In the News-Ryan Germick

Merrillville Native Designs Addams Family Logo for Google

Merrillville native Ryan Germick recently created a logo for Google in which the members of the infamous Addams Family spell out the name of the world's most famous search engine. The altered logo appeared on the January 7, 2012, in honor of the 100th birthday of the late Charles Addams, creator of the eponymous family. Mr. Germick designed the logo after Google had secured permission by the estate of Charles Addams to re-create his characters. The Indiana artist was thrilled by the prospect of working on the project and coordinated his efforts closely with representatives from the estate, ensuring he did Addams’ work justice through his illustration. 

Ryan Germick has been a member of the Google Doodle Team since 2006. The team is the creative force behind special logos that appear on the Google search engine website on holidays and other special occasions. The Addams Family logo includes the major characters from Addams' long-running series of cartoons, which appeared in The New Yorker between 1938 and 1988, when Addams passed away. The Addams Family have also appeared in hardbound collections of cartoons, on television, in movies, and on stage. Addams never named his characters. The creators of the ABC-TV series gave them the names we know today, Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Lurch, and so on.

Mr. Germick, who graduated from Merrillville High School in 1998, received his early arts education in Merrillville and at the Center for Visual and Performing Arts in Munster, Indiana. (There's a small irony in the fact that a cartoonist who was educated in Munster has come to draw The Addams Family.) He went on to earn a liberal arts degree from Parsons Art School in New York and spent time in Tokyo, Japan, before joining the Google Doodle Team.

You can see the Google Addams Family logo by clicking here.

You can read a more detailed story, "Google This: Merrillville Man Has Dream Job as Search Website's 'Altered Logo' Illustrator," by Philip Potempa (March 15, 2012), at the website of the Northwest Indiana Times and Merrillville Community by clicking here.

Written by Bridget Hanley, Proficient Pen, and Terence E. Hanley.

Copyright 2012, 2024 Terence E. Hanley

In the News-Nikko Elliott

Cartoon Controversy at Purdue University Calumet

A recent editorial cartoon by Nikko Elliott, appearing in the Purdue University Calumet Chronicle, has become part of a larger public discussion on the subjects of religious tolerance, racism, free speech, professor-student relations, and the point at which personal opinions, when expressed in a public forum, cross the line. If it sounds complicated, that’s because it is. To learn more about the issues inspiring the editorial cartoon and the larger controversy of which the cartoon has become a part, follow these links:

"PUC Professor Calls Cartoon Anti-Semitic" by Carmen McCollum, Northwest Indiana Times, March 8, 2012.

"Professor's Facebook Comments Draw Protests from Students" on NBC Chicago.

"PUC Students Protest Professor's Comments, Facebook Page” on Hammond Community.net.

Written by Bridget Hanley, Proficient Pen.

Copyright 2012, 2024 Terence E. Hanley

Hoosier Cartoonists in World War II

Seventy years ago today, on a date that will go on living in infamy, the Japanese navy launched a sneak attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States was thrust into world war. Within a few days, Nazi Germany declared war on the United States as well. After suffering early setbacks, the country gained its footing with an extraordinary victory at Midway (June 1942) and an invasion of North Africa (November 1942). After Pearl Harbor, young men rushed to enlist in the armed forces. Others were drafted. Figures vary, but by war's end upwards of 10 million American men and women had served in uniform. Over 400,000 were killed.

It's rare to find a man of military age who did not serve in one capacity or other. Hoosiers in uniform who had their cartooning careers interrupted by war or who went on to become cartoonists after the war included Wally Bishop (Muggs and Skeeter), Ted Chambers (gag cartoons), David C. Eastman (Carmichael), Bill Eddy (gag cartoons), Frank O'Neal (Short Ribs), and Bill Williams (Josephine). I would like to consider another group of cartoonists here, though, the men who cartooned while in uniform, for Yank, Stars and Stripes, All Hands, and other military magazines, newspapers, and newsletters.

Time was when cartoonists were celebrities and cartooning--especially syndicated cartooning and magazine gag cartooning--carried with it a heaping helping of prestige. Cartoonists entertained the troops, kept up morale, trained men in difficult and intricate tasks, and decorated airplanes with pinups and cartoon characters, among their many duties. One of the most famous of all folklore characters to come out of the war was a simple cartoon, a man with a bulbous nose who left his mark from Kiska to Bougainville to Marrakesh to Berlin: Kilroy Was Here! Another was the Gremlin, that mischievous little saboteur made famous by Roald Dahl and a planned movie by Disney that never reached the silver screen. A little less famous was Hubert, a lumpy dogface with an enormous nose and a talent for getting into trouble. Hubert, created by Herron art grad Dick Wingert (1919-1993), appeared in Stars and Stripes and was voted more popular than Bill Mauldin's Willie and Joe. After the war, Hubert returned to civilian life and lasted in the comics until 1994. What Wingert did for the army, Nicolas Pouletsos (1911?-1990)--"Nick Penn"--did for the navy in Stalemate. The title character is a diminutive, pop-eyed sailor always on the make. Nick Penn also drew Helen Highwater, featuring a shapely female, for all the men at sea.

Other Hoosier cartoonists in uniform included Wayne Campbell (Yank, Stars and Stripes), Ted Drake (The Spindrift), Charles K. Hall (Army Times, Yank), Roderick Hipskind (Beachhead News), Thomas G. Karsell (Stars and Stripes), Gilbert Sweeney (Stars and Stripes), and Pat Weishapl (The Returnee, Salty Breezes). Dave Gerard of Citizen Smith fame instructed navy men on technical drawing in his hometown of Crawfordsville during the war. In the immediate aftermath, husband-and-wife cartoonists Tom and Mary Blakley taught art to returning servicemen, while Indianapolis News staff artist J. Hugh O'Donnell--late of the 509th Military Police Battalion--illustrated Report from the Pacific by Leo Litz (1946). 

