The Winston-Salem Journal has dropped three features: Mark Anderson’s “Spot the Frog,” “Peanuts,” and “Beakman & Jax” – a Sunday only educational strip.On the plus side: Michael Fry and T.  Lewis’ “Over the Hedge” and Mark Tatulli’s “Lio” have taken up home on their comic page.

Michael Fry, “Over the Hedge” co-creator, along with film writer and producer Jim Cox have created an internet start-up called RingTales which focus on making animation shorts for mobile devises.  The animations will be based on current comic strips.

A while back I mentioned that Doonesbury character Alex Doonesbury was selecting a college and that Rochester Institute of Technology and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute were colleges that were being considered.  Cornell was also considered and the university actually courted Garry Trudeau in efforts to sway the decision – going as far as mailing admissions material and brochures about the dining halls.

Last week, I told you that Dean Young was opening a sandwich shop franchise….  Interestingly, did you notice Saturday’s strip talked about Dagwood opening up such a store?The sandwich shop now has a web site too.

T. Lewis and Michael Fry with the cast of “Over the Hedge.” ‘ DreamWork SKG Animation. Used by permission. All Rights Reserved.Regardless of how well the “Over the Hedge” movie does this upcoming weekend, Michael Fry and co-creator T. Lewis will claim one honor that no other comic strip can boast: “Over the Hedge” will […]

The Rocky Mountain News has made three changes on their comics page….  Lewis, “Lio” by Mark Tatulli and “Pajama Diaries” by Terri Libenson.To make room, “Alley Oop,” “Elderberries” and “Grand Avenue” were dropped.

Winsor McCay is best known for his “Little Nemo in Slumberland,” but he did have a comic strip before that called “Tales of the Jungle Imps.”  The Ohio State University Cartoon Research Library has acquired original McCay hand-colored drawings from that first strip and are now undergoing conservation treatment before going on display to the public starting June 15 through August 31st.

According to a press release by Universal Press, LIO’s client list will include Los Angeles Times, The Dallas Morning News, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Houston Chronicle, Chicago Sun-Times, Denver?s Rocky Mountain News, The St…. Because it is a wordless strip, he also is debuting in Bel De Morgen, a Brussel’s paper.”Mark Tatulli knows how to deliver a punch line as well as anyone in this business, and in this strip he even delivers without words,” adds John Vivona, vice president of sales for Universal Press Syndicate.

Mike Belkin has decided to end “Unfit” on the 30th of this month according to Mary Anne Grimes, Executive Director at United Media. Earlier this year, Mike asked Scott Adams to help him find an artist to take over the artwork of the feature. The contest brought in over 70 submissions with Justin Thompson taking […]

Signe Wilkinson, editorial cartoonist for the Philadelphia Daily News, was one of the most vocal American cartoonist earlier this year during the Danish/Mohammad cartoon riots.  The debate is still raging and Signe is still the go to person for comments and reaction.Over at Islam Online there is a Point/Counter-Point wherein Signe takes on Felicity Arbuthnot a British journalist and activist on the topic of whether there should be limits on freedom of expression when it comes to the sacred in religions.

Petersburg Times had made substantial pages to their comics page adding “Lio”, “Watch Your Head”, “Dog Eat Doug”, “F Minus” and “Peach Fuzz” among others….  What perhaps wasn’t clear to me was this site was a new online comics site that would also feature “Pickles,” “Snapshots,” “Opus,” “Watch Your Head.”

The title will be “The War Within: One More Step at a Time” and will focus on his B.D. character that lost his leg in Iraq.  Proceeds of the book will benefit Fisher House which provides temporary homes for families of injured soldiers being treated at military and veteran medical centers.

From Jim Borgman’s blog comes this pointer to an art exhibit in Virginia that is showcasing Jeff MacNelly’s sculptures that runs May 6th through the 28th in Washington VA.  Visit Jim’s blog for more details.You can see some of the artwork online.

Before Walt Kelly created the famous and influential “Pogo” he worked for Dell publishing which created comic books based on licensed properties.  Fanatagraphic books has released a collection of “Our Gang” – a 59 issue run comic book in which Walt wrote nearly 100 story-lines.

In summation, he accuses most cartoonists as failures and the reason why cartooning will never be considered a legitimate art form.The basic nobility of that cause innoculates (for the most part) cartooning against the accusations that it is a vocation filled with practitioners (98% male and white) who couldn’t draw their way out of a paper bag if their life (or their profession) counted on it.Imagine turning on the Olympics and seeing 78% of the figure skaters fall on their asses…. Individual cartoonists deserve respect, but just because they earn it doesn’t mean a positive residue should trickle down upon anyone who puts nib to paper, had a cartoon published in the Anchorage Antler and manages to squeeze into a tux for the National Cartoonists Society Reuben Awards.For cartoonists to believe that respect would be a given when the vast majority of them would fail to push any aesthetic envelope or embrace even a modicum of visual experimentation is as audacious as it is self-delusional.