According to this story from the Monterey Herald, The Arts Council of Monterey County will be honoring Gordo comic strip creator Gus Arriola with a Lifetime Achievement award this weekend:
Arriola is the creator of the “Gordo” comic strip, which ran on Universal Features Syndicate from 1941 to 1985. The strip twice won Best Humor Strip from the National Cartoonists Society. His work has been exhibited numerous times by the Carmel Art Association.
Mary Frances Arriola, Gus Arriola’s wife, said her husband has been feeling the ill effects of his two-year battle with colon cancer and subsequent chemotherapy, but that he was honored by the award.
“People are being very good to us and helping us,” she said. “It’s just a difficult time in our lives right now.”
As anyone who’s read Gordo knows, the recognition couldn’t happen to a more deserving cartoonist. Which reminds me, why hasn’t anyone attempted a Gordo collection yet?
January 24th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
Gordo was a Sunday ritual as well as all the other colour ‘toon strips offered by the San Jose Mercury News when I was a child- it was also my first introduction into Hispanic culture. While a good many of the jokes flew right over my head (Gordo’s skirt chasing was never fully understood by me until 7th grade), his explanations of everyday life made more sense to me than the stuff my parents tried (unsuccessfully) to imprint on me. And the critters of the set showed (at times) more wisdom than most teachers at my shool… not that there was a challenge here, but it was worthy of note in view of the fact that I was aware of it.
Gus Arriola struck into ground that most cartoonist would avoid like the plague, and found it fertile and rich- indeed, as his creation, he was “the mos’ bes’ bean farmer in th’ world,”… except that he nurtured ‘Human Beans’ and explained one stripe thereof to another, a task that would intimidate far too many. He was a man of courage, insight, wisdom and above all the fine stripe of humor that marks a man who is comfortable with his view of life and others- there will be no other like him.
Gregory F. (the Old Sgt.) Howard