I recently posted an issue of CLG that had a contemporary mention of the murder of our cartoonist colleague Joe Sumrall in 1992. And it reminded me how bothered I still am that the case has never been solved.
Why does this particular instance get to me when there so many others out there also unsolved? Perhaps because I felt a bit of a kinship from afar with him as a fellow comic artist. He also seemed to not be entirely taken with the whole J.Z. Knight/Ramtha nonsense, which I am convinced was inspired by an aspect of Hitchcock's Family Plot.
The Olympia area experienced another cartoonist homicide with the killing of David George in 2003. But that case was more or less settled.
Joe Sumrall's killer has never been identified so far as I know. This is a cold case worth warming up. We have not forgotten you, Joe.
Update: An interesting YouTube finding by Sarah:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Thank you for posting these articles & for your commentary. I bought Joe Sumrall's book "Lighten Up!" years ago, and it immediately became a favorite I still have to this day. I kept looking for more books by this author, and finally eventually found out that he had died and that unfortunately, no other gems would be forthcoming from this talented cartoonist. I think he would have added a great deal more for everyone to enjoy; what a loss, especially for his loved ones.
ReplyDeleteThank you again.
-Serenity
Thanks for the comment, Serenity. Joe has his own label on the sidebar which to leads to, among other things, a review of "Lighten Up."
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mortythedog.com/search/label/Joe%20Sumrall
There exists a good-sized group of people who remain interested in Joe's unsolved murder. The "Who Killed Joe Sumrall?" post has been viewed several times a week pretty consistently for the last year from all over the country. It would be wonderful if someone had a lead and stepped forward to help solve the case.