And the Award Goes To...

Cartoonist Wiley Miller, creator of the "Non Sequitur" strip, wins the National Cartoonists Society’s 2014 Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year. More about Mr. Miller, the award, and the ceremony HERE.

April Happy Hour, Wednesday April 23rd!

Gonna be in Manhattan this Wednesday?  

Come join us for our last Happy Hour before 

the Reubens in San Diego!

It's our last happy hour before the Reubens in San Diego... As if you needed a better reason than to come out and see your pals in the ManhattanNCS!
(A little birdie told me that the great Irwin Hasen will be stopping in....)

Plus, congratulate our local Divisional award nominees, Big Shot Bob Eckstein(Magazine Gag Cartoons and Newspaper Illustration ) and the always swell Isabella Bannerman (Newspaper Panels) on their achievements!  Way to go you two!

When: Wednesday, April 23rd, 7-9pm
Where: The Society of Illustrators,
E 63rd btwn Park and Lex.  3rd Floor.
How much: $10, for food and a cocktail of your choosing!  

Please RSVP me by clicking here so we can give the Society an accurate head count!  

Local Boy Done Good...

Gonna be in NYC next Tuesday?

Come and celebrate our pal Al Jaffee!

From Karen Green and the Butler Library at Columbia blog:

With the new semester comes new events, and our first of the year is a corker: in honor of Al Jaffee's donation of his papers to our Rare Book and Manuscript Library, we're going to celebrate his life and career with a panel discussion.  Former DC Comics president (and sometime Columbia lecturer) Paul Levitz will moderate, and joining him will be cartoonist Peter Kuper, Mad magazine art director Sam Viviano, and–of course!–Al himself.

So mark your calendars for Tuesday March 4 at 7:00 PM, in room 523, Butler Library. 

A reception will follow the event.  As always, Comics@Columbia events are free and open to the public.

If you're interested, come out early!  This will be a big one... See you Tuesday!

Russ Heath to Recieve Milton Caniff Award

The National Cartoonists Society is very pleased to announce that legendary comic book artist Russ Heath will receive The Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual NCS Reuben Awards banquet in San Diego, California on May 24^th, 2014.

The award, named for Terry and the Pirates creator and former NCS President and co-founder Milton Caniff, is awarded by unanimous vote of the NCS Board of Directors. It is given for a lifetime of outstanding and accomplished work to a cartoonist who has not previously won the organization’s highest honor, the Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year.

Click here for more at the National Cartoonists Society website.

ManhattanNCS president to speak at New England chapter function

Thus begins the steady decline of the great and powerful New England chapter of the NCS.

 Seriously, I'm flattered that they asked me to come out and speak.  The New England chapter is one of the NCS groups that really has it together, as far as events for their members.  Mark and Lynn Parisi have monthly happy hours, and once a year throw a big bash where they (up until now) get big time celebrities and famous artists to come by and talk.  I've been to a few, and it's always a great time with a great turnout (again, up until now).

If your'e interested in going, here's all the info:

Get ready for 2014!

The Happy Hour schedule for the first half of the year 

is officially carved in stone.... 

January

Wednesday January 29th, 7-9pm
Society of Illustrators
128 E 63rd St, between Park and Lex
Please RSVP the monday before so I can give the Society a head count.

Join us for the first happy hour of 2014! 
$10 gets you a drink all you can eat buffet!
This event is not closed, so bring your friends!

February

Wednesday, February 19th
Society of Illustrators
$10 for the first round and the world famous SoI buffet
Again, please RSVP the monday before so I can give the Society a head count.

March

Rube Goldberg Extravaganza!


Our March happy hour will be a special one!The delightful Jennifer George, granddaughter of cartoon icon Rube Goldberg, has opened up her home to us (UES), to provide a night of music, art, food and drink!

No funny contraptions to get through the door, just $10! Come on out to this catered event for good times, artwork, and check out Rube's drawing board while you're at it!  Proceeds from this event towards our End of the Year holiday bash in December!  Not to guilt you into coming or anything...

Please RSVP to me (by clicking here) by March 19th so I can get Jennifer an accurate head count.

April

Join us back at the Society of Illustrators for our last happy hour before the Reubens In San Diego! 
We'll have lots to talk about, so come out out, eat drink and be, uh, Merry with us!
$10 for the first round and buffet!
RSVP the monday before so I can give the Society a head count.

Recap of the 2013 ManhattanNCS Holiday Party!

The 2013 Holiday Party has come and gone, 

and we have the pictures to prove it!

Friday December 6th was the big holiday extravaganza at the Society of Illustrators in Manhattan, and I'm happy to say, it was a tremendous success.

It was close to a capacity crowd on the 3rd floor of the Society, as people packed in to share in the holiday cheer and help celebrate the return of the fabulous NCS ACE Awards after a 15 year hiatus!
(All photos by Maria Scrivan, unless otherwise noted)

Early in the evening, the room starts to fill up.  Photo by Ed Steckley

Mark Parisi and Sam Gross.

Mark Parisi, Ed Steckley and Al Jaffee.  Photo (selfie!) by Mark Parisi

Tom and Sandy Gammil, Karen O'Connell and John Stevens.  

The room fills up. 

The guest of honor was legendary TV personality Al Roker, who graced the crowd with charming stories and impromptu drawing, and a hilarious and heartfelt speech about his love of cartoons, drawing, and appreciation for the Amateur Cartoonist Extraordinaire award.

Al and Ed. 

Al does some drawing.

Food, drinks and merriment abound, as NCS members (and some non) from around the country came out to celebrate with us.  Chapters from as far as LA were represented, as people flew in for the party and spent the holiday weekend in NYC.  Off the top of my head, I can say with certainty that along with the Burndt Toast Gang from Long Island, Los Angeles and the Connecticut chapter, the SouthEast chapter, Pittsburgh, Philly and New England were also represented!  And, All proceeds from the event are going to the InkWell Foundation.

Larry Katzman, Bunny Hoest and Lynn Parisi.

Ed starts the festivities as Charlie Kochman giggles incessantly.

Ed announces Elizabeth Winter of the Inkwell Foudation.  Photo by Bill Janocha

In addition to a nifty plaque, Ed presents Al with a watercolor caricature.

"Oh- is that supposed to be me??"

Al delights the crowd.

Arnold Roth took the podium near the end of the night and had people rolling in the aisles.

Pedro DelGado, Heather and Ed Steckley.  Photo by Bill Janocha

If you're looking to plan ahead, mark the first Saturday of December, the 6th, 2014 as the next holiday bash put on by the ManhattanNCS!  (Too soon??)