Categories Automobile magazine Year founded 1959 | Publisher Robert E. Petersen Final issue
— Number August 1991
185 | |
Frequency Quarterly, bi-monthly, 8x/year Founder Carl Kohler and Pete Millar | ||
CARtoons magazine was an American publication that focused on automotive humor and hot rod artwork. Originated by Carl Kohler and drag-racing artist Pete Millar, it was published by Robert E. Petersen Publication Company as a quarterly starting in 1959. Editors over the years included Dick Day, Jack Bonestell, and Dennis Ellefson. It should not be confused with the earlier Cartoons Magazine of the 1920s.
Contents
Closely related publications were CYCLEtoons, SURFtoons and Hot Rod Cartoons. (Peterson also published three issues of Choppertoons, of which very little has been written.)
CARtoons featured articles, comic strips, step-by-step how-to drawing pages and more. The first issue included a comic strip, Rumpsville: The Saga of Rumpville, illustrated by Millar. In the 1960s until 1975 it carried the Unk and them Varmints strip (by Mike Arens and Willie Ito).
Through the years, some of the featured artists were Alex Toth, Tom Medley, Mike Arens, Jim Willoughby, Russ Manning, Willie Ito, Dale Hale, George Trosley (creator of Krass & Bernie), John Kovalic, Shawn Kerri (one of the few women who drew for the magazine), Duane Bibby, Steve Austin, Dave Deal, Joe Borer, Nelson Dewey, Bob Hardin, John Larter, Robert Williams, William Stout, Quentin Miller, Jim Grube, Errol McCarthy, and Dennis Ellefson.
Publication history
Originally published quarterly, in 1962 the magazine became bi-monthly. During some years in the 1970s and 1980s, the magazine published eight issues per year.
In 1975, the magazine underwent a complete overhaul with a new logo, new artists and new features. The late 1970s and early 1980s issues included iron-ons, a feature which ended in 1983, later replaced by a center poster which often was a larger print of the cover art.
CARtoons folded with the August 1991 issue.
Revival
The magazine was resurrected in late 2015 under new ownership by Marc Methot, with a trial issue and standard subscription and available at newsstands across North America today. New issue number 1 appeared in January 2016 and the publication was continued bi-monthly.