Move ‘Em On, Head ‘Em Up – A Cartoonists Roundup
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Fran Krause, Nate Fakes, Caroline Cash, Keith Knight, and Deon Parson from the Cartoonists File.
Fran Krause’s Deep Dark Fears
Comics has the wonderful ability to seamlessly flow between the imagined or metaphorical and the real…The quaint but macabre swipe comic Deep Dark Fears by Fran Krause is an excellent example of this singular power.
Tate McFadden for The Beat reviews the alternative comic strip Deep Dark Fears by Fran Krause.
The fears in Deep Dark Fears are never made to seem ridiculous. Instead, they’re secrets revealed, embarrassing phobias unmasked in comics form. The format means that, as long as you’re reading the comic on Instagram rather than Tumblr, you can’t unconsciously skip to the end. Deep Dark Fears must be read as the fears are felt, slowly building in intensity, each panel rationalizing the next until you can’t help but arrive at an inevitable, horrifying conclusion.
Deep Dark Fears can be read at the Tumblr link above, on Facebook, on the above recommended Instagram, on the Seven Days comics pages, or on a delay at GoComics.
Nate Fakes’ Book Release?
It was Monday, October 10th — the day before A Fade of Light was due to land in bookstores, online, and everywhere books are sold.
I was stoked, of course.
This book was something I promoted months before its release—on social, by word of mouth, smoke signals—you name it.
I was eating a scrumptious pastry, sipping on some coffee, when — ding! — an email came in. It was from the editor at my publishing company.
The email’s subject line read: Sale notification.
“Okay,” I thought, taking another bite of my cinnamon roll. “What could this be?”
I opened it.
And my mouth dropped, releasing crumbs onto the keyboard.
In a nutshell, the email stated that my publisher had been sold.
So what happens when the day before your book is to be released your publisher is sold? Nate Fakes tells us how it went with him and his debut graphic memoir, A Fade of Light.
And now?
Would the book even be published?
I was sweating. This was the day before its release, and I had no idea what — if anything — was about to happen.
Nate Fakes Substack about the Cartooning Life is here. Nate Fakes’ Break of Day is on Comics Kingdom.
Cash In On Nancy
Cash wrote and illustrated Girl in the World (Silver Sprocket, 2019) in her senior year. After graduation — and while still a bookseller — she started her series PeePee PooPoo, which is published (also by Silver Sprocket) in the hilariously nonsequential order 69, 420, 80085, and most recently 1.
She eventually left Quimby’s to pursue comics full-time. In addition to winning Ignatz, Broken Frontier, and Eisner awards forPeePee PooPoo, her work has also been published in The New Yorker, The Nib, The Chicago Reader, and the Museum of Modern Art online.
…in September, Andrews McMeel Syndication announced that she would be the new cartoonist for the Nancy comic. Cash had been a guest artist for three weeks in 2024, but as of January 2026, the legendary strip is all hers.
Aria Baci for Solrad interviews new Nancy cartoonist Caroline Cash.
Baci: I love seeing Caroline Cash-style word balloons and letterforms in a long-running newspaper comic. Have you created a font of your handwriting, or are the strips hand lettered?
Cash: Everything’s hand done. If I had packs of halftones, those would be hand-done too. I’m pretty traditional.
Baci: What do you hope will be your legacy — the literal mark you might make — on Nancy?
Cash: It’s my first week, soooooo too early to say! Don’t want to jinx anything. I have some big ideas.
Caroline Cash’s Nancy is at GoComics. More Caroline cartooning can be seen on her Instagram page.
Don’t Get Around Much Anymore – But If I Did
Keef in conversation with Mark Anthony Neal at Hayti Heritage Center in Durham. Keith Knight says:
Hey folks! If you are anywhere in the Triangle area, I urge you to join me on Tuesday, Feb. 3rd, for a night of comics, comedy, and conversation at the Hayti Heritage Center in Durham. I know it’s a Tuesday night, but I’d appreciate it if people showed out. Tickets are on sale here.
Won’t Have to Go Far For This
NCS Member Spotlight with Deon Parson. National Cartoonists Society says:
JOIN US FOR
- News and updates from the NCS
- Member Spotlight and Studio Tour Interview plus live Q/A with NCS Member DEON PARSON aka $uprDee (https://suprdee2.com/) hosted by JAMAR NICHOLAS (https://jamarnicholas.weebly.com/)
- Networking Breakouts
NCS Open House Meet-n-Greet and Member Spotlight
Monday, January 26th
7-8:30 pm ET
**NOTE: After you register, you will receive a separate email the morning of the event with the zoom link to join the event.
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