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Why do so very few comic strips bother to mark Veterans' Day?
In a time of war (or wars) and so soon after the Fort Hood tragedy, it seems especially a pity that so few comic strips bother to even take note of Veterans' Day. No, noting the holiday shouldn't feel...
By Michael Cavna | November 11, 2009; 09:05 AM ET | Comments (9)
A salute to Monty Python animation? This blogpost most assuredly is SPAM
The joy in celebrating Monty Python's brilliant high-jinks is not dead yet. All this week, IFC has been saluting the comedy troupe's 40th anniversary by airing the swell new six-part docuseries, "Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer's Cut)"...
By Michael Cavna | October 23, 2009; 09:05 AM ET | Comments (0)
'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)
'Riffs Picks: From iPhone art to the 'Addams Family' obit, today's eye-catching images
THE RIFF: Taking care of cartooning's breakout hits... In comics, the '80s are remembered by many with a halycyon glow, thanks especially to a trio of beacons: the brilliant creative lights who launched the masterworks "Calvin and Hobbes," "Bloom County"...
By Michael Cavna | October 20, 2009; 09:35 AM ET | Comments (13)
'Riffs Picks: Where Balloon Boy and Other Wild Things Are
THE MORNING LINE: From Blondie's bed-hopping to Balloon Boy's panic-in-the-attic, today's fave cartoons culled from across the mighty mighty Web... 5. DRAWN TO THE FRONT LINES: First off, Comic Riffs applauds the cartoonists who support the troops -- personally. The...
By Michael Cavna | October 16, 2009; 09:45 AM ET | Comments (1)
'Riffs Picks: From Brylcreem Daydreams to a Premature Pulitzer, Today's Fave Toons
THE MORNING LINE: From one lost Man in Khaki to the Pre-Pulitzer Prize, today's fave cartoons culled from across the mighty mighty Web... 4. WHEN SUDDENLY, THE "PICKLES" FAMILY POOCH GOT GINORMOUS: Making a swell cameo in today's "PICKLES" strip...
By Michael Cavna | October 15, 2009; 09:05 AM ET | Comments (5)
'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)
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)
The 'Riffs Picks: Tuesday's Cartoon Highlights (Convention Edition)
THE MORNING LINE: From sparkling debuts to stellar legends, here are today's 'Riffs Picks for Cartoon Highlights(Special Convention Edition), culled from both personal appearances and the mighty mighty Web... 5. "RAT" PACK: At the Small Press Expo in Bethesda,...
By Michael Cavna | September 29, 2009; 07:05 AM ET | Comments (0)
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)
You Need a Good Obama Cartoon? You Lie!
THE MORNING LINE: FIVE THINGS 'RIFFS MOST CARES ABOUT THIS MINUTE... See Cartoons by Cartoon by Nate Beeler - Courtesy of Politicalcartoons.com - Email this Cartoon 1. "YOU LIE" -- WE FORAGE: The School Speech to the Health-Care Speech, Obama's...
By Michael Cavna | September 10, 2009; 11:05 AM ET | Comments (4)
O, How Do We Miss 'Calvin & Hobbes'? Let Us Count the (Lazy) Days
Teaser from DMW on Vimeo. Upon announcing the end of "Opus" last year, Berkeley Breathed reflected on the health and welfare of the funnypages: "The last newspaper cartoon character invented, destined to be a true, ubiquitous American household word,...
By The Reliable Source | August 25, 2009; 10:30 AM ET | Comments (3)
How to Become the Next Comics Superstar: Apply Within
THE MORNING LINE... This Riffster's long maintained that what cartooning could use, as much as anything, is its own version of "American Idol" -- say, an online talent competition by which fans could vote on three-minute "pencil test" YouTube clips,...
By The Reliable Source | August 20, 2009; 10:05 AM ET | Comments (8)
Your Pick: What 'Doctor' Strip Would You Add to The Post's Pages?
'BIG NATE' (NEA)Enlarge Image It's not enough that "BIG NATE" is a well-crafted comic. No, now Lincoln Peirce has to tantalize us with comics that hold the promise of being far, far better than some of what's now on...
By The Reliable Source | August 18, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (8)
Driving (Me Crazy) Test: Who's This VIP at the DMV?
THE MORNING LINE: The a.m. roundup of today's toons, from the cunning to the punning... 'ZITS' (KFS)Enlarge Image DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION: The gag is fine and good in today's "Zits," but my apologies: I'm utterly and absolutely distracted by the...
By The Reliable Source | August 17, 2009; 07:30 AM ET | Comments (3)
Five Things I'm Still Caring About Come Saturday...
It's Saturday, officially the day to mentally "empty-to-trash" so much of what freighted and weighted down your workweek. As I rouse and reflect, here are Five Comical Things This Riffster's Still Caring About... 1. MAKES A GOOD DOORSTOP: Some...
By Michael Cavna | August 15, 2009; 09:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
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)
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)
Inside Line: Chef Luckovich Prepares a Prime Political Cartoon
The Riffster has got to admit: One of the cool things about this job is the chance to talk process and brainstorming and creativity with some of the sharpest artists around. Yesterday afternoon, Atlanta Journal Constitution cartoonist Mike Luckovich...
By Michael Cavna | August 1, 2009; 09:30 AM ET | Comments (1)
Private Parts: A Laugh Built Entirely Upon Misdirection
THE MORNING LINE: The early a.m. roundup of today's toons, from directional abilities to correctional facilities... 'BEETLE BAILEY' (KFS)Enlarge Image This Riffster comes today not to bury "BEETLE BAILEY," nor to praise it. No, this is just a case...
By The Reliable Source | July 31, 2009; 08:05 AM ET | Comments (2)
Painfully Funny: The Strip That Puts the Pun in 'Punch!'
THE MORNING LINE: Back in the land of the daily funnies... 'FRANK AND ERNEST' (NEA)Enlarge Image 'DILBERT' (UFS)Enlarge Image After nearly a week in the Super-Sized Surreality of Comic-Con, it's good to step back into the comfort of the...
By The Reliable Source | July 30, 2009; 08:05 AM ET | Comments (6)
Save Frazz: What Strip Would YOU Send to KidsPost?
'FRAZZ' (UFS)Enlarge Image Greetings from California, comics fans. This Riffster might be en route to this week's San Diego Comic-Con (which I'll blog...and Twitter...and Twitpic...and whatever other random means is at hand to convey a sense of this year's...
By Michael Cavna | July 21, 2009; 11:45 AM ET | Comments (23)
At One Certain Syndicate, Love and Loss Are King
THE MORNING LINE: The early a.m. roundup of today's 'toons, from the lovelorn to the lack of juris prudence... Today's test: Gaze across these four strips and find two elements they have in common: : HAGAR THE HORRIBLE' (KFS)Enlarge...
By The Reliable Source | July 17, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (4)
Look the Doors, Hide the Tykes! The Comics Are In Heat
THE MORNING LINE: The early a.m. roundup of today's 'toons, from the salacious to the rapacious... 'BREWSTER ROCKIT' (TMS)Enlarge Image BREWSTER ROCKIT: Take a tip, Frank. That means you, too, Ernest. Tim Rickard gets today's nod for organic Pun...
By Michael Cavna | July 16, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (2)
Morning Quickie: When Primal Urges Predominate
THE MORNING LINE: The quickie a.m. roundup of 'toons, from testosteroned dudes to pheromoned pugilists... 'GET FUZZY' (UPS)Enlarge Image GET FUZZY: The mere coinage of "cato a dogo" has me at, well, "hola." But the last panel is particularly...
By The Reliable Source | July 13, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
Best of the Sunday Funnies: We Pick 'Em
The Sunday morning roundup of 'toons, from beached whales to pantless waterfowl... FAVE PSEUDO-FACT DU JOUR: "PICKLES" gets some swell comic mileage out of the ol' myth that a Pantless Donald Duck is -- as Popeye might pun --...
By Michael Cavna | July 12, 2009; 09:30 AM ET | Comments (1)
This Just in: The Actor Who'll Play Hollywood's Green Lantern Is...
'GET FUZZY' (UPS)Enlarge Image "Frank & Ernest" pummels us with the groaners. "Rhymes With Orange" and "Pickles" often like to slice their wordplay wry. And "Mother Goose" can construct days of gags built on a single punning premise. Perhaps...
By Michael Cavna | July 11, 2009; 09:30 AM ET | Comments (5)
Anatomy of a Censorship: Why a Strip Is Spiked
When Censorship Takes the A-Train... 'CANDORVILLE' (WPWG)Enlarge Image This week in "Candorville," almost nobody was offended by a cartoon that was seen by many even though it didn't run. Sound contradictory? Well, so much involving Michael Jackson can quickly...
By Michael Cavna | July 9, 2009; 07:05 AM ET | Comments (7)
Would You Censor This Cartoon?
THE MORNING LINE: The a.m. roundup of today's toons, from the verbose to the verboten... 'CANDORVILLE' (WPWG)r="0">Enlarge Image Now boarding for Controversy City. Some of Darrin Bell's best "Candorville" strips, in my humble opining, come when the spectre of...
By The Reliable Source | July 8, 2009; 09:30 AM ET | Comments (8)
From the Good Folks Who Put the 'Meta' in Metamucil
The quickie a.m. roundup of 'toons, from the recycled goods to the adopted Dagwood... 'PICKLES' (WPWG)Enlarge Image Don't sell Earl and Opal short. Some comics featuring senior citizens dwell on gags about, oh, Metamucil; the "Pickles" pair, on the other...
By Michael Cavna | July 7, 2009; 10:05 AM ET | Comments (2)
Best of the Sunday Funnies: We Pick 'Em
The Sunday roundup, from salty language to peppery visuals... Many of the reliables delivered hilariously today, but today it boils down to these three: FAVE DIALOGUE: I'll confess, ever so often, I'll read "Get Fuzzy" for a coupla days...
By Michael Cavna | July 5, 2009; 09:05 AM ET | Comments (5)
Friday's Crop of Tasty 'Toons: We Pick 'Em
THE MORNING LINE: The quickie a.m. roundup of today's toons, from all the major food groups... 'AGNES' (Creators)Enlarge Image FAVE BALLOON OF THE DAY: Something about Agnes using "odd meats" as a grand metaphor is so bizarrely bold, it's to...
