Comic strips

Comics Related Whatnot

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D. D. Degg February 11, 2023 1 minute 2 comments

TCM showcased Dick Tracy last night with a few of the detectives movies from the 1940s.

Also was a half hour presentation featuring Warren Beatty as himself and as Dick Tracy.

Everyone seems to agree that the “interview” was bizarre, so why did it happen?

Den of Geek explains:

You’d think in the age of reboots and IP dominance that someone would have brought Dick Tracy back to life in the last 30 years. But that hasn’t happened, and can’t happen, because the last man to play Tracy also owns the film and TV rights to the character. And he ain’t giving them up. In fact, so intent is Beatty on holding on to those rights that he will periodically “prove” that he’s still doing something, lest those rights revert back to Tribune Media, who could then (presumably) license them out to someone who might actually make a movie or TV show.

Sixty years ago, in February 1963, Marvel introduced the iconic corner boxes on their May dated comic books.

Recently someone, forgive me I’m spacing on who, wrote about newspapers adding comic strip titles into the strip itself instead of above them to save space. Also recently some were questioning the legitimacy of what was supposedly Charles Schulz original art of a Peanuts strip, mostly disputed because the corner title was hand drawn not printed onto the paper. All of which brings us to:

If you’ve seen early Peanuts strips in old newspaper clippings, certain reprints, or even certain reprints, you’ll have seen that the name of the strip is printed in the upper left corner of the strip — indeed, printed right onto the original art board that Schulz used. “What,” you may have asked, “zup with that?”

Nat Gertler explains at the AAUGH Blog.

Dennis the Menace has been found.

A bronze Dennis the Menace statue stolen in 2006 from a park in Monterey has turned up in Florida, a fact that shouldn’t be all that surprising considering the cherubic yet mischievous cartoon character is near retirement age.

The 3½-foot, 200-pound statue, which disappeared the night of Oct. 25, 2006, from the Dennis the Menace Playground in Monterey, was found at Brothers Scrap Metals in Orlando, officials from the city of Monterey said Friday.

Victoria Colliver, at SFGate, has the news.

EDIT:

As John notes in the comments the above is an old story, unnoticed by me when searching for stories about the stolen statue (apparently going missing is just one more bad habit of Dennis the Menace).

Here, from The Monterey Herald, is the most recent theft and recovery.

After months of mystery, local authorities have recovered Monterey’s favorite rabble-rouser, Dennis the Menace. Stolen from its namesake playground at El Estero Park last August, the bronze statue was found Wednesday by the Monterey County Sheriff’s Dive Team.

Mischievous as ever – and still dripping by Wednesday afternoon – Dennis was located in Roberts Lake in Seaside, about 2 miles from his rightful Monterey perch.

The American Library Association has released their list of the best 2022 graphic novels for kids.

Among the authors are some comic strip creators and one comic strip book collection:

Absolutely Nat, Book 3. Written by Maria Scrivan. Art by Maria Scrivan. 2021. Graphix, $21.99 (9781338715392).
Natalie is excited about summer camp with her best friends, but she is disappointed to find she will be bunking with her ex-BFF. Natalie thought camp would be fun; instead, it seems strange and constantly pushes her boundaries. When Nat finally faces her fears, summer camp becomes a whole new experience.

Beak & Ally #3: The Big Storm. Written by Norm Feuti. Art by Norm Feuti. 2022. HarperAlley, $12.99 (9780063021631).
Ally’s friends come to the rescue when Ally’s house is damaged in a storm.

Crabgrass: Comic Adventures. Written by Tauhid Bondia. Art by Tauhid Bondia. 2022. Andrews McMeel Publishing, $11.99 (9781524875558).
Crabgrass follows the adventures of best friends Miles and Kevin who are growing up in the 1980s.

HiLo, Book 8: Gina and the Big Secret. Written by Judd Winick. Art by Judd Winick. Color by Maarta Laiho. 2022. Random House BFYR, $13.99 (9780593379660).
Gina is going to need all the help she can get from her friends (old and new) when she must fight to put everything right to save the Earth and her friends.