The LAUREL & HARDY Comic Book Collection

Being a Laurel and Hardy fan since my early childhood, I was pleasantly surprised back in 1962 when I discovered Dell Publishing's first Laurel and Hardy comic book and immediately began to look for all their following issues. The names of the writers and artists on these are sadly unavailable.

Unfortunately, only four issues were produced before the title was discontinued.    

                                                     

 Later on, Gold Key comics took another shot at it and published two more Laurel and Hardy issues, in 1967. 



Again, in 1972, DC Comics tried one more time to promote a Laurel and Hardy comic with so much luck, they only came out with one lone issue.   

 
Today, thanks to the internet, it's very easy to track down most of the Laurel and Hardy back issues, even dating to the St. John comics from the late forties.


It is even possible to locate some rare foreign editions like these from England, Spain and Mexico.

                                                                                                                                                                 
                                 

Mexico's Independence Day

Often confused with Cinco de Mayo by people living in the United States, Mexico’s independence day is actually September 16. The date marks the moment when Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Catholic priest known as Father Hidalgo, made the first cry for independence in 1810. After a moving speech in the Mexican town of Dolores, Hidalgo took up the banner of the Virgin of Guadalupe, a Roman Catholic image of the Virgin Mary as she appears to Juan Diego, an indigenous Mexican believer who was later sainted by the church.

Eduardo del Rio, celebrated political cartoonist known as Rius, dies.

Eduardo del Rio, Mexico's celebrated political cartoonist known as Rius, died yesterday at 83 in Tepoztlan, Mexico.

Rius was one of the first people who helped me get into the cartooning business. I began publishing my cartoons in Mexico's long gone La Garrapata satirical magazine back in 1970 thanks to his recommendation and later on, we both contributed to the children's magazine CUCURUCHO Y TIO RIUS which ran 20 issues. Gone now but always remembered and admired by thousands!

Rainy Day in Mexico City...

Okay, so it wasn't raining that much this morning but I didn't let that spoil my cartoon idea, which incidentally, was entirely done using my new Wacom Intuos Tablet!!!

THE FROGTOWN CHRONICLES - 1993

Back in 1993, I created THE FROGTOWN CHRONICLES, a comic strip depicting the life of a frog community. The gags always related to everyday events or some current topics. The strip was published rather obscurely in La Jornada (The Working Day), a local newspaper, on its Sunday Comics section.  The strip was not very successful and I stopped doing it after about a year. Here are some brief samples.

MOBSTER NICK in MEXICO!