By Michael Cavna | July 3, 2009; 06:30 AM ET | Comments (4)
Mark Sanford: Dispatches From the 'Appalachian Trail'
THE MORNIING LINE: The early a.m. roundup of 'toons, from the lustful to the mistrustful... 'DAVID HORSEY' (Seattle Post-Intelligencer/Hearst/courtesy of cagle.com) FAVORITE SCANDAL-INSPIRED CARTOON THIS MINUTE: The e-mails! The yammering! The rambling press conference as confessional performance art! South...
By The Reliable Source | July 1, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (6)
Bernie Madoff: Can Cartoons Do Him Justice?
THE MORNING LINE: The a.m. roundup of today's 'toons, from the scams to the shams... Bernie Madoff, the man whose very surname is such a dead-giveaway of a pun, even "Frank & Ernest" would be hard-pressed to deliver more...
By Michael Cavna | June 30, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (3)
The Morning Quickie: Of Junior Gags and Sophomoric Humor
THE MORNING LINE: The quickie a.m. roundup of today's 'toons... 'BIG NATE' (UFS)Enlarge Image SLY LANGUAGE AWARD: Back in the day, I was not able to get the world "tool" in the newspaper. Well, at least not like this....
By The Reliable Source | June 29, 2009; 07:30 AM ET | Comments (4)
Best of the Sunday Funnies: The Eeriest Cartoon You'll Read Today
Rounding up 'Riffs favorite Sunday 'toons... "Pearls Before Swine" cartoonist Stephan Pastis has told Comic Riffs that he typically draws many, many months ahead of schedule. Which makes it all the more poignant -- or just friggin' eerie --...
By Michael Cavna | June 28, 2009; 09:30 AM ET | Comments (3)
Michael Jackson: The King of Popular Cartoons
They both seem utterly of their time, almost frozen in amber and ink. The uni-gloved, sequinned-socked, moonwalking Michael Jackson of the "Thriller" era, sparkling in Sgt. Pepper's-style jacket. And, on the funnypages, "Bloom County" -- another peaking-in-the'80s icon that...
By Michael Cavna | June 26, 2009; 07:05 AM ET | Comments (2)
When Does a Common Punchline Wear Out Its Welcome?
'BREWSTER ROCKIT' (TMS)Enlarge Image 'MOTHER GOOSE & GRIMM' ' (KFS)Enlarge Image Wanna get a quick guffaw? Want to see your friends, neighbors and frenemies double over in a gut-busting fit of laughter? Then your mission is clear: Know your...
By Michael Cavna | June 25, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (6)
Beware All Ye Who Love--Or Loathe--Barry Manilow
THE MORNING LINE: Today's quickie a.m. roundup, from the sliced to the diced... 'PEARLS BEFORE SWINE' (UFS)Enlarge Image My prediction about today's "PEARLS BEFORE SWINE": Cartoonist Stephan Pastis will soon be hearing from Barry Manilow's people. Not his attorneys,...
By Michael Cavna | June 24, 2009; 09:30 AM ET | Comments (6)
And Now for Something Completely Different...
The a.m. quickie roundup, from the yawning to the spawning... 'ZITS' (KFS)Enlarge Image A topical pun. A talking-animal gag worthy of Chuck Jones. And absolutely nothing related to adolescence. Today's "ZITS" is all but a must-read because it is...
By Michael Cavna | June 23, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (4)
Laura Linney? O, Who Will Answer Our Casting Call?
THE MORNING QUICKIE: The early a.m. roundup of 'toons, from the cinematic to the melodramatic... Enlarge Comic JUDGE PARKER: As the Evil Cheerleader Moms of Doom storyline continues to unnnnfold like a creaky lawn chair, there are elements of...
By Michael Cavna | June 22, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (10)
Sunday Funnies: We Pick Best of the Father Day's Bunch
Today's Sunday funnies offer some swell non-holiday 'toons -- the art in "Zits" and the tartness in "Pearls Before Swine" are particular stand-outs -- but since it's Dad's day, Comic Riffs spotlights six father-themed strips: 6. THE SWEETEST: "BALDO"...
By Michael Cavna | June 21, 2009; 09:10 AM ET | Comments (4)
A.M. Quickie: Presenting the Morning Picks
From today's funnypages, the early a.m. quickie... 'GARFIELD' (UPS)Enlarge Image MOST BLESSED DEVELOPMENT: Now here's a plot twist that seriously piques a Riffster's interest. Plus, now it's all beginning to make some kinda sense. Garfield held New Threat Liz...
By Michael Cavna | June 19, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (3)
You Must Remember This: A Kiss That's Just a Miss
The quickie roundup of today's 'toons, from the trite to the true... 'ZITS' (SOURCE)Enlarge Image It's time, obviously, for an intervention. The sweetly green Jeremy Duncan sucks -- or more precisely, OVERsucks -- at Liplocking 101, and it quickly...
By The Reliable Source | June 17, 2009; 12:10 PM ET | Comments (9)
Are Dogs Really the Best Judge of Human Character?
THE MORNING LINE: The early a.m. roundup, from the inspired to the creatively tired... 'NON SEQUITUR' (UPS)Enlarge Image I've had dogs. I've had cats. There was the odd rabbit, box turtle and garden snake (though not in the same...
By Michael Cavna | June 15, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (7)
Best of the Sunday Funnies: We Pick 'Em
A deftly drawn monster in "Prince Valiant." A big warm-and-fuzzy in "Mutts." And fun at Manny Ramirez's (female-fertililty) expense in "Tank McNamara." All in all, a pretty fair week for the Sunday Funnies. That said, Comic Riffs' Top Three...
By Michael Cavna | June 14, 2009; 09:00 AM ET | Comments (7)
The Wildest Haircut in the Comics Belongs to...
THE MORNING LINE: The early morning roundup, from the eye-catching to the (literally) head-scratching... 'SPIDER MAN' (KFS)Enlarge Image Seeing Wolverine this week in "Spider-Man," I'm entranced anew by a visual that never fully strikes me when watching Hugh Jackman...
By The Reliable Source | June 12, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (4)
Create Your Own Cartoon Character: What Should the 'Mainstream Media' Look Like?
The early a.m. roundup of cartoons, from the trite to the true... 'CANDORVILLE' (WPWG)Enlarge Image How do you feel about the mainstream media? Or make that: the Mainstream Media, the Fourth Estate, the Prominent Collective Entity that so often...
By Michael Cavna | June 11, 2009; 07:30 AM ET | Comments (4)
Morning Quickie: When Our 'Toons Enter 'The Twilight Zone'
The early a.m. roundup of cartoons, from the eye-catching to the head-scratching... Okay. Either I or the comics are just a little off today, based on these Five Telltale Signs. I'll let you be the judge as to who's...
By Michael Cavna | June 10, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (6)
If You Like 'Pearls Before Swine,' THIS Video Is for You:
When it comes to promotion, "Pearls Before Swine" creator STEPHAN PASTIS truly takes matters into his own hands. So much so that Pastis will endure bloodied noses, projectile plush toys and bleep-happy, expletive-laced rants in order to peddle his...
By Michael Cavna | June 9, 2009; 12:05 PM ET | Comments (1)
Morning Quickie: Root for 'Get Fuzzy' to Hit the Bricks
THE MORNING LINE: The a.m. roundup from today's pages... 'GET FUZZY' (UPS)Enlarge Image INSIDE JOB: What's this now? Rob the Quasi-Agoraphobe is once again actually contemplating...leaving the homestead? If Rhode Island is what it takes, then -- a-men, brother...
By Michael Cavna | June 9, 2009; 10:05 AM ET | Comments (2)
What to Buy a Cubicle Dweller Who Has Everything
The morning roundup, from the eye-catching to the head-scratching... 'DILBERT' (UFS)Enlarge Image THE REAL DEAL: Today's "Dilbert" is even more satisfying when you realize that when it comes to birthday revelry, the "Scott" is question is apparently the comic avatar...
By Michael Cavna | June 8, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (0)
Dagwood & Doonesbury vs. the Anti-Defamation League
THE MORNING LINE... 'BLONDIE' (KFS)Enlarge Image If comedy's all in the timing, then today's "Blondie" is the Swiss watch of comic strips. That's because Dagwood Bumstead is discussing the Anti-Defamation League taking action against a comedic form of entertainment...
By Michael Cavna | June 4, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (11)
Dick Cheney, Cartoon Cross-Dresser?
Morning, Cartoon Nation. Today's comics roundup, from the eye-catching to the head-scratching... PAT BAGLEY (courtesy of cagle.com) 'CANDORVILLE' (WPWG)Enlarge Image MOST DISTURBING DEMI-TREND: Once is mildly alarming. Twice verges on disturbing. I speak, of course, of a coupla cartoonists'...
By Michael Cavna | June 3, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (2)
Does 'Fatal Attraction' Plot Pass the Rabbit Test?
The morning's breakneck roundup of eye-catching -- or head-scratching -- cartoons: SALLY FORTH (to view strip, click HERE): Is Ted Forth a walking meatbag of delusion, or simply just pathetic? Francesco Marciuliano seems to knowingly toe that very line....
By Michael Cavna | June 1, 2009; 09:30 AM ET | Comments (3)
The Funnypages As We (Barely) Remember Them
Our quickie roundup of some of the day's most intriguing strips: 'RED ROVER' (WPWG)Enlarge Image RED AND ROVER: This strip often feels like a blend of present-day and a nostalgic "Leave It to Beaver"-esque yesteryear. If it IS nominally present-day,...
By Michael Cavna | May 29, 2009; 11:45 AM ET | Comments (3)
Act Now: Your Four-Minute Comics Workout!
Attention, Cartoon Fans! Act now and take advantage of our one-time offer (well, our only time today). Here's a chance to enjoy today's funnies in under four minutes. No obligation -- enjoy while supplies last... 'CUL DE SAC' (UPS)Enlarge...
By Michael Cavna | May 28, 2009; 12:15 PM ET | Comments (8)
More Strips Deliciously Sexy -- What's Your Beef?
I try hard not to see synergy where none really exists. I refuse to invent trends (despite the ol' journalist's crack that in your cheesier news publications, it only requires 2 1/2 examples to label something a "trend"). And...
