For running comic strips, the equivalent term “marring Irving” was coined in 2005. That phrase comes from the comic strip Cathy, a strip with a title character who was a confirmed bachelorette for nearly 30 years before she married Irving Hillman; the strip ended its run five years after the marriage.
A particular subset of the “jumping the shark” phenomenon, in which key members of the writing staff either die or leave the strip and are replaced, is known as the zombie strip.
Bruce Springsteen – Drive All Night
Dad, that’s are your memories: 1981, San Francisco to L.A., you, my beautiful mom… and Bruce on the radio.
Then Uncle J. makes a comic page.
love, M.
Happy Birthday Bruce Springsteen
Happy B’Day Springsteen special guest in the adventures of The reporters (new episode #3), two T. V. journalists whose jobs lead them to come up against major and minor dramas.
To give an idea of the style, their stories resemble the T. V. series Hill Street Blues and N.Y. Police Dept. Besides the story, the human side of the main characters and their interpersonal relationships are developed.
The main characters:
Harry, the eldest, once a newspaper reporter (like Lou Grant) changed over to T. V. during the Vietnam period. His thorny character keeps him away from office work and leads him to work out and about with his colleague Allen. Divorced, his wife Linda does not want to see him so he communicates through their daughter Kay, who lives with him.
Allen, Harrys young colleague, whose experience so far has been in television, has been teamed up with the older man to learn the trade. More easy-going and lighter-hearted, a sense of genuine affection binds him to Harry and his feelings for Kay go even deeper.
Kay, Harrys 18 years old daughter is her sophomore year of college majoring in English literature. Even though she has nothing to do with the work of her father and Allen, she seems to fit in with them perfectly. She longs to eventually become a script writer and her closeness to Hollywood is for her a constant inspiration. She is not unaware of Allens shy advances but she keeps him at a distance while at the same time stringing him along.
Four episodes made so far:
1) An elderly rival journalist, who feels his life is passing before him without his having accomplished anything, gets into serious trouble by trying to murder someone so as to be able to do a good deed.
2) Misguided young journalist friend of Allens pointlessly needles the powers that be of the gangster world by creating a fake scoop.
3) Harry passes up a scoop so as not to ruin the few remaining months left in the life of an elderly actor forced to make soap operas to survive.
4) Kay, attracted by the movie world, meets a director but her life is endangered by the mans mental instability, brought to a peak by divorce.
It was the eighties, friends!
The adventures of two T.V. journalists whose jobs lead them to come up against major and minor dramas.
To give an idea of the style, their stories resemble the T. V. series Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue Besides the story, the human side of the main characters and their interpersonal relationships are developed.
Believe it or not this double page was created by train. 1982, from Bologna (magazine Orient Express, Isola Trovata) to Milano (our art studio).
Manlio Truscia & Giancarlo Malagutti
The Reporters promo clip
San Francisco with Springsteen
Questa, come molte altre, sono conversazioni sulle esperienze passate di zio J. raccolte in un periodo particolare.
…
– 1982 ?
– Sì, ero “scappato” dall’Italia per alcuni motivi. Niente di drammatico, il fumetto era all’inizio di una delle sue tante crisi. lavoro era poco e dequalificante. Si prospetto l’occasione di andare negli Stati Uniti e presi l’occasione al volo.
– Cosa facevi ?
– Più che altro il turista, stavo di base presso una zia in Virginia. Però avendo accompagnato una ragazza che studiava a Washington praticamente la portavo in giro. Avevo avuto l’accortezza , prima di partire, di fare la patente internazionale e potevo guidare. Praticamente a spasso con C.
– Avevi già pubblicato the Reporters, esatto?
– Sì, l’ultimo episodio era uscito ostava uscendo in quei mesi.
– Una puntata quasi divinatoria?
– Forse più un desiderio.
– Che si avverò.
– Esatto. Pochi giorni prima di tornare in Italia eravamo andati a San Francisco e l’ultimo giorno dovevamo tornare a Los Angeles con l’auto.
– Come la pagina finale dei Reporters.
– Identica. Oggi a volte ho dei dubbi se l’abbia scritta prima o dopo. per fortuna le date di pubblicazione sono li a confermare che scrissi la storia prima. Così quella notte viaggiai su questa grande strada, con una bellissima ragazza a fianco e Bruce Springsteen come colonna sonora. Ovviamente, come nel fumetto, Drive all night da the River.
– E quella ragazza era mia mamma, vero?
– Già. Bellissima, coltissima, intelligentissima.
– Ma dopo?
– A Milano prendemmo direzioni diverse. Per reincontrarla pochi anni dopo sul set di un servizio fotografico di modo. Ma come sempre: questa è un’altra storia.
From Mantova to Bruce Springsteen
La Monmouth University del New Jersey – 5 miglia da Asbury Park (gli springstiniani sanno) – nella special collection (15.000 documenti) dedicata a Bruce Springsteen nato a Freehold capoluogo della contea di Monmouth, ha acquisito il volume “Quattro giorni in un ‘altra città” che raccoglie le avventure de the Reporters serie creata da Giancarlo Malagutti (Mantova) e Sergio Zaniboni (Torino) comparsa nel 1983 sul mensile Orient Express, Edizioni Isola Trovata”, fa parte integrante della collezione. E’ certamente la prima comparsata di Springsteen in un fumetto. Il brano usato è “Drive all night” da The River, 1980. Le avventure che si dipanavano in quattro episodi erano già – dagli anni 80 – nella Special Collections Division della Michigan State University Libraries.
continua qui
il Grande Blek di Manlio Truscia. Le copertine della collana settimanale distribuita da La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Quiz! Quale fumetto legge il lustrascarpe nel film Operazione San Gennaro?