Filed under: Comic Strips

“It’s great to have all my Liberty Meadows covers and pin-ups in one fat volume since even I’m missing some of the early issues.”LIBERTY MEADOWS: COVER GIRL features an all-new cover, plus a behind- the-scenes look at the development of some of your favorite images of Brandy and the gang, from rough sketch to full color.Welcome to Frank Cho’s Liberty Meadows Internet Sanctuary:THERE’S ONLY ONE WOMAN FOR FRANK CHO AND HERNAME IS BRANDYA new Liberty Meadows art book (and more) arrive in AugustBERKELEY, CA — 15 June, 2006 — This August, Frank Cho and Image Comics are bringing a whole lot of Brandy for their fans….  “It’s great to have all my Liberty Meadows covers and pin-ups in one fat volume since even I’m missing some of the early issues.”LIBERTY MEADOWS: COVER GIRL features an all-new cover, plus a behind- the-scenes look at the development of some of your favorite images of Brandy and the gang, from rough sketch to full color.”People will be amazed how much color adds to the art,” added Cho.

Next Friday, Jok Church, “You Can with Beakman and Jax” will the be the featured cartoonist on the Washington Post’s live chat to discuss his feature and cartooning…. “Beakman and Jax” is now in nearly 300 newspapers and Church created the CBS television series “Beakman’s World” based on the comic strip.

John Rose, the cartoonist for “Barney Google and Snuffy Smith” and his family will be the guests of honor during a July 29 Heritage Parade parade in Rural Retreat VA according to E&P.  John will also speak to high school students.

Paul Gilligan, “Pooch Café,” recently attended Green Acres School in Stone Creek Ontario as a Universal Press Syndicate: News Release:Cartoonist Fights Illiteracy with Visit to Ontario Middle SchoolStone Creek, ON (06/16/2006) Paul Gilligan is the ?Top Dog? of cartoonists, according to the kids at Green Acres School in Stone Creek, Ontario….  It supports community-based programs that emphasize adult literacy and non-formal education for both children and adults.As Gilligan made his way through the halls of Green Acres School, he was greeted with the sounds of kids ecstatically calling out, ?There he is!

Zits has joined several other comic features to be added as premium content for mobile phone users.� Airborne Entertainment announced that it has signed a deal with King Features to allow Zits to be used on mobile phones.

From Star Pulse blog and a Universal Press press release comes news that Aaron McGruder is trying to get an Emmy for his Boondocks television show by shaming the producers through a series of advertisements…. But, f**k it, we’ll try anyway.”Apparently the ads are geared to remind those involved in the Emmys that African-Americans have not faired well in the annual ceremony.We’ll see how it goes.

The Albany Democrat-Herald recently wrote that they are adding a new serial comic strip “Sudden Squail” to their line up and then offered an explanation as to why the paper still ran serials such as “Judge Parker” and “Rex Morgan” and a went as far as suggesting that the cartoonists and writers should add a “what happened last week…” panel to keep people up to date on the goings on.lEvery once in a while somebody asks why we still run those ancient comic strips.The answer is tradition, but if nobody reads a comic, tradition is not going to keep it alive forever.

According to E&P, “Blondie” is the top comic feature in the Times-Tribune (Scranton, PA)…. Schulz of United Media (which began syndicating the comic in 1950), “The Family Circus” by Bil and Jeff Keane of King (1960), “Beetle Bailey” by Mort Walker of King (1950), and “Hi and Lois” by Brian Walker, Greg Walker, and Chance Browne of King (1954).”Mary Worth” finished last among the Scranton newspaper’s 36 comics.

Ruben Bolling was recently awarded second place for cartoons by the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies last week….  According to the Universal Press press release, Ruben has been a finalist for the last six years taking top prize in 2002 and 2003.

Aaron McGruder recently was asked by Esquire magazine his opinion of the state of the American black man….  A: Displaced by Katrina, or B: Inconvenienced by family displaced by Katrina.”When Esquire asked McGruder to comment on his submission he replied, “I don?t explain the jokes.

Vietnam Veterans Group to Honor ‘Doonesbury’ Cartoonist:NEW YORK Vietnam Veterans of America will give “Doonesbury” creator Garry Trudeau its President’s Award for Excellence in the Arts July 14 during a VVA conference in Tucson, Ariz.A Doonesbury.com note discussed the upcoming award and the perception of some critics that Trudeau has an “anti-military bias” in his comic: “It may interest — if not confuse — these critics to learn that if Trudeau has such a bias, the military itself has failed to notice.  During the first Gulf War, the Pentagon organized a touring exhibition of the ‘Doonesbury’ war strips, and during Trudeau’s visit to Kuwait, where he met hundreds of soldiers, he was awarded certificates of achievement by the Ready First Brigade and the 4th Battalion 67th Armor, which made him an ‘honorary Bandit for life.'”More recently, the DOD, USO, and VA have all worked closely with Trudeau on the strips depicting B.D.’s wounding in Iraq, and last December, Walter Reed Army Medical Center presented him with the Commander’s Award for Public Service, the third-highest civilian award given by the Army.

“Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties” was number 7 over its opening weekend and only took in $7.2 million according to The Numbers.Most reviews that I read thought the script was less than stellar, but I’m sure as a parent, if I had a choice between Pixar’s “Cars” and “Garfield,” I’d take the former.  “Cars” is in its second week at number 1 and took in $31.2 million over the weekend for a growing total of $114.5 million.Here are a couple of more reviews: The Patriot News in Harrison, PA thinks it wasn’t too bad, but the VUE Weekly hopes Garfield doesn’t have nine lives; The Boston Globe wasn’t impressed as well.

Cartoon Art Museum: Current Events:Artist-in-Residency ProgramThe Cartoon Art Museum will host a different professional cartoonist in its galleries as part of its new Artist-in-Residence program.  Museum patrons will see cartoonists at work on their latest projects and learn everything you ever wanted to know about cartoonists–but were afraid to ask.Featured artists include Paul Madonna, whose comic strip All Over Coffee appears four times a week in the San Francisco Chronicle.Keith Knight, award-winning creator of nationally-syndicated comics The ‘K’ Chronicles and th(ink), is the resident artist on Saturday, July 17, and Michael Jantze, creator of the nationally-syndicated daily comic strip The Norm, is scheduled for Saturday, August 28.

The McCoy brothers, Gary and Glenn, will have their first book compilation available to the public this August.

Beginning June 25th a new character named “Ming Ming” will debut in Tom Armstrong’s “Marvin” feature.  According to the marketing flyer created by King Features, Ming Ming is Marvin’s new cousin – adopted from China.