By The Reliable Source | May 26, 2009; 09:30 AM ET | Comments (2)
Holiday Quickies: 'Family Circus' Gets Its Male Mojo A-Workin'
Before the barbecue and ballgames, a rapid holiday roundup for those on the go: 'FAMILY CIRCUS' (KFS)Enlarge Image FAMILY CIRCUS: This -- THIS! -- is when it's a crime that "Family Circus" is only a single panel. The Lamp...
By The Reliable Source | May 25, 2009; 11:30 AM ET | Comments (6)
'Garfield Reverses Garfield' & Other Meta-Games
'MARK TRAIL' (NAS)Enlarge Image It's the best comics meta-game I've heard in many moons. Posting here yesterday, commenter "filfeit" -- melding the "Pearls Before Swine" and "Mark Trail" threads -- suggested thusly: "I think reading Mark Trail from right-to-left improves...
By The Reliable Source | May 21, 2009; 07:30 AM ET | Comments (5)
In China, It's the Year of the Rat-and-Pig
'PEARLS BEFORE SWINE' (UPS)Enlarge Image Occasionally, spurred by a precise confluence of caffeine, outside artistic inspiration and blank-eyed deadline desperation, we cartoonists decide to get seriously meta. To play with the comic-strip form itself. To literally break fourth walls....
By Michael Cavna | May 20, 2009; 07:30 AM ET | Comments (9)
Morning Line: 'Risque Business' in the Comix
'JUDGE PARKER' (NAS)Enlarge Image Going forward, Cartoon Nation, we shall heretofore officially call it the Judge Parker Rule: Namely, if your strip's life is in doubt or on the outs, then skin is suddenly in. Yesterday, we teased "Judge...
By Michael Cavna | May 19, 2009; 07:30 AM ET | Comments (8)
Afternoon Quickie: Putting the 'Strip' in Comic Strip
Let's say my comic strip has just been freshly resurrected, back among the living on the funny pages of The Post. Now, to avoid getting bounced again anytime soon, my mission as a creator becomes clear: I must draw...
By Michael Cavna | May 18, 2009; 12:15 PM ET | Comments (8)
Morning Line: They Shoot Lame Gags, Don't They?
'FRANK AND ERNEST' (NEA)Enlarge Image Today's pathetic "Frank and Ernest" is the proverbial last straw. The gag relies so squarely -- almost solely -- on the topicality of the word "bailout" that we're forced to declare: It is time for...
By Michael Cavna | May 15, 2009; 07:30 AM ET | Comments (5)
Size Matters? An Insecure Croc's 'Tail of the Tape'
Poor, poor Croc. It's tough enough to be a domesticated reptile trying to date and mate with the wet dudettes of your swampy species. But it's quite another, apparently, to be saddled with insecurities about, um, "tail size." 'PEARLS...
By Michael Cavna | May 14, 2009; 07:30 AM ET | Comments (2)
Morning Quickie: Good Cat, Bad Spidey
RIFFING, AND RIFFLING, THROUGH THE MORNING TOONS... 'GET FUZZY' (UFS)"> 'GET FUZZY' (UFS) 'GET FUZZY' (UFS)">Enlarge Image GET FUZZY: Some of Bucky Katt's qualities are beginning to alarm me. Specifically, the ones that he and I apparently share. A...
By Michael Cavna | May 13, 2009; 07:30 AM ET | Comments (13)
Twitter Satirized in Just a Few Characters
In recent months, Comic Riffs interviewed a number of syndicated newspaper cartoonists (from Scott Adams to Mike Luckovich) about whether they've Twittered or Tweeted or Twitpic'd or Twibed. The vast, vast majority of such cartoonists -- unlike many of their...
By Michael Cavna | May 12, 2009; 07:30 AM ET | Comments (2)
The Morning Line: One Order of Crushed Garfield, Please
'GARFIELD' (UFS)Enlarge Image Garfield sometimes entertains, more often rankles and irritates -- but today, he flat-out mystifies. Or rather, the artwork flat-out mystifies. In today's final panel, Garfield -- at least in black-and-white -- is apparently supposed to be...
By Michael Cavna | May 11, 2009; 07:30 AM ET | Comments (9)
When Is a Cop Doughnut Joke TOO Stale?
The question on our morning table today: When is it time to retire a gag? Tell a joke about bad airline food -- even on Amateur Night at the local Komedy Klub -- and you're instantly branded as a...
By Michael Cavna | May 8, 2009; 08:00 AM ET | Comments (10)
'Sally Worth'? Now Taking Your Fave Cartoon Mash-Ups
Morning, Cartoon Nation... Today, I laughed with -- and decidely not at -- "Sally Forth." The reason: The mish-mashup of the would-be band name "REM Speedwagon." 'SALLY FORTH' (KFS)Enlarge Image Once I got past the startling possibilities of Mikey Stipe...
By Michael Cavna | May 7, 2009; 07:15 AM ET | Comments (3)
The Frazz Affront: Top-Five Picks to Become a KidsPost Strip
"Frazz" fans have spoken, and their battlecry is clear: Move "Frazz" back to the main comics pages. Puhleeze. When "Judge Parker" was resurrected recently in The Post, "Agnes" was bumped to KidsPost. But then the newspaper decided to return snarky...
By Michael Cavna | May 6, 2009; 07:30 AM ET | Comments (18)
Frazz's Turn: Which Strip Should Go to KidsPost?
Morning, Cartoon Nation... 'AGNES' (Creators)Enlarge Image Blame it all on Judge Parker. Because the Judge and Sam Driver and Abbey and Randy and Sophie ultimately proved so appealing to Post readers, their strip's return meant something had to bounce to...
By Michael Cavna | May 5, 2009; 07:30 AM ET | Comments (34)
Luddites Unite! What Is This Thing You Call a 'Blog'?
Morning, Cartoon Nation... 'PICKLES' (WPWG)Enlarge Image My favorite comic of the day? Without a doubt, it's "Pickles,"because Brian Crane gets the truth and tone of the language so very, very right. All this week, Opal is bemoaning technological change. She...
By Michael Cavna | May 4, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (8)
Do Most Young People Still READ Print Comics?
Morning, Cartoon Nation... If you care about the state and fate of newspaper comics, then today, make sure to read "Candorville." And if you read The Post's print funnies and recently endured the loss of a page of comics, then...
By Michael Cavna | April 30, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (14)
Deliciously Good Dialogue? Sure, We'll Eat It Up
Morning, Cartoon Nation... I don't know what exactly is in the air -- well, besides panic and worry and trans-border contagion -- but thus far, this is a particularly fertile week for funnypage dialogue. Enlarge Comic From "Cul de Sac"...
By Michael Cavna | April 29, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (5)
Barrel of Laughs: Why Dennis Is Buck-Nekkid In TWO Strips Today
Enlarge Comic Enlarge Comic Yesterday, "Pearls Before Swine" and "Candorville" gave us the kind of lively comic cross-pollination that enriches both strips. Today, it gets even better. Dennis the Menace, that OH-so-irresistibly-mischievous cowlicked rapscallion of an overalled imp (aka:...
By Michael Cavna | April 28, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (8)
The Comics's Greatest Love Affairs? Now Taking Your Requests
Morning, Cartoon Nation... It's a simple question, and yet the opinions can quickly become so wide-ranging that consensus is rendered impossible. Well, at least around MY poker table of friends. The question: What is the best comic-strip love affair ever?...
By Michael Cavna | April 24, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (16)
Do My Comics Look, Well, Green?
Enlarge Comic Earl and Mooch appreciating a little tree-side R&R? "Mother Goose and Grimm" changing an "idea" light bulb? Notice a trend in much of today's funnies? Yep, that's because the syndicate King Features is staging its second annual...
By Michael Cavna | April 22, 2009; 11:30 AM ET | Comments (2)
Morning Line: When 'Cul de Sac' Meets 'Office Space'
Looking at today's "Cul de Sac" and the bespangled backpack of Viola, we have only one pervading observation: Enlarge Comic You know "Office Space," in which the chain-restaurant workers are required to wear pieces of "flair"? (Even if you haven't...
By Michael Cavna | April 21, 2009; 11:38 AM ET | Comments (0)
Morning Quickie: Fear & Abject Terror Before Breakfast
I had the opportunity to read today's "Pearls Before Swine" and "Dilbert" in advance, 'round midnight, and let's just say: I slept nary a wink. Enlarge Comic Enlarge Comic In this economy, the job security for ink-stained wretches (journos) and...
By Michael Cavna | April 20, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (9)
Morning Quickie: Doonesbury Twitters, Ted Forth Teeters
Garry Trudeau may be skeptical of Twitter, but his "Doonesbury" character Roland Hedley most certainly is not. Enlarge Comic Several weeks back, Trudeau told Comic Riffs that Twitter, the social networking/micro-blogging service, is "indisputably a time suck." But Twitter, the...
By Michael Cavna | April 17, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (4)
Morning Line: On the Trail of the 'Judge Parker' Artist...
Are you missing your fix of artist Eduardo Barreto -- aka the Man Who Revivified "Judge Parker"? Well, Mike Rhode -- keeper of the excellent blog comicsDC -- alerts us that Barreto is also busy these days with an adaptation...
By Michael Cavna | April 16, 2009; 10:30 AM ET | Comments (3)
Morning Quickie: The Taxing Dearth of IRS Gags...
Morning, Cartoon Nation... Time was, Tax Day brought a bevy of IRS-themed comics, as every other cartoonist seemed to fire up the TurboTax and then immediately channel their emotion into gags about tax brackets and write-offs and H&R Blockheads. This...
By Michael Cavna | April 15, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (3)
Morning Quickies: What We're Reading Now...
Greetings, Cartoon Nation... With so much good cartoon news in the air, it seems the ideas are just as fertile as the tequila-doused college kids come Spring Break week. To help wend your way through the crush, here's Comic...
By Michael Cavna | April 13, 2009; 11:30 AM ET | Comments (2)
When the Comics Are Cut Down to Size
Morning, Cartoon Nation... Scott Adams and the "Dilbert"-inspired Stephan Pastis may have outwitted even the most Draconian of comic-shrinking editors across the land. Seems that nearly no matter how much you reduce "Dilbert" and "Pearls Before Swine," the clean, relatively...
