Comic Strip News and Reviews
Skip to comments
A roundup of various news items about comic strips and comic strip cartoonists.
Synchronous Syndicate Symposium
First is Comics Kingdom throwing a spotlight on Mort Walker’s Beetle Bailey.
Seventy-five years. That’s how long Mort Walker’s Beetle Bailey has been making readers laugh, wink, and occasionally nod in recognition at life’s small absurdities. From his very first shuffle onto the comics page in 1950, Beetle wasn’t so much a hero as he was a reflection of us—the perpetually tired, sometimes rebellious, always relatable underdog.
Now, to celebrate this milestone, Fantagraphics has released Beetle Bailey: 75 Years of Smiles—a gorgeous collection that captures the strip’s history, evolution, and enduring humor.
Then GoComics reveals secrets behind Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes shamus Tracer Bullet.
Tracer Bullet’s panels look and feel markedly different from the typical “Calvin and Hobbes” strip—they’re dark, moody, and smoky. Because of the labor-intensive way they were drawn and inked, creator Bill Watterson only introduced Tracer three times in the decade-long run. “Tracer Bullet stories are extremely time-consuming to write, so I don’t attempt them often,” Watterson explained in The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book…
Rachel DeSchepper links us to the three detective thrillers:
We’re first introduced on May 16, 1987.
In the second arc Tracer is asked to investigate a conumdrum.
For his third and final case, Tracer is hired to snoop out who shattered Calvin’s mom’s lamp.
Comic Strip International
Hands up who’s familiar with the British newspaper strip, Tiffany Jones? No?
For those unfamiliar, “Tiffany Jones” strip ran between 1964 and 1977, the creation of writer and artist Jenny Butterworth, partner of fellow writer Mike Butterworth, and Pat Tourret, one of the talented Tourret sisters. They were hailed as the first ever all-female creative team on a newspaper comic strip when the strip launched.
The series – instigated by Julian Phipps, art editor of the Associated Newspapers (and an artist himself) – centred on a young woman who travelled to London to become a fashion model, who also happened to work as a secret agent. (The character’s good looks enabled her to easily retrieve information from the enemy).
John Freeman at downthetubes enlightens us on the adventures of Tiffany Jones. Some here in the United States may remember the strip – like James Bond, Modesty Blaise, and a few other British action comic strips Tiffany Jones did run in some U.S. newspapers.
It was originally published in the Daily Sketch; then from 1971, when the Daily Sketch merged with the Daily Mail, in the latter. It was also syndicated internationally by King Features, including into the US, running in several newspapers there, including The San Francisco Chronicle. Comic archivist Dave Karlsen notes it eventually reached twenty three countries on five continents, with fifty five newspaper outlets in Canada and America.
Still with John Freeman we’re treated to a sample of the short-lived Kathy and Wendy comic strip by Romero.
Created in 1985, “Kathy and Wendy”, a daily strip, centring on two girls out for adventure while on holiday, lasted just ten episodes. The lot description states that “unfortunately, due to economic problems of the newspaper, not many strips were published,” and over on the Origin of Comics Gallery, which offers a number of Romero works for sale, including “Kathy and Wendy” No. 8 and two unfinished strips, states [Enric Badia] Romero had begun pencilling Nos 11 and 12 when he was told it was being cancelled and he no longer inked it. The newspaper is not identified.
Enric Badia Romero more famously spent years drawing the Modesty Blaise comic strip.
A Splendid Time is Guaranteed For All
Patrick McDonnell, he of Mutts fame, is preparing to embark on a promotional tour.
Ever wanted to meet Patrick in person? We have great news for our friends in New Jersey, New York, and California (and the surrounding areas)!
This fall and winter, Patrick will be visiting select bookstores, festivals, and other special places to celebrate the release of The Gift of Everything and The Gift of Nothing Anniversary Edition. If you’re able, we’d love for you to join us at one of these gatherings.
