A 1987 photo I took of ‘Peanuts’ cartoonist Charles M. Schulz (1922-2000) on the right, ‘Terry and the Pirates’/’Steve Canyon’ cartoonist Milton Caniff (1907-1988) on the left, and Snoopy.

Today, I’m doing something different in this usually literature-focused blog of mine. 🙂 I was surprised and pleased to see on the Bluesky social-media platform three days ago that my Canadian writer friend Dan St.Yves had re-posted a filmed interview he did with me almost exactly ten years ago, so I decided to re-post it again here instead of going with a more typical lit post.

In that summer of 2015 conversation, we talked about various syndicated cartoonists and columnists I had met and covered while working for Editor & Publisher magazine from 1983 to 2008 — before I started blogging on literature. Among the creators discussed: Charles M. Schulz (“Peanuts”), Jim Davis (“Garfield”), Lynn Johnston (“For Better or for Worse”), Bill Watterson (“Calvin and Hobbes”), Stan Lee (“Spider-Man”), humor columnist Dave Barry, and twin-sister advice columnists Abigail Van Buren (“Dear Abby”) and Ann Landers.

When Dan and I had our conversation, we were in Indianapolis attending the 2015 conference of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists — for which I was a board member from 2009 to 2023.

Again, this is not a typical book post for me, although all the cartoonists and columnists mentioned above have seen MANY sales of paperback (and in some cases hardcover) collections featuring their work, and some have written some non-collection books as well. (For instance, Dave Barry has authored and co-authored a number of novels.) Also, the 2012 Comic (and Column) Confessional memoir I wrote about my time at Editor & Publisher comes up during the interview. I could add that Alexandre Dumas wrote an 1845 sequel to his famous 1844 novel The Three Musketeers titled Twenty Years After — twice the length of time since this post’s 2015 video of ten years ago. So, if one read half of Twenty Years After…

Anyway, below is a link to the video, which lasts a bit over 20 minutes. Whether you watch it or not (no obligation!), I’ll be back with a more normal literature post next week. Actually, Misty the cat is soon due for another guest blog effort here to discuss books from his feline perspective, but he’s not sure yet if that will be on August 3 or sometime later in the month. In the meantime, Misty is reading Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Treats and hoping for a happy ending.

Misty the cat asks: “Why is there smoke in July when the new Pope was chosen in May?”

My comedic 2024 book — the part-factual/part-fictional/not-a-children’s-work Misty the Cat…Unleashed — is described and can be purchased on Amazon in paperback or on Kindle. It’s feline-narrated! (And Misty says Amazon reviews are welcome. 🙂 )

This 90-second promo video for my book features a talking cat: 🙂

I’m also the author of a 2017 literary-trivia book…

…and the aforementioned 2012 memoir that focuses on cartooning and more.

In addition to this weekly blog, I write the 2003-started/award-winning “Montclairvoyant” topical-humor column every Thursday for Montclair Local. The latest piece — about the cancellation of “The Late Show,” whose host Stephen Colbert is a resident of my town — is here.