There’s no question that the comic strip “Mutts” is an unbridled success. Created by Patrick McDonnell 25 years ago, the animal-centric strip is syndicated to more than 700 newspapers in 20 countries. “Mutts” has won numerous prestigious awards, including the National Cartoonists Society’s highest honor, the Reuben Award. And “Peanuts” creator Charles M. Schulz declared […]

As noted earlier, a highlight of the AAEC Convention this year was a chance to tour the Billy Ireland’s “Front Line: Editorial Cartoonists and the First Amendment” exhibit with its two curators, Lucy Shelton Caswell and Ann Telnaes.Sharing a few samples of the exhibit today not only allows me to show you more than I […]

The Sunday Funnies?Today’s Funky Winkerbean Anybody else reminded of Aldo Kelrast? Almost 13 years to the day?  Need a laugh after that? Go read Wallace the Brave. “Don’t be like Gurglson” Hmm, just noticed that, aside from questions and exclamations, Henry doesn’t use ending punctuation. The Hi and Lois Autumn scene. Don’t know if this will […]

Wrapping up the conference with a day of good panels and bad lighting. Which is better than the reverse, but an unphotogenic meeting of people sitting around tables was brightened by a visit from the Middle Eastern cartoonists visiting the US.And, with Nawaff Almulla‘s cartoon as an example, a theme that emerged is one that […]

With The Knight Life ending, a spot opened up in the weekend color comics section of Stars and Stripes. That territory is now being occupied by Scott Hilburn’s The Argyle Sweater.Last week (above) Star and Stripes reran the first Sunday Knight Life of 2019. This weekend (below) The Argyle Sweater will begin basic training. Stars […]

Day Two of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists included some fun, with a “Chalk Slam” happening on the sidewalk in front of the library. Here, Tamara Knoss, Matt Wuerker, Ann Telnaes, Patrick Chappatte and Salmeh Gaid admire Wuerker’s work. However, before the fun, there was one of two meetings for the weekend, which involved a […]

“Just Us!” counts as one African American’s perspective on the condition of Blacks in America and the 193-page book spotlights Carr’s style of drawing and wit. The book is broken down into nine categories: Obama, GOP, Racism, Crime, Sports, Cops, Youth/Education, and Transition and Entertainment. “There’s a brief narrative before each category that helps define […]

Long day, short entry.The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists annual convention got off to a start yesterday with a board meeting followed by a reception and dinner at the Columbus Metropolitan Club, which holds such forums regularly.As such, the discussion of free speech and the status of editorial cartooning was geared to a public audience […]

The New York Times sent out a notice today that the graphic books best seller list will be returning to the newspaper.Today The New York Times Book Review announced changes to the Best-Seller Lists, in print and online. The Best Sellers team will begin tracking Mass Market Paperbacks (genres including romance) and a combined list […]

Patrons of Davenport’s Putnam Museum & Science Center are invited to view fantastically ridiculous machines, and dream up some of their own, in the venue’s Rube Goldberg: The World of Hilarious Invention!, the new traveling exhibition that opens on September 28 and showcases the legendary Rube Goldberg’s iconic contraptions, imaginative illustrations, and humorous storytelling. Created […]

In a prime example of “no good deed goes unpunished,” fans of both cartoonist Scott Adams and newsman Jake Tapper have accused the men of near treasonous behavior.Scott and Jake have united to produce a week of daily comic strips for a worthy cause. But some, by no means all, view the joint mission with […]

Posting early because I’ve got a 6 am flight at an airport 90 minutes away and that may be the funniest thing you see all day, but if you have a more sensible way to get to Columbus this weekend, please join me at AAEC/CXC.Onward, summing up a week where Homer was nodding all over […]

I hate to discuss this in relation to a man but … Alison Bechdel has joined Rube Goldberg as a cartoonist whose name is now a word in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.“Bechdel Test” is one of over 500 new words added to the M-W dictionary in September 2019.Hat tip to Seven Days for the notice.Thanks to Tribeca […]

Cartoonist Lynda Barry is among those awarded a 2019 MacArthur Fellowship.Commonly called a Genius Grant, “The MacArthur Fellowship is a $625,000, no-strings-attached award to extraordinarily talented and creative individuals as an investment in their potential.” The Wisconsin State Journal reports that the University of Wisconsin-Madison proudly boasts it is home to two of this year’s MacArthur […]

Marshall Ramsey captures the moment, and I suppose I should have headlined today’s posting “And Away We Go!” to match his caption, but I remember a standup on Short Attention Span Theater talking about working at an amusement park and how maddening it was after just a few days to hear people say “Here we […]