Indiana cartoonists had varying degrees of success in the postwar world. Dick Wingert, Nick Penn, and Ted Drake were among the men who stuck with cartooning. Most lived long, productive lives. But in thinking about the men who were young once and drew pictures during their wartime service, I can't help but consider those who didn't make it. What great future cartoonist or illustrator, artist or writer, lies buried under a green field in France or Italy or some other far-flung spot on the globe?

A cartoon by Ted Drake from The Spindrift.

Text and captions copyright 2011, 2024 Terence E. Hanley

Almost a Hoosier

Stan Lee (1922-2018)

Half the world was at war in 1941 when nineteen-year-old Stan Lee assumed the position of editor at Timely Comics. Within a few months, the United States was involved as well, and Stan had enlisted in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. His basic training came at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. In short order he was transferred to the Signal Corps' Training Film Division in Astoria, Queens, and found out that he had been classified as a playwright. "I also learned that there were only eight other men in the U.S. Army with that particular military occupational specialty (MOS) classification besides me," Stan writes in his autobiography. They included moviemaker Frank Capra, author William Saroyan, and cartoonist Charles Addams. During his tour of duty, Stan wrote scripts for army training films. He also continued penning stories for Timely Comics.

After a stop at Duke University, Stan Lee was transferred once again to Fort Benjamin Harrison, located northeast of Indianapolis. He would serve out the rest of his tour in the Hoosier State, advancing to the rank of sergeant, writing training materials, and even authoring the lyrics to a marching song for the Army Finance Department, sung to the music of "The Air Force Song." Fiscal Freddy, a cartoon character used to train fiscal officers, was one of Lee's creations. So was the poster design and slogan for a prophylaxis campaign: "VD? Not Me!"

"I was mustered out of the army in Indianapolis," Stan remembers. "Five minutes after receiving my discharge papers, I was in my convertible heading for New York." Thus ended his career as an army sergeant and a Hoosier. He married in 1947, wrote romance, western, horror, and other stories during the 1950s, and finally--with comic book artists Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and others--revolutionized comics during the 1960s. Stan Lee is still going strong today.

Update (December 6, 2019): And as we all know, Stan Lee died on November 12, 2018, in Los Angeles after a very long and illustrious career. He was ninety-five years old.

Excelsior! The Amazing Life of Stan Lee by Stan Lee and George Mair (2002), in which Stan remembers his time served in Indiana with the U.S. Army. The cover art is by John Romita, the mainstay on The Amazing Spider-Man after the departure of Steve Ditko.

Text and captions copyright 2011, 2024 Terence E. Hanley

In the News-Editorial Cartoon Exhibit in Chicago

SOFA Chicago 2011

SOFA Chicago 2011, an annual art fair held in the Windy City, begins tonight, Thursday, November 3, 2011, at the Navy Pier Festival Hall, 600 East Grand Avenue. Among the events is "Cartooning in Conflict," an exhibition of editorial cartoons. SOFA Chicago 2011 runs through Sunday, November 6. For more information, see the website of Chicago Now. And to find Chicago, just drive west out of Indiana and look for the signs.

Copyright 2011, 2024 Terence E. Hanley

In the News-Garry Trudeau at IU

Creator of Doonesbury to Speak at Indiana University

Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Garry Trudeau will speak at the Indiana Memorial Union Alumni Hall at Indiana University in Bloomington on Monday, November 14, 2011. The topic of his talk will be "Doonesbury in Time of War." Mr. Trudeau created his popular comic strip Doonesbury while he was a student at Yale University. In 1975, he became the first daily comic strip cartoonist to win a Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning. Mr. Trudeau's character B.D., never without his football helmet, went to war in Vietnam during the early '70s. He returned to the fighting in the Iraq war, making Doonesbury one of few comic strips to deal directly with the war. Today, Doonesbury appears in 1,100 newspapers worldwide.

Garry Trudeau is of course a Hoosier by marriage. His wife, journalist Jane Pauley, originally from Indianapolis, graduated from Indiana University in 1972 and for many years was co-host of The Today Show. I should note that her birthday was this week. Happy Birthday, Jane Pauley!

An exhibition of Garry Trudeau's work will be on display at the Indiana University Lilly Library through November 14. His talk, scheduled for 7:30 p.m., is free and open to the public. You can read more at the website of the IU Newsroom.

Copyright 2011, 2024 Terence E. Hanley

In The News-Indiana Anime Convention Raises Money for a Good Cause

Ramencon 2011, held August 19-21 in Merrillville, Indiana, raised $1,160 for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. The convention, which attracted fans from northwest Indiana and as far away as Texas and California, was a celebration of Japanese animation or Anime.

The three-day convention featured numerous events and fundraisers, including games, musical performances, a silent auction, and a fashion show, as well as appearances by notable speakers and merchandise offered by vendors. Anime fans and fundraising staff alike were pleased with the outcome. 

Anime Crossroads, the next major convention scheduled for Indiana, will take place in Indianapolis, December 16-18, 2011. 

For more information on Ramencon 2011, visit the Merrillville Community story "Ramencon2011 raises $1160 for St. Jude," by Ramona Jarvis, August 22, 2011. 

To learn more about Anime Crossroads, visit their official website, here.

By Bridget Hanley, Proficient Pen.
Copyright 2011, 2024 Terence E. Hanley