| The
textual contents of this site remain © 2013 by Bob Staake.
The art is © 2013 by Karl and Elsie Hubenthal - All Rights
Reserved. No portion of this web site may be used without the
consent of the copyright owners. |
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| A
Tribute to One of the All-Time Great Cartoonists and Illustrators |
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Circa 1957 sports cartoon for The Sporting News. Hubenthal's use
of dramatic composition immediately directs the reader's eye
to the most important conceptual elements of the cartoon, then
afterwards to causually feast on the details. (Collection of Bob Staake) |
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Throughout
the 1960s and 1970s, Hubenthal's stunningly beautiful color sports
cartoons and illustrations would adorn many a cover of various
Los Angeles
Dodger publications.
As evidenced
by this 1970 illustration, Hubenthal exhibits not only his immediately
apparent cartooning talents, but his strong abilities as a designer
by creating a powerful graphic.
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| November 22, 1974 - Hubenthal would take particular
pleasure when drawing sports cartoons on the topic of USC and UCLA football, and energetically played
into the long tradition of rivalry between the two Los Angeles-based
universities. Typically, a Hubenthal sports cartoon incorporated
both "cartoonish" graphics such as the large USC Tojan figure and the pesky
UCLA bee, but also representative,
more realistic illustration, here an inset image of USC running
back Anthony
Davis. |
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Hubenthal's
sense for the dramatic was always complimented through his use
of exaggerated anatomy -- the long, lanky Bill Walton character (left) running 22"
inches from top to bottom on the front page of the January 29,
1973 Los
Angeles Herald-Examiner sports section, the oversized Trojan character
(above) toying with the puny, wishbone-like UCLA Bruin. With confident brushstrokes
and energetic rubs of grease pencil, Hubenthal's bold, eye-catching
sports cartoons were hard to resist with spied in print.
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| Working
from reference photos of "scrap", Hubenthal would integrate
portraiture (above) in his sports cartoons, such as this 1972
drawing of Los
Angeles Dodgers
Manager, Walter
Alston |
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| While
other cartoonists would barely pay attention to lettering, Hubenthal
(above) delighted in it. Whether writing out his own headlines,
creating balloon dialogue or rendering text, Hubenthal's hand-lettered
type was breathtakingly flawless, as witnesed by this June 1,
1973 Herald-Examiner sports cartoon depicting Los Angeles Dodgers
execs, Al
Campanis and Peter O'Malley. |
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When the
Los Angeles
Herald-Examiner
switched to a color tabloid format in the late 1970s, Hubenthal
was afforded the opportunity to create occassional sports cartoons
in color. However, in this example (above) from October 4, 1977,
it can be assumed that Hubenthal merely specified what colors
to be used, and in all likelihood the production department cut
the "rubylith" films necessary to allow for colors.
Regardless, Hubenthal's knowledge of printing techniques was
solid, and explained why his work almost always appeared crisp
-- even on inferior newsprint.
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