I get to talk to a real life cartoon character! Jeff Keane, son of the the great Bil Keane, and current writer and artist of the venerable “The Family Circus” sits down and has a great chat with me about stepping into the shadow of a master, “legacy” strips in general, the amazing role his mother played in the business of “The Family Circus” and comic strip copyrights, the enduring allure of the strip, the parodies and detractors out there, and the future of the National Cartoonist Society, of which Jeff is the current president.
It was great to hear some of the stories about his dad, and to talk to someone who has literally been involved in comics since he was two years old. It’s an easy strip to take shots at in this age of internet snark, but we all grew up with it, and honestly, when you have kids like I do, it grows on you again with its gentle simplicity. Jeff is funny, open, and candid, and it was great to talk to him. Besides, you’ll get to hear him respond to the parodies by Mark “Lio” Tatulli, and Stephan “Pearls Before Swine” Pastis!
There’s also Tall Tale Features News, and a plug for the great “Stay Tooned” Magazine, with issue number four about to be hot off the presses. It features nothing but the artists and writers of “MAD Magazine” over the years, and is chock full of art and interviews from the likes of Sergio Aragones and Jack Davis. A must read from John Read!
Coming soon: What is The Big Funny and how can you get a copy? How does an animated film go from intial concept to finished product? And what’s “Baldo” up to these days?
Also, my buds at Comics Coast to Coast just did a great episode with one of the creators of Comic Press, so it’s chock full of information you’ll want to hear from the source. Always a great time listening to Brian, Justin and John!
Great job, Tom and Jeff! Very entertaining and informative!
This is a really great interview!!! Great Job!!!
Jeff sounds like a cool guy. On a side note, his voice is remarkably similar to his brother Glen’s.
Jeff is a great interview! Lots of great stories! And nobody knows how to keep things moving like Tom. I could listen to these guys for 5 hours..well, at least 4 1/2.
Jeff was great…and I don’t think I even scratched the surface of some of the stories…he must know so many of the old cartoonists from back in the day having grown up in that household. That alone would make him a fascinating subject. Have to have him back on!
Wonderful job, Tom! And what an amazingly talented family!! I totally agree with John’s note above about Jeff’s voice. As an animation student, one of my biggest inspirations was Glen’s work … Ah, those sleepless nights of doing a Beast head rotation!
Ditto on all the above comments. Great fun and informative interview. Nice job, Tom. Uh,…and you did okay, too,…Jeff….hee hee hee.___Seriously, very nice.
Thanks for the nice comments, but, you guys are mistaken about me sounding like Glen…. it is Glen who sounds like me.
Excellent interview. I like Jeff’s take on the future of papers and publications. And yes – if you guys get together and come up with some master plan to eliminate the problem, fill me in!