hanna-Barbera - Scooby Doo meter

Hanna-Barbera - Fred Flintstone

Charles Mintz - 1932

1977 prior to the release of the Motion Pictures stamp, I sent a letter to several movie studios requesting an un sed business envelope to create first day cover. I was pleasantly surprised to receive a couple of responses:

MGM

Walt Disney World

Paramount Pictures Corp - signed by actress Jane Russell

1937 Warner Brothers meter - That Certain Woman - American melodramatic film written and directed by Edmund Goulding and starring Bette Davis, Henry Fonda and Anita Louise

1982 Extra-Terrestrial Productions - Rocky III

Business envelopes - Publishers

EC Comics - Creepshow Comic Book Club - New York

EC Comics - 1953

Fawcett Publications - 1941

Detective Comics (National - DC Comics) - 1946 War Bonds meter

DC Comics - Superman

Mad Magazine - 1963 I Read Mad meter

Classics Illustrated - 1953

Marvel Comics - c 1987

Marvel No-Prize envelope - 1969

Marvel Production Ltd - 1983

Before Alfred

1944 - US Navy

Me Worry? H--- No! I'm Gonna Join the Navy

1945 Hermosa Beach Ca

Me Worry? H--- No! I'm Gonna Join the Armed Forces by Crackey!

1945-Shamrock Tx

Me Worry? H--- No! I'm Gonna Join the Navy

1945-Harbor Or

Me Worry? H--- No! I'm Gonna Join the WACS, and Quite Milking Cows

1945 - Hermosa Beach Ca

Me Worry? H--- No! I'm Gonna Join the U.S. Navy and fight.........

Patriotic covers produced during the second World War utilizing the Simp character

A popular anti New Deal, anti Franklin Roosevelt celluloid pin, featuring the character known as IMA Simp, a forerunner of MAD Magazine’s Alfred E. Neuman. Mr. Simp was a famous image for a clueless person. The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938 - Pinback Travels

Alfred E. Neuman is the fictitious mascot and cover boy of the American humor magazine Mad. The character's distinct smiling face, gap-toothed smile, freckles, red hair, protruding ears, and scrawny body dates back to late 19th-century advertisements for painless dentistry, also the origin of his "What, me worry?" motto. The magazine's founder and original editor, Harvey Kurtzman, began using the character in 1954. He was named "Alfred E. Neuman"

 

Business envelopes - The Comics

Even though I have slowed down on obtaining hand-drawn art, I still research information for my collection. Since both of my parents worked for an envelope manufacturing company, and my father was a stamp collector, I was always had an interest in illustrated envelopes. In the late 1890s the envelopes were decorated with fantastic engraved images representing the sender's business. Recent improvements in methods of communications (e-mail, text, facebook, instagram etc) have made it easier to reach someone quickly, but the message is sterile and lacks anticipation of having to wait and then open the envelope to reveal the message. Therefore I still have a fascination for certain envelope that have been placed through the mail. 

Some of these business envelope offer a postage meter that features a slogan that may represent their business interests. I recently came across a few envelopes that are comic related:

Henry is a comic strip created in 1932 by Carl Anderson. The title character is a young bald boy who is mostly mute in the comics 

Charles Schulz, Snoopy business envelopes

Ed "Big Daddy" Roth - 1989

Walter Lantz - Woody Woodpecker - 1972

Dik Browne - Hagar the Horrible - 1978

Buster Browne - Outcault Advertising - 1910

1994 Mirage Studios - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

See also: Calvin & Hobbes, Dick Tracy

Kids Love Comics - Baltimore Comic-Con : 2023

 

I love how artists still utilize the idea of stamps, even though most kids have little knowledge of how to even address an envelope. There are lots of artists creating faux stamps, along with mail artists still posting mail as art

On artist Chris Ring's facebook page he posted information about the availability of Kids Love Comics stamps

Adventure is only limited by a young boy's imagination as Seamus and his snarky cat, Fitcher, lead a crew of affable pirates in search of the legendary treasure of Gunnar Forkbeard. It's a race full of boobytraps, monstrous creatures and humor as Seamus and Fitcher pit themselves against Captain Barracuda and his nefarious crew of The Greythorn. From the high seas to the depths of Dragon's Head Isle, it will take all their wits and courage to save the day, and themselves, in this epic tale. - from Action Lab Entertainment - 2021

National Parks -

Independence Hall, Philadelphia - Washington FDC

Statue of Liberty, NY - Bartholdi FDC

Edison Laboratory West Orange, NJ -

I enjoy visiting National Parks. The National Parks started using a special 'cancel' to be used in a passport for visitors in 1986, Whenever I visit a park I like to bring along a first day cover to commemorate my visit and apply a related design...