By Michael Cavna | April 10, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (20)
Garfield Plus Garfield (Plus His Agenda)
Morning, Cartoon Nation... Ohh, Jim Davis, You think we're not on to you. You and your teeming millions -- er, minions -- produce The Franchise That Is Garfield, same as it ever was (or seemingly that way since at least,...
By Michael Cavna | April 8, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (9)
Morning Quickie: Curse This Strip!
THE MONDAY RUNDOWN: Morning, Cartoon Nation... The Further Adventures of Serial Strips Not Named "Judge Parker": 'Riffs doesn't mean to curse the darkness in today's "Spider-Man," but there's definitely something funky about that left-arm anatomy in the final panel. The...
By Michael Cavna | April 6, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (7)
Morning Quickie: Ten Things We're Reading Now
Morning, Cartoon Nation... So much good cartoon news, so little time to write about each in more than a Twitter-sanctioned 140 characters. So for your perusing pleasure, here's 'Riffs quickie reading list of recent items: TEN THINGS WE'RE READING NOW:...
By Michael Cavna | April 3, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (9)
Where Else Do You Go to Fill Your Comics Needs?
It's a fact that stares us in the face even more closely than a foregrounded Bucky Katt in a fit of crazy-eyed piqué: If you're a fairly serious comics reader in this time of cuts, no one newspaper is going...
By Michael Cavna | April 2, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (8)
Take the 'If I Were Comics Czar' Quiz
Almost daily, as both artist and blogger, I relish the fact that so many people are passionate about comics. Uber-casual readers are absolutely welcome under our big tentpole here. But the passionate fan is the lifeblood of the comics --...
By Michael Cavna | March 31, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (12)
Meet the New Funnies: Do You Fancy Their Latest Trendy Cut?
Morning, Cartoon Nation... No doubt, if you read The Post's print funnies, you have some sort of reaction to today's new look. Sure, we've got four fewer strips total...on one less page...at two less picas. But perhaps more jarring, the...
By Michael Cavna | March 30, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (57)
Word From the Land of Comics Future
Morning, Cartoon Nation... Here at Comic Riffs, we have seen the near-future and be forewarned: It's two picas smaller. Yes, contrary to any "the universe is expanding" worries you may harbor, I've peered at next Monday's "working proofs" of The...
By Michael Cavna | March 27, 2009; 08:45 AM ET | Comments (11)
Spare the Editors, Save the World
Morning, Cartoon Nation... Here at Comic Riffs, we've spent many months mourning the decline -- layoff by buyout by layoff -- of the Newspaper Political Cartoonist. But of course, as some newspapers slash their staffs by 10, 20, 30 percent...
By Michael Cavna | March 26, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (1)
Plush 'Pearls' Toys? Indeed--What a Croc!
Afternoon, Cartoon Nation... Here at Comic Riffs, we are no product pimps. We do not shill, we do not peddle. We like to think we are ethically and morally above that. And besides, more to the point: No one...
By Michael Cavna | March 25, 2009; 02:30 PM ET | Comments (5)
Off to 'Watchmen'? Then sally forth!
Morning, Cartoon Nation... We'd dared to hope this day would come, and the fellas behind "Sally Forth" did not disappoint. Ted, proud '80s-centric comics geek that he is, is about to meet Dr. Manhattan on the big screen. With "padawan"...
By Michael Cavna | March 24, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (3)
The Showdown Poll: 'Judge Parker' vs. No Chance of Parole
Today, The Post announces its funnypage changes in the print edition. But Comic Riffs readers have had the chance to vote informally for their fave of five dropped Post comic strips -- or to check "none of the above" --...
By Michael Cavna | March 23, 2009; 08:50 AM ET | Comments (18)
In Name at Least, Chuckles Come to UClick
Let's hope the comic lives up to the name. The online comics portal UClick announces that it's adding the strip "Chuckle Bros.," by Brian and Ron Boychuk -- who, yes, are indeed brothers -- to its lineup. Enlarge Comic The...
By Michael Cavna | March 20, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (24)
'Save Judge Parker' Sentiment Unfurled in Force
After more than 125 comments and 600 votes on this blog, two things are abundantly clear about The Post's decision to drop five print comics at month's end: 1. A fair number of readers are more than a little miffed....
By Michael Cavna | March 19, 2009; 08:32 AM ET | Comments (15)
AIG Bonus Brouhaha: Who Draws the Most Interest?
Controversy over the AIG bailout -- and bonuses -- has spawned its share of names for what AIG "really" stands for, such as: Absolutely Into Greed. Ain't Immorality Grand? And my personal fave, which jokingly imagines secret Swiss bank accounts:...
By Michael Cavna | March 18, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (6)
The Reuben Awards: Congrats to 'Pearls,' 'Lio' & 'Cul de Sac'
A Pig. A guinea pig. And a cephalopod. Now THIS should be interesting. The National Cartoonists Society has announced its nominees for most of this year's award categories, and I'm particularly struck by the spirited competition in the Comic...
By Michael Cavna | March 17, 2009; 10:30 AM ET | Comments (10)
Pearls Before Meta-Swine: Oh, We Relish This 'Reality'
M.C. Escher, that great master of optical-illusion illustrations, would surely appreciate the pure and blissful meta-tude of today's "Pearls Before Swine." So let's pause long enough to break it down: Rat -- the COMIC character -- is viewing the webcomic...
By Michael Cavna | March 16, 2009; 11:30 AM ET | Comments (5)
New Toons and Old Favorites
Morning, Cartoon Nation... Another day, another new strip to scrutinize. Now we get news that the comics portal Uclick has added Creators Syndicate's "The Barn" to its lineup. The daily strip -- created by three-decade veteran of cartooning Ralph Hagen...
By Michael Cavna | March 13, 2009; 11:30 AM ET | Comments (7)
Who Brings the Sexy Back? Now Taking Your '09 Nominations
Ah, the power of an A-list pop star. Justin Timberlake may sing a razor line better than he can draw one, but with just a single near-three-minute performance, he's upped the "Q" rating of a less-than-hip comic character. Namely: Irving....
By Michael Cavna | March 11, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (8)
Does Jessica Rabbit Really Bring the Sexy Back?
Morning, Cartoon Nation... First off, before we launch into the lambasting, we must give all fair credit and props to Jessica Rabbit. In a recent survey "conducted" by Cadbury Dairy Milk that asked respondents who the sexiest cartoon was, Cadbury's...
By Michael Cavna | March 10, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (6)
Rush to Judgment: Why Cartoonists Love Limbaugh
To many cartoonists, the return of Rush Limbaugh to the headlines, and center stage, is a welcome sight indeed. The ever-polarizing Rush comes bundled with his own backstory, his own symbolism and his own gravitational pull. Plus, for many,...
By Michael Cavna | March 9, 2009; 11:30 AM ET | Comments (3)
My Vow: Why I'm Giving Up "Peanuts"
Call it a dare. Call it an act of defiance. Either way, it's time to face my decades of addiction: For the next two weeks, I'll refrain from reading my "Peanuts." Yep, the strip that has filled my days since...
By Michael Cavna | March 6, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (8)
New to the Funnies: Our Favorite Nut Case
Morning, Cartoon Nation... Glory be to "Mark Trail," for today, it introduces us to the best new cartoon character of the year: The Talking, Taunting Squirrel. Enlarge Comic Yes, Ken the Boorish Bankrupt Jealous Deer-Winging Wife-Abusing Shell-of-a-Man has been felled...
By Michael Cavna | March 5, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (3)
Find-the-Dialogue: Help Give Mark Trail a Silver Tongue
Morning, Cartoon Nation... Enlarge Comic Today, Ken the Gored Boorish Bankrupt Jealous Deer-Shootin' Wife Abuser is not the only one who needs some serious help. So, it's clear, does Mark Trail. The second panel (right) in today's strip just cries...
By Michael Cavna | March 4, 2009; 11:30 AM ET | Comments (3)
Who's Your Cartoonist of the Year? Let the Voting Begin
Your nominees are in, the ballots have been counted and the accountants of PriceWaterhouseWatterson&SparkySchulz are prepared to announce the cartoonists who 'Riffs readers believe are most worthy of the Reuben -- aka cartooning's Oscar. Here are the Ten Contenders for...
By Michael Cavna | February 26, 2009; 12:00 PM ET | Comments (6)
Our Web Addiction? Why, We're Thrilled to Death
Everybody loves a parade, it's said, but consider how much more compelling it becomes when the grand marshal, on life support, is motoring past in an ambulance. Or, if you believe some news reports, in a hearse. Such is my...
By Michael Cavna | February 26, 2009; 08:45 AM ET | Comments (1)
Morning Funnies: The Rapid Rundown
Morning, Cartoon Nation... Quick, unfiltered takes on the morning's funnies: All week, something about ZITS -- and Jeremy's attraction to his tutor -- has unnerved me. At last, gazing at the strips, I've put my finger on it: Under all...
By Michael Cavna | February 25, 2009; 08:00 AM ET | Comments (8)
Mark Trail: One-Man Stimulus Plan
Morning, Cartoon Nation... Every so often, the planets align, the cosmic tumblers click into place and "Mark Trail"-- all all too commonly misunderstood as mere bizarro-perspective stilted-dialogue strip about a suspiciously chaste eco-photojournalist -- pauses to allow a rare, raw...
By Michael Cavna | February 24, 2009; 02:00 PM ET | Comments (3)
The Vote: Who Deserves Cartooning's Oscar?
Morning, Cartoon Nation... Early every year, my ballot would arrive in the mail. And each time, for several years running, I would write in my vote for the cartoonist-of-the-year: Namely, several of my boyhood cartooning idols from "MAD" magazine. From...
By Michael Cavna | February 23, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (12)
Test Your Cartoon IQ: How Well Do You Know Your Characters?
If there's anything more interesting than a cartoonist, it is -- all too often -- his or her cartoon creation. And that's why 'Riffs returns today with the sequel quiz: Better Know a 'Toon: Get Up Close With the Characters...
By Michael Cavna | February 18, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (6)
From Our Lips to the Creator's Ears?
