Cartoonists At Large
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Starring Lynda Barry, Jon Kudelka, Paul Noth, Amy Kurzweil, the dynamic dou of Lia Strasser and Bizzy Coy, and an A.I. Scott Adams!
Let’s start this post off with a smile.
Lynda Barry
If you are anything like me just the sight of the lovely Lynda Barry makes you smile. And if can see her in person much better. The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is hosting two nights with Lynda.
Lynda Barry — What It Is: A Talk on Creativity February 19, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Join us for a talk on creativity by award-winning author, artist, and cartoonist Lynda Barry. Author of 21 books, Barry was the acclaimed creator of the seminal comic strip Ernie Pook’s Comeek, and in 2019 received a MacArthur “genius” grant.
and
Drawing Words and Speaking Pictures: This Mysterious Thing We Call Comics February 20, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Lynda Barry leads a lively drawing jam for anyone who is interested in making comics. You don’t need any artistic ability to be part of this class, but you must be willing to draw bravely.
Jon Kudelka
Lindsay Foyle‘s appreciation of cartoonist Jon Kudelka for Pearls and Irritations is just the latest of tributes.
Jon Kudelka’s influence went far beyond award-winning cartoons. Lindsay Foyle reflects on a career marked by sharp political insight and principles.
Without a doubt Jon Kudelka made a major impact with his cartoons in The Mercury, The Australian and The Saturday Paper. He won many awards, but his most significant impact just might be his stand against Ampol Petroleum’s sponsorship of the Walkley Awards…
More Jon at…
The Saturday Paper remembers their contributor (or here):
The last picture Jon Kudelka drew for The Saturday Paper was of a man sitting on the edge of a small cliff. Possibly it was the edge of a hole. The man was Jon, waiting for an idea. He was as scruffy and as charming as one of his drawings.
Jon made the picture after he decided to give up cartooning. He had been diagnosed with a glioblastoma and decided that however long he had to live he wasn’t going to spend it thinking about politicians. This decision was a lot like Jon: sensible and also funny.
Andrew Marlton honors Jon in a First Dog on the Moon page for The Guardian.
As Cas Garvey at Mercury reports even the Prime Minister of Australia paid tribute (or here):
“He could skewer his targets with wit and precision, but when he turned his eye to the beauty of his beloved home state, he celebrated it with joy — and a style that was entirely his.
“The outpouring of grief for him in the days since his death is an indication of the special place he held in so many Australian hearts.”
Paul Noth Hearts Rejects
One of our favorite cartoonists Paul Noth starts his latest Noth Things Substack off with a rejected Valentine’s Day cartoon and follows it up with some other rejects that saw print once he reworked them.
Amy Kurzweil
Amy Kurzweil‘s future includes the past. Maya Mirsky for J. The Jewish News interviews The New Yorker cartoonist:
In “Artificial: A Love Story,” [link addded] published in 2023, she examined the attempt by her father, noted futurist and inventor Ray Kurzweil, to create an AI chatbot based on his own pianist father’s writings. Exploring tech, love and the nature of art, “Artificial” won several awards and made it onto “best book” lists by NPR, the New Yorker, the American Library Association and others.
Her first graphic memoir, “Flying Couch,” likewise told a personal story. Published in 2016, it documented her grandmother’s escape from the Warsaw Ghetto and what it means to be part of a family.
Last month, Kutzweil joined the 2026 cohort of 10 local artists who will spend the year exploring the theme of “name” through Jewish texts with LABA Bay, the Jewish “culture lab.”
Lia Strasser and Bizzy Coy
When cartoonist Lia Strasser failed to sell to The New Yorker she partnered with gag writer Bizzy Coy and the duo found success. Isabel Braverman of the Sullivan County Democrat interviewed the collaborators ahead of their February 22 event “Lia and Bizzy Talk Toons.”
After many rejections, Strasser thought a different approach might bear more fruit, and asked Coy to lend her writing talents to her visual creations.
“She said, ‘No thanks,’” Strasser recalled. “It was disappointing… [but] she was busy doing a lot of other things at the time.”
Not wanting to give up, she asked again six months later, and this time, she said yes.
They worked together on a batch of cartoons—Strasser drawing the illustrations and Coy lending the captions—and submitted 10 to The New Yorker Cartoons Editor. One of them was selected for the print publication.
A.I. Scott Adams
David Spector for The N.Y. Post is reporting “AI clone of late ‘Dilbert’ creator Scott Adams pops up on X.”
“Dilbert” creator Scott Adams may be dead — but an AI version of him is still talking.
But his longtime fans and family members aren’t laughing.
An AI clone of the late cartoonist has been hosting a counterfeit version of his podcast since Jan. 27, according to posts on the AIScottAdams X account, entitled “AI Coffee with Scott Adams.”
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