Comic Riffs blogger Michael Cavna has a detailed history of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” which airs tonight. Charles Schulz was long viewed as a man plagued by anxiety, self-doubt and fear of rejection. Yet when it came to the production of “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” Mendleson says, Schulz was the epitome of confidence and assured […]
I reported last October that Caitlin Sanchez, the voice behind Dora the Explorer, sued Nickelodeon claiming the company forced her to sign an “unconscionable” contract. ABC News reports that the suit has withdrawn her lawsuit. Sanchez also claimed that reps from the network had promised her substantial compensation from merchandising and residuals, but later cut […]
The International Animated Film Society (ASIFA-Hollywood) has announced the nominees for this year’s best in animation.Here they are:Best Animated Feature Despicable Me – Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures How to Train Your Dragon – DreamWorks Animation Tangled – Disney The Illusionist – Django Films Toy Story 3 – Disney/Pixar Best Animated Short Subject Coyote Falls […]
Amherst College alum Bill Amend and Darby Conley were brought together to discuss their work in cartooning. Bill is the creator of Foxtrot and Darby does Get Fuzzy. To my knowledge, Darby is a bit reclusive, so this interview is somewhat rare.Download or listen through browser.
Interesting interview with Doonesbury creator Garry Trudeau on The Colbert Report. Host Stephen Colbert describes Garry’s early strips as looking like they were drawn by a child with palsy and that Garry’s 40 year run is only eclipsed by Charles Schulz but notes that Sparky’s work has ‘tapered off.’
When the glurge and dreck of the season become too much, you can always count on Retail to keep it real. Never mind jokes involving elves — these are the people who really have to deal with the demands of the holidays.The nice thing about Retail is that you don’t have to have put in […]
You may have seen the viral campaign on Facebook asking users to change their profile picture to a cartoon character from their childhood. The campaign purports to rally support against child abuse, but nobody seems to know where the request originates and there is some speculation that it even makes it easier for pedophiles to […]
Big Nate offers a reminder of what middle school was really like, for those of us who didn’t actually go to middle school but remember junior high. Or, in my case, college, where there was a 7-to-1 ratio of men to women and freshman year was essentially futile. And very much like middle school.But I […]
“Elderberries” is one of a handful of zombie strips that actually became funnier once they were taken over by a new artist. The strip, set in a retirement home, was launched in 2004 by writer Joe Troise and artist Phil Frank. Troise left the strip two years later, and then Frank, already known for […]
Paul Ackley has been a freelance editorial cartoonist for The Daily Advocate since 1980.
There are certain strips that I have to restrain myself from putting up here too often. They’re so consistently inventive that they could be here once a week if I didn’t exercise some control and realize that, if you haven’t begun following them, you’re probably not going to.But, while I’ve already mentioned Prickly City’s move […]
I’m a bit late on this one – last week’s extended opening weekend placed Disney’s Tangled and Megamind in 2nd and 3rd place respectively for top grossing films that weekend. The weekend’s real box-office story, however, was Disney’s Tangled, which surpassed the studio’s wildest fairy-tale expectations by grossing $49.1 million during the three-day weekend, and […]
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the 10 films nominated for Best Animated Short film. In alphabetical order:“The Cow Who Wanted to Be a Hamburger,” Bill Plympton, director (Bill Plympton Studio) “Coyote Falls,” Matthew O’Callaghan, director and Sam Register, executive producer (Warner Bros. Animation Inc.) “Day & Night,” Teddy Newton, director […]
The Spider-Man musical is in trouble. From CNN: The production has been delayed for months, with opening dates postponed several times due to mostly technical difficulties with the special effects, flying tricks and stunts that take place on stage and over the audiences. During rehearsals, an accident injured performers and crew, and on Sunday, November […]
An early cartoon (1903) by Henry Mayo Bateman will not be auctioned off by Christies after a Jewish amateur antiques dealer complained. The cartoon depicts a man with bearded Jewish man with a skull-cap with talon-like fingers and a tail. The auction house consulted with Scotland yard to see if the auction would violate a […]