Out of the Alley!
Hogan's Alley
http://groups.google.com/group/hogans-alley-newsletter?lnk=srg
Dear fellow comics fan:
Now that Hogan's Alley #15 is out (although we hear it's still just
reaching some subscribers in the hinterlands), we wanted to touch base
with you via a mercifully brief newsletter.
GAG US WITH NEW TOONS: Although the market for gag cartoons is not
exactly robust in these modern times, the weekend "Parade" magazine
has always preserved some space for gag cartoons. (Apart from Walter
Scott's fulsome "Personality Parade" ruminations on who's gay and
who's in rehab, the cartoons are all we look at--honest!) For years,
cartoons in "Parade" have been by the stalwart team of Bunny Hoest and
John Reiner, but recently the magazine's editors have invited a new
generation of creators to contribute material, among them Donna
Barstow, Dave Coverly, Gary McCoy, Dan Piraro and the husband-and-wife
team of Carla Ventresca and Henry Beckett. Hogan's Alley spoke
recently with Dave Coverly (of "Speed Bump" renown) and Dan Piraro (of
"Bizarro" fame) about their new gig: entertaining the magazine's 32
million weekly readers.
HOGAN'S ALLEY: How did you come to be included among Parade's new
group of cartoonists?
DAN PIRARO: They called me and said they were looking for a handful of
single-panel folks to do cartoons for their Sunday mag. I submitted
about 10 ideas, and they liked almost all of them and accepted me into
their stable.
DAVE COVERLY: I'd come into possession of videotape of Parade's comics
editor reading a copy of USA Today Weekend magazine that he does not
wish to be made public. We struck a deal. And then Patrick McDonnell
apparently recommended my work to him anyway, so everything just fell
into place from there. It was a win/win.
HA: How often will your work appear there?
PIRARO: I'm not entirely sure, but I think I'll have one in there
every other week or so.
COVERLY: Every other week or so, I'm told--there's no set schedule,
though.
HA: Were you given any guidance on the sort of humor the editors were
interested in?
PIRARO: None at all. They basically told me they like what I do in
"Bizarro" and hoped I would add the same sort of humor to their
magazine. To my surprise, they actually lean toward the more surreal
stuff.
COVERLY: We were given specific instructions to make our humor
"funny," which was all right by me, as that differentiates it from my
"Speed Bump" panels. So now I'm able to work in both the "funny" and
"not-so-funny" genres, which is challenging but worthwhile.
HA: Lloyd Shearer, better known to millions of Parade readers as
Walter Scott, has been dead since 1991. Will you feel obliged to prove
to the magazine's readers that you, in fact, are alive?
PIRARO: Thank you for assuming that I am alive and that my work isn't
being produced by ghost writers and artists. I take that as a
compliment.
COVERLY: Walter Scott isn't dead. I saw him working at our local
Burger King. As for me, I am now working under the pseudonym "Lloyd
Shearer."
Note: Parade doesn't make its cartoons available online, so you'll
have to pick up a Sunday paper that includes the tabloid to see their
work.
HOLD ON TO YOUR WALLETS: We have some copies of Hogan's Alley #15
remaining and are now making them available for purchase as a single
issue. If you would like to purchase a copy for $8 (which includes
postage), you can order at http://www.cagle.com/hogan/subscribe.asp or
simply use Paypal to send $8 to hoga...@gmail.com. (Come on--you
can't even buy a lousy movie ticket for $8 anymore!) And while we're
sullying the conversation with commerce, we're making an offer
available only to readers of this newsletter: You can purchase any
THREE issues of Hogan's Alley #10 through #15 for a measly $18. Buy
four issues or more, and they're just $5 each. Just specify which
issues you want, and we'll handle the rest. Fill in a hole in your
collection or get a jump on shopping for the holidays!
Thank you for reading. We encourage you to forward this e-mail to
anyone who might enjoy it. To unsubscribe to this newsletter (or if
you are receiving duplicate transmissions), e-mail us at
hoga...@gmail.com or visit http://groups.google.com/group/hogans-alley-newsletter?Ink=srg.
Please visit our Web site at http://www.hoganmag.com and our shop
featuring classic comics characters at http://www.hoganshops.com.