Peanuts, Pogo, and Hobbes

A Newspaper Editor's Journey Through the World of Comics

George Lockwood

Narrated by Bob Neufeld

Available from Audible

Book published by Syracuse University Press

In this memoir, Lockwood draws upon his forty years in the newspaper industry as a reporter and editor, offering a unique glimpse into the world of newspaper cartoon strips. He details the production and promotion of countless comic strips, while also providing his own assessments of the most iconic cartoonists of the last half-century. The book is filled with fascinating anecdotes about his relationships with some of America’s greatest cartoonists and the syndicate reps who sold their cartoon strips. Peanuts, Pogo, and Hobbes uses the story of one man’s obsession with comic book heroes to give voice to a larger narrative about comic strips, their creators, the newspaper industry, and the era of American history that encompassed them all.

George Lockwood spent thirty years working for the Milwaukee Journal, where he began his career as a reporter and moved up the ranks to become the managing editor for features. Lockwood was a distinguished professor of journalism at Marshall University in West Virginia and Louisiana State University. He is the author of The Cartoons of R. A. Lewis, Milwaukee Journal.

REVIEWS:

“This entertaining and enlightening history of comics, from The Yellow Kid to Zits, is written by a former newspaper reporter and editor who witnessed the golden age first-hand. It is jam-packed with anecdotes about his career and provides a behind-the-scenes look at the business of syndication. George Lockwood has a unique appreciation of this great American art form.”

—Brian Walker, author of The Comics: The Complete Collection

“This is a great collection of stuff you probably never knew about the golden age of comics. Lockwood captures the history and the stories behind the strips with wit, warmth, and wisdom. This book is a musthave for any true comics lover!”

—Joe Glisson, political cartoonist, Syracuse New Times

“In the mid-1960s, as a college student in Milwaukee, it was a genuine eye-opener for me to hear Professor George Lockwood lecture avidly on comics. Without doubt Lockwood has profoundly affected the course of western culture and civilization!”

—Denis Kitchen, cartoonist and founder of Kitchen Sink Press