Comic Riffs - Michael Cavna strips down the funnies - July 13, 2008

The Morning Line: Get Thee to a Punnery

Beware, comics page, you just got served. A fellow cartoonist has thrown down the gauntlet. (Or the Rapidograph pen. Or whatever it is exactly that a cartoonist throws down when issuing a challenge.) In your type-face, Inkboy. We've seen a...

By Michael Cavna | July 19, 2008; 6:00 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: The Morning Line
Save & Share:

Readers Speak: Your Top Joker Moments

"This town needs an enema!" So said Jack Nicholson as the Joker, and so said some readers this week when citing favorite Joker Moments. Other Jack lines also made the list of favorites: "Have you ever danced with the devil...

By Michael Cavna | July 18, 2008; 2:52 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Superheroes
Save & Share:

Dark Knight: Joker Moment No. 1...

Once Heath said yes, the dye -- and makeup -- was cast. (Warner Bros. Pictures and DC Comics) With today's debut of "The Dark Knight," we conclude our weeklong countdown of the Top Five Moments in Joker history (a...

By Michael Cavna | July 18, 2008; 11:20 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Superheroes
Save & Share:

The Morning Line: Introducing the "Riffy" Awards!

In our minds, the arrival of Friday means three things of note professionally: (1) San Diego Comic-Con is less than a week away; (2) hordes of "Dark Knight" fanboys and fangirls will be pushing past the "Mamma Mia!"-heads for uber-tubs...

By Michael Cavna | July 18, 2008; 6:00 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: The Morning Line
Save & Share:

Dark Knight: Joker's Top Moments...

Robin, the Boy cast asunder. (DC Comics) As we eagerly await "The Dark Knight's" debut tonight at midnight, we're counting down the Top Five Moments in Joker history. Here's Joker Moment No. 2... The moment: In one of the...

By Michael Cavna | July 17, 2008; 2:00 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Superheroes
Save & Share:

Dark Knight: Heath vs. Jack

We are hours away from the midnight showings of "The Dark Knight" in theaters across the country. Meantime, just in case watching the trailer online for the 500th time isn't enough to hold you over, we here at Comic Riffs...

By Michael Cavna | July 17, 2008; 10:30 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (69)
Categories: Superheroes
Save & Share:

The Morning Line: All the Moose That's Fit to Print

A fluent-in-French moose can meander in Wiley world... (Universal Press Syndicate) ...but moose get chased right off Elrod's land. (North America Syndicate) My first rejection slip from a syndicate dogged me for months: The comics editor's reply was complimentary...

By Michael Cavna | July 17, 2008; 6:00 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: The Morning Line
Save & Share:

Batman: The Joke That Just "Kills"

The Joker takes his best shot at the commissioner. (DC Comics) As we here at Comic Riffs eagerly await Friday's cinematic release of the Batman sequel "The Dark Knight," we are counting down the top five Joker moments of...

By Michael Cavna | July 16, 2008; 1:30 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Superheroes
Save & Share:

The E-Mailbag: When to Hold a Feature's Funeral?

When I was a newspaper cartoonist a few years back, a salesman from a competing syndicate used to come by the newsroom, comic samples and tales-from-the-road in tow. "How are they selling?" I would ask. His telling reply, with a...

By Michael Cavna | July 16, 2008; 10:30 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (52)
Categories: The E-Mailbag
Save & Share:

The Morning Line: Doing the Full Doubtfire

Project Teddy: The wife is always the last to know. (King Features) MEMO TO: Sally Forth FROM: Comic Riffs RE: Your Husband We never thought it would come to this, but: Sally, your family is creeping us out. Ser-iously....

By Michael Cavna | July 16, 2008; 6:00 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: The Morning Line
Save & Share:

The Countdown: The Joker Gets The Last Laugh

The Joker: The head that can't be shrunk. (DC Comics) As we here at Comic Riffs eagerly await Friday's cinematic release of the Batman sequel "The Dark Knight," we are spending this week counting down the top five Joker...

By Michael Cavna | July 15, 2008; 1:00 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Superheroes
Save & Share:

Garry Trudeau: The Interview

Garry Trudeau sees this as a golden time for booming satire. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post) For nearly 40 years and seven White House administrations, Garry Trudeau, creator of the Pulitzer-winning comic strip "Doonesbury," has been America's foremost satirist of...

By Michael Cavna | July 15, 2008; 10:00 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (13)
Categories: Interviews With Cartoonists , The Political Cartoon
Save & Share:

Network News

Comic Riffs: July 13, 2008 - July 19, 2008