Above is a photo from last night and you can ignore the guy in the middle. That's only me, surrounded by two of the world's greatest cartoonists, both members of The Usual Gang of Idiots, as people who work for MAD Magazine are often called. Jack Davis, at left, was a Charter Member of The Usual Gang, having drawn the first story in the first issue of MAD in 1952. It was nowhere near his first job in comics but it was probably the turning point…the moment the world discovered what a brilliant and funny illustrator he was. A decade or so later, the Jack Davis style would be everywhere — movie posters, magazine covers, advertising, etc. Often, that meant that some Art Director had demonstrated the wisdom to hire Jack Davis but not always. The colorful and funny "look and feel" of a Davis cartoon was often simulated by others…and why not? When you saw it on a movie poster, for example, it instantly made you think that the film would be colorful and funny.
Much of that also applies to the gentleman on the right in the picture, Sergio Aragonés, except that Sergio made his MAD debut much more recently…1962, as I recall. Though Jack left MAD some time ago, Sergio is still in every issue. (Jack claims to be "semi-retired." From all evidence, this means he only draws about as much as your normal fully-employed cartoonist.)
Last night, both men were honored at the annual banquet of the Comic Art Professionals Society, a Los Angeles-based group founded 29 years ago by the late Don Rico and everyone in the above photo except for Mr. Davis. Jack and Sergio received the first two statuettes of a new bestowal called — wait for it — The Sergio. Funny story of why it's called that. Not long ago, the current CAPS board decided to present an annual award that would honor some great cartoonist's lifetime achievements. Sergio was asked to do an appropriate design sketch, and he did. It featured a generic cartoonist. This sketch was then turned over to master sculptor Ruben Procopio to turn into a statue, which he did. Along the way, it was decided to make two adjustments without Sergio's knowledge. One was to make the generic cartoonist look like Sergio. The other was to call the award The Sergio.
And actually, a third decision was made by the CAPS Board without Sergio knowing of it at the time. They decided that at the dinner to present the first one to Jack Davis, they'd also surprise Sergio and hand him the second.
That's right. Sergio Aragonés has now won so many cartooning awards that in order to receive any more of them, he has to design them himself. Here's a photo of him getting his last night. The gent at left is Ruben Procopio and to the right of him is Chad Frye, the current president of CAPS.
You can also see Jack Davis in this picture…and take a look at the expression of delight on his face. One of the outstanding memories that everyone at the event carried home is the overwhelming affection and admiration that Sergio and Jack displayed for one another. (A third great MAD artist also displayed plenty for both and the feeling was mutual. Paul Coker Jr flew in to be with his colleagues.)
The room was packed with great cartoonists and I'm only going to list ten selected at random: Dan Spiegle, Kyle Baker, Bill Morrison (who was among the hosts), Bobby London, Tim Burgard, Paul Power, Gordon Kent, Scott Shaw!, Floyd Norman and Phil Ortiz. Nice to see Tom Hatten there…and actor Daniel Roebuck, who also hosted some of the festivities. And Earl Kress and June Foray and Steve Wyatt and when will I learn not to do these lists because I always wind up leaving someone important out? Oh, yes — the lovely Carolyn Kelly was present and there's someone very important, and not just because she accompanies me around.
There was a buffet but the real feast was all the Jack Davis artwork on display, most of it from the private collections of various CAPS members. The room was ringed with originals and you couldn't help but look at them and realize what an amazing, jaw-dropping cartoonist this man is. That Sergio guy's pretty good too, but the main thrust of the evening was all about Jack. All around him, you could see his peers wondering two things. One was how he manages to draw that well. And the other was how he can draw that well, have so many admirers and still be that humble and charming about it. Must be a trick of some kind. Nobody's that wonderful.