Cartoonists

Rare 1991 Interview with Hank Ketcham: The Cartoonist Who Made Dennis a Menace”

Bill Thompson

Back in 1951, a 31-year-old cartoonist who was working for Walt Disney started his own comic strip.

He named his main character after his own son, Dennis, a rambunctious 5-year-old.

That cartoonist was Hank Ketcham, and Dennis became Dennis the Menace. And before long Dennis the Menace became one of America’s favorite daily cartoons, syndicated to hundreds of newspapers.

And then came the TV series starring Jay North. And Dennis the Menace became a cultural phenomenon.

Fast forward to 1991. Hank Ketcham published a book called Dennis the Menace: His First 40 Years.

I’m a boomer who grew up with both the cartoon and the TV show, so I was delighted to get to meet its creator.

So here now, from 1991, Hank Ketcham.

Hank Ketcham died in 2001, at age 81.

Roz Chast

Bill Thompson
Photo by Larry D. Moore

What do you get when you bring together one of America’s favorite comic actors and one of its favorite and most prolific cartoonists?

You get a whimsical and unique book for children,

created by comedian Steve Martin and New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast.

It’s called The Alphabet from A to Y With Bonus Letter Z

I talked with Roz Chas about it when the book was published in the fall of 2007.

So here now, from 2007, Roz Chast.

You may also like these episodes:

Berke Breathed
Caroline Kennedy

Buy Books / Media from Amazon

Joseph Barbera

Bill Thompson
Photo by Kerry Cisneroz

What you’re about to hear is an interview with the man who helped create some of the fondest memories of millions of baby boomers and Gen xers.

His name is Joseph Barbera. When he partnered with Bill Hanna in 1957, it was the beginning of a whole new era in American animation.

Over a period of over 40 years, the Hanna-Barbera team created such cartoons as the Flintstones, the Jetsons, Huckleberry hound, Yogi Bear, and hundreds of others.

In 1994, Joe Barbera wrote his autobiography, a book called My Life in Toons.

And this baby boomer was more than happy to take a stroll down the memory lane of American cartoons .

So here now, from 1994, Joseph Barbera.

Joseph, Barbera died in 2006. He was 95.

You may also like these episodes:

Chuck Jones
Mel Blanc

Buy Books / Media from Amazon

Art Spiegelman

Bill Thompson

While there have been thousands of books written about the Holocaust, and Nazi Germany, and the horrors of the concentration camps, few have been as powerful in the telling as Art Spiegelman’s Maus.

Originally a serialized comic strip, Spiegelman published Maus in book form in 1986, with volume 1, and in 1991 with volume two.

And despite its unusual format — it is nonfiction — It is the story of the Holocaust as told to Art Spiegelman by his father, a Polish Jew who survived the a concentration camps.

While it has been labeled history, biography, autobiography, and more, spiegelman himself doesn’t quite know how to categorize it.

I first met Art Spiegelman in 1991, upon publication of the second volume of the Maus story.

So here now, from 1991, Art Spiegelman.

Art Spiegelman celebrated his 74th birthday last month.

You may also like these episodes:

Dick DeBartolo
Stan Lee

Buy Books / Media from Amazon

Chuck Jones

Bill Thompson
Photo: Alan Light

Just about everyone recognizes that music. It means for the next few minutes, you’re going to be entertained by longtime favorites Like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, or the Roadrunner. Helping create all of those iconic characters, and many more, was it brilliant animator Chuck Jones.

Starting in 1933, Jones and his colleagues at Warner Brothers came up with hundreds of cartoons, including some of the classics everyone remembers.

In 1989, Chuck Jones finally wrote his memoir, a heavily illustrated book called Chuck Amick. And that’s when I had the chance to meet him.

So here now, from 1989, Chuck Jones.

Chuck Jones died in 2002. He was 89.

You may also like these episodes:
Mel BlancCharles Schulz

Charles Schulz

Bill Thompson
Photo: Roger Higgins

Is there any man, woman, or child in America — or anywhere around the world, for that matter — who does not know Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, and Snoopy?

Those, and the other characters created by Charles Schulz more than 70 years ago are among the most popular icons in American art.

He is widely considered one of America’s greatest cartoonists of all time, and the roster of other famous cartoonist who say they were inspired by Charles Schulz is a long one.

I was offered the chance to interview hin in 1989 after a book about him by author Rheta Johnson was published — she called it “Good Grief.”

So here now, from 1989, Charles Schulz.

Charles Schulz died in 2000. He was 77.

Berke Breathed

Bill Thompson

Berkeley Breathed is perhaps best known for his comic strips “Bloom County,” “Outland,” and “Opus.”

But he’s also a gifted children’s book creator. I first met him in 2003, upon publication of his book “Flawed Dogs.”

We tal;;kerd again in 2007 after he published “Mars Needs Moms,” which later became a Disney animated film. It’s about a 9-year-old boy named Milo who comes to appreciate everything about his mom, after she’s abducted by Martians.

So here now, from 2007, Berke Breathed:

Berkeley Breathed is 63 now. and still producing great comics — “Bloom County” returned in 2015.