Jules Feiffer

Backing Into Forward A Memoir Jules Feiffer Nan A. Talese/Doubleday: 450 pp., $30 Whether newspapers live or die, the prognosis for the comic strip doesn't look promising. The extinction of the form not much more than a century after its birth would represent only a very minor tragedy too, given the rise of the graphic novel -- who would shed a tear for "Hägar the Horrible" in the age of "Fun Home" and "Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth"? -- except it would also mean we no longer live in a world with a berth reserved for the likes of Jules Feiffer.

Florence Parry Heide, a prolific children's book author best known for her droll illustrated picture book "The Shrinking of Treehorn" and her ability to convey in her writing what it is like to be a child, has died. She was 92. Heide died in her sleep Monday at her home in Kenosha, Wis., said Judith Heide Gilliland, one of her daughters. A self-described late bloomer, Heide didn't become a published author until her late 40s when the illustrated picture book she co-wrote — "Maximilian," about a mouse that wished it could fly like a bird — came out in 1967.

Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, novelist and screenwriter Jules Feiffer will speak on his career and art from his new book, "A Barrel of Laughs, A Vale of Tears," at Every Picture Tells a Story gallery in Hollywood on Jan. 27 at 6 p.m. The event kicks off a retrospective of the artist's work, on exhibit through March 1.

The Early Show The cast of "The Big Bang Theory." (N) 7 a.m. KCBS Today Laura and Lisa Ling; Jonah Hill and Russell Brand; Jane Pauley; Cheryl Forberg; Neil Patrick Harris. (N) 7 a.m. KNBC KTLA Morning News (N) 7 a.m. KTLA Good Morning America The cast of "Modern Family." (N) 7 a.m. KABC Good Day L.A. (N) 7 a.m. KTTV Live With Regis and Kelly Ashton Kutcher; Miss USA Rima Fakih. (N) 9 a.m. KABC The View Will Forte; Michael Emerson. (N) 10 a.m. KABC Rachael Ray Regis Philbin.

"I'm not the first to say that what serves me best as a cartoonist is a disaster for everybody else," says Pulitzer Prize winner Jules Feiffer. "In terms of my future as a political cartoonist, there's no question that George Bush should be my candidate of choice." As one the most respected editorial cartoonists in America, Feiffer has spent the last 30 years finding humor in political disasters and social problems.

In 1969, Jules Feiffer wrote a play. Its premise was that men really don't like women. He showed it to Mike Nichols, famous director by trade. "He loved it and said, 'I want to do it, but I think it's a movie, not a play.' " Feiffer said. Two years later, it was a movie, "Carnal Knowledge," a controversial tale of casual sex, desperate boredom and a certain amount of nasty. It starred Jack Nicholson, Art Garfunkel and Ann-Margret. "Carnal Knowledge" is a play again.

Jules Feiffer, the Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist and author/playwright whose work appears in over 100 newspapers, will be at Adventures For Kids, 3457 Telegraph Road, Ventura from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Monday. He'll be signing his first book for children, "The Man in the Ceiling," published by HarperCollins. Don't miss this rare opportunity to meet the man whose cartoons have since 1956 mirrored our foibles, fashions and mad ways.

When he was 23 years old and living in his first apartment on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Jules Feiffer got lucky. A modern dancer came home with him and spent the night. "She was the first girl who ever did that," Feiffer recalled with just a note of nostalgia. "You don't forget that. She has been revisiting me ever since in the cartoons." These days, the dancer--sketched differently at various times in his life to reflect past girlfriends--is disappointed.

For nearly four decades Jules Feiffer's cartoon strips have dependably given us an ironic afterword for whatever issue or personality is in the news, or else have caught an inside ripple in the white water of current events. Though he still has plenty of work cut out for him, Feiffer at 64 is rounding into that period of his life when he can start a bit of summing up.

As one of Feiffer's loyal readers, I find it difficult to believe and very disheartening to have this marvelous cartoon coming to an end. As a former dancer (and always a dancer at heart), the delightful dancer expressing herself with balletic movement and satire has held a special joy for me throughout the years. Turning to the last page of Calendar has been a Sunday ritual for as long as I can remember. Thank you, Jules Feiffer, for years of great joy and satire--you will be sorely missed.

BOOKS An Evening With Ian McEwan This lively evening of arts and letters features a conversation between the bestselling author of "Atonement" and David Kipen, literature director of the National Endowment for the Arts. McEwan's new novel, "Solar," explores a philandering Nobel prize-winning physicist's effort to save the world from environmental disaster. The Aratani/Japan America Theatre, 244 S. San Pedro St., Los Angeles. 8 p.m. $25. (213) 680-3700. www.lfla.org. Joyce Maynard and Dana Goodyear This reading of selected pieces from the literary magazine Canteen has high stakes.

Words & Ideas Compiled by Grace Krilanovich. SUNDAY Chopin with Cherries: A Tribute in Verse: A poetry reading and piano recital will feature contributors to the new anthology of poems celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Polish composer's birth. Participants include pianist Dr. Neil Galanter and poets Millicent Borges Accardi, Lia Brooks, Emily Fragos, Helen Graziano, Rebeca Hoffmann, Amy Lowell, Rick Lupert, Ruth Nolan, Nils Petersen, Susan Rogers, Maja Trochimczyk and many others.

Backing Into Forward A Memoir Jules Feiffer Nan A. Talese/Doubleday: 450 pp., $30 Whether newspapers live or die, the prognosis for the comic strip doesn't look promising. The extinction of the form not much more than a century after its birth would represent only a very minor tragedy too, given the rise of the graphic novel -- who would shed a tear for "Hägar the Horrible" in the age of "Fun Home" and "Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth"? -- except it would also mean we no longer live in a world with a berth reserved for the likes of Jules Feiffer.

As one of Feiffer's loyal readers, I find it difficult to believe and very disheartening to have this marvelous cartoon coming to an end. As a former dancer (and always a dancer at heart), the delightful dancer expressing herself with balletic movement and satire has held a special joy for me throughout the years. Turning to the last page of Calendar has been a Sunday ritual for as long as I can remember. Thank you, Jules Feiffer, for years of great joy and satire--you will be sorely missed.

When he was 23 years old and living in his first apartment on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Jules Feiffer got lucky. A modern dancer came home with him and spent the night. "She was the first girl who ever did that," Feiffer recalled with just a note of nostalgia. "You don't forget that. She has been revisiting me ever since in the cartoons." These days, the dancer--sketched differently at various times in his life to reflect past girlfriends--is disappointed.

Being of the Jewish faith as well as an aficionado of Jules Feiffer's humor and insight, I feel it necessary to defend his April 7 cartoon that some readers have condemned, misunderstanding, I believe, Feiffer's intentions (Letters, April 14). I dislike the "Seinfeld" program most intensely just because the Jewish men depicted are exactly what they were termed, "brash, oafish and ignorant"--and may I add whiny and stupid as well? I applaud Feiffer's observations! NORMAN S. BRONSON Sherman Oaks

Being of the Jewish faith as well as an aficionado of Jules Feiffer's humor and insight, I feel it necessary to defend his April 7 cartoon that some readers have condemned, misunderstanding, I believe, Feiffer's intentions (Letters, April 14). I dislike the "Seinfeld" program most intensely just because the Jewish men depicted are exactly what they were termed, "brash, oafish and ignorant"--and may I add whiny and stupid as well? I applaud Feiffer's observations! NORMAN S. BRONSON Sherman Oaks