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Allan Holtz () is a
University of Michigan Press
/ref> The book features over 7000 newspaper comics series with the following information: *beginning and end dates *frequency and format *artist and writer beginning and ending dates and roles *syndicate information *alternate titles *book collections *story listings *source notes indicating where information was gathered *extensive introductory material describing the research methods used, and explanatory notes about the evolution of the newspaper comic strip *a directory of newspaper syndicates, with capsule histories of over 100 companies *cross-reference of syndicates, listing all features they distributed *cross-reference of creators, listing all features with which they were involved *cross-reference of alternate titles to listed features *a bundled CD with over 3000 high quality sample images of over 2000 different features covered in the book
Allan Holtz review: Nicholson Baker's ''Double Fold''''Comic Strip Barons'' trading card set by Allan Holtz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holtz, Allan 21st-century American historians American bloggers American art historians Comics critics Living people People from Tavares, Florida Year of birth missing (living people) Historians from Florida
comic strip historian
Comics studies (also comic art studies, sequential art studies or graphic narrative studies) is an academic field that focuses on comics and sequential art. Although comics and graphic novels have been generally dismissed as less relevant popular ...
who researches and writes about newspaper comics for his Stripper's Guide blog, launched in 2005. His research encompasses some 7,000 American comic strips and newspaper panels. In addition to his contributions to '' Hogan's Alley'' and other publications about vintage comic strips, he is the author of ''American Newspaper Comics: An Encyclopedic Reference Guide'' (2012). He is a resident of Tavares, Florida
Tavares (, ) is a city in the central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Lake County, Florida, Lake County. The population at the 2020 census was 19,003, and in 2019 the population was estimated to be 17,749. It is part ...
.
Work
Holtz's blog Stripper's Guide posts such regular series as "News of Yore" (including news items from back issues of '' Editor & Publisher''), "Obscurity of the Day" (little-known strips) and a series onGeorge Herriman
George Joseph Herriman III (August 22, 1880 – April 25, 1944) was an American cartoonist best known for the comic strip '' Krazy Kat'' (1913–1944). More influential than popular, ''Krazy Kat'' had an appreciative audience ...
. One such obscurity discussed by Holtz is ''The Captain's Gig'', a little-known strip by Virgil Partch
Virgil Franklin Partch (October 17, 1916 – August 10, 1984), who generally signed his work Vip,Virgil F ...
; it ran as a daily and Sunday from 1977 to 1979. Other obscurities rediscovered by Holtz go back to the earliest published comic strips. He also surveys the history of comic strip syndicates
a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...
, along with the detailed information he provides on writers and artists. In a 2002 issue of ''Hogan's Alley'', Holtz wrote about his almost accidental discovery in a microfilmed archive of '' The Pittsburgh Leader'' of F. E. Johnson's ''Bobby the Boy Scout'', which Holtz traced back to August 21, 1911, and regards as the very first serious adventure comic.
Maynard Frank Wolfe ('' Rube Goldberg Inventions'') praised Holtz as "the extraordinary collector conservator computer wizard and historian of cartoon art."
Books
Holtz is also a contributor to NBM's ''Forever Nuts: Classic Screwball Strips'' series, writing biographical introductions for the volumes on Frederick Opper and Bud Fisher, and creating annotations for ''Bringing Up Father
''Bringing Up Father'' is an American comic strip created by cartoonist George McManus. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, it ran for 87 years, from January 2, 1913, to May 28, 2000.
The strip was later titled ''Jiggs and Maggie'' (or ...
'' and other strips reprinted in this series.
His 600-page ''American Newspaper Comics: An Encyclopedic Reference Guide'' (), previously available as a subscription CD service, was published by the University of Michigan Press
The University of Michigan Press is part of Michigan Publishing at the University of Michigan Library. It publishes 170 new titles each year in the humanities and social sciences. Titles from the press have earned numerous awards, including ...
in 2012./ref> The book features over 7000 newspaper comics series with the following information: *beginning and end dates *frequency and format *artist and writer beginning and ending dates and roles *syndicate information *alternate titles *book collections *story listings *source notes indicating where information was gathered *extensive introductory material describing the research methods used, and explanatory notes about the evolution of the newspaper comic strip *a directory of newspaper syndicates, with capsule histories of over 100 companies *cross-reference of syndicates, listing all features they distributed *cross-reference of creators, listing all features with which they were involved *cross-reference of alternate titles to listed features *a bundled CD with over 3000 high quality sample images of over 2000 different features covered in the book
See also
*Nicholson Baker
Nicholson Baker (born January 7, 1957) is an American novelist and essayist. His fiction generally de-emphasizes narrative in favor of careful description and characterization. His early novels such as ''The Mezzanine'' and ''Room Temperature'' we ...
*Bill Blackbeard
William Elsworth Blackbeard (April 28, 1926 – March 10, 2011), better known as Bill Blackbeard, was a writer-editor and the founder-director of the San Francisco Academy of Comic Art, a comprehensive collection of comic strips and cartoon art ...
*''Comic Art
''Comic Art'' was a magazine, founded and edited by Todd Hignite, which surveyed newspaper comic strips, magazine cartoon panels and comic book art, both historical and contemporary.
History and profile
''Comic Art'' was established in 2002. Th ...
''
*Woody Gelman
Woodrow Gelman (1915 – February 9, 1978) was a publisher, cartoonist, novelist and an artist-writer for both animation and comic books. As the publisher of Nostalgia Press, he pioneered the reprinting of vintage comic strips in quality hardcove ...
*List of newspaper comic strips
The following is a list of comic strips. Dates after names indicate the time frames when the strips appeared. There is usually a fair degree of accuracy about a start date, but because of rights being transferred or the very gradual loss of appea ...
* Dave Strickler
*List of comic strip syndicates This is a list of comic strip syndicates. Over the years, many syndicates have been acquired and otherwise absorbed by competitors; this list attempts to illustrate that.
Comic strip syndicates
* Andrews McMeel Syndication (est. 2009) — formed by ...
*''The Sunday Funnies
''The Sunday Funnies'' is a publication reprinting vintage Sunday comic strips at a large size (16"x22") in color. The format is similar to that traditionally used by newspapers to publish color comics, yet instead of newsprint, it is printed on ...
''
References
External links
Allan Holtz review: Nicholson Baker's ''Double Fold''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holtz, Allan 21st-century American historians American bloggers American art historians Comics critics Living people People from Tavares, Florida Year of birth missing (living people) Historians from Florida