The New Funnies This Week
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But before we get to this week’s comic strips we need to catch up to a couple from last week.
Didn’t mention Marco Finnegan‘s guest stint as Gil Thorp artist last week ’cause I was waiting to see if the gig lasted longer than a week. It didn’t, Rachel Merrill returned this week.
I only mentioned one Fourth of July comic last week so this one didn’t come up (until now).
This year’s Dennis the Menace patriotic pose seems to a small reworking of the image from the 1982 Dennis the Menace comic book. I would guess that neither are done by Hank Ketcham. The comic book cover was probably by The Ketcham Studio (Bob Bugg? Karen Matchette?), while the Dennis the Menace panel may have been done by Scott Ketcham.
Which brings us to this week and specifically to today’s Dennis the Menace.
Scott Ketcham has taken some heat for his interpretation of Dennis Mitchell from here and elsewhere so it is only fair to say I like his expressionist take on the brat today. The face, the hands, the colors, the straw going past the border (what seems to be a Scott Ketcham trademark) it all came together for a very good drawing. YMMV.
A couple days ago Stephan Pastis took on The Family Circus in Peals Before Swine. Naturally I had to dig up those panels.
Yeah, don’t know the provenance of that last image of Jeffy.
Ain’t That Just the Way It Is Synchronicity
With an added credit to Russell Myers for the inventive use of the binoculars panels in the changing of locations.
On a related note: Bob the Angry Flower.
Its Life in these United States.
Out of Nowhere
Maybe I’m getting to used to week-long arcs in gag comic strips but it seems to be there should have bee some kind of lead-in to today’s Beetle Bailey. I do like the idea of Zero living in a world with fantasy creatures though.
I’m guessing the rest of the family includes a John, a Jack, a Jerry, a Judy, a Joann, etc.
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From Lennie Peterson:
Since HC Noel (aka Howie Noel, aka Howard Christian Noeldechen) first drew a Ripley’s Believe It or Not last month he has been alternating with “Aquino” as artist of the panel. The last three days has seen that cartoonist cooperative end with Noel doing all the panels. Too early to mark it in pen but HC Noel may be the new permanent, and only, BIoN artist from now on (with maybe a Sunday or two still coming from Aquino).
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