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Cartoon County: Cullen Murphy

Cartoon County coverThe Vanity Fair editor-at-large reconstructs the poignant history of the cartoonists and illustrators from the Connecticut School.

For a period of about fifty years, right in the middle of the American Century, many of the the nation’s top comic-strip cartoonists, gag cartoonists, and magazine illustrators lived within a stone’s throw of one another in the southwestern corner of Connecticut—a bit of bohemia in the middle of those men in their gray flannel suits.

Cullen Murphy’s father, John Cullen Murphy, drew the wildly popular comic strips Prince Valiant and Big Ben Bolt, and was at the heart of this artistic milieu. Comic strips and gag cartoons read by hundreds of millions were created in this tight-knit group―Superman, Beetle Bailey, Snuffy Smith, Rip Kirby, Hagar the Horrible, Hi and Lois, Nancy, Sam & Silo, Amy, The Wizard of Id, The Heart of Juliet Jones, Family Circus, Joe Palooka, and The Lockhorns, among others. Cartoonists and their art were a pop-cultural force in a way that few today remember. Anarchic and deeply creative, they were independent spirits whose artistic talents had mainly been forged during service in World War II. Cartoon County brings the postwar American era alive, told through the relationship of a son to his father.

Murphy will lecture on this untold story, presenting  a curated selection of his book’s never-before-seen photographs, cartoons, and drawings.











When: Wed., Dec. 13, 2017 at 6:30 pm
Where: New York Public Library—Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
476 Fifth Ave.
917-275-6975
Price: Free
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Cartoon County coverThe Vanity Fair editor-at-large reconstructs the poignant history of the cartoonists and illustrators from the Connecticut School.

For a period of about fifty years, right in the middle of the American Century, many of the the nation’s top comic-strip cartoonists, gag cartoonists, and magazine illustrators lived within a stone’s throw of one another in the southwestern corner of Connecticut—a bit of bohemia in the middle of those men in their gray flannel suits.

Cullen Murphy’s father, John Cullen Murphy, drew the wildly popular comic strips Prince Valiant and Big Ben Bolt, and was at the heart of this artistic milieu. Comic strips and gag cartoons read by hundreds of millions were created in this tight-knit group―Superman, Beetle Bailey, Snuffy Smith, Rip Kirby, Hagar the Horrible, Hi and Lois, Nancy, Sam & Silo, Amy, The Wizard of Id, The Heart of Juliet Jones, Family Circus, Joe Palooka, and The Lockhorns, among others. Cartoonists and their art were a pop-cultural force in a way that few today remember. Anarchic and deeply creative, they were independent spirits whose artistic talents had mainly been forged during service in World War II. Cartoon County brings the postwar American era alive, told through the relationship of a son to his father.

Murphy will lecture on this untold story, presenting  a curated selection of his book’s never-before-seen photographs, cartoons, and drawings.

Buy tickets/get more info now