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Break Out the Crayolas! It's the Official COLOR 'CUL DE SAC' Contest
For many readers, it's become a starkly black-and-white issue: They want to see "CUL DE SAC" in color.. So it's time to take matters into your own hands. Literally. As most of you know, Richard Thompson's Post-grown comic strip...
By Michael Cavna | November 23, 2009; 11:05 AM ET | Comments (3)
Would you downsize 'Dilbert'? Time to Defend That 'Toon
'DILBERT' (UFS)Enlarge Image In recent weeks, some 'Riffs readers have questioned why it was the Scott Adams comic strip "DILBERT." and not the homegrown "CUL DE SAC," that was chosen to remain housed in The Washington Post Magazine, where...
By Michael Cavna | November 18, 2009; 10:15 AM ET | Comments (18)
READER POLL: Does 'risqué' 'Liberty Meadows' go too far?
"LIBERTY MEADOWS" Enlarge Image The reader has a provocative point. Yesterday, 'Riffs commenter "scmonty1" had no problem with "Tank McNamara." The reader did, however, have a serious issue with Monday's "LIBERTY MEADOWS," the comic by Frank Cho (Maryland's own,...
By Michael Cavna | November 17, 2009; 09:55 AM ET | Comments (10)
REDSKINS POLL: Is this cartoon over the (goal) line?
"TANK McNAMARA" (UPS)Enlarge Image When it comes to the Bronco-bustin' Washington Redskins, is the comic "TANK McNAMARA" guilty of unnecessary roughness this weekend? Last week, we posted an item about "Tank McNamara's" skewering of the Redskins -- particularly team...
By The Reliable Source | November 15, 2009; 03:45 PM ET | Comments (5)
You want 'CUL DE SAC' in color? Well. 'You've got to get mad'
When Richard Thompson's warm and whimsical strip "CUL DE SAC" moved into a new neighborhood recently -- migrating from its native Post Magazine to take up residence in Sunday's Arts&Style -- we were mildly shocked. Like some sort of...
By Michael Cavna | November 13, 2009; 10:05 AM ET | Comments (16)
Should We Forget 'Fuzzy'? Time to Defend (& Commend) That 'Toon
Bucky Katt's backhanded insults: The feisty feline can certainly make a racket, if not wield one. (United Feature Syndicate) Some readers have asked Comic Riffs why features that are generally acknowledged to be "more popular" still need to be...
By Michael Cavna | November 10, 2009; 09:05 AM ET | Comments (30)
REDSKINS: Ex-'Sports Jerk' Dan Snyder takes a satiric sacking -- again. The cartoonist explains why
NOTE: This post, originally published Sunday, has been updated to include a short Q&A with "Tank McNamara" co-creator Jeff Millar. A safe-for-prime-time "replacement" strip from "Tank" last August. "TANK McNAMARA" Enlarge Comic The path toward becoming a national laughingstock...
By Michael Cavna | November 9, 2009; 09:30 AM ET | Comments (15)
Henry Allen speaks: When the reader reaches a tipping point
When the Comics Reach the Readers' Tipping Point NOTE TO READERS: In the wake of recent newsroom events, more than a few readers have urged and encouraged Comic Riffs to re-post this rant, which was first published two weeks...
By Michael Cavna | November 5, 2009; 01:10 PM ET | Comments (19)
Have a favorite cartoonist video? Show us your links
More and more, Comic Riffs is sent video. Or rather, video links. Here's a cartoonist peddling a book. Here's a cartoonist inking a panel. And oh look, here's a cartoonist inking a panel at a comic-con while telling amusing...
By Michael Cavna | November 3, 2009; 11:05 AM ET | Comments (0)
RT This, Roland: 'Doonesbury' to Get a Major Change in The Post
src="http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/interactives/citizenkstreet/lightbox/js/scriptaculous.js?load=effects"> "Doonesbury": Back with flying colors. (UPS) Enlarge Comic First The Washington Post pulled a trick on loyal "DOONESBURY" readers. Now, for the second straight week, fans of Garry Trudeau's satirical strip get a welcome treat, especially in light...
