A Three Ring Comic Strip Circus
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The Failure of G. B. Trudeau
My childhood dream, like the popularity of print newspapers, inevitably faded.
I had long been bewitched by the comics pages folded into each edition of the Times-Picayune, the newspaper with which I grew up in my suburb of New Orleans. The pages stood out because of the implicit respect they accorded their seemingly inconsequential inhabitants, including Charlie Brown, Garfield, and Mr. and Mrs. Bumstead…
By the age of 8, I had become sufficiently enamored with what I knew of the cartoonist’s life to make the informed decision that I wished to make it my own.
Although I now wince at his reflexive liberalism and lame anti-Trumpism, I cannot deny that Trudeau was legitimately my hero. Although I got my hands on each new Doonesbury anthology as it appeared at the local B. Dalton, I nonetheless took my scissors to the newspaper to clip each strip for preservation in albums intended for family photos.
For The American Conservative young Doonesbury fan Peter Tonguette remembers his first career choice. G.B. Trudeau fan Peter would grow up to be a contributing writer to the Washington Examiner.
Putnam County Comic Bonanza
The Putnam County Museum is giving a call-out to all illustrators and writers as it hosts its upcoming comic strip competition.
Starting Oct. 1 and ending Oct. 31, the Putnam County Museum is seeking submissions to the Putnam County Comic Bonanza. All submissions can be viewed on the Putnam County Museum website, under the “view” drop down, then “Putnam Comic Bonanza.”
In Indiana The Putnam County Museum is hold a contest for wannabe cartoonists.
Starting Nov. 1, after all submissions are in, up “Like” buttons will be put under each comic [link added] for users to vote on their favorite. The submission with the most likes after the end of the voting period will have their comic printed in the Banner Graphic.
This competition is meant to be a fun event for all ages
The Guy Behind the Iconic “It’s Happy Bunny
On TikTok, we recently shared a video from Webcomicon of cartoonist Jim Benton (of “Jim Benton Cartoons” here on GoComics) drawing his infamous Happy Bunny, a mischievous and sarcastic character beloved by many.
The video got lots of love and is approaching 50,000 views and counting! Fans—especially millennials who grew up with It’s Happy Bunny—are loving it, leaving comments like “The creator of an entire generation of pure sass” and “watching the Mona Lisa being painted rn.”
Some commenters seem surprised that the creator of a grinning rabbit who says rude things like, “I hate everything,” “Cute but psycho,” and “The less I listen the happier I get” is the unassuming grandpa-esque Benton.
Creator Jim Benton shares the psychology behind his sassy bunny with Nicole Kinning at GoComics.
What started as a simple doodle tacked to his studio bulletin board has become a multi-generational meme that shows no signs of slowing down.
Warren Buffett and the Comic Connection
[B]efore becoming America’s biggest taxpayer, Buffett learned one of his most valuable lessons from an unlikely source: a hillbilly comic strip character named Li’l Abner.
In his collection of essays, Buffett recalls how cartoonist Al Capp’s Depression-era comic strip taught him the value of tax deferral. The story centers on Abner Yokum, the lovesick protagonist who desperately wants to marry the glamorous Appassionata Van Climax. There’s just one problem- he only has a silver dollar, and she’s only interested in millionaires.
Seeking advice, Abner consulted Old Man Mose, Dogpatch’s resident sage, who said: “Double your money 20 times and Appassionatta will be yours”.
Dara-Abasi Ita at Investopedia tells of Warren Buffet (mis)remembering the Li’ Abner story in a few ways that doesn’t affect the billionaires advice to avoid inefficient tax strategies.
First the young lady was Cynthia Hound-Baskerville, who was willing to marry the poor Li’l Abner. It was her father that demanded young Yokum be a millionaire. This story takes place in 1938, Apassionata Van Climax came along in 1944.
Buffett’s last memory of the strip shows Abner entering a roadhouse, dropping his dollar into a slot machine, and hitting a jackpot that spilled money across the floor. Following Mose’s advice to the letter, Abner meticulously picked up exactly two dollars and went off to find his next double.
