Al Jaffee, the pioneering and culture-changing cartoonist for Angry magazine died. He was 102.
Jaffee, who celebrated his birthday on March 13, died Monday at a hospital in Manhattan from multisystem organ failure, his granddaughter Fani Thomson said. The New York Times.
Jaffee was known for several of Angry‘s signature features including Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions, Spy vs. Spy, and the “fold-in,” the drawing that appeared on the back cover of each issue and could be revealed by folding the page vertically and inward.
Angry made its debut in 1952 during the peak of anti-communist fervor, and Jaffee became a collaborator three years later.
In 2020, he retired at the age of 99, setting a record as the magazine’s longest-running contributor, even though he freelanced and was never an employee.
“Nobody knew that Angry would take 50 or 60 years. I thought, ‘Okay, I’ll do my best Angry for as long as it takes,” Jaffee said to Mother Jones in 2010. “When you’re living from freelance check to freelance check, you’re always thinking, ‘What’s the next piece I’m going to write or draw that will pay me this month’s rent? ‘”
Jaffee began pursuing comics after graduating from high school in 1940, and at the age of 20 made his first sale to future industry titan Will Eisner, who bought his parody of Superman called Inferior Man. He went on to work for upcoming Marvel legend Stan Lee at Timely Comics, a forerunner of Marvel Comics.
Born in Atlanta in 1921, Abraham Jaffee spent part of his childhood in his parent’s hometown of Zarasai, Lithuania, where his mother took him and his siblings when he was 6. During those years, his father stayed in America and sent Jaffee American cartoon strips, sparking his interest in the medium.
Jaffee returned to America in 1933 to live with his father and spent the rest of his formative years in Far Rockaway, New York.
People say that his mother died during World War II, along with much of Zarasai’s Jewish population.
Jaffee began going by Al during World War II as a way to protect himself from anti-Semitism, with the cartoonist noting that his army buddies refused to call him Abe. While on duty, a fellow soldier spotted him, and the soldier’s brother-in-law, who was a major, used his connections to secure him an assignment as an art instructor at a drug rehabilitation center in Coral Gables, Florida. He later worked at the Pentagon, making pamphlets and posters for the war effort.
Bee Angryhe was also known for the anti-war cartoons Hawks & Doves, which he drew during the Vietnam War. His work loomed large, with comedy stars like Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert among his devotees.
“I’ve had two jobs all my life,” said Jaffee told the Time upon his retirement. “One was to make a living. The second was to entertain. I hope I succeeded in some way.”
Jaffee married Joyce Revenson in 1977, and she remained his spouse until her death in 2020. His children, Richard and Deborah, from his first marriage to Ruth Ahlquist, continue to survive him.Other survivors include two stepdaughters, Tracey and Jody; five grandchildren; a step-granddaughter; and three great-grandchildren.
