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Our (Two Week-) Long National Nightmare is Over; or, Quelling the Village Uprising

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Hopefully the restless natives are now calming down.

Today Greg Evans returned to the drawing chores on Luann after a two week absence during which Luann fans threatened to abandon the comic forever (see comments) over a planned and temporary guest artist stint.

In the Gutters with Tea.

Speaking of a return … It has been quite a while since we saw a Tea Foughner byline at Comics Kingdom.

Reading a comic is easy as pie…there’s the picture(s), which shares visual information, and the words, which share textual information. We all know who’s speaking, or whether a word is a sound effect, and we can all tell which picture goes after which. But do you know how to talk about comics like a cartoonist? In this post, we’ll explore some of the basic terms used to talk about comics.

Editorial Director of King Features Tea talks the language of comics.

Well, Patrick did return in June as promised.

At the beginning of 2024 Patrick McDonnell inform us that he would be taking a six month working vacation and would return to Mutts in June. And so he did. For a week.

Before June was over Mutts was back to running old comics for a fortnight. New strips will return again June 15. As a bonus we present a wonderful Patrick poster from his Love All Animals collection for your enjoyment.

Nancy’s Fancy.

When Olivia Jaimes‘ summer sabbatical for Nancy was announced no time frame was given for the replacement cartoonists – based on the first guest run by Leigh Luna it may be a two week gig for them.

Today’s Nancy sees the start of Shaenon K. Garrity taking on cartooning duties for the comic strip. If Shannon does two weeks that would set up Caroline Cash beginning on July 22, 2024 as has been previously reported (“with a planned three week run”).

Nancy’s Summer of 2024 Cartoonist Lineup (subject to change):

Olivia Jaimes April 9, 2018 – June 22, 2024

Leigh Luna June 23, 2024 (Sunday) – July 7, 2024 (Sunday)

Shaenon K. Garrity July 8, 2024 –

Caroline Cash

Megan McKay

Olivia Jaimes

[Shaenon and Andrew are requesting anyone that has access to a newspaper that runs Nancy to please contact them about getting that newspaper’s comic page or maybe just a tearsheet of the comic strip delivered to them.]

Comic Pairs.

Readers can find hilarious, iconic duos in almost all their favorite comic strips. There is an endless supply of classic comic strips out there, and the best of the best almost always feature a dynamic duo that helps define the comic strip itself. From providing needed comedy relief to being a reader’s favorite part of their Sunday morning, fans’ favorite comics wouldn’t be the same without these phenomenal pairings.

Morgan Brady for Comic Book Resources lists the 10 Most Dynamic Comic Strip Duos.

As is to be expected Calvin and Hobbes comes in at #1, but including the 1980s corporate pairing of Betty Boop and Felix the Cat while ignoring Alphonse and Gaston, Mutt and Jeff, Mandrake and Lothar, Wash Tubbs and Captain Easy, Terry and Pat, Sam and Silo, and a dozen others is inexcusable.

feature image from Scary Gary

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Comments 10

  1. In my day, ‘Teen magazine used to run a “LuAnn” strip every month, and she was drawn with giant round Garfield eyes and feathered bangs and the only thing she did was complain about acne. I never emotionally recovered from the change in style and I never ever read LuAnn ever again. (*sarcasm*)

  2. Every time a cartoonist (or an heir thereof) decides to do something different, there are always hotheaded idiots who think they have a perpetual “right” to be offered the old format, almost as if they were paying for it. Balderdash! Cartoonists are free to offer whatever artwork and narrative material they see fit; the only right that a reader has is to choose whether or not to read the new version. Those complainers can stick it in their collective ears.

    1. (suggestion: never insult (or remember a certain “Golden Rule”))

      1. Tell that to the commenters who were deriding the new artwork.

  3. I followed the Luann kerfuffle and was vaguely amused. Greg was clear that there would be a guest artist for the following two weeks. And, I knew at the end of two weeks. Greg would be returning.

    It’s enjoyable to see other artists’ takes on established characters. It’s usually good since the artist knows the work of the temp. The art was delightful. The arc was humorous. Nothing for me to complain about.

    I’m sorry the commenter’s who didn’t like it were so put upon. But as I’ve learned over half a century of reading the comics, if I don’t like something, I don’t have to read it. No one is forcing me to put eyeballs on it. And I certainly don’t have to shout to the world how much I hate this or that, and nobody else should like it either.

    Moreover, I don’t need to tell the artist how he or she should be doing the strip. It’s their work. Again, if I don’t like it, I don’t read it, and I don’t have to tell the world I’m leaving. It’s nobody’s business.

  4. On McDonnell’s ever-lengthening sabattical: there will be exactly one new “Mutts” strip on July 15th, and another one on Sunday, July 21st (both featuring Guard Dog, of course). Between those two days and continuing afterwards, Mutts will return to re-runs, finishing out the month with a reprise of the “Super-Mutts” arc.

  5. Comments sections were a mistake.

    1. I’m willing to accept the comment sections in general (especially because they are sometimes the ONLY way that normal readers can even hope to get a message back to an author), but I dislike the way that they are given prominence right beneath the strips. If GoComics would simply get rid of the “Featured Comment”, then all the asocial behavior would be hidden in a section where only interested participants have to observe it, and the incentive to misbehave would be greatly reduced.

  6. I read both Luann and Nancy on Go Comics. I have noticed the substitute artists/writers and for the most part have enjoyed their work. The negative comments have me laughing and shaking my head at the irrationality of the commenters. This is a common situation when someone leaves the job for a vacation or sabbatical and requires a substitute/replacement. “Hey, you’re not who we are used to”. “You don’t do stuff the way that they did.” Frankly, it has given me impetus to explore the other work by the substitute artists. Several strips have had a permanent change of artists recently and by now the previous artist has been forgotten and the new one accepted. Some readers have left the strips and others have come on board.
    I remember when we could get maybe 20 or so strips in our daily paper and now with the internet I get over 400 on Go Comics and about 150 more on Comics Kingdom and a few more on their own sites. If you don’t like something, there’s a lot out there to look t. YMMV

  7. comment sections are fun but comics kingdom i dont know what type of computer you need to comment there but im not waiting .go comics most people are real funny or they need to give you a history lesson or explain a science experiment then you have the angry people . nothing is worse then the red hats talking about comics stick to the failing truth social please .

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