Howard Post RIP
Charles Brubaker
http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2010_05_23.html#018999
He had one newspaper strip under his belt: The Dropouts (with United
Features). But he was mostly in comic books.
He was also in animation. He was an inbetweener at Famous Studios in
the forties. He left the studio after a brief time, but in the sixties
returned as a director (after the death of Seymour Kneitel).
There he took Paramount's cartoon into a new direction and created new
characters, among them "Honey Halfwitch" (who was drastically
redesigned after Post left the studio and animator Shamus Culhane took
over)
D.D.Degg
> Cartoonist Howard Post died recently
> http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2010_05_23.html#018999
> He had one newspaper strip under his belt: The Dropouts (with United
> Features). But he was mostly in comic books.
Sad news.
Thomas Haller Buchanan has posted some Sundays
of "The Dropouts" (September 9, 1968 - ????, 1982) in HD at
http://mydelineatedlife.blogspot.com/search?q=howie+post
(click on the images to supersize),
followed by an Anthro tale, by which I was first introduced to Post.
Some dailies of "The Dropouts" from original art at
http://www.comicstripfan.com/newspaper/d/dropouts.htm
A Howie Post interview from Comic Book Artist #5 at
http://twomorrows.com/comicbookartist/articles/05post.html
Toward the end of the interview he discusses "The Dropouts"
and his (and others) disappointment with United Feature Synd.
at the time.
For example:
"Immediately. It just hit right. I did it for United Features
Syndicate, though everybody was saying [whispering], "Don't go with
them." I said, "What do you mean?" I got the hottest start of any
strip they had up there because I handled the promotion. I put conk
shells in every letter to every editor; I got tan-colored stock and
had them burn the edges so it looked like something you got out of a
bottle; I wrote some fancy copy and all the editors bought it. It got
off to a great start. I walked into the bullpen and one of the
cartoonists asked me, "Why are you with this syndicate?" I said,
"Well, they're the Peanuts people." He said, "Peanuts sells itself.
Once you plateau with this outfit, you ain't going to make another
paper. These guys take orders; they don't know how to sell." And he
was right. Once it plateaued, it never snowballed into anything bigger
than that."
And more about the strip.
D.D.Degg
Charles Brubaker
> Charles Brubaker wrote:
> > Cartoonist Howard Post died recently
> >http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2010_05_23.html#018999
> > He had one newspaper strip under his belt: The Dropouts (with United
> > Features). But he was mostly in comic books.
>
> Sad news.
>
> Thomas Haller Buchanan has posted some Sundays
> (click on the images to supersize),
> followed by an Anthro tale, by which I was first introduced to Post.
>
>
> A Howie Post interview from Comic Book Artist #5 athttp://twomorrows.com/comicbookartist/articles/05post.html
> Toward the end of the interview he discusses "The Dropouts"
> and his (and others) disappointment with United Feature Synd.
> at the time.
> For example:
> "Immediately. It just hit right. I did it for United Features
> Syndicate, though everybody was saying [whispering], "Don't go with
> them." I said, "What do you mean?" I got the hottest start of any
> strip they had up there because I handled the promotion. I put conk
> shells in every letter to every editor; I got tan-colored stock and
> had them burn the edges so it looked like something you got out of a
> bottle; I wrote some fancy copy and all the editors bought it. It got
> off to a great start. I walked into the bullpen and one of the
> cartoonists asked me, "Why are you with this syndicate?" I said,
> "Well, they're the Peanuts people." He said, "Peanuts sells itself.
> Once you plateau with this outfit, you ain't going to make another
> paper. These guys take orders; they don't know how to sell." And he
> was right. Once it plateaued, it never snowballed into anything bigger
> than that."
> And more about the strip.
>
> D.D.Degg
Here are some of Post's animation works at Paramount
"The Itch", which I think is the best one that he directed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFG6IK1C_J8
One of the cartoons starring "Honey Halfwitch", a character Post
created at Paramount.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbokfe_baggin-the-dragon-paramount-1966_shortfilms
"Two By Two" - Featuring a Daffy Duck ripoff called Quacky Whack. Not
exactly notable, except that this cartoon got Post fired from
Paramount, apparently for blasphemy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsPyCnL2UZ0
D.D.Degg
> Cartoonist Howard Post died recently
> http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2010_05_23.html#018999
An obituary from Post's hometown paper The Record (of Hackensack):
http://www.northjersey.com/obituaries/052410_The_Dropouts_cartoonist_Howard_Post_83_dies.html
and a version of the AP obit
http://www.1010wins.com/-Popeye--Cartoonist--Bronx-Native-Howard-Post-Dies/7255697
D.D.Degg