It’s not the skill of the drawing, or the lines, or the lettering, or the funny words that make a strip work. Timing is the life force of comics. Without a sensitivity to the rhythms and the music—a.k.a. the reality—of life, a comic strip will arrive D.O.A., nothing more than a bunch of dumb pictures. […]
If you are headed to the AAEC Convention/CXC Festival be sure to pick up this limited edition, soon-to-be-collectors’-item book available only there this weekend.As the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists tweeted:Politico’s [Matt Wuerker] & a slew of guest cartoonists have put together a book that ties into “Front Line: Editorial Cartoonists & the First Amendment,” […]
Artist, author, cartoonist Laurie Mitchell has passed away. Laurie L. Mitchell (aka Lori Jackman) ca. 1957/58 – September 14, 2019 From the obituary:On her return [from Europe] she worked as assistant manager at the Towne West B. Dalton Bookseller for 10 years before retiring to pursue her art. She sculpted in papier mache, did fabric decoration, […]
If a madman were to come into this room with a stick in his hand, no doubt we should pity the state of his mind; but our primary consideration would be to take care of ourselves. We should knock him down first, and pity him afterwards. — Samuel JohnsonJeff Stahler gives the most succinct explanation […]
Mike has mentioned the ever-shifting English language as displayed in today’s Pearls. So I’ll just point to the June 16, 1958 Peanuts comic strip as the inspiration:That is really the middle of a ten day arc. Start on June 9, 1958 and read through. Milking it for all it’s worth; today’s Agnes is going to […]
I’m mostly sharing this week’s Mo because if Ann Telnaes is going to stick me with this earworm, I’m gonna pass it along like mumps.I’m sympathetic to vegetarians, but I’m unconvinced by the faux hamburger everyone’s going on about.It’s not a luxury, but it’s not cheap. I suppose if we all bought it, the price […]
Signe Wilkinson riffs on the recent report saying that our bird population has dropped by over a quarter since 1970, listing a number of ways in which birds die, though not, apparently, the Big One.The study itself is behind a paywall, but reading the reports from NPR and the Washington Post, the major problem seems […]
MAD Magazine #10, the last (for now) all-new issue, will soon hit the stands.Bloody-Disgusting.com previews the MAD #10 cover, and Sergio Aragonés’ A MAD Look at Alfred Hitchcock Movies. As mentioned this is the last ALL-NEW issue of MAD.Tom Richmond expands:There are a lot of rumors going around that MAD is ceasing publication after this […]
Three years ago Scott Adams and Jake Tapper partnered on a week of Dilbert comic strip dailies. That week of strips, with Jake as cartoonist, can be read here.above: Dilbert by Jake Tapper, and Jake Tapper by Tom RichmondNow Scott and Jake are set to repeat the collaboration. Three years ago, when Jake Tapper — […]
There are a lot of environmental cartoons out there and perhaps there is some shift in public perception. However, I’m not prepared to say “Now they get it!” until I see more proof.But Pat Bagley lays out the situation without predicting what will happen next, and he’s on firm ground.Let’s begin with the idea that […]
Updating some recent posts. The Knight Life Ends.Keith Knight uses The K Chronicles to confirm the ending of The Knight Life. The Knight Life Still RunsAbove is The Knight Life running in this weekend’s Stars and Stripes newspaper. It is a repeat of the first 2019 Sunday strip. I don’t know if other papers will also do […]
We’ll start with a couple of story arcs you should simply go read: Off the Mark has been exploring the Aging App. I don’t recall Mark Parisi doing a lot of story arcs in the past, and, in fact, I don’t recall this feature being anything but one-offs.However, this is well-done, fun stuff and you should […]
James Jeffrey, for The American Conservative, appreciates the comic strip.The newspaper comic strip section is a particularly and peculiarly American institution. I can’t deny that, being British, when I open the special Sunday edition comic pull-out—six pages’ worth, and all in color!—I feel a twinge of self-consciousness. But I also won’t deny that I fight […]
The University of Tennessee Libraries has acquired the papers of critically acclaimed cartoonist and distinguished UT alum (Knoxville ’85) Paige Braddock. The Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives now holds an ample collection of black-and-white pen-and-ink drawings, cover art, watercolors, print proofs, and thousands of original pen-and-pencil panel drawings, covering Braddock’s work from […]
So what fight was the actual Battle of the Century?Jack Johnson and James J. Jeffries? Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier? Captain Easy and Bull Dawson?Maybe Stan Laurel and Noah Young: All contenders, but contenders only.The Battle of the (20th) Century was precipitated by the introduction of Bluto on September 12, 1932. above: the first appearance […]