Industry news for the professional cartoonist
Jesse (‘Tex’) Atwell interview. Harvey Awards Hall of Fame. Bill Griffith address. Frazz future?; AI Calvin & Hobbes. John M. Burns retires. CXC awards. Mr. Block, socialist. Tom Falco has ended his ban on interviewing cartoonists by posting a 10 With Tom with Jesse Atwell. Tom: How did the GoComics thing come about? Did you…
Since I’m trying to get out of town for the AAEC Convention in San Francisco, I intended to feature funny stuff this morning rather than getting bogged down in details. However, everything seemed to require explanations, so we’ll start with today’s Betty (AMS). I think of this topic as the place on the Venn diagram…
Eighty-one years ago Walt Kelly introduced the world to Pogo Possum in a comic book. For the next five years Pogo and Albert the Alligator appeared in those Animal Comics and in a couple Four-Color specials. Then in late 1947 Pogo and friends entered into a kind of limbo. Walt Kelly continued contributing to The…
I noted this Edison Lee (KFS) story arc earlier, but Orville the Novelist has been particularly amusing in light of my having written two not-very-good novels myself. There is the obvious barrier of needing to keep the seat of the pants firmly in the seat of the chair, but there is also the barrier of…
I’m going to assume — given lead time for comic strips — that this Taylor Swift reference in Brewster Rockit (Tribune) is coincidental, but it fits well with the sudden explosion of geezers discovering the existence of someone who has been a major phenomenon for a decade and a half. And it fits particularly well…
While distracted for a large part of the weekend, the comic strips weren’t completely ignored. Will it go or will it stay? For instance Saturday’s Real Life Adventures left some people, including The Daily Cartoonist, wondering if the panel was ending or if maybe one of the creators was calling it a day. It being…
We’ll start with a non-political one. I’m disappointed in the new Sunday Ben Bolt (KFS-Vintage) story arc. Ben Bolt is mostly light, semi-humorous stuff on Sundays, but this reminded me of a scene in City for Conquest, a 1940 movie in which Cagney boxes to help support his composer brother. There is a scene in…
There are many Hunter Biden cartoons this week, but Clay Bennett (CTFP) offers my favorite because it’s so completely foolish. I have seen a few of these tags recently which specify that it is only the seller, not the buyer, who is not allowed to remove it, but the notion persists that nobody is allowed…
In the vast universe of comics, specific names stand out for their creativity and ability to touch the human soul with simple ink strokes. One such name is Ricardo Siri, better known by his pen name, “Liniers.” His creation, Macanudo, is more than just a comic strip; it reflects life, love, and the myriad emotions…
Arlo & Janis (AMS) went through a week of decluttering as preparation for selling their house and moving to the coast near Gene and his family, or, as Arlo says, possibly doing so. And as I observed earlier in the story arc, I’m awfully glad I haven’t lived in the same place for 30 or…
First Dog on the Moon has the delightful ability to make me laugh but also send me scurrying to the Googles, and this is an excellent example. First Dog is the conscience of the world, so militant about climate change as to be annoying but, then again, not wrong. He brings up the important issue…
Robert Ariail sums up the GOP’s impeachment effort with a familiar expression, though he’s generous in assuming they even have a horse, even one they haven’t hitched up before that cart. But the “Giddyap!” dialogue is instructive, because they are insistent that they’re ready to roll despite clear indications that they are not. They’re hoping…
Political cartoons are supposed to offer political opinions, and Steve Kelley (Creators) is seldom shy about taking a partisan view. In this case, he isn’t all that far off in suggesting that a lot of people seem to think the various Republicans charged with crimes — one assumes he means the Jan 6 crowd —…
Reubens’ week for cartoonists started with Labor Day and Baldo showcased both. While Brewster Rockit started the week off with a good laugh. First thought about Wednesday’s Close to Home: Prince Valiant is not allowed to show a sword piercing. Whereas this past week’s Alley Oop had me thinking ‘shrooms. Psychedelics may be the cause…
Brian Gable retires, Jeff Schultz keeps on, the long Bill Griffith interview, remembering Ralph Heimdahl, Ricardo Caté talks, Edward Sorel appreciated. Bado’s Blog reports that editorial cartoonist Brian Gable has retired. After a long career as editorial cartoonist at The Globe and Mail, Brian Gable announced this morning his retirement to its’ readers. Graduating with…