By Michael Cavna | November 1, 2009; 09:00 AM ET | Comments (12)
The next cartoon superstar? Pick your favorite NEW comic strip here
Ah, I love the smell of new talent in the morning. Word comes from Andrews McMeel Publishing, sponsoring a contest by Amazon, that the 10 finalists have been named in the Comic Strip Superstar contest. And I must say:...
By Michael Cavna | October 29, 2009; 10:30 AM ET | Comments (9)
Calling all comics readers: To save 'Frazz,' what strip should we send to KidsPost?
'FRAZZ' (UFS)Enlarge Image The "FRAZZ" drumbeat swells in volume again. All this week, Jef Mallett's comic has been AWOL on the KidsPost page. And numerous readers want to know where the #$@! it is. Well, Riffsters, that's a #$&!...
By Michael Cavna | October 29, 2009; 08:05 AM ET | Comments (50)
The Post's 'Doonesbury' shrinkage: winning the Battle of Inch-On
'DOONESBURY' (UPS)Enlarge Image For the good of cartooning, we'll take even small victories. And by small, we mean a mere 7 picas wide. When The Post rolled out its print redesign this month, "Doonesbury" -- relocated to Style's Page-2...
By Michael Cavna | October 28, 2009; 02:15 PM ET | Comments (7)
Do You Like Living With 'Curtis'? Time to Defend That 'Toon
Enlarge Comic On Monday night at the Kennedy Center, as a procession of performers spoke in tribute to Bill Cosby, they enumerated the reasons why "The Cosby Show" was every bit as groundbreaking as Cosby's "I Spy" was two...
By Michael Cavna | October 27, 2009; 03:20 PM ET | Comments (20)
'Riffs Picks: From the Washington Dreadskins cartoon to Comics Volunteerism week, today's top contenders
Do not adjust your set, your settings or your funnypages. As you've probably noticed by now, volunteerism is running rampant in the comics this week -- and by that, we don't just mean the meddlesome Keane kids "drawing" "Family...
By Michael Cavna | October 21, 2009; 09:05 AM ET | Comments (5)
Should 'Pearls' be cast before swine? Time to Defend That 'Toon
PEARLS BEFORE SWINE: Oh, Rat leaves his mark all right. (UFS)Enlarge Comic. Now that cartoonist Stephan Pastis is out of the country and otherwise preoccupied, haha -- something about visiting troops in the Persian Gulf and whatnot -- the...
By Michael Cavna | October 19, 2009; 11:45 AM ET | Comments (42)
'Riffs Picks: From the Nobel's Nervy 'Tude to a TV Superstar in the Nude--Today's Catchy Cartoons
THE SATURDAY MORNING QUICKIE: From Marge Simpson in the buff to Obama's Nobel guff, today's most eye-catching cartoons culled from across the mighty mighty Web... 5. The Nobel Obama cartoons came forth like a hard rain. Perhaps one of the...
By Michael Cavna | October 10, 2009; 09:00 AM ET | Comments (6)
Riffs' Picks: From Genesis to an Editor's Exodus, Today's Fave Five Cartoons
THE MORNING LINE: From holier-than-thou editors to R. Crumb's adventures in Eden, today's Fave Five cartoons culled from across the mighty mighty Web... 5. THE FIRST SWINE OF DEFENSE: As is so often its wont, today's "PEARL BEFORE SWINE"...
By Michael Cavna | October 8, 2009; 09:05 AM ET | Comments (4)
Color Me Curious: Where Should 'Cul de Sac' Reside on Sundays?
In the 1999 film "The Muse," the deadpan comic Steven Wright -- playing a loser cousin of Steven Spielberg's -- shares with Albert Brooks's character a would-be nugget of golden advice: Consider making films in color, he intones. "The...
