The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum in Columbus, Ohio, will host a free public program on August 8 celebrating the 50th anniversary of Cathy Guisewite’s comic strip 'Cathy'. The hour-long event, titled 'Celebrating 50 Years of AACK! with Cathy Guisewite,' is scheduled for 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Jean and Charles Schulz Lecture Hall, room 220, at the museum’s Sullivant Hall address on North High Street.
The program is being presented as part of the National Cartoonists Society Showcase day of events. According to the museum, the day-long showcase brings together cartoonists and comics creators for an afternoon of stories, drawing, laughter and inspiration, with activities split between the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum and the Mershon Auditorium in the Wexner Center for the Arts. The Billy Ireland event itself is free to all and open to the public.
Guisewite’s appearance centers on 'Cathy', the comic strip she created and maintained for 34 years. The museum says she will speak about “the joys and blunders” of making a daily strip over that span and about what happens when a strip ends. The event description also notes that she will discuss her work habits, her “bribery protocols” and her relationship with her personal assistant, currently identified by the museum as a dog named Linus.
A special presentation by Colleen Doran is also part of the Billy Ireland portion of the day. The museum describes Doran as a bestselling cartoonist whose work includes 'A Distant Soil', 'The Sandman' and 'American Gods'. Her presentation is listed in the afternoon schedule before Guisewite’s talk later in the day.
The broader National Cartoonists Society Showcase includes a series of creator spotlights and live drawing sessions at the Wexner Center for the Arts as well as signings and meet-and-greets throughout the afternoon. The museum’s event page lists creators Jim Benton, Jamar Nicholas, Dav Pilkey, Maria Scrivan and Raina Telgemeier among those taking part in the showcase’s programming in Mershon Auditorium, where some events are ticketed.
At the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, the schedule begins with doors and the museum gallery opening at 1 p.m., followed by Doran’s presentation from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Cartoonists from the National Cartoonists Society will be signing and meeting visitors in the lobbies from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Guisewite’s talk begins at 5 p.m. and runs to 6 p.m. The museum lists the venue for the event as the Jean and Charles Schulz Lecture Hall, room 220, in Sullivant Hall, 1813 N. High St., Columbus.
