Talk:Harvey Kurtzman

Untitled
Alfred East Newman? This longtime Mad reader never saw the middle initial turned into a name, and can find no reference to it being anything but E. Are you sure? - DavidWBrooks 14:04, 25 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Is this an editorial or an article? It seems the writer almost ignores the many years Kurtzman spent on Little Annie Fanny and his own opinion of the strip is offered instead of general consensus.


 * I look forward to reading your additions to the artilce. - DavidWBrooks 12:16, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

Ookabollaconganese
Does anyone know about Ookabollaconganese ? 13:04, 10 March 2007 (UTC)
 * The Ookaballakonga were an African tribe. They appeared in the parody of Tarzan entitled "Melvin!". It was a story in Mad Magazine, Issue Number 1, October/November 1952.Lestrade 15:12, 10 March 2007 (UTC)Lestrade

Fair use rationale for Image:Madhk4.jpg
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POV
This page is full of POV phrases, such as "Kurtzman was known for a painstaking attention to detail, typically sketching full layouts and breakdowns for the stories he assigned to artists and insisting they not deviate from his instructions. Despite (or because of) his autocratic ways, Kurtzman's early 1950s work is still considered among the medium's finest." and so forth. Ten Pound Hammer • (Broken clamshells•Otter chirps) 05:06, 6 December 2007 (UTC)


 * Double references for both of the above statements have been added. Others exist online.  You may wish to review your NPOV tag; the language you cite has been on this page for more than two years, and has survived hundreds of edits.  The biographical parameters of Kurtzman's career are generally agreed upon and not especially controversial... and the small areas of critical dispute are explicitly addressed on this Wikipage.208.120.226.72 (talk) 05:17, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

Awards and Honors - Masters of American Comics
From the article: Along with Will Eisner, Jack Kirby, Robert Crumb, Gary Panter and Chris Ware, Kurtzman was among the artists honored in the exhibition "Masters of American Comics" at the Jewish Museum in Manhattan from September 16, 2006 to January 28, 2007. Actually, this exhibition wasn't started by the Jewish Museum, they picked it up at a later touring date, and there were 15 artists in total including George Herriman and Winsor McCay. Btw, afaik, Eisner, Kirby and Kurtzman are Jewish (ethnically), Crumb, Panter and Ware is not. Maybe I'd rewrite this later. I need to sleep, now. 惑乱 分からん * \)/ (\ (&lt; \) (2 /) /)/ * (talk) 02:41, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

Vast Overhauling Needed
Yes, I thoroughly agree that the article reflects too much of a personal bias.

1.There is too little devoted to Kurtzman's war comics. True, he is best known for Mad and his other humorous works. However, his war comics have often been ranked very high in terms of accuracy and their realistic depiction of combat.

2. The "vast difference of quality" between Mad and Panic is strictly POV. Many of the elements in Panic would find their way into the Feldstein edited Mad. Most of what exists in Mad today, is because of Feldstein not Kurtzman.

3.Yes,Gaines refused to give Harvey 51% of Mad and essentially said "Good-bye,Harvey!" What the article fails to mention is that Kurtzman's Mad was often late and in publishing this can be costly. At the same time, Mr.Kurtzman was asking for more money for the magazine which,frankly,Gaines didn't have. Gaines consulted with a friend who simply told him to : "Throw Kurtzman out the window and get Feldstein back!" Kurtzman had been acting through a third party so before Gaines did anything, he called Kurtzman to confirm if he indeed wanted 51%. Kurtzman declared it was the truth to which Gaines said "Good-Bye, Harvey!" It was within Gaines' right as an employer and publisher but the statement "Gaines balked" leaves the impression that Harvey was being reasonable while Gaines was merely stubborn or stingy, reflecting the writer's bias.

My sources are FOUL PLAY: THE ARTISTS OF EC COMICS by Giessman and MAD ART by Mark Evanier.


 * So why not add this stuff to the article? Although I disagree about point 1.  What's mentioned in the article about the war comics, I think, is sufficient for Kurtzman's biography.  Any other information on them would be more appropriate for the pages on those comics themselves.  And as for Point 2.---the Comics Journal, at least, puts the Kurtzman issues on a pedestal above Feldstein's (as evidenced by their top comics of the 20th Century list).  Whether they really are better or not is beside the point---the fact that a significant number of people believe it, and have written about it, is the important thing for an encyclopaedia entry.
 * Point 3. (especially Kurtzman's chronic tardiness) would definitely be appropriate, I think. Acidtoyman (talk) 11:24, 27 March 2011 (UTC)

Deleted harveykurtman.com link
This site is owned by a known squatter who captures URLs of comic artists and just re-posts their Wikipedia entry. He has done the same with steveditko.com. Neither is an official site in any way, nor is their proprietor a reliable authority. 71.177.1.51 (talk) 02:06, 27 August 2008 (UTC)

Another source

 * Harvey, R. C. "Humor in a Jugular Vein: A Traveling Exhibit of Mad Art". Inks May 1996 Curly Turkey ¡gobble! 05:29, 11 May 2015 (UTC)

Long introduction?
What exactly do we need this extreme long introduction for, that is basically a complete article in itself? Onle the first paragraphe seems neccessary to me. The rest ist biography and can be read in the article itself. 178.24.169.75 (talk) 13:23, 1 July 2016 (UTC)

Rube Goldberg photo
What does the huge Rube Goldberg photo add to the Kurtzman article, and to the reader's understanding of Kurtzman's art and life? Was Kurtzman inspired by what Goldberg looked like? Or is it rather that a free Goldberg photo happened to be available? 2A02:AA1:1024:3FEE:24F2:F469:B38E:1D6C (talk) 20:35, 26 September 2023 (UTC)