Career
His research encompasses some 7,000 American comic strips and newspaper panels. In addition to his contributions to Hogan"s Alley and other publications about vintage comic strips, he is the author of American Newspaper Comics: An Encyclopedic Reference Guide (2012). He is a resident of Tavares, Florida.
Maynard Frank Wolfe (Rube Goldberg Inventions) praised Holtz as "the extraordinary collector conservator computer wizard and historian of cartoon art" Holtz"s blog Stripper"s Guide posts such regular series as "News of Yore" (including news items from back issues of Editor & Publisher), "Obscurity of the Day" (little-known strips) and a series on George Herriman.
One such obscurity discussed by Holtz is The Captain"s Gig, a little-known strip by Virgil Partch. lieutenant ran as a daily and Sunday from 1977 to 1979.
Other obscurities rediscovered by Holtz go back to the earliest published comic strips. He also surveys the history of comic strip syndicates, along with the detailed information he provides on writers and artists.
In a 2002 issue of Hogan"s Alley, Holtz wrote about his almost accidental discovery in a microfilmed archive of The Pittsburgh Leader of F. East. Johnson"s Bobby the Boy Scout, which Holtz traced back to August 21, 1911 and regards as the very first serious adventure comic.
