Comic Strip News and Reviews
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Featuring cartoonists Berkeley Breathed, Beatrix Lockwood and Maya Scarpa, Will Henry, Marcus Williams, Patrick McDonnell and Jane Goodall, Lee Falk and ????, Rick Stromoski, and Christina ‘Steenz’ Stewart.
We start off with a reminder that Berkeley Breathed’s The Bloom County Boys continues to issue new strips.
As does Beatrix Lockwood and Maya Scarpa’s Shifts vertical comic strip for The Washington Post.
The Shifts comic strip about lighthouse keeper Barry Porter got a write-up by the CBC:
A lighthouse keeper’s memoir has gotten the comic book treatment with a new series in a massive newspaper south of the border.
The Washington Post, the fourth largest newspaper in the United States, recently published a comic version of the book that includes 40 illustrations.
“They’ve done a great little comic strip on my career,” Porter said.
“They put a lot of work into it,” Porter said. “[Lockwood] sent me the proofs about a month ago and just wanted me to double check on the accuracy and some spelling and all that because everybody has trouble spelling ‘Baccala’ or ‘Baccalieu,’ right?.”
A final reminder:
If you want to see the Wallace the Brave Sunday title panel you’ll have to go the strip’s Facebook page as GoComics refuses to post the title panels of the non-three tier strips.
> Unless you are like Grant (see comments) and are lucky enough to get the strip in your local newspaper <
Is there new stuff in Eye Lie Popeye?
There is! And more than I thought. Let me explain. In late 2022 Marcus Williams began publishing, as a manga-style web comic, Eye Lie Popeye, an adventure about the mystery of what happened to Popeye’s eye. I mean the eye not in his head. This was eventually published in a Free Comics Book Day comic…
But this May Comics Kingdom brought the series within the King Features online content brand identity, making it a page appearing on Fridays, though not in my Favorites page even though it’s in there [emphasis added]. In that time, though, the strip has gotten through the original ten pages that appeared online in 2022. It’s even just this past week gotten past the 24 pages of the original Free Comic Book Day book.
As Joseph Nebus notes in his Eye Lie Popeye review the Comics Kingdom comic does not come through anyone’s “favorites” page, even when marked by the subscriber, making those interested in reading it having to search for it and click on to the page.
Anyway… Joseph brings us up-to-date with the strip from its Comics Kingdom debut to the present.
Holiday, Oh What a Lovely Day Today
It’s World Chimpanzee Day!
On July 14, 1960, Dr. Jane Goodall arrived in what is now Gombe National Park, Tanzania, to start her trailblazing research on wild chimpanzees. To mark this anniversary, we now celebrate #WorldChimpanzeeDay on this day every year.
Another Facebook exclusive is Patrick McDonnell’s celebration of Jane Goodall’s research, not at Mutts Comic.
For Those Who Came in Late
…a legend shrouded in mystery, drives fear into the hearts of even the most hardened criminals. With only his physical strength, skill with weapons and fearsome reputation to fight crime…
The Chronicle Chamber brings news that King Features has created a website dedicated to The Phantom.
Previously, King Features Syndicate had all their characters on their www.ComicsKingdom.com website, where you could read the new and old past stories as well as limited information on characters and creators.
Now King Features has released a new standalone dedicated www.ThePhantom.com website. It is great to see the owners put some focus and attention on the Phantom.
We assume the website will continue to grow with new information and features added as time goes by.
Public Service Cartoonist
Children let their creative side show in a cartooning class with award-winning cartoonist and author Rick Stromoski on Thursday, June 26.
Held at C.H. Booth Library, the class had children ages 6-14 learn how to draw different cartoon animals using basic shapes and expressions. They drew a wide variety of animals, ranging from a cat, rabbit, and giraffe to a pig, panda, and shark.
Stromoski said transforming these animals into cartoons involves more repetition than people would think.
He taught everyone how basic shapes such as circles, triangles, and rectangles can be used to draw the same features on different animals. Drawing the same shape a little differently, he said, can help make each animal unique.
Jenna Visca at The Newton Bee covers Rick Stromoski teaching children the art of cartooning.
Stromoski said he has seen a lot of children worry in lessons about their drawings looking different from his.
However, Stromoski does not want people to match how he draws; he wants to see how they draw. Whether their characters have bigger eyes or have a thick mustache, Stromoski said he wants children to interpret what he shows them.
“There’s no right or wrong way to draw,” Stromoski told everyone. “It’s just how you see the world.”
He also encouraged them to not worry about erasing or making mistakes. Sometimes when people make a mistake, Stromoski said it can be kind of cool and turn into something fun and exciting.
Children grabbed pens, pencils, or whatever else they wanted to draw with and sketched away.
Cartoonist, Illustrator, Editor, Professor, Librarian, and Mentor
Art has always been a part of Steenz’s identity and this influenced them to pursue a degree in art. However, their time spent working at a comic shop sparked a drive to branch out and pursue art more seriously on their own—a move that would present unique opportunities.
Steenz’s career started with a local comic book shop but they would later start working at a library. Because of their deep connection to comics and inherent love of community, they connected with local creatives through the various programs they coordinated like mini comic cons. Additionally, they began to work with a group called Ink and Drink Comics and Steenz’s work was part of the anthology produced by the group.
Based out of St. Louis, Steenz Stewart is the lead cartoonist for the syndicated comic strip Heart of the City and co-creator of the graphic novel Side Quest: A Visual History of Roleplaying Games. Throughout their career they have had many roles in the world of comics: Illustrator, Editor, Professor, and Mentor.
Pages and Panels profiles/interviews young but accomplished cartoonist Steenz.
Steenz’s keen eye for stories presented a new opportunity to switch from the creative side of comics to editorial. ”I wanted to make sure doors were open for people who may not have that kind of accessibility. Editorial allowed me to help put money into people’s hands by working directly with them to get their stories out.”
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