By Michael Cavna | October 7, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (15)
Riffs' Picks: From Late-Night TV to the Idiot Box, Today's Fave Five Cartoons
THE MORNING LINE: From Late-Night TV to the Idiot Box, here are today's favorite cartoons culled from across the mighty mighty Web... Facing the unforgiving spectre of a cartoon deadline, sometimes you inadvertently discover things. Under the pressure of...
By Michael Cavna | October 6, 2009; 09:05 AM ET | Comments (2)
'Riffs Picks: From Superman to Letterman, Today's Cartoon Contenders
THE SATURDAY MORNING QUICKIE: From Superman to Letterman, Comic Riffs's favorite five cartoons today, culled from across the mighty mighty Web... 5. IF YOU DON'T GET IT, YOU DON'T GET IT: Every now and again, even the Trained Professional...
By Michael Cavna | October 3, 2009; 09:00 AM ET | Comments (10)
Tonight's 'Cleveland Show' Debut Marks McFarlane's Domination
"THE CLEVELAND SHOW" TRAILER: Fox TV bills its new Sunday night lineup as Animation Domination, but tonight's debut of "The Cleveland Show" more truly marks a new phase: McFarlane Domination. And tonight's premiere (update: to view the full episode,...
By Michael Cavna | September 27, 2009; 03:05 PM ET | Comments (9)
From Spiders to 'Surrogates': Our Five Fave Cartoons This Minute
THE MORNING LINE: From arachnids to avatars, here are our five fave cartoons for the day, culled from across the mighty mighty Web... 5. THE MIGHTY COMIC HAS CRAPPED OUT: Some syndicated cartoonists tell Comic Riffs they can't use...
By Michael Cavna | September 25, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (5)
From Tom DeLay to Mickey Mouse, Our Five Fave Cartoons This Minute...
THE MORNING QUICKIE: From Tom DeLay's cha-cha to Steamboat Willie's whistle, here are our fave five cartoons this minute, culled from across the mighty mighty Web... 5. DANCE AS A BIPARTISAN THREAT: With all the verbal gusto of Judge...
By Michael Cavna | September 24, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (7)
Morning Quickie: Presidents Garfield to Obama, Our Five Fave Cartoons This Minute...
THE MORNING LINE: Our five favorite cartoons this moment, culled from across the mighty mighty Web... 5. TV AS Rx: CNN! CBS! Oxygen? To peddle his health-care reform plan, President Obama is visiting more networks than Emmys host Neil Patrick...
By Michael Cavna | September 23, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (4)
Staff Recommendations: The Fave-Five Cartoons to Start Your Day With
THE MORNING LINE: From flood zones to low-fi headphones, here are today's Fave Five Cartoons from across the mighty mighty Web... 5. In today's Atlanta Journal Constitution, MIKE LUCKOVICH offers a little (comic) relief to his fellow Georgians weathering...
By Michael Cavna | September 22, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (1)
Fave Five: The Cartoons Now Catching Our Eye
From all across the mighty web, here's the Official Comic Riffs Fave Five Cartoons list right now... 5. In a mere three panels and four balloons, this strip from Saturday pulled off the trifecta: It made me (1) laugh...
By Michael Cavna | September 21, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (3)
Hot Links: Our Fave Five Cartoons This Minute...
THE MORNING LINE: From bicuspid love to real political teeth, a hot-link roundup of our fave five toons right now... The rapper and the scrapper! The goader and the Taylor Swift-boater! The twin antagonizers turned apologizers! Yes, Kanye West and...
By Michael Cavna | September 17, 2009; 07:15 AM ET | Comments (6)
Halle Berry, Mila Kunis and...Jeremy Duncan?
THE MORNING LINE: The early a.m. roundup of today's toons, from birthday wishes to deathwishes... 'ZITS' (KFS)Enlarge Image ZITS: Tomorrow, our boy Jeremy is "all growed up." Yessir, it's the Duncan dude's sweet sixteenth Friday, and who knows what mature...