Somewhere, I like to think, ever-sarcastic Sally Forth is listening at our door. Some weeks back, Comic Riffs drew and posted our first official "Ted Forth Manhood Index," in which we measured Ted's attempts to soon (in the chart's wording)...
By Michael Cavna | February 17, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (4)
First Peek: Marvel Releases New 'Abe Lincoln' Comic Today
CELEBRATING ABE THROUGH CARTOONS Enlarge Comic As Americans celebrate Presidents' Day filled with a sense of gratitude, glory and suspicion that Lincoln must have really, really loved a good discount mattress, who better to appreciate our most heroic president than...
By Michael Cavna | February 16, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (1)
Five Burning Questions: Take the Official 'Riffs Quiz
Morning, Cartoon Nation... So many head-scratching characters, so many unanswered puzzlers. Each and every day, if you're reading carefully, the comics seem to raise as many quirky questions as they answer. So today, 'Riffs will wade into these choppy waters...
By Michael Cavna | February 13, 2009; 08:30 AM ET | Comments (4)
Today's Shopping List: 1. Beer; 2. Death; 3. Comics
As most everyone's father used to say, often with a trace of Wise Paternal Authority: "The only sure things in life are birth, death and taxes." Judging by the comics, though, not even that saying is a certainty. Survey...
By Michael Cavna | February 12, 2009; 08:00 AM ET | Comments (4)
What's Your Favorite Comic One-Liner?
I'm chatting with Comedy Central comic Demetri Martin about humor and the convo quickly turns to: Artful one-liners. I'm speaking with filmmaker Ken Burns about Mark Twain and the interview rapidly slides toward: Folksy one-liners. I call to catch up...
By Michael Cavna | February 11, 2009; 08:00 AM ET | Comments (4)
What Comic Dazzles You With Its Art?
Somedays, when peering at the most visually striking strips, I can't bring myself to immediately read the text. It's not that I anticipate lame dialogue, or don't appreciate that strips are generally best read as a cohesive, coherent whole. No,...
By Michael Cavna | February 9, 2009; 09:00 AM ET | Comments (17)
The 'Riffs Poll: Fishier Than a Florida Recount
It was 3 a.m. and I couldn't go back to sleep, so I did what many a journalist -- if not many an American -- does when insomnia occurs in the Information Age: I clicked on my computer. I surfed...
By Michael Cavna | February 6, 2009; 09:30 AM ET | Comments (10)
What's the Steamiest Comic Strip? (Oh, So Many Contenders)
Panting? Petting? Lip sucking and, well, more lip sucking? Just what in the name of family comics is going down around here? Given all the libidinous hot-plot lines in comics lately, the family funnies may soon actually be "in a...
By Michael Cavna | February 5, 2009; 08:00 AM ET | Comments (12)
Who Drew It Worst? The "Bad" Art Poll
The Burning Question o' the Day is as straightforward as it is simple: Which comics display the worst art on the page? Straightforward, yes, but perhaps not as simple as it seems. One fan's trashy style is another fan's fine-lined...
By Michael Cavna | February 4, 2009; 08:00 AM ET | Comments (13)
Three Words You Just Can't Say on the Funnypages
Some comic-strip creators, such as "Family Tree's" Signe Wilkinson and "Prickly City's" Scott Stantis, have told Comic Riffs that the limits placed on even "PG"-equivalent language in the funnies are a frequent source of frustration. In other words: The...
By Michael Cavna | February 3, 2009; 12:00 PM ET | Comments (4)
How Do You Read Your Comics--Online or on Paper?
As I was hanging in the bookstore's Humor Section, as I so often do, a short streak whisked past. It was a boy of about 8, making a beeline for the comic-strip books. Within seconds, this Norman Rockwell Boy cracked...
By Michael Cavna | February 2, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (17)
Who Best Captures Blagojevich's Hair?
Draw exaggerated faces long enough, and you also draw fire. That's one of the first lessons the professional caricaturist learns. I know that from creating thousands of syndicated caricatures and cartoons over the years, I've also drawn countless complaints....
By Michael Cavna | January 30, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (3)
What Comic Do You Read Despite Yourself?
I'm relieved, somehow, to learn that it's not just me. Others suffer the same compulsion. I'm chatting with colleague Henry Allen about comics -- or more specifically, about how we READ comics. What we gravitate toward, what we avoid (if...
By Michael Cavna | January 29, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (27)
Is Obama a Comic Flip-Flopper?
Blogger Michael Cavna wonders if President Obama is flip-flopping ... on his choice in cartoons. Plus, predictions on the Cardinals-Steelers Super Bowl showdown.
By Michael Cavna | January 28, 2009; 12:15 PM ET | Comments (1)
The Burning Question: Is 'Zits' Painting in the Off-Color?
Time to play, stump the band. (KFS) Enlarge Comic Morning, Cartoon Nation... So for nearly 24 hours, I've asked the same Burning Question of colleagues and friends, male and female. Now, because we've come to know each other so well,...
By Michael Cavna | January 27, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (9)
If Dilbert Can Become a Billboard, Why Not Dagwood Too?
Back when publishing titan William Randolph "Does Yellow Make My Wallet Look Fat?" Hearst was going all Citizen Kane on his many minions, he used to order his comic-strip cartoonists to plug products in their Sunday funnies. Hearst owned the...
By Michael Cavna | January 26, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (10)
Inaugural Sketchbook: Scenes From Obama's Mall
Wit took on a different air in Washington on Tuesday. When a mass of more than a million people is sharing a sense of uplift -- reveling in a rolling lovefest, actually -- the moment's unjaundiced humor can take a...
By Michael Cavna | January 21, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (5)
In Time for the Inaugural: View New Obama Portrait
As President Barack Obama strides to the high podium of history today, poised to deliver his brand of soaring oratory, there's one thing we can be nearly certain of about his speech: Most of the words to be heard will...
By Michael Cavna | January 20, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (1)
Inaugural Special: What's Your Favorite Obama Scene?
So many people besides President-elect Obama must industriously prepare for Inauguration Day: Inaugural committee members. Federal and local law enforcement. Entertainment planners. Let's see, we're forgetting someone obvious here, lessee.... OH, yes. The Vaunted Editorial Cartoonists. Come such an occasion,...
By Michael Cavna | January 19, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (1)
The Morning Line: Mother Goose & Riffy
Morning, Cartoon Nation... So, if my name's Mike Peters, I've gotta figure I had a pretty darned good week. Let us count the ways: 1. The Columbia coffee farmers' federation (representing more a half-million growers) -- so miffed last week...
By Michael Cavna | January 16, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (5)
The Morning Line: Vote for Obama's (Other) Cabinet
Morning, Cartoon Nation... You're president-elect, about to become leader of the free world. You've got full and complete superpower over whom you pick to fill your Cabinet. There's just one catch: You must fill every position will cartoon characters. This...
By Michael Cavna | January 15, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (4)
Do "Zombie Comics" Have a Reason to Live On?
It's a riddle wrapped in an enigma trapped inside a coffin. A syndicated cartoonist, speaking recently to Comic Riffs, was mourning the lack of fresh blood in the funnies. "Corpse comics," the cartoonist called those strips whose original creators died...
By Michael Cavna | January 14, 2009; 11:00 AM ET | Comments (20)
Our Inaugural 'Manhood Chart': Four Characters Square Off
Morning, Cartoon Nation... On the matter of one Ted Forth -- yes, the one and the same Ted Forth I constantly, endearingly call "Lady Hands" in this space -- I find myself in wholehearted agreement with a certain die-hard comics...
By Michael Cavna | January 13, 2009; 10:15 AM ET | Comments (3)
The Morning Line: Laughing in the Face of History...
Morning, Cartoon Nation... All too often in pop culture, the images of iconic figures are resurrected for low and sullied and -- here's the real crime -- uninspired motives. The mind turns to a swingin' Audrey Hepburn shilling The Gap...
By Michael Cavna | January 12, 2009; 11:00 AM ET | Comments (3)
The Morning Line: 'Full Frontal' Language--Ban the 'Boob'?
Morning, Cartoon Nation... The other day, 'Riffs highlighted a coupla "red-flag" words that can rankle comics editors, if not cause the surly beast that is Rabid Reader Fury to rouse, rear its head and spew all manner of foul,...
By Michael Cavna | January 9, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (6)
The Morning Line: When Comics Give Us the Come-Hither
Is it just me, or is it getting hot in here? "Other Women" -- lying in wait all over the comics, like lethal tarted-up harlots -- seem to be all the rage (and sometimes literal rage) this month. I must...
By Michael Cavna | January 8, 2009; 11:00 AM ET | Comments (2)
The Morning Line: When is a Gag Too Old to Be 'Topical'?
John Edwards's presidential aspirations may have died long ago, but his cheatin'-heart shenanigans continue to have one long shelf-life in "Candorville." Which prompts us to ask: What is the life span of campaign controversies as fodder, anyway? Are they eternally,...
By Michael Cavna | January 7, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (2)
The Morning Line: Today's Topic? YOU Name It.
There are so many comic strips 'Riffs could highlight today. We could muse on how "Non Sequitur" quickly pivots from a "Calvin and Hobbes"-esque parent/kid setup to a grimmer Wiley-ian scenario. We could tread into theology with "Zippy." Or we...
By Michael Cavna | January 6, 2009; 10:30 AM ET | Comments (8)
The Morning Line: Dixie's Last Dance (RIP, Comic Stripper)
The Psycho Scottsdale Sharpshooting Stripper has died. Long live the queen of cross-hairs and catwalks. Yes, after lo these many weeks, Dixie -- our beloved, wacked-out Dixie -- is no more, gunned down over the weekend in one last, knife-lunging...
By Michael Cavna | January 5, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (2)
The Morning Line: Riffys to Ring in the New Year
When "Brewster Rockit" recently spoofed current fiscal woes, some 'Riffs commenters (most notably "oceanchild") said they thought it was the best commentary on the economy they had seen. Anywhere. BREWSTER ROCKIT (TMS)Enlarge Comic Well, similarly, this week's "Rockit" deserves the...
By Michael Cavna | January 2, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (6)
The Morning Line: No If's, And's or Buttocks
Some weeks back, 'Riffs wrote about the dance that goes on among cartoonists, syndicate editors and newspaper editors over "iffy" language. By that, we mean language that is far tamer than George Carlin's "Seven Words," but saltier than what you...