Mutts.com has the locations and dates for the already scheduled appearances beginning October 8.
This weekend is the Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC) festival where among the dozens of guests will be Ray Billingsley, Charles Burns, Scott Kurtz, Caitlin McGurk, Lonnie Millsap, Ann Telnaes, and Carol Tyler.
And if you are in Columbus be sure to visit The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum.
Win A Prize
The Lane Libraries is calling cartoonists of all ages to participate in its Just Humor Us comic strip contest.
Between now and Sept. 25, which is National Comic Book Day, cartoonists from ages 7 to adults are invited to submit original comic strips.
First-place winners will be published in the Journal-News and first- through third-place winners will be featured on the Lane Libraries website.
Michael D. Pitman at The Journal News informs us of the Lane Libraries comic strip contest.
At a different library:
The Center for Renaissance Studies at the Newberry Library is pleased to announce the Newberry Medieval Minicomic Prize. Generously funded by the Medieval Academy of America, two juried mini-grants of $250.00 each will support emerging artists who are primarily self-published for the creation of a new minicomic that engages with medieval culture.
The prize program was inspired by Cartooning the Medieval, a collaborative workshop and conference at the Newberry Library in 2025 that brought together professional cartoonists and medievalists to imagine new opportunities for sharing medieval culture through comics.
Eligibility Requirements
- Be at least 18 years of age at the time of applying
- Be able to develop and complete a minicomic by May 1, 2026
- Be primarily self-published with no work published by a major publisher (except for anthologies)
- Be applying as a sole creator and not as an independent publisher or collective, although collaborative partnerships—especially with professional medievalists (i.e., graduate students or faculty)—are welcome.
Good Times, Bad Times – New Strips, Old Strips
Even in the darkest of times, there are shenanigans.
That’s the core of Uppity, the newest strip from Austin’s Isaiah Broussard. Set in the Jim Crow South, it follows a group of jazz musicians as they try to make a name for themselves despite their racist surroundings. Club owners and managers are torn between their love of money and their hatred of Black folks. The absurdity of the apartheid state gets dissected a dozen different, hilarious ways by Broussard’s cast, all of whom behave like, well, musicians.
Jef Rouner at The Texas Signal tells us of Isaiah Broussard taking the stage with his Uppity comic strip.
Uppity brings Broussard full circle, incorporating the anger of CWW and the lovability of Transyltown. Without both, it’s unlikely Uppity would exist. Broussard’s rage at unfair systems perpetuated by petty people comes across in every panel, but so does his simple appreciation for a cast getting into trouble.
The strip isn’t always strictly comedic every week. In practice, Uppity more resembles classic strips like Gasoline Alley and Peanuts (Murphy even wears Charlie Brown’s shirt and kicks a football in a flashback). There’s not always a punchline and payoff, so reading the strip across multiple weeks is important.
Since graduating from High school, Korean-born artist Frank Cho wanted to draw and create. He began by creating comic strips for The Owl, the newspaper of Prince George’s Community College, and for The Diamond, the school paper of the University of Maryland, College Park. He later developed his own syndicated strip titled “Liberty Meadows.”
After a 5 year run, he eventually pulled the strip from syndication and transitioned into comic art. Doing cover art for Marvel and other publishers.
Martin for Geek Vibes Nation interviews cartoonist Frank Cho on the occasion of the Frank Cho Exhibition.
The interview touches on Frank Cho, Liberty Meadows and syndication:
Frank: Breaking into newspaper syndication was easy for me. I’m one of the few lucky ones who managed to do it while still in college with Liberty Meadows. But maintaining a career as a syndicated cartoonist proved difficult—the constant censorship, daily deadlines, and petty politics soured me and prompted my early exit. These experiences opened my eyes to the shortcomings of the newspaper industry and the decline of American newspapers over the past thirty years. But they say things happen for a reason, and leaving the newspaper strip business led me directly into Marvel Comics, and the rest is history.
Comments 9
Comments are closed.