Phil Hands leads off today with a narrow accusation I want to expand into a continuing theme.The refusal to wear masks, or, more broadly, the refusal to take Covid-19 seriously, requires a level of gullibility that should boggle the mind.That is, it’s not just “bad science.” The anti-vaxxers can at least string together apparent evidence […]
Cartoonist Marty Riskin has passed away. Martin S. (Marty) Riskin November 26, 1936 – July 9, 2020 From the newspaper notice:When the computer came along setting the graphic art’s world into a tailspin, Marty was left behind, [son] Gregg said. “It turned him into a prehistoric relic … he did not adapt,” he said. While it […]
Marty Two Bulls certainly has standing to make this observation, but I would point out that he’s saying something less about “cancel culture” and more about honest history.That’s not to say that a frank reassessment of our history might not require some adjustments, including settling some land claims in the case of Indians, and consideration […]
From Writer’s Digest:Much like names, slogans and ideas, titles are not protected by U.S. copyright laws (which is why so many books have the same titles). To qualify for copyright protection, a work needs to possess “a significant amount of original expression”—and while “a significant amount of original expression” isn’t fully defined by hard-and-fast rules, […]
Cartoonist Fred Purucker has passed away.Frederick J. (Fred) Purucker, Jr.May 28, 1931 – June 30, 2020Malibu Times editorial cartoonist 1999-2016(?),art school teacher, Disney animatorFrom the Malibu Times notice: Purucker, TMT cartoonist for more than two decades, died last week at the age of 89. Although his face may not be known to most of our […]
A bit of cautionary wisdom from Arlo for anyone who hasn’t noticed that whatever crazy was out there to start with has really flourished in the current crisis.Someone the other day was making excuses for Costco Ken, that belligerent fellow who was threatening an old lady who wanted him to wear a mask, stepping up […]
Last week you heard, and maybe saw, the fireworks going off, but you were probably mistaken about the cause. It is my theory that those illuminating the sky with rockets were celebrating the release of the 2020 updating of Bottorff’s ComicBacks Price Guide & Checklist (in PDF).Some of you may have noted that I have […]
In 1999 Aaron McGruder shook up the comics pages in America’s newspapers. In 1997, not long after Aaron McGruder pulled The Boondocks from his college newspaper, he submitted his strip to syndicates, companies that provide comics, puzzles, and advice columns to hundreds of newspapers…The rejections piled on, with the syndicates feeling that The Boondocks was […]
With three Sunday strips left until Stone Soup ends, Jan Eliot is interviewed. … what have you learned in the process of creating it?Well, I have learned that there’s no magic. You know, everybody always asks, “Where do you get your ideas?” And there’s really no magic to creativity other than sitting down and working […]
Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? — Matthew, 7:9I agree with Ann Telnaes. It is unconscionable that employers can provide health coverage but limit it to only the care they deem moral.As a recovering Catholic, I’ve always felt persuasion was a more defensible tactic than prohibition, which […]
From Seven Days’ introduction to The Cartoon Issue: Like every other Vermont enterprise, Seven Days has scrapped, postponed or reinvented many of our perennial projects this year because of the pandemic. But we decided to go ahead with the Cartoon Issue. It goes without saying that cartoons and print media are made for each other. […]
A bit off our normal path, but too cute to let go.From Bored Panda: Our world is so beautifully different. Unique appearances, cultures, and traditions are what make it so rich and exciting to live in and learn from. Packed with details such as national animals, food, outfits, or makeup, these adorable cartoon-like characters resemble […]
Today’s headline is from an old joke, one that struck me as funny at an age when I wasn’t quite old enough for more sophisticated wordplay:Woman: Where is the platform for the 8 o’clock train? Attendant: If you go left, you’ll be right. Woman: Don’t be impertinent! Attendant: All right. If you go right, you’ll […]
Just me? Or is today’s panel unusually political?
As promised Gary Larson has returned!And it’s annotated: … So a few years ago—finally fed up with my once-loyal but now reliably traitorous pen—I decided to try a digital tablet … I got one, fired it up, and lo and behold, something totally unexpected happened: within moments, I was having fun drawing again. I was […]