That is also not exactly the way it went:
Adventure Time: The Bubbline College Special from Caroline Cash
Adventure Time: The Bubbline College Special #1 – Writer/Artist: Caroline Cash
Future regular Nancy cartoonist Caroline Cash is getting some publicity lately.
Her Bubbline College Special is getting raves from The Beat, Forbes, Pulp, and they are mentioning her upcoming Nancy gig.
Last month, it was announced that she is taking over the long-running, iconic newspaper strip Nancy when (pseudonymous) cartoonist Olivia James decided to move on.
On September 15, Cash was announced as the new creative behind Nancy, the long-running newspaper comic created by Ernie Bushmiller in 1938 and whose titular character debuted in 1933 in the Fritzi Ritz strip, which started in 1922.
An Evening with Sy Barry
Stone Hill at Andover invites you to enjoy an evening of creativity as you learn more about our very own resident, Sy Barry and his accomplished career. Sy will share his artwork and stories about his work as an illustrator of many comics, including The Phantom, Batman, Superman, and Superboy. Our award winning culinary team will be serving Eat Fresh, Eat Local appetizers!
Space is limited – please RSVP!
Details about the October 7, 2025 event here.
VeeFriends Comic Book Bundle
Gary Vaynerchuk, the visionary entrepreneur behind VeeFriends, has announced the launch of a new VeeFriends Comic Book bundle. This bundle includes sealed packs of comic books #5 to #7 and is accessible to individuals who do not own a VeeFriends NFT.
The VeeFriends brand, known for its unique approach to integrating NFTs and collectibles, continues to expand its reach by offering products that appeal to both crypto enthusiasts and traditional collectors.
Daria Chernytska at Traders Union News shares the latest Gary Vaynerchuk VeeFriends shenanigans.
As far as is known the VeeFriends Sunday comic strip continues to appear in Lee Enterprises newspapers.
Terminal Lance Comic Strip Contest Winner
Over the last week or so, we ran a comic strip contest for a chance to win a loot box of TL goodies. We had a bunch of talented folk, both military and civilian, enter the contest and come up with some funny Marine Corps comics to be featured on TL.
However, there could be only 1 winner voted on by the Terminal Lance Discord community…
Maximilian reveals the winner of the Terminal Lance comic strip contest (language warning), and the runners-up.
Tesa Teloungu! This person also runs a really great comic series that mixes fantasy and Marine Corps humor into a creative mishmash. Check them out here!
Could This Be The Future?
From Rina Piccolo:
A few months ago I wrote a comic about AI art and human art, and where it’s all headed. I know, huge topic. I did the comic to express a view that I’m not seeing anywhere, or at least a view that’s not often seen in our media. Most of what I read and hear on the topic is doom and gloom, and to be honest I don’t know if it’s mostly hype, or an accurate forecast of something truly monstrous. I mean, what a strange thing modern technology can be! Think of it: a non-human intelligence that can possibly overhaul society within our lifetime. That’s the stuff of science fiction. If you’re an artist you may be thinking the same things I’m thinking— how could a non-conscious entity take the place of human-made art, not to mention the very soul of art and culture?
Anyway, it got me thinking, and I set out to explore possible futures of this new era, and voila, I put it all down in narrative form. Here it is. Reading time: 2 minutes. Or .00001 minute if you’re a bot.
Rina Piccolo’s 2-Minute Comic about AI generated Art vs. Human Art.
The Very First “Calvin and Hobbes” Comic Strip
Peanuts‘ 75th has passed, next up is Calvin and Hobbes‘ 40th.
Forty years ago, on Nov. 18, 1985, the world was officially introduced to Calvin, a precocious, imaginative, and wise-beyond-his-years 6-year-old, and his best friend, a sage yet mischievous tiger named Hobbes.
Universal Press Syndicate published the first “Calvin and Hobbes” comic strip in just 35 newspapers. In it, Calvin tells his dad he’s off to check his tiger trap, which he baited with a tuna-fish sandwich (irresistible to the big cats, naturally). Sure enough, in the final panel, we see that Calvin has caught a striped feline who is happily munching away. The adventure has begun.
Rachel DeSchepper at GoComics tells us the origin of Bill Waterson’s Calvin and Hobbes comic strip.
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