By The Reliable Source | August 13, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (2)
Keeping Score: Who's NOT Running This Week's 'Tank'?
A Scoring Update From Scuttled Comic-Strips Land... Today's Official Quiz Question: When it comes to comics, what do The Washington Post and the San Diego Union-Tribune have in common? Yes, yes, both newspapers have run my staff cartoons in the...
By The Reliable Source | August 12, 2009; 09:05 AM ET | Comments (2)
Tangled Web: Of Online Meltdowns & Comical Curmudgeons
'BREWSTER ROCKIT' (TMS)Enlarge Image "Brewster Rockit" creator TIM RICKARD told Comic Riffs last year: "To broaden the strip a bit, I started using current news or cultural events as material. From global warming, to the economy, to illegal aliens...
By Michael Cavna | August 12, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
'Dick Cheney' Orders a Hit on Michael Vick: Why YOU Won't See It
Today is the day that Dick Cheney advises the NFL to kill Michael Vick -- the start of a satiric fictional storyline that, like a blindside sack or shooting accident, you just won't see coming. At least not in...
By Michael Cavna | August 10, 2009; 07:30 AM ET | Comments (13)
So Many Characters So Pretty in Pink. John Hughes, May You R.I.P
THE MORNING LINE: The early a.m. roundup of today's 'toons, from the fleshy to the flashy... I know, I knowww. I just HAD to go and bring it up yesterday. Apologies, because in today's strips, it seems most everyone's...
By The Reliable Source | August 7, 2009; 07:45 AM ET | Comments (9)
The Interview: 'Zits' Co-Creator Jerry Scott
JERRY SCOTT knows about a little something about teenagers reaching driving age. For inspiration, he need only look out on his window of his San Luis Obispo home, even if he's as apt to find his elder daughter on...
By Michael Cavna | August 6, 2009; 01:05 PM ET | Comments (2)
Reader Contest: Time to Do Your Best Hair-Raising LIO
Little Lio chooses Seth McFarlane over V.T. Hamlin. (UPS)Enlarge Comic Grab your mousse, Wite-Out and camera. It's time to do your best Lio. Mark Tatulli -- the man and mind behind the strip "Lio" -- and Universal UClick are...
By The Reliable Source | August 6, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (4)
Text Ths Fnny Car2n? LOL!
THE MORNING LINE: The a.m. roundup of print cartoons, from the vexing to the Texting... For political cartoonists, some subjects spring eternally fertile. The cost of health care. Civil liberties. Bank fees. And the ability of human texting habits to...
By The Reliable Source | August 5, 2009; 10:05 AM ET | Comments (4)
Last Call: The Beer-Summit Cartoons Runneth Over
MORNING LINE: The a.m. roundup of newspaper cartoons, from ice-cream shops to the audacity of hops ... When he reigns, it pours. With Obama convening last week's "beer summit" as the First Bartender (someone strike up "Hail to the...
By The Reliable Source | August 4, 2009; 11:00 AM ET | Comments (3)
Are You @#$& Kidding Me? The Best Comics Curser Is...
THE MORNING LINE: The a.m. roundup of today's 'toons, from the potty-mouthed to the naughty-mouthed... 'BABY BLUES' (KFS)Enlarge Image 'BIG NATE' (UFS)Enlarge Image Up until at least the dawn of PhotoShop and the Wacom tablet, the greatest invention in comics...
By The Reliable Source | August 3, 2009; 10:05 AM ET | Comments (9)
THIS JUST IN: 'Zits' Creators Will Let Their Teen Boy Age
'ZITS' (King Features Syndicate) As the big-footed teenager Jeremy Duncan might say: "Sweet!" As in Sixteen. Tomorrow, King Features will officially announce that Jeremy -- who's been 15 years old since the popular strip "ZITS" launched in 1997 --...
By Michael Cavna | August 2, 2009; 08:00 PM ET | Comments (4)