Philatelic Journey was another site I set up to display first day covers used to commemorate some of my travels

Mail Art

The International Union of Mail-Artists (IUOMA) is an artistic community that consists of over 3000 members world-side. IUOMA was founded in 1988, but the populist artistic movement centered around sending small scale works through the postal service, originally developing around the 1950s... It probably goes back much further.  In the 1960's artist Ray Johnson established the New York Correspondence School, using the postal system to send out his art. Although not considered a mainstream form of art, mail-art has been featured in museums and galleries. Mail-art takes on various forms, whatever the artist chooses to post in the mail

Mail art from David Solomon - Kickstarter reward

I'm sending you this piece of mail as part of your contributions to the Making Mail Kickstarter project. I know Mike and I and everyone involved in the film greatly appreciate the support. My involvement was both unexpected and exciting. I never thought I'd be interviewed about a passion of mine.

I've been making mail for almost 4 years. I feel I've come a long way...slowly improving and discovering my personal style/voice. My latest kick is to make these collages on cardboard while enclosing the letter with paperclips and rubber bands or clear plastic. I hope you enjoy it! Thanks again. - ireallyfet.tumblr.com

March 2013, Michael Polk started a Kickstarter campaign "Making Mail: A Documentary", with the goal of making a documentary film about artists who embrace the antiquated postal service and use it to send beautiful pieces of art across the globe. Of course with the incentive of receiving an original hand-crafted piece of art made by one of the artists in the film, I jumped in...

During the second world war many soldiers and sailors decorated their letters home with hand drawn beautiful scenery or comedic touches (printed patriotic envelopes were also readily available)... Reminisce site features several envelopes drawn by a soldier to his wife waiting back home...

Fans of the Grateful Dead decorated their requests for tickets in hopes their efforts would be rewarded with a miracle (a sample is posted on the reference page) and a book showing many examples ...

James Gurney, creator of Dinotopia, has held envelope art contests for his Gurney Journey blog page. The theme is dinosaurs...

Wizard magazine used to featured a hand drawn envelope on it's letters page in every issue...

Mr Cachet at Old Paper Art takes a different approach. He draws on old stationery

Clinton Hobart - Lion King : Timon and Pumbaa

2019.10.26 Suffolk Comic & Art Expo, Brentwood, NY

clinton T Hobart is a license Disney artist. He treats original oil paintings of a wide variety of subjects ranging from classical subject matter such as fruits and eggshells to more modern subjects which include the Disney family of characters

When I commissioned this work, I had paid for a single character sketch, however Clinton didn't feel comfortable drawing Pumbaa without Timon, so I got a 2-for1 sketch - Thanks!

Clinton T Hobart

Dom Mauri - Mad Hatter

2019.10.26 Suffolk Comic & Art Expo, Brentwood, NY

Dom Mauri started his career at 16 years old. He is known primarily for his cartoon pieces and pop art, which has been displayed in many museums and art galleries

When I first saw Doom working at his booth, I was not sure his style would work on the first day cover. All of his images were dark using only black, with a loose style that looked great on large pieces. I took a chance, and I was not disappointed

Alberto Morales - Snoopy Luchador

2019.10.26 Suffolk Comic & Art Expo, Brentwood, NY

Ablert Morales is an American illustrator who has worked on multiple series for Marvel-Upper Deck, including movie card sets: Captain America 75th Anniversary, X-Men and Spider-Man Homecoming. Morales is also a SELAH Award winning illustrator for the young adult fantasy fiction book series "F'lorna of Rodesh"

HIs comic strip "Super Impacto vs the World" is curated int eh Billy Ireland Cartoon Museum alongside strip guests Charles Schultz (Peanuts), Til Keane (Family Circus) and Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes)..

With everything Snoopy has accomplished in the Peanuts comic (astronaut, pilot, baseball player) I would not be surprised to learn he is a Luche Libre wrestler.

Peter Kuper - Spy vs Spy - MAD Magazine

2019-10-14 Big Apple Con, NYC

Peter Kuper - American alternative comic artist and illustrator, known for his autobiographical, political and social observations.

Kuper has contributed to the political anthology "World War 3 Illustrated", which he co-founded with Seth Tobocman in 1979. Kuper also took over the duties of drawing "Spy vs Spy" for MAD Magazine

Spy vs Spy is a wordless comic debuted in MAD Magazine January 1961. The full-page comic features 2 agents, one dressed in white, the other in black who are always at war with each other using a variety of tricks and traps to attempt to catch the other. The comic was created by Cuban expatriate cartoonist Antonio Prohias

This was the last sketch I had received before the Covid pandemic hit and stopped all social gathering. I have only been back to this site once since then with my last post. I am slowing down on obtaining sketches due to costs, but need to clean up this site by posting my last few sketches I have posted.

Enjoy, be well, Peace!