Here’s the list of artists:

• Bill Amend
• Brian Anderson
• Mark Anderson
• Sergio Aragones
• Steven Artley
• Michael Auger
• Brian Basset
• Carolyn Belefski
• Sandra Bell-Lundy
• Jeremy Billadeau
• Ruben Bolling
• Jim Borgman
• Daniel Boris
• Doug Bratton
• Chance Browne
• Jean Burns
• Tony Carillo
• David Clark
• Michael Cole
• Tyson Cole
• Steve Conley
• John Conroy
• Danielle Corsetto
• Greg Cravens
• Stacy Curtis
• Barbara Dale
• Nikki and Derek Davis
• Jim Davis
• Matt Dembecki
• Rick Detorie
• Nathan DiPerri
• Jason Dodge
• Evan Dorkin
• Joe Duffy
• Peter Dunlap-Shohl
• Ken Eaton
• Jan Eliot
• Greg Evans
• Andrew Farrago
• Craig Faust
• Ron Ferdinand
• Norm Feuti
• Brian Fies
• Tom Fishburne
• Jay Fosgitt
• Nick Galifianakis
• Shannon Gallant
• Tom Gammill
• Shaenon Garrity
• Paul Gilligan
• Caanan Grall
• Dawn Griffin
• Brad Guigar
• Cathy Guisewite
• David Hagen
• Alex Hallatt
• John Hambrock
• Frank Hansen
• Dustin Harbin
• Rob Harrell
• Rob Hatem
• Edward Held
• Bill Hinds
• Bill Holbrook
• Matt Holm
• Bill Janocha
• Colette and Michael Jantze
• Sandy Jarrell
• Aaron Johnson
• Ian Johnson
• Kerry G Johnson
• Lynn Johnston
• Doug Jones
• Phil Juliano
• Birgit Keil
• Dave Kellet
• Karl Kesel
• Jamie King
• Rick Kirkman
• Adam Koford
• Susan Camilleri Konor
• Constatine Koutsoutis
• Peter Krause
• Roger Langridge
• Bill LaRocque
• Mell Lazarus
• Tiki Carol Leach
• J. Lemon
• Donna A. Lewis
• Terri Libenson
• Samuli Lintula
• Rene Lopez
• John Lotshaw
• Annie Lunsford
• Jonathan Mahood
• David Malki
• Jef Mallett
• Mason Mastronianni
• Don Mathias
• Dave McDonald
• Patrick McDonnell
• Kelly McNutt
• Bill Mitchell
• Bono Mitchell
• Dan Moynihan
• Patrick Oliphant
• Mark Parisi
• Stephan Pastis
• Lincoln Peirce
• Charles Perry
• Rina Piccolo
• Stephanie Piro
• Eddie Pittman
• Jerrard K. Polk
• Hillary Price
• Eric Reaves
• Scott Rempe
• Tom Richmond
• D.M. Rolfe
• John Rose
• Crowden Satz
• Chris Schechner
• Chris Schweizer
• Jerry Scott
• R. Sikoryak
• Adrian C Sinnott
• John K. Snyder III
• Kean Soo
• Jen Sorensen
• Chris Sparks
• Robert Steibel
• Jay Stephens
• Joe Sutliff
• Sarah Tallon
• Mark Tatulli
• Dan Thompson
• David Tomaselli
• Paul Trap
• G.B. Trudeau
• Lucas Turnbloom
• Jose Villena
• Brian Walker
• James Tim Walker
• Mort Walker
• Tim Warnes
• Bill Watterson
• Mo Willems
• Emily Wilson
• Ron Wolfe
• Matt Wuerker
• Craig Yoe
• Steve York
• David Zinn

You can pre-order the book now for $35.50 (regular edition) or $65.50 (author signed and numbered). The proceeds go to the Michael J. Fox Foundation to support Parkinson’s Disease research.

Here’s the schedule for the elimination rounds.

The grand prize this year is being sponsored by Universal Uclick who will run the winner’s work on GoComics.com and the winner will be paid any money advertising money generated on their GoComics.com page. The Cartoonist Studio is also offering an electronic book publishing contract.

Head over and start voting.

The mystery of what was so “offensive” about last Friday’s Doonesbury seems to be solved. Daily Cartoonist reader Jimmy Delach noted in the comments that The Chicago Tribune has told its readers that they pulled the comic because it “broke from its satirical mission in order to deliver a direct fundraising appeal for a specific charity that the author favors. The Tribune’s editorial practices do not allow individuals to promote their self-interests.”

Michael Cavna got a response from Garry Trudeau who pointed out contradictory actions by the paper such as that it pulled Friday’s strip (which promoted the charity that he has no affiliation with) yet let earlier strips run that did have a self-interest.

