Arctic Circle sometimes riffs on snow-and-ice jokes and sometimes features non-arctic humor. Sometimes it’s silly and sometimes it’s got some bite. Which is to say, it’s a mix of igloo jokes and humor based on the very real threat of global warming. With occasional forays to the coffee bar.What I like about it is that […]
Granted, Tom Tomorrow isn’t likely to highlight the happy, cheerful elements of 2012. As a social critic, he’s sort of locked into a fairly negative format.But I think the world could have made him work a little harder, don’t you? That is, a person looking for rotten things to write about can always find plenty of […]
Hadn’t expected to natter on any more about my cartooning roots after yesterday, but, over at the Daily Ink, the Archivist blog has brought back a repressed memory that combines two of my favorite topics:1. Comics2. Stupid newspaper managementThis month being the Phantom and Diana’s 35th wedding anniversary, the Archivist has memories of their 1977 […]
I’ve mentioned several times that I grew up with access to a lot of cartoon collections. I’m not sure how often I’ve said that I also had the opportunity to watch cartoons being made from time to time.My father was a mining engineer by trade but had been an amateur cartoonist through college and beyond, […]
A little artwork from the December 2, 1902, issue of Puck, the comic weekly.This cover is by Australian-born artist Frank Nankivell, about whom I knew nothing. That link will not only tell you about him, but a little about Puck itself, mostly that it was the first publication to use photo-engraving, which gave artists more […]
Wiley Miller manages to slip a timely dig into a holiday strip this morning. Like adding rum to eggnog, the trick is to put in enough give it some kick without overwhelming the sweetness. Nicely done, and I hope it sticks in some minds as we go on debating the social contract. Gotta say I’m really […]
Dave Kellett with one of the least-pressing issues of our time: What to name the router. And yet, not only is he right, but he is, as so often is the case, funny.You have to name the router. There is no reason the name has to be clever. All that is required is that, when you log […]
Ed Stein created the strip “Freshly Squeezed” in 2010 as a response to the economic collapse, which he got to see close up in 2009, when, after he had served about 30 years as its editorial cartoonist, the Rocky Mountain News shut down its presses.The strength of Freshly Squeezed is that he centers it on the […]
Another book that I think would be of interest to those of you who enjoy animation and historical aspects of the craft. “I Say, I Say … Son!”: A Tribute to Legendary Animators Bob, Chuck, and Tom McKimson is a book about Bob McKimson who was the original creator of Foghorn Leghorn, the Tasmanian Devil, […]
Comixology and Andrews McMeel have announced a deal to publish Dilbert, Doonesbury and Big Nate books on a virtual platform, with more to come. Comixology also sells DC and Marvel comics and graphic novels like “My Friend Dahmer” and all sorts of similar stuff that comics fans want. In digital format.I’m trying not to be […]
I’ve known about Tony Auth for years now, but his work never ran in the papers I subscribed to so aside from a few that make the news, I haven’t had the opportunity to explore his work. Camino Books, out of Philadelphia, has published a book “The Art of Tony Auth: To Stir, Inform and […]
There are all sorts of people out there doing comic riffs on Christmas standards. Some are pretty funny, some are pretty, well … familiar. To impress me, though, you’ve got to be demented, and that’s where our girl Agnes steps in, with a Christmas story that is destined to be a classic. Or maybe not. But […]
Daryl Cagle on the wall-to-wall coverage of the Newtown shootings. I agree, and I disagree.That is, the tragedy was certainly news, and, while I don’t much like vultures, I’m not a big fan of ostriches, either.In the old Soviet Union, they didn’t report on airplane crashes and other tragedies because they didn’t consider one-time odd […]
I typically take the week between Christmas and New Years off. Things are busy here at the Casa de Gardner and I’ve decided to close down the blog earlier than usual to concentrate on a work and family things. Hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season. Best wishes!Alan
It says in the right rail that I read about 120 comics a day. That’s pretty old information and I should probably update it. I should also update the pricing on DailyInk and GoComics subscriptions (A small rise, nothing that should discourage you from supporting the artform).And maybe that will happen in the next two […]