The Katzenjammer Kids* are 110 years old this month, the world's longest running comic. Watch 1918's Policy & Pie (pt. 2), rare animation by creator Rudolph Dirks who lost the strip to William Randolph Hearst in a court case. The strip was taken over by Harold H. Knerr, but Dirks retained rights to the characters and produced a rival cartoon under The Captain & the Kids for Pulitzer papers for several decades. Five artists followed Dirks and Knerr creating the strip for Hearst.
posted on Dec 27, 2007 - View this thread

From about 1875 to the 1940s, cigarette cards spurred tobacco sales. Sets offer a glimpse into the popculture of the times, spanning newsmakers, cinema celebrities, and sports stars; cute illustrated subjects, like "frisky" and children with rosy cheeks; handy info like air raid precautions, first aid, and amusing tricks; and neat stuff like famous escapes, exotic races, and figures of speech. Browse more fun sets of vintage images.
posted on Dec 11, 2007 - View this thread

Pop Life Art and its associated blog focus on celebrity art, heavy on the rock stars. One of my happy discoveries is Martin Mull's collection of collages, but I bemoan the lack of any wildlife art from Radar O'Reilly. If you're a pop culture junkie, here's a little advice on celebrity art collecting from an expert.
posted on Nov 19, 2007 - View this thread

For many kids, the space age made its TV debut years before Sputnik with 1950's TV space serials.
1950 - Space Patrol - The Hidden Treasure of Mars. (Part two)
1954 - Rocky Jones' Space, Space Ranger - Rocky's Odyssey. (Chapters two, three)
1954 - Flash Gordon - Deadline at Noon and Akim the Terrible.
posted on Sep 24, 2007 - View this thread

From hair styles and hotpants to bellbottoms and boots, this site has amassed a massive fashion photo collection of groovy celebrities and swingin' stars from the '60s and '70s.
posted on Sep 9, 2007 - View this thread

In 1997, a geeky little boy from New Mexico became one of the first major web celebrities when he reached out to meet his future girlfriend. He talks about the impact that this unexpected celebrity had on his life. Apparently, after years of eschewing the web, he's all grown up and he's looking for "bois" on MySpace (sound is NSFW). (via szanalmas, possibly NSFW).
posted on Mar 12, 2007 - View this thread

Japan in America: the Turn of the Twentieth Century - an exhibit of ads, cartoons, art and other popculture artifacts from the decades leading up to WWI. (image menu is at the bottom of the page)
posted on Sep 9, 2006 - View this thread

Retrocrush is celebrating the Year of the Dog with a tribute to the 100 greatest dogs of pop culture history. (via presurfer). Is your favorite famous canine on the list?
posted on Feb 4, 2006 - View this thread

White plastic chairs - Jens Thiel blogs his research of the ubiquitous chair we all love to hate for an upcoming monobloc monograph and museum exhibition. The first chair emerged midcentury, devil spawn of a noble heritage. Today, some fear the monobloc population rivals or exceeds that of humans. Some view the chair as art, others see their place in history, but I agree with the wag who dubs them tupperware containers for lard butts.
posted on Aug 2, 2005 - View this thread

Highbrow meets lowbrow - Isabel Samaras uses classic paintings as a springboard to portray the secret lives of pop culture icons like the Addams Family, the cast of Gilligan's Island, Batman & Robin and Tattoo. Fun but NSFW stuff. Check out her portfolio of illustrations too.
posted on Mar 11, 2003 - View this thread

The lady with the mystic smile - over the years, she's been stolen, lampooned, revered in song (mp3 file) and the subject of mystery and mania for many. Her visage has been been the inspiration for socks, cookie jars, bathtub toys and lots of kitsch and pop art. What's the secret to the world's long standing love affair with this lady?
posted on Jan 30, 2003 - View this thread

Funky Radical World was created by Japanese illustrator Radical Suzuki - don't miss the delightful fashion show. One of my favorite works is Real Tokyo Girls, a flash animation about the rather fascinating Ganguro girl fad. This gallery includes a few more samples of his work. warning - some cartoon nudity may be involved!
posted on Jan 18, 2003 - View this thread