His first two collections Garfield at Large and Garfield Gains Weight and his latest collection Garfield Brings Home the Bacon are now available and Random House will be releasing four new volumes each month for the next 18 months until all of his comic collections are digitally available.

I couldn’t find the books over on Amazon, but they are at Barnes and Noble for the Nook.

Scandalous.

Here’s the offending comic:

Two weeks ago Pearls Before Swine creator Stephan Pastis launched an iPad app called Only The Pearls – a 250 best of collection with audio commentary, interactive features and 22 videos of Stephan acting like an egotistical “ass#%$*” (his description, not mine. Okay, maybe I inserted the word egotistical). There’s something troubling about the app and it has nothing to do with the technical aspects or the humor. It’s the price. It’s currently priced at $3.99 and if you look at the app as an ebook of 250 of Stephan’s best work, it’s ridiculously cheap. His last print collection retailed at $12.99. I purchased the app late one night soon after it came out. I brushed my teeth while it downloaded and then took it into the master closet and casually started playing through it and finding it hard not to laugh too loudly lest I wake up my dear wife. An hour later I forced myself to close the app down and go to bed. Four dollars is slightly higher than the average entertainment app, but it was money well spent.

Most of the comic apps I read are pretty simple – a single repurposed comic on a white background with a swipe gesture to advance to the next strip in the series. It’s about as interactive as a print book. If you believe the hype, the iPad is changing several industries – education and medicine are oft cited examples. Only the Pearls has in my opinion raised the bar for comic apps and hopefully inspired other publishers to take advantage of the capabilities of the iPad.

About 2 years ago, Stephan met with a former college-mate who is now a VP at Chronicle Books. She described a new cookbook app that had audio and video and as Stephan tells me, “the light went on.” His earlier interaction with kids at schools and book signings told him connection to fans through newspapers was diminishing. When he asked their favorite comics no one knew Calvin and Hobbes and everyone thought Boondocks was only a TV show. Stephan realized the next generation has “a lot of options that aren’t you.” If he were to create an app, it had to at minimum compete with a DVD.

Various screenshots of different pages ro video in the app.

The app took about 14 months from idea, contract negotiations, recording audio, shooting video and all the writing, designing, development and meetings that would go along with a project of this size – a sum of 100 hours of his personal time. Stephan determined the content and Chronicle designed and developed the app. As an aside, I’d rate their work very highly. Very intuitive, simple, and focused attention to detail.

Now back to Stephan being an ass. He admits that an app with lots of video of the cartoonist isn’t for everyone. He describes a future where the cartoonist will need to be just as entertaining as the strip. During the shooting of the video Stephan was surrounded by a crew of 20-30 year-olds. “If I had a fragile ego, it would have hurt. You work by yourself and you think you’re funny. A stand-up comedian has no delusions whether they’re funny or not.” The video series is shot as if it were the outtakes of Stephan trying to be a serious cartoonist and the crew often part of the gags.

Video of Stephan goofing off after a successful day of writing

If you have an iPad and $4 (come on, skip today’s latte and you’re covered) I highly recommend the app.

Related media coverage:

GigaOm talks to Stephan about his motivation for the iPad app

Tom Racine interviews Stephan on Tall Tale Radio.

The version of history that inspires this diatribe claims that Martha Orr, a niece of Chicago Tribune editorial cartoonist Carey Orr, started the comic strip that has always been dubbed the first soap opera strip. But she didn’t start it as a soaper; and it isn’t the first anyhow. Orr’s strip is the aforementioned Apple Mary, and it was launched in October 1934 and owed its being, doubtless, to a 1933 Frank Capra movie, Lady for a Day, which also starred a little old gray-haired lady who eked out a living during those hard times by selling apples from a cart she wheeled down the streets, broad and narrow. In her spare time, she helped everyone who stumbled into her path.

Via Tom Richmond

BILL GRIFFITH audio excerpt: “I’m sure somebody will be offended, which will be nice-to still offend somebody after all these years. People who only know Zippy comics through King Features will probably be surprised to see that Zippy was more adult-oriented.”

Watterson’s original belonged to the Billy Wright Collection which will also auction off several highly prized comic books including Detective Comics #27 (the first appearance of “The Bat Man”) with an estimated value of $475,000, Action Comics #1 estimated value $325,000, All-American Comics #16 (the debut of Green Lantern) estimated value $125,000, Batman #1 estimated value $125,000) and Marvel Comics #1 with an estimate value of $125,000. Auctioneers estimate the total collection to be valued at over $6 million.

Smash open those piggy banks, folks. Auction will be held Feb. 22-24 in New York City.

Correction: The Bill Watterson piece was incorrectly reported as being part of the Billy Wright Collection. It is consigned by Rick Marschall, the Komic Kosmonaut.

Update: Here is an image of the Watterson piece.