Bob Laughlin Art & Cards

[slantycouch]

During the pandemic I went down a Bob Laughlin rabbit hole, but couldn't find a site that compiled his work in one place. I thought it would be a fun project, and expected it to be a simple thing to do, but the man was incredibly prolific!

I did my best to honor his work here: https://laughlinart.mystrikingly.com/

Time flies and I haven't touched the site in a couple years, but I thought some folks here might be interested. Certainly things are missing; if you find any errors or omissions, please feel free to point them out.

A huge thanks to Martin Ohman for his willingness to share his wealth of knowledge about Bob and his art. Thank you, Marty!

[kkkkandp]

Cool project! Fun read! Thanks!

[JimC]

+1

[Jay Wolt]

Chris great job!

[JustinD]

Very cool, these sets always make me a bit wistful for buying what I could afford at card shows in the early 80s in my preteens. Lots of fun memories!

You also gave me my random yearly reminder that I would love to start collecting the Super Stand-Ups as a cool display of those has always been a thought of mine.

[SteveMitchell]

Great job, Chris. I plan to pay a few visits.

[EddieP]

IMO, Bob Laughlin was one of the greatest Sports Cartoonists. Later in life he was a prep artist for the Heathcliff comic strip.

This is from his obit:
LAUGHLIN - Robert 'Bob' G., cartoonist, of Southbury, CT, formerly of Westfield, NJ, passed away peacefully Sunday, May 14 at age 80. Mr. Laughlin was born on September 18, l925, in Leonia, NJ, the son of Gwendolyn D. and William H. Laughlin. After graduating from Leonia High School where he was a star pitcher on the baseball team, Bob served in the U.S. Army during WW II at Fort Bragg, NC from 1943 to1945. For several years Bob was the final preparation artist for George Gately, creator of the comic strip Heathcliff. He was also a brilliantly talented cartoonist himself, creating and publishing several original comic strips. Included in his portfolio were "Freddie Fumbles", carried by Mechanix Illustrated, "Cuffy" the cat, carried by Cat Fancy Magazine, and "Rufus" the dog, carried by Dog Fancy Magazine. In the l980's Bob created "Kitz and Katz Komiks," about a whimsical pair of cats, one black and one white, who just could never seem to solve the dilemma of "who's who?" as they cavorted about their world among a cast of supportive characters, "Nootin" the squirrel, "Kozy" the cat and "Wowbow" the backwards barking dog, just to name few. Bob also created several collector series baseball cards for the Fleer Gum Corporation. His artistic talents also ranged to watercolor and wood working. Bob was a lover of crossword puzzles, games, music, and played the piano. Mr. Laughlin was "a loving husband, father and grandfather." His soft spoken ways and sense of humor were appreciated by all who met him. He loved his craft and was a devoted fan and collector of Krazy Kat by the comic artist George Herrimann. Bob was also an avid New York Yankees fan.

Oops, just read the rest of your blog. Sorry for the repetition.

[ejharrington]

I've been looking for a higher grade example of the 1973 Fleer Wildest Days #4 Eddie Gaedel/Midget in Majors for quite awhile. If anyone has one and is interested in parting with it please let me know.

[laughlinfan]

Wow! Really nice work, Chris! I was afraid I scared you off with my flood of correspondence a year or two ago!

What a great reference site for folks who have questions about the issues.

Thanks for all of your work!

[John1941]

Originally Posted by EddieP

IMO, Bob Laughlin was one of the greatest Sports Cartoonists. Later in life he was a prep artist for the Heathcliff comic strip.

This is from his obit:
LAUGHLIN - Robert 'Bob' G., cartoonist, of Southbury, CT, formerly of Westfield, NJ, passed away peacefully Sunday, May 14 at age 80. Mr. Laughlin was born on September 18, l925, in Leonia, NJ, the son of Gwendolyn D. and William H. Laughlin. After graduating from Leonia High School where he was a star pitcher on the baseball team, Bob served in the U.S. Army during WW II at Fort Bragg, NC from 1943 to1945. For several years Bob was the final preparation artist for George Gately, creator of the comic strip Heathcliff. He was also a brilliantly talented cartoonist himself, creating and publishing several original comic strips. Included in his portfolio were "Freddie Fumbles", carried by Mechanix Illustrated, "Cuffy" the cat, carried by Cat Fancy Magazine, and "Rufus" the dog, carried by Dog Fancy Magazine. In the l980's Bob created "Kitz and Katz Komiks," about a whimsical pair of cats, one black and one white, who just could never seem to solve the dilemma of "who's who?" as they cavorted about their world among a cast of supportive characters, "Nootin" the squirrel, "Kozy" the cat and "Wowbow" the backwards barking dog, just to name few. Bob also created several collector series baseball cards for the Fleer Gum Corporation. His artistic talents also ranged to watercolor and wood working. Bob was a lover of crossword puzzles, games, music, and played the piano. Mr. Laughlin was "a loving husband, father and grandfather." His soft spoken ways and sense of humor were appreciated by all who met him. He loved his craft and was a devoted fan and collector of Krazy Kat by the comic artist George Herrimann. Bob was also an avid New York Yankees fan.

Oops, just read the rest of your blog. Sorry for the repetition.

When I read he had a comic strip called "Kitz and Katz Komiks" about two cats, one black and one white, I started suspecting he was a Krazy Kat fan - & I was proved right at the end. This makes me like Laughlin cards even more! Krazy Kat is my favorite strip of all-time.

[DVCARDS]

Outstanding. Thanks

[Exhibitman]

Nice work.