Dilbert is dead. Well, he’s not dead dead — …— but as far as the public-at-large, and especially newspapers, are concerned, Dilbert is deader than a doornail.  In place of Dilbert, numerous newspapers have decided to replace Adams with creators of color — a move that’s not only symbolically important but helping diversify a field […]

Cartoonist Virginia Lindemann has passed away. Virginia Louise (Ginny) Lindemann December 12, 1944 – June 28, 2023 From the obituary: Ginny attended Stafford Hall School of Business, Summit, N.J. and Farleigh Dickinson University, Madison, N.J. where she majored in Art and given many awards for her Oil Paintings. Ginny was an Executive Secretary in N.J., […]

Today is a “Where do I begin?” day, but, with no particular plan in mind, let’s kick off with Bizarro (KFS), because Harold and the Purple Crayon came out when I was five years old and, while I had other books I really enjoyed, like Millions of Cats and Make Way For Ducklings, this was […]

Scott Brown & Over 65; The Phantom 1980 & 2023; Asterix & Obelix and Goscinny & Uderzo and Fabcaro & Conrad; G. B. Trudeau and Maggie & Jiggs & Blondie & Dagwood & Lucy & Charlie The Billy Ireland Biographical Note on Scott Brown: Scott Brown was a cartoon artist and snowfall forecaster from Mansfield, […]

9 Chickweed Lane celebrated 30 years of comic stripping last month. Recently GoComics posted a short interview with creator Brooke McEldowney. I never approach my work – my characters, their motivations, my turns of phrase – with any intent other than to entertain myself.  9 Chickweed Lane is strictly a gallery of what I want […]

In case you missed it, Paul Fell summarizes the growing, and increasingly official, war on the free press. On one hand, we have a Civil War festering within the nation, by which I mean without the benefit of one set of states going off in one direction and another set staying put. Instead, the rebels […]

Below are some comic strip and cartoon books scheduled for August 2023 release.Images and links (mostly) via Amazon,though ordering through your local comic shop or independent book store is a good idea. Jack Kent: The Wit, Whimsy, and Wisdom of a Comic Storyteller Mr. Block: The Subversive Comics and Writings of Ernest Riebe Three Rocks: […]

“Let us begin by committing ourselves to the truth—to see it like it is, and tell it like it is—to find the truth, to speak the truth, and to live the truth. ” — Richard M. Nixon, August 8, 1968 Gary Varvel (Creators) offers a pair of cartoons that illustrate today’s theme. The first is […]

As two new books by Bill Watterson appear over the next two months – the all new The Mysteries and The Calvin and Hobbes Portable Compendium, a series collecting the comic strip in a new format – we are sure to see many articles about the secluded cartoonist. “Work and home were so intermingled that […]

I’m still furious with the Washington Post for running a headline last week that spoilered the World Cup game between Australia and Denmark by revealing the winner on the paper’s main page. I was avoiding sports pages, knowing I planned to watch the time-shifted game as soon as I was done here, but now there […]

Editor’s note: The Desert Sun recently welcomed freelance cartoonist Tom Deisboeck to create original ‘toons for the opinion pages. The Palm Springs (Calif) Desert Sun (Gannett) has contracted Tom Deisboeck for political cartoons. … how would you describe the tone of your work? So, I like to be edgy. The political side is on the […]

Too much doom and gloom around, so let drop by reliable laff makers Bill Whitehead and Mark Parisi. So now cartoons are throwing life in our faces? Well certainly comics about cartooning would be funnier. Let’s visit Scott Stantis: Maybe some self-deprecating cartoon humor from Jonathan Lemon going meta and Dave Whamond just going literal. […]

Matt Golding starts us off with this cheerful vision, and, while exaggeration is one of the main tools of political cartooning, this is less a case of exaggeration than it is of, as the phrase goes, “saying the silent part out loud.” While he didn’t intend a two-part comic, Golding returned to the overall theme […]

Author Gary Grobman has passed away. Gary Marc Grobman November 11, 1952 – August 11, 2023 Author, reporter, politico, advocate, consultant, professor, marathoner, musician, humorist, gagman. Gary had a life full of a wide range of activities. From the obituary: When Mr. Edgar, a progressive Democrat and anti-war activist, decided in 1974 to pursue a […]

Wednesday came and went without a Wayback installment because I am easily distrac… Anyway, to paraphrase Churchy LaFemme: Wayback Whensday come on a Saturday this week. The Lost Phantom Longtime Phantom penciler George Olesen spent his summer seasons in Denmark. As a result, the Phantom strips make quite a trek, beginning as a script from […]