Brian Coppola :: JFK, his era and family

“Which Will Win?” (June 5, 1968) By Charles Phillip Bissell (RFK Assassination)

Artist: Phillip Bissell (All)

3 Comments - 310 Views - 1 Like

“Which Will Win?” (June 5, 1968) By Charles Phillip Bissell (RFK Assassination) Comic Art

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Additional Images:

published version (June 9)

back stamp #2

back stamp #1

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Artwork Details

Title:	“Which Will Win?” (June 5, 1968) By Charles Phillip Bissell (RFK Assassination)
Artist:	Phillip Bissell (All)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Illustration
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views:	310
Likes on CAF:	1 2
Comments:	3
Added to Site:	8/3/2019
Comic Art Archive:

Description

“Which Will Win?” (June 5, 1968)
By Charles Phillip Bissell (1926 -)
13 x 16 in., ink on board

Sometimes you come across one of those lucky finds, the buried treasure when you see something that no one noticed. Among the Bissell editorial cartoons art I picked up, this one was weird and nondescript, although from growing up in the 1960s its potential meaning was possibly clear enough. The high profile assassinations of JFK and RFK were certainly the combination of a ballot box and a bullet. MLK had been shot only two months earlier.

Bissell did not date his pieces on the artwork, but sometimes there was a handwritten date on the back. This is the only example I have seen where not only are there stamped dates, but there are two of them. And that was the give-away: June 5, 1968.

On the early morning of June 5, 1968, Robert Kennedy was shot in an LA hotel. A bit after midnight (PT) was a bit after 4 AM (ET), where Bissell, editorial cartoonist for the Lowell Sun, was located.

One can imagine he woke up (or was woken up) by the news, and got the order to get a drawing going for the paper. At 9:57 AM, just less than 6 hours after RFK was shot, the back of this drawing was time-stamped. Kennedy died the next morning.

This version of the cartoon was not run. Presumably editorial though it was too directly violent (a speculation), particularly as it became clear that RFK was not going to make it. The Sunday editorial ran a toned down version of the cartoon (June 9). I include a fuzzy copy of that in the additional images.

Bissell’s ties to Massachusetts run deep. In 1960, as a $25-a-day cartoonist working for Boston Globe, he received a task related to Boston’s new AFL football team.

Bissell recalls “Sports editor Jerry Nason came to me and he said, ‘They’ve decided to call the team the Boston Patriots. You better have a cartoon ready for tomorrow’s edition.’”

Bissel’s “Pat Patriot” cartoon was the Patriot’s logo from 1961-1992.

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	Brian Coppola Premium Gallery Owner
Joined:	March 2009
Last Login:	September 2025
Country:	UNITED STATES
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Comments on this Artwork

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Aidan (Re-Legion ) Lacy
Member Since 2005

Posted on 8/3/2019

This just gives me goosebumps but sadly not in a good way. It is simplistic in its brutality and with the rise of tribal hatreds as we approach a 2020 election, a timely warning to us all. What a find

Brian Coppola
Member Since 2009

Posted on 8/3/2019

Aidan (Re-Legion ) Lacy wrote:

I think the combination of the provenance of the date stamps and the change in the composition for the later publication are both rich aspects of this one.

I've been sitting on it for a month. I contacted the Smithsonian to see if they were interested as a part of their RFK collection. No word back. If I do not hear from them, I'll hit the JFK Museum and JFK Library, both of which have RFK sections.

Aidan (Re-Legion ) Lacy
Member Since 2005

Posted on 8/3/2019

Brian Coppola wrote:

I think the combination of the provenance of the date stamps and the change in the composition for the later publication are both rich aspects of this one.

What a great and generous notion.....this NEEDS to be shared

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