Celebrate National Cartoonists Day Every May 5

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Do you love cartoons? Of course you do. Most people love some form of cartoon, whether it’s political cartoons, cartoon superheros or the strips in the newspaper that let you forget about the rest of the (not always good) news for a little while.

So on May 5, celebrate National Cartoonists Day, in honor of the people who create your favorite cartoons.

The National Cartoonist Society started the day in 1999. The date of May 5 honors the day the very first color newspaper cartoon was published, May 5, 1895.

The single-panel cartoon was Hogan’s Alley by Richard Outcault. The newspaper was the New York Sunday World. And the main character was The Yellow Kid (“real” name Mickey Dugan).

The Yellow Kid is a bare-foot boy with a shaved head. He wears a yellow, hand-me-down nightshirt and his thoughts are printed on that shirt. The character had appeared in previous black-and-white cartoons.

Much like in advertising today, the popular cartoon character quickly appeared on billboards, postcards, cigarette packs and other products.

Today of course we still have cartoons selling products, along with promoting education, shaping public opinion and more.

 

Is National Cartoonists Day Still Celebrated?

Well, a post in the Daily Cartoonists from 2007 seemed to be declaring it dead. But the very lively comment thread suggests not all cartoonists agree. One in particular was very passionate about continuing to celebrate.

Now, apparently the NCS doesn’t officially endorse the day any more. Some cartoonists felt it was self-serving. And the syndicated cartoonists apparently had to carry the weight of promoting it by including Cartoonist Day logos in their strips.

But individual cartoonists and communities apparently still celebrate. And if you love cartoons, there’s no reason you can’t celebrate and perhaps support your favorite cartoonists!

Scroll down for some ideas on celebrating this unofficial holiday.

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Ideas For Celebrating National Cartoonists Day

This day seems made for either creating or consuming cartoons.

So if you draw, draw a cartoon! Whether you’ve tried cartooning or normally do other kinds of drawing, this could be a fun activity for anyone even remotely artistic. Stretch yourself and see what you can achieve!

Not sure how to draw cartoons but would like to try? Cartoon Faces: How to Draw Heads, Features & Expressions, by Christopher Hart might help get you started. You might also like Modern Cartooning: Essential Techniques for Drawing today’s Popular Cartoons (also by Christopher Hart).

No artistic ability? Or no desire to draw a cartoon? No problem! Read (or watch) some cartoons instead.

• Read all of today’s comic strips
• Is there an animated movie you’ve been meaning to check out? Today’s the day! Or re-watch one of your favorites.
• Try a new comic. Your local comic book store’s full of them!
• Browse a cartoon website.
• If your favorite cartoonist has a website, visit and leave a comment on a recent cartoon.

 

Or maybe check out The Comic Book Project and see if it’s something you’d like to support. It helps young people create and publish comic books.

Do any comic strips remind you of people you know? Maybe even family members? Clip them out and share them with the relevant people.

Are there cartoons you once loved but have forgotten about? Maybe they’re no longer in the newspaper? Or you don’t read the paper that carries them any more? We’ll bet you can find books with them! How about:

• Garfield Fat Cat 3-Pack, Vol. 2: A Triple Helping of Classic Garfield Humor (Jim Davis)
• Or a more recent Garfield offering, Garfield the Big Cheese: His 59th Book
• Marmaduke on the Loose, by Brad Anderson
• Popeye Classics Volume 5
• The Cartoon Classics collection Volume 1: The Flintstones Bedtime Storybook
• The Rocky and Bullwinkle Book – if you loved watching the hilarious antics of this moose and squirrel team, you’ll love this book detailing each episode.

 

If you have kids, introduce them to your old favorites (as long as they’re kid-friendly of course!). How about Fearless Firemoose! (Rocky & Bullwinkle) from Little Golden Books).

You might also want to check to see if there are any National Cartoonists Day activities happening in your local area. If so, go check them out and thank the cartoonists in person!

Will you be celebrating National Cartoonists Day this year? How?

 

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