By Michael Cavna | January 1, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (1)
The Morning Line: Gary Larson's Long Shadow
Has any single-panel cartoon ever left a more mammoth footprint than "The Far Side"? Cavorting cows. Hostage-taking deer. Punk porcupines. Beehived, cat-eyed dog owners. And of course, all those lab-coated scientists peering through Coke-bottle glasses. BREVITY (UFS)Enlarge Comic Gary Larson...
By Michael Cavna | December 31, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (5)
The Morning Line: In Memoriam: The Man Behind the Pringles Can
Forget the punch line. Like a good lead, the real payoff in today's most intriguing Post strip is in the first panel. MOTHER GOOSE & GRIMM (KFS)Enlarge Comic Today's "Mother Goose and Grimm" begins with the balloon: "So the guy...
By Michael Cavna | December 30, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (3)
The Morning Line: Picking the Year's Top Plotlines
Looking back at the 12 months past, Comic Riffs basked in thousands of strip storylines, ranging from lively high jinks to deadpan plot twists. Of those, scores were especially memorable. Today, culling from a crowded field, 'Riffs offers five of...
By Michael Cavna | December 29, 2008; 09:32 AM ET | Comments (4)
The Morning Line: Opening the Christmas Riffys
It's the day after Christmas and I'm still recovering from indecipherable toy instructions and one relative's wicked "back-door" eggnog, so: Let's get right to it, Cartoon Nation. This week's Riffys go to today's cartoons that are so deft, they cut...
By Michael Cavna | December 26, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (1)
The Morning Line: Christmas Comics, the Ultimate Stocking Stuffer
This morning, Enlarge Comic in the spirit of Christmas morning, 'Riffs gathers 'round the tree hoping childlike for new comics collections of "Get Fuzzy," "Dilbert" and Will Eisner's "The Spirit." And we wish you, Cartoon Nation, a Merry Christmas by...
By Michael Cavna | December 25, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
The Morning Line: 'Twas the Spoof Before Christmas...
Looking at "Pickles," we're with Earl. (WPWG) Enlarge Comic This time of year, we grow a tad sentimental for even some of our lesser strips that have disappeared since last year. So today, we swaddle the comics in old-school fashion...
By Michael Cavna | December 24, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (1)
The Morning Line: When Santa's Act Ain't Worth Zip
As we here at 'Riffs count down the Christmas-week toons, the one that takes the (fruit)cake today is "Baldo" because, really, what is going on here? Has the store Santa simply forgotten to zip his fly? (UPS) Enlarge Comic (Not...
By Michael Cavna | December 23, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (5)
The Morning Line: 'Rockit' Man Achieves Liftoff
For the next five days, with the funnypages thick with elves, bells and reindeer scat, Comic Riffs will highlight our fave Christmas-week cartoons. Today, it's "Brewster Rockit" that gets its wings. (TMS) Enlarge Comic In the face of the yapping...
By Michael Cavna | December 22, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (4)
The Morning Line: Riffys for Inspired Art and Cameos
Let's get right to it, Cartoon Nation -- time for this week's Riffys: In a week awash in Santa strips -- from cheesy mall Clauses to online naughty/nice lists -- 'Riffs' fave this week was "NON SEQUITUR." (UPS) Enlarge Comic...
By Michael Cavna | December 19, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (3)
The Morning Line: When Art Goes to Hell in a HAND Basket--Or Not.
Comic Riffs has said before that, artistically, hands are our ultimate telltale sign. Masterfully rendered digits are their own small visual joy, while hamhanded palms, as it were, can drive to distraction. On this count, I must give a special...
By Michael Cavna | December 18, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (5)
The Morning Line: 'Marimba' Is Music to Cartoonists' Ears
What are the odds, really? First, 'Riffs reads today's "Zippy" and learns that "God" does not play the kettledrum (as fittingly imposing as that might be) but rather the marimba. (KFS) Enlarge Comic Then in short order, we turn to...
By Michael Cavna | December 17, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (5)
The Morning Line: Pick-Five: What Strips Should The Post Add?
Comic Riffs has little patience for ancient, frozen-in-amber comic strips that long ago died creatively -- whether or not their creators have. 'Riffs hasn't cast "Blondie" into that slag heap, however. Not that I wouldn't relish the chance to freshen...
By Michael Cavna | December 16, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (11)
The Morning Line: The Don't-Miss List: Today's Top Five
You might breeze through your comics at lightning speed, or you might mull them leisurely over your waffles or lox. Either way, in today's Post funnypages, there are Five Things Not To Be Missed. As a reader service, 'Riffs counts...
By Michael Cavna | December 15, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (3)
The Morning Line: The Best in Threats
Let's get right to it, Cartoon Nation. It was a particularly interesting week as threats abounded on the "funny" pages -- from nuclear warheads to job cuts to male teen drivers. So in that spirit of laughing our way through...
By Michael Cavna | December 12, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (6)
The Morning Line: Politicos Answer the Casting Call
Condoleezza Rice apparently makes for great cartoon fodder. Everyone from Aaron McGruder to Berkeley Breathed has co-opted Condi for sport, sassing or mockery. Today's "Curtis," though, invokes the secretary of state in a manner that skeeves me out even more...
By Michael Cavna | December 11, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
The Morning Line: The Newspaper Is Ready for Its Closeup
Whenever I see a newspaper making a cameo within the funnies of my actual print newspaper, there seems to be a reflective quaintness about it all: An inky character who still values getting some of his news by reading inky...
By Michael Cavna | December 10, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
The Morning Line: Strong Stomachs Required
From probed eyeballs to ailing tootsies, today's funnies aren't for the squeamish. Before you dig into "The Piranha Club," for instance, you might wanna finish breakfast. (KFS) Enlarge Comic Somehow, waxing on about ingrown toenails -- let alone brain surgery...
By Michael Cavna | December 9, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (8)
The Morning Line: 'Tis the Time for Painful Holiday Punning
Even if you're not a regular reader of "Dennis the Menace" and "The Family Circus," they are required reading today for one reason: "Some people call 'em reindeer, but I call 'em santalope." (KFS)Enlarge Comic They officially mark the start...
By Michael Cavna | December 8, 2008; 11:00 AM ET | Comments (4)
The Morning Line: The Art of Young Love
Two would-be hormonal Romeos, suddenly smitten with the dewy objects of their schoolboy desires. This week, we're particularly diggin' on how "Zits' " Jeremy Duncan and "Cul de Sac's" "Peter Otterloop," given their very different personalities, respond so in-character to...
By Michael Cavna | December 5, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (5)
The Morning Line: Rate That Mustachioed Menace
Some comic characters may fear layoffs in these troubled times, but certainly not the stock villains straight from Central Casting. In recent days, these mustachioed men are thick on the ground in the funnies, with work abundant and nefarious antics...
By Michael Cavna | December 4, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (7)
The Morning Line: Time to Cast 'Mark Trail: The Movie'
Thanks to commenter "staxowax," Comic Riffs has its sights set on The Next Big Film Project. Mark Trail, get ready for your closeup. Your time has come. If only he can get loose from his contract -- and Salty. (NAS)...
By Michael Cavna | December 3, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (6)
The Morning Line: The Ultimate "Slight" of Hand
Comic Riffs has long said that how an artist draws hands is a telltale sign: Deftly rendered digits reveal an admirable attention to detail, if not a signature style. Along those lines, we have noted here before that "Sally Forth"...
By Michael Cavna | December 2, 2008; 10:30 AM ET | Comments (2)
The Morning Line: Voiceover: "In a World of Cinematic Comics..."
Comic Riffs comes here today not to bury, but rather to praise the cinematic cartoon. Whether a product of shrinking comics or changing reader tastes (or both), the funnies, overall, are far less cinematic in look than decades ago. And...
By Michael Cavna | December 1, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (4)
The Morning Line: Today's Featured Cartoons, in Six Minutes or Less
During this busy holiday season, when your schedule is packed tighter than a turducken, 'Riffs offers a reader service: Here are your Six-Minute Comics (less if you speed-read), to save you valuable time. Happy holidays, Cartoon Nation. (WPWG) Enlarge Comic...
By Michael Cavna | November 28, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (1)
The Morning Line: Thanksgiving Comics, in Six Minutes or Less
Welcome, Cartoon Nation. During this busy holiday season, when your schedule is packed tighter than a turducken, 'Riffs offers a reader service: Here are your Six-Minute Comics (less if you speed-read), to save you valuable time. And Happy Thanksgiving. (UFS)...
By Michael Cavna | November 27, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (2)
The Morning Line: Holiday Highlights in a Hurry
NECKLESS BOY MAKES PLEA TO SAVE TURKEY THAT STILL HAS ONE Some days, we feel positively sorry for the lovable scamp. Poor, poor Dennis: (KFS) Enlarge Comic Born without a neck, a change of clothes or even WALLS. No...
By Michael Cavna | November 26, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (3)
The Morning Line: Your Holiday Comics in a Hurry.
As the holiday season finds our schedules packed as tight as a turducken, we here at Comic Riffs continue to offer a reader service. For those on the go, we feature the funnies in easy-to-digest headlines. So if you're in...
By Michael Cavna | November 25, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (2)
The Morning Line: For Busy Holiday Lifestyles: Comics on the Quick!
So many intriguing comics today, so little time for busy folks during the holidays. As a 'Riffs reader service this week, we will provide the top headlines: Your comics experience now shaved like so much turducken to the juicy essentials....
By Michael Cavna | November 24, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (6)
The Morning Line: Rhymes With "Riffy"
RHYMES WITH ORANGE: Old gags? A consonant problem in comics. (KFS)Enlarge Comic "Rhymes With Orange" so rankles us today, we're compelled to begin this week's awards with our honor that rhymes-with-Riffy: the lowly Miffy. Most days, "Rhymes" delivers at least...
By Michael Cavna | November 21, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (4)
The Morning Line: Mark Trail, Split-Second Crackpot
"Mark Trail," you bedevil us like no other! Send out a search party for this lost balloon. (NAS) Enlarge Comic From gargantuan woodland creatures that are sometimes awkwardly foregrounded, to seeming "unintended double-entendres," the strip can both enchant and vex....
