Comic Strips International

First Dog on the Moon Gets Shorter Leash

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Alan Gardner Published: March 31, 2026 1 minute 1 comment

The Sydney Morning Herald media writer Calum Jaspan is reporting recent leadership changes at The Guardian is affecting contract cartoonists—specifically First Dog on the Moon. The change places First Dog on “rolling six-month contract.” The last 12 years of First Dog’s contract terms have always been a rolling one-year contract.

First Dog tells us he has been assured by his editor that the change does not mean that his popular comic is at risk of being cut in the future, but acknowledges, “who knows anything any more.”

From The Sydney Morning Herald:

It’s an odd move, considering First Dog is part of the furniture at the Guardian. Some staff have gone as far as describing the cartoonist as an “institution”, a pillar of the publication’s 13 years of success in Australia, and one of the remaining individuals readers actively seek out.

“They absolutely love First Dog,” one told On Background. What’s more? His sketches have become an integral part of what The Guardian has termed the Berger Project, which is essentially a big push to build its audience on platforms such as Instagram in the hope they will eventually make it back to the main website.

Jaspan also notes that shortened contracts have also been given to “other recurring cartoonists, freelancers and production staff.”