Life's Like That was a gag panel by Fred Neher which found humor in life's foibles. Spanning five decades -- from October 1, 1934 to August 20, 1977[1] — the panel was initially distributed by Consolidated News Features, and later by the Bell-McClure Syndicate and the United Feature Syndicate.[1]
At its peak, Life's Like That was published in 500 newspapers. The Sunday format gave several cartoons a free-floating grouping, with variations, including one arrangement similar to George Lichty's Grin and Bear It, displaying several square-shaped panels with one in a circle.[2][3]
When Neher died at age 98 in Boulder, Colorado in 2001, Owen S. Good wrote in the Rocky Mountain News:
He is survived by pot-bellied businessmen, henpecked husbands, worldly-wise goldfish and babies with thin curlicues of hair, all actors in the everyday comedies he staged on the funny pages.[4]
Neher had drawn a comic strip, Goofey Movies, for five years (1925-1930),[1] plus sales of gag cartoons to 42 magazines, including Collier's and The New Yorker, when the Bell Syndicate signed him on in 1934.
Life's Like That was launched October 1, 1934, and ran until 1941 but disappeared from newspapers during World War II. As the war concluded, it returned by June 1945,[5] running until 1977, when Neher retired. He stopped doing the Sunday half-page in October 1972.[6]
Doug Sweet, of The Montreal Gazette, recalled that his newspaper ran Life's Like That when it carried no other syndicated gag panels or comic strips:
Our comics have come a long way from December 15, 1937, when–to the best of our recollection–The Gazette began publishing its first regular cartoon. Life's Like That, drawn by Fred Neher (1903-2001), was a weekly, single-panel cartoon that sat at the bottom of the front page of the second section on Wednesdays. Soon after we added other strips, like Mickey Mouse. This newspaper was late getting into the comics business.[7]
Archivesedit
Fred Neher's Life's Like That (October 6, 1968)
During the 1950s and 1960s, Neher taught cartooning at the University of Colorado for 12 years, and he donated his Life's Like That cartoons to the University of Colorado Library Archives (where they fill 36 linear feet). As he described it, "Univ. of Colo. ask to have all my original drawings for safe keeping ... came in a truck and left me only my shorts."[8][2]
Referencesedit
^ abcHoltz, Allan (2012). American Newspaper Comics: An Encyclopedic Reference Guide. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. p. 235. ISBN9780472117567.
^Sweet, Doug. "New comic strips getting a test spin", The Montreal Gazette, December 31, 2005.
^University of Colorado: "A Guide to Manuscript Collections" 2012-03-07 at the Wayback Machine
External linksedit
Syracuse University: Fred Neher Papers
Punch in Canada: Comic Art of Arch Dale
January 01, 1970
life, like, that, panel, fred, neher, which, found, humor, life, foibles, spanning, five, decades, from, october, 1934, august, 1977, panel, initially, distributed, consolidated, news, features, later, bell, mcclure, syndicate, united, feature, syndicate, fred. Life s Like That was a gag panel by Fred Neher which found humor in life s foibles Spanning five decades from October 1 1934 to August 20 1977 1 the panel was initially distributed by Consolidated News Features and later by the Bell McClure Syndicate and the United Feature Syndicate 1 Life s Like ThatFred Neher s Life s Like ThatAuthor s Fred NeherCurrent status scheduleConcluded daily amp SundayLaunch dateOctober 1 1934End dateAugust 20 1977Syndicate s Consolidated News Features 1934 1963 Bell McClure Syndicate 1963 1972 United Feature Syndicate 1972 1977 Genre s gag panel At its peak Life s Like That was published in 500 newspapers The Sunday format gave several cartoons a free floating grouping with variations including one arrangement similar to George Lichty s Grin and Bear It displaying several square shaped panels with one in a circle 2 3 When Neher died at age 98 in Boulder Colorado in 2001 Owen S Good wrote in the Rocky Mountain News He is survived by pot bellied businessmen henpecked husbands worldly wise goldfish and babies with thin curlicues of hair all actors in the everyday comedies he staged on the funny pages 4 Contents 1 Publication history 2 Archives 3 References 4 External linksPublication history editNeher had drawn a comic strip Goofey Movies for five years 1925 1930 1 plus sales of gag cartoons to 42 magazines including Collier s and The New Yorker when the Bell Syndicate signed him on in 1934 Life s Like That was launched October 1 1934 and ran until 1941 but disappeared from newspapers during World War II As the war concluded it returned by June 1945 5 running until 1977 when Neher retired He stopped doing the Sunday half page in October 1972 6 Doug Sweet of The Montreal Gazette recalled that his newspaper ran Life s Like That when it carried no other syndicated gag panels or comic strips Our comics have come a long way from December 15 1937 when to the best of our recollection The Gazette began publishing its first regular cartoon Life s Like That drawn by Fred Neher 1903 2001 was a weekly single panel cartoon that sat at the bottom of the front page of the second section on Wednesdays Soon after we added other strips like Mickey Mouse This newspaper was late getting into the comics business 7 Archives edit nbsp Fred Neher s Life s Like That October 6 1968 During the 1950s and 1960s Neher taught cartooning at the University of Colorado for 12 years and he donated his Life s Like That cartoons to the University of Colorado Library Archives where they fill 36 linear feet As he described it Univ of Colo ask to have all my original drawings for safe keeping came in a truck and left me only my shorts 8 2 References edit a b c Holtz Allan 2012 American Newspaper Comics An Encyclopedic Reference Guide Ann Arbor The University of Michigan Press p 235 ISBN 9780472117567 a b National Cartoonists Society Archived 2009 11 25 at the Wayback Machine Michael Maslin The New Yorker Cartoonists A Z Rocky Mountain News September 26 2001 Bell Syndicate Sunday color supplement The San Bernardino Daily Sun San Bernardino California Sunday 17 June 1945 Volume 51 page 23 Morehead Toni The Nappanee Six Sweet Doug New comic strips getting a test spin The Montreal Gazette December 31 2005 University of Colorado A Guide to Manuscript Collections Archived 2012 03 07 at the Wayback MachineExternal links editSyracuse University Fred Neher Papers Punch in Canada Comic Art of Arch Dale Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Life 27s Like That amp oldid 1152679657, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