By Michael Cavna | November 20, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (5)
The Morning Line: When Sounds Have Just the Right Effect
In his new "10-pound" coffee-table book "Dilbert 2.0," cartoonist Scott Adams says he prides himself on a particular comic gift: His knack for coining the right word to match the desired sound effect. As one who has wrestled mightily with...
By Michael Cavna | November 19, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (4)
The Morning Line: When Evil Lurks Right Under Their Noses...
Our favorite character in today's funnies is not confined to any one strip, but rather makes conspicuous appearances in at least four features. Who is this cameo-happy fella, you ask? Why, this character -- to put a name to a...
By Michael Cavna | November 18, 2008; 08:00 AM ET | Comments (3)
The Morning Line: Newsprint? (Sigh.) We Remember Newsprint
Ah, looky here in today's "Mark Trail" -- that conniving feller in the third panel is luxuriating over an old-fashioned newsprint-type newspaper. Tarnation, what will this retro strip think of next? Ah, reading an old-fashioned newspaper... good times. (NAS) Enlarge...
By Michael Cavna | November 17, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (6)
The Morning Line: Rick Redfern Ghostwrites Our Riffys...
Oh, "Prickly City," will your barbs at the "elite media" never cease? Life as a "former Washington Post guy"... (UPS) Enlarge Comic Today, the coyote casually mentions that he's hired some "former Washington Post guy" to handle his ghostwriting. Oh,...
By Michael Cavna | November 14, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (9)
The Morning Line: When We're With 'Sally,' Time Seems to Stand Still
Some days, we gallop through the funnies at a healthy clip, smiling while not breaking stride and then suddenly ... we hit "Sally Forth" and come to a full stop. Bam! All momentum is lost. But here's the thing about...
By Michael Cavna | November 13, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (9)
The Morning Line: Comic Language Still on a Low-Salty Diet
Standup comic Lewis Black loves to curse the censors. Literally. We were reminded of this the other night when chatting with Black after a performance. Black's philosophy, as he makes clear in his act: Among adults, there are no "bad"...
By Michael Cavna | November 12, 2008; 09:00 AM ET | Comments (5)
The Morning Line: A Day That Shall Live in 'Beetle' Infamy...
Today, "Frazz's" class -- by showing class -- deserves a good star. A cartoon nod to our veterans... (UFS) Enlarge Comic "Frazz" is the only strip on the Post's print funnypages noting that today is Veterans Day. Not that we...
By Michael Cavna | November 11, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (3)
The Morning Line: The Funnies Feed Our Campaign Fix
It's not a phrase that's crossed our lips before, but we find ourselves chanting it today: Thank goodness for Al Franken. Yes, without the satirist-turned-politician -- and the recount in his race against Minnesota's Sen. Norm Coleman -- we would...
By Michael Cavna | November 10, 2008; 11:44 AM ET | Comments (3)
The Morning Line: And the Riffy Award Goes to...
Time once again, cartoon fans, for the Riffy Awards. And as we open the first envelope, the winning comic for Fave Weeklong Strip is... Emotional (animal) rescue. (KFS) Enlarge Comic "Mutts." This week, Patrick McDonnell calls his series of animal-shelter...
By Michael Cavna | November 7, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (4)
The Morning Line: Bucky Katt v. The English Language: We're the Winners.
If it please the court, we'd like to pose a question about comic justice: Why, when "Frank & Ernest" unleashes wanton wordplay, it often pains us -- yet when Bucky Katt goes on a mad punning spree, we're utterly tickled....
By Michael Cavna | November 6, 2008; 11:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
Obama's Victory: 'Doonesbury' Prediction Didn't Win Over Every Precinct
Garry Trudeau might have felt comfortable "calling" Obama's victory in this morning's "Doonesbury," but not all the cartoonist's 1,400-plus clients were so at ease with a "Doonesbury Defeats Truman" scenario had John McCain won. Days before the actual win, Trudeau...
By Michael Cavna | November 5, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
The Morning Line: You've Got Jokes. And Then You've Got the Vote.
Today, my fellow comics readers, is of course an historic day. It's a day when many cartoonists, like the rest of the nation, feel the importance of our democratic right -- nay, our obligation -- to vote. So today, we...
By Michael Cavna | November 4, 2008; 08:37 AM ET | Comments (1)
My Fellow Americans, Hear a REAL Comical Speech
The ability to deliver a brilliant political speech with soaring oratory? It's a rare and awe-inspiring thing. Soon shall we see a "Cynical Act," a "Cynical Missile" or -- gasp -- the New England Cynics? (Creators) Enlarge Comic Behind the...
By Michael Cavna | November 3, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (6)
The Morning Line: Come Halloween, the Geek Shall Inherit the Mirth
Time once again for the Riffy Awards, which this week hew to a Halloween theme. And hands down, there is one comic prospect that frightens us right down to our double-wool socks: Namely, the thought of being cornered at a...
By Michael Cavna | October 31, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (5)
The Morning Line: When You Wish Upon an Upstart
Woe unto Dennis and Jeffy, a coupla down-on-their-luck dreamers who prove that today, the true visionaries live in single-panel land. The boy with the V-chip on his shoulder. (KFSEnlarge Comic There's "Dennis the Menace's" lovable titular scamp, declaring his vision...
By Michael Cavna | October 30, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (2)
The Morning Line: The Wordplay's the Thing--but Which Puns to Pan?
Puns to the left of me, double-entendres to the right. Or, as Shakespeare might have quipped: "Get thee to a punnery!" Mucking through today's funnypages is sticky stuff, indeed -- even for the comics, the wordplay is thick on the...
By Michael Cavna | October 29, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (5)
This Just In: The Post's Replacement for 'Opus' Is...
Hot off the cartoon wire comes this news: The loss of Opus is Keith Knight's gain. Keith Knight's edgy strip comes to The Post's pages. (UFS) Enlarge Comic Knight's self-titled comic "The Knight Life" will replace the retiring "Opus" in...
By Michael Cavna | October 28, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (10)
The Morning Line: Write Your Own 'Toons for Fun and Profit
Economy got you down? Bills aplenty and stocks a-crashed have you considering that second -- or third -- job? Then it just might be time for you to consider an exciting new career as a Professional Gag Writer. Sound daunting?...
By Michael Cavna | October 27, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (3)
Mmm. Maryland Donut Shop Is Ready for Its Closeup
Zippy may be a pinhead, but give him this: the head of that pin is pushed into one really accurate map. Bill Griffith, you see, goes for true geographic realism. A Maryland toon can rest on its Laurel. (KFS) Enlarge...
By Michael Cavna | October 24, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (3)
The Morning Line: One Story for the Price of Two
Somedays, "Mark Trail" and "Judge Parker" seem like similar strips. Except for today, that is, when they are the EXACT same strip. Even the tree rodents know what lies ahead. (NAS) Enlarge Comic Do not forget the name "Jim Yelich"!...
By Michael Cavna | October 23, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (3)
The Morning Line: From Bill Watterson to Bil Keane
Somewhere, the lean, bespectacled Bill Watterson is sitting by a babbling heartland brook, delicately painting the changing October foliage while free of deadline or syndicate demands. We picture him peaceful, basking in nature's resplendent glory. Only then -- as we've...
By Michael Cavna | October 22, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (6)
The Morning Line: 'Zippy' Creator Draws on Real (Pungent) Maryland
I'm occasionally asked how I read "Zippy the Pinhead." Not why I read "Zippy," but literally, HOW I read it. My answer is always some variation of two elements: 1. I toss aside expectations of a traditional comic-strip "progression" to...
By Michael Cavna | October 21, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (4)
The Morning Line: Readers, Time to Write Your Own Plotline
Judging by the ol' sundial on the wall, "Judge Parker's" dilettante sleuth Sam Driver has now been hanging in an exotic dancer's home -- under the pretense of helping on a murder case -- since, oh, 2005. Or so it...
By Michael Cavna | October 20, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (7)
The Morning Line: The Survival of the Funniest
What's the most enjoyable comic strip of the week? By a country mile -- or however far those crocs are absolutely walloping the ball -- it's gotta be "Pearls Before Swine." The game of his life. (UFS) Enlarge Comic I'd...
By Michael Cavna | October 17, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (3)
The Morning Line: McCain Needs to Seek This Media 'Circus'
Some polls say John McCain is trailing badly in the presidential race, but my friends, do not put all your stock in such capricious surveys. No, to monitor the heart of the electorate, one must look for subtler signs. The...
By Michael Cavna | October 16, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (2)
The Morning Line: Why Palin Beats Obama in the Funnies
The complaint comes in strong and frequent. "How can you media elitists live with yourselves," goes the common kvetch to The Post, "when you run so many BIG pictures of Obama yet so many teensy pictures of McCain -- when...
By Michael Cavna | October 15, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (8)
The Morning Line: The Surefire Solution to Surviving Comic Cutbacks
The news grows more gruesome by the month: Many newspapers keep cutting back their funnypages, in some misguided hope that they aren't also losing hundreds or thousands of comics readers in the process. The whole thing smacks of killing one...
By Michael Cavna | October 14, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (7)
The Morning Line: The "Gotcha!" Cartoon
It's such ripe fodder, I'm half-surprised it hasn't wended its way into every third cartoon today. "Gotcha!" Bonus points for correctly using "media" as a plural verb. (TMS) Enlarge Comic "No mainstream media liberal games! You, Katie Couric, are the...
By Michael Cavna | October 13, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (8)
The Morning Line: Get Out the Joke
As we open the envelope, this week's Riffys resonate with electoral humor. Whether the results are rigged or not, the high court that is Comic Riffs stands by these results: The insults flew fast and spurious. (UFS) Enlarge Comic FAVE...
By Michael Cavna | October 10, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (2)
The Morning Line: When Humanity Goes to the Dogs
We were weaned on Snoopy's thought balloons, then graduated to talking penguins and pooches. Now, we don't even blink when "Get Fuzzy's" Rob Wilco, aka the Virtual Agoraphobe, has extended dialogue with his shut-in pets and no one appears with...
By Michael Cavna | October 9, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (2)
The Morning Line: Obama! Palin! Who's Got the Best Line?...
As pundits and the press provide instant reaction to the political debates, there's one group that labors to keep up with this rapid campaign cycle: the nation's political cartoonists. Or, as artist Ruben Bolling says of cartooning during this quickly...
By Michael Cavna | October 8, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (6)
The Morning Line: When Pastis Goes for "Peanuts"
Yesterday, "Pearls Before Swine's" Stephan Pastis was on the same wavelength as "Candorville." Today, he is on the same wavelength as Monday's baseball-themed "Peanuts." Deja-vu all over again. (UFS) Enlarge Comic Good grief, gnarly Rat. (UFS) Enlarge Comic Apparently Pastis...
By Michael Cavna | October 7, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (1)
The Morning Line: When 'CNN' Is the Cartoonist News Network
Hey, kids, it's the official multiple-choice question du jour... News anchor Anderson Cooper appears in not one but two comics today because: (a.) CNN is the official choice of comic strippers the world over. (b.) Keith Olbermann wanted royalties and...
By Michael Cavna | October 6, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (11)
The Morning Line: All Palin, All the Time!
On the morning after the big debate, Sarah Palin continues to outpoint Joe Biden in at least one regard: The number of cartoon references she is inspiring. From the "Tales From the Crypt" series comes at least one book that...
By Michael Cavna | October 3, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (92)
The Morning Line: The "Cul de Sac" Contest--YOU May Be a Winner!
CUL DE SAC: Be the first on your block to win a "Cul de Sac." (UPS)Enlarge Comic If you love the writing in "Cul de Sac," then it's time to do a little writing of your own. As the...
By Michael Cavna | October 2, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (22)
The Morning Line: Market Blues? Political Strips Need to Bail Us Out
We're entertained by Tina Fey's latest eerie take on Sarah Palin. We smile as Stephen Colbert skewers failed bipartisan bailout efforts. We laugh at Bill Maher's new election-themed interview with Chris Rock. Healthy campaign humor abounds on the screen, but...
By Michael Cavna | October 1, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (9)
The Morning Line: Brad Pitt & the Art of Body Language
As Brad Pitt coolly strode past us in the newsroom, my co-worker sighed, "I would marry him in a heartbeat." "But can he cook?" I teased. "Who caaares?!" she replied without pause, as the word "cares" hung in the air,...
By Michael Cavna | September 30, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (10)
The Morning Line: The New Power Rankings Are In...
A week ago we unveiled our first Power Rankings, based not on which strips are necessarily best, but on which current storylines are most engaging us. This ridiculously subjective formula is called the Story Line Attachment Quotient , or The...
By Michael Cavna | September 29, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (7)
The Morning Line: "Forth" vs. "Parker": Which Brings the (Sexual) Heat?
Ahhh, can you smell it? The whiff of sexual tension grows so thick in "Sally Forth," you can cut it with a knife. (Perhaps even Glenn Close's cutlery of choice in "Fatal Attraction.") Sometimes no words are needed. (KFS) Enlarge...
By Michael Cavna | September 26, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (7)
The Morning Line: Today's Comics, "Sponsored" by Target.
Times are tight in comics land, and new revenue streams must be tapped. What's your visual evidence, you say? My cheeky reply: Direct your gaze, if you will, to today's "Mother Goose and Grimm." Will the "Arrow" shirt company want...
By Michael Cavna | September 25, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (4)
The Morning Line: A Warning to "Get Fuzzy"
TO: Rob Wilco c/o "Get Fuzzy" FROM: The SPCCA (The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Cartoon Animals) We're on to Rob's tricks. (UPS) Enlarge Comic Dear Mr. Wilco: This urgent letter is to inform you that we are...
By Michael Cavna | September 24, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (3)
The Morning Line: Garfield's Secret E-Files...
GARFIELD: The unhappy kitty is hacked off. (UPS)Enlarge Comic Suddenly, Garfield has conspicuously acquired yet higher proficiency at the keyboard. If he can actually send nasty emails, who knows what else this kitty is capable of? If we were able...
By Michael Cavna | September 23, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (7)
The Morning Line: The Power Rankings: 5 Toons We're Attached To
Just the other day, a new study measured our "emotional attachment" to television shows. By a formula that seeks to quantify human reaction -- and really, good luck with THAT -- market researchers measured fickle viewers for such things as...
By Michael Cavna | September 22, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (8)
The Morning Line: The Riffys Go "Forth"...
Nothing like a tantalizing storyline -- a plot brimming with sudden sexual heat -- to re-stoke one's interest in a comic. Sally Forth, you have our complete attention. Or in this case: Ted Forth does. Someone is sure sallying forth....
By Michael Cavna | September 19, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (8)
The Morning Line: Decode Your Own Cartoon Name.
We noted recently that you can't swing a Sudoku puzzle over your head without hitting a woman named "Carmen" on the comics pages. Something about that name bewitched the cartoonists behind "Pooch Cafe," "Baldo" and "Prickly City." But what's in...
By Michael Cavna | September 18, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (6)
The Morning Line: Six Degrees of Stephan Pastis
Look closely in the last panel of today's "Brewster Rockit." No, closer. Pigs in space? A strip with zero gravity. (TMS) Enlarge Comic Yep, right there on the T-shirt is "Pig" from "Pearls Before Swine." What in the name of...
By Michael Cavna | September 17, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (6)
The Morning Line: "Doonesbury" Sings the Newspaper Blues
Even "Doonesbury" isn't immune from the print newspaper blues. When Garry Trudeau's "Washington Post" begins a round of buyouts this week, it can't help but hit close to home. (UPS) Enlarge Comic In the pages of The Washington Post this...
By Michael Cavna | September 16, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (10)
The Morning Line: When Palin Populates the Funnies
"Doonesbury." "Candorville." "Prickly City." Even "Get Fuzzy." The Sarah Palin phenomenon has escalated to Category 5 so quickly -- not just politically, but comedically (witness Tina Fey's "Saturday Night Live" take over the weekend) -- that the candidate even seems...
By Michael Cavna | September 15, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (9)
The Morning Line: The Envelope, Please, for the Riffy Awards...
Time once again, boys and girls, for the week's Riffy Awards. (Creators) Enlarge Comic 1. FAVORITE BALLOON: All week, "Agnes" has featured the costumed classroom exploits of Wellness Woman. Today, Agnes's second-panel rejoinder to her teacher is: "A better question...
By Michael Cavna | September 12, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (4)
The Morning Line: ¡Viva la Revolucion, Mon!
In theory, it should not work. You should not be able to dress up rats and cats and ducks as agents and soldiers and rastafarians and have it, on paper, be this entertaining. "Noooo zeeeba, no cry..." (UFS) Enlarge Comic...
By Michael Cavna | September 11, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (8)
The Morning Line: Need a Friend? Dial 1-555-TED-4RTH
For years, Ted Forth has been as reliable as grout. Silly, mildly sarcastic and always as comfortable as old Hush Puppies, Ted could be counted on. He was the warm comic foil who could withstand anything. He was the...
By Michael Cavna | September 10, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (15)
The Morning Line: When Timeliness Is Next to Godliness...
One poster to this blog, "MSchafer," inquired several days ago about Turnaround Time. That is, what is the window between when a syndicated cartoonist submits a strip and when readers can hear the newspaper cartoon land in their shrubbery or...
By Michael Cavna | September 9, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (2)
The Morning Line: "Non Sequitur's" Misbegotten Sex Scandal...
Wiley, Wiley, Wiley. (Sigh.) You know better than this. But we have renamed our staff restrooms for Larry Craig. (UPS) Enlarge Comic Talented "Non Sequitur" cartoonist Wiley Miller can skewer the media with the best of 'em. Over the years,...
By Michael Cavna | September 8, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (7)
The Morning Line: When Cartoonists Draw the Identical Gag
You ever read a comic and you could just swear you've heard that joke before? Well in this case, you probably have. This is the Thursday gag... (KFS) Enlarge Comic ...and this is the Friday gag. Yes, we're serious. (KFS)...
By Michael Cavna | September 5, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (7)
The Morning Line: 10 Things You Might Not Know About "Dennis"
TEN THINGS You Might Not Know About "Dennis the Menace": 1. Despite decades of rumor to the contrary, Dennis is not a lifelong root-beer addict, hopped up on Hines. Today's panel perpetuates this vicious rumor -- which some believe to...
By Michael Cavna | September 4, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (1)
The Morning Line: On the 'Trail' of Love, Lust and Caution
Twin damsels in distress! One shining white knight, radiant with Brylcreemed hair! The snarling threat of Mother Nature! And o, that ever-treacherous cavern! Pell-mell arrives the "other woman," Kelly Welly. (NAS) Enlarge Comic You could read the current "Mark Trail"...
By Michael Cavna | September 3, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (4)
The Morning Line: The Secret Files of "Judge Parker"
"Judge Parker's" Dewey Cheatham has been toe-tagged for days now, but as witnessed by today's strip, the details around this gruff duffer's life are still vague. Who was Dewey Cheatham, exactly, and more important: what shortcomings caused this golfer to...
By Michael Cavna | September 2, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (6)
The Morning Line: From Cartoonists, the School of Hard Knocks
Cartoonists, one could surmise, are a cruel and spiteful lot. How else to explain why so many of them are teasing the tots with today's back-to-school taunts? Hey, kids! Read the funnies and let us quasi-grownups pepper you with scholastic...
By Michael Cavna | September 1, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (3)
The Morning Line: Taking Lynn Johnston's Spot on The Post Pages Is...
When we announced Wednesday that The Post will drop "For Better or For Worse" from the print-edition's funnypages, many of the nearly 200 responses we received included at least two of these three questions (and we paraphrase wildly): 1. What...
By Michael Cavna | August 29, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (21)
The Morning Line: Turn Your Head and Coif...
This blog at last has its blessed mantra:"I don't feel it's healthy to keep your faults bottled up inside me." Ahh. One twisted pronoun, but pure poetry. Those inspired words are spouted by the crazy-eyed kitty that is Bucky, who...
By Michael Cavna | August 28, 2008; 06:01 AM ET | Comments (3)
The Morning Line: Brewster Rocks Our E-World
We were in Caribou Coffee, but it could have been any kaffeeklatch in which frazzled workaday folk seek WiFi and a piping four-buck beverage served McQuickly. The customer striding up to the counter was talking mile-a-minute into her