Jim Ivey

Jim Ivey (Apr. 15, 1925 – July 14, 2022) was an American editorial cartoonist, cartoon-art collector, comics historian, publisher, teacher, and convention organizer. He worked for four major U.S. newspapers, founded one of the earliest galleries devoted to original cartoon art, co-founded OrlandoCon, and published several works on the history of cartooning.

Ivey was known for his outsized personality, soft-spoken Southern drawl, bow tie, handlebar mustache,

During World War II, he served in the United States Navy aboard a submarine from 1943 to 1946. although the exact end date of its syndication is not clearly documented.

From 2007 to 2016, Ivey produced a weekly one-page comic strip for Stripper's Guide called Jim Ivey's Sunday Comics (which included a series called "My Other Life"). The strips, nearly 400 in total, were informal, often autobiographical, and showcased Ivey's minimalist cartooning style. Ivey co-founded OrlandoCon with Charlie Roberts, Rob Word, and others. the Ignatz Award.

OrlandoCon ran annually for more than twenty years, with Ivey remaining a central organizer.

Publishing and scholarship In the 1950s and 1960s, Ivey wrote a series of articles about European editorial cartoonists that appeared in Freedom & Union, a political journal edited by Clarence Streit. He also wrote articles on the history of comic strips for such publications as The World of Comic Art, Nemo, and Hogan's Alley.

Ivey published or co-published several works related to comics history: — co-assembled with Gordon Campbell and featuring a foreword by Charles M. Schulz The magazines cARToon and later CartooNews in the 1970s — instructional book published when Ivey was close to age 90

Teaching and mentorship From 1978 to 1983, Ivey was an adjunct professor at the University of Central Florida, teaching a course called Art of Cartooning. He also taught cartooning at Rollins College and the Crealdé School of Art, and held informal classes and workshops at The Cartoon Museum.

He mentored young cartoonists and collectors, sometimes giving out stacks of Sunday comics tearsheets to encourage the study of older newspaper comics rather than only contemporary comic books.

Later life After the collapse of the mid-1990s comic book market, Ivey closed the Cartoon Museum and later operated a used bookstore. He also worked as a professional clipper and archivist for comics historian Allan Holtz.

Personal life and death According to his comic-strip memoir, Ivey was married and had a daughter in the period 1945–1955, and had a son in the period 1955–1965. In his 70s he spent a lot of time at Lake Harris, northwest of Orlando.

In later years, he lived in assisted-living facilities, remaining dedicated to reading and the comics community. Ivey spent his final years in the Greater Orlando area, under the care of his longtime friend and caregiver Joy Lal. He died on July 14, 2022, at the age of 97.

His ashes were to be scattered at sea by the U.S. Navy in accordance with his wishes.