Archive • How Comics Were Made Newsletter • Buttondown

Chalk Talk: How a Cheap Plate Persisted for Illustrations in an Etching Era

August 28, 2024

Greetings, comics history lover! In this newsletter, I jump us way back into the 1800s. First, a quick update on How Comics Were Made. Book Heads to Printer...

Sluggo Is Lit…erature

In this issue: An update on How Comics Were MadeThe oldest comic flongNancy Fest: take a bow Roughly Speaking, Nearly Done The rough draft and layout of How...

Black Faces in White Comics

In this issue: An update on the book and researchA look at the modern depiction of Black faces in comics A Quick But Significant Trip East Some important...

The Yellow Kid Plays Football

Hello! This issue features an update on How Comics Were Made and the odd history of an 1896 Yellow Kid printing plate. An Update on How Comics Were Made The...

Watercolors in the Age of Digital Reproduction

One of the most surprising things I found in researching How Comics Were Made is how many daily newspaper cartoonists work with traditional media—paints,...

Everybody Loves the Ben Day Artist

February 2, 2024

In this issue: The latest on How Comics Were Made: full interview list, and the book heads to crowdfunding shortly!Ben Day screens: the complicated story of...

That Explains the Tints

December 26, 2023

In this issue: An update on the status of How Comics Were Made!Color isn’t real—in newspaper comic strips Images in this issue nearly all from the Billy...

The Hand (and Mind) Is Where It All Begins

November 6, 2023

The Rich History of Printing Comic Strips In 2017, I asked myself what I thought was a simple question after starting some research into printing history...

Brought to you by Buttondown, the easiest way to start and grow your newsletter.