Daily Cartoonist

TDC @ 20: The Next 20 Years

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Alan Gardner Published: October 30, 2025 1 minute 9 comments

As we close out October’s celebration of the 20th anniversary of The Daily Cartoonist, I want to present a look forward where we are steering TDC, and what you can expect in the coming months and years.

The Future

I want to tell you about three changes that are either underway or will be noticeable as we refocus TDC for the future.

For 20 years our tagline has been “Industry news & opinion for the professional cartoonist.” That will not change. What will change is a widening of the scope of who is a professional cartoonist. TDC’s past coverage has tilted toward newspaper based cartoonists—comic strips, panels, and editorial cartoons. This reflected my artistic interest when I started this site. In the future you’ll see us expanding coverage to comics and cartoonists regardless of where or how their work is published.

Free speech and expression have always been a focus at TDC. With the growing tide of authoritarianism around the world, more artists are being silenced. We’re still examining how we can make the biggest impact on this issue, but it’s something we all need to be aware of, even if we live and work in what feels like a “safe place.”

Lastly, advertising has been our primary means to pay the bills and compensate us writers. We will soon be releasing an ad-free subscription for those who’d like to contribute financially directly instead of indirectly via ads. In addition to not seeing ads, subscribers should also notice pages load faster. Additional subscription options will be considered as we identify them.

Before signing off, I want to thank a few people who have been instrumental in supporting TDC for the last two decades.

First, a thanks goes out to Dave Astor, formerly the syndication editor for Editor & Publisher. As I was starting out, he often cited TDC thus giving me both legitimacy and exposed TDC to his readers. I truly believe had he not found me or linked to me, it would have taken longer for TDC to gain traction and who knows if I would have continued writing without that early traffic growth.

Another big thanks goes to John Glynn. While at Andrews McMeel Universal he was always a strong supporter. He donated books for me to give away during those early year fundraisers. When I put the site on hiatus, he reached out with a generous offer to buy it and keep it going. I’m grateful he was true to his word to keep TDC a news site for professional cartoonists instead of repurposing the domain into something else. A note of thanks goes to AMU CTO Chris Waldron and his staff (largely Tim Burger) for keeping the site running and offering to sell it back to me rather than shutter it when it no longer fit their digital portfolio.

Editorial cartoonist Pat Bagley provided our avatar/caricatures for the site and our social media. I’ve known Pat for decades and he’s always been a reliable friend and supporter.

I huge note of appreciation goes to fellow TDC partners D.D. Degg and Mike Peterson. We make up a great team: I provide technical knowledge and news coverage; D.D.’s deep knowledge of comic history is matched by only a handful in the industry, and I am constantly learning from his articles. There is no equal in keeping tabs on the news. Mike writes the popular daily column Comic Strip of the Day, and his journalism background provides valuable counsel when we discuss different issues that sometimes arise.

Lastly, there is you, our readers. Whether you’re a silent reader or actively engaging in the comments we thank you for your readership and support.

Here’s to the next 20 years. 🥂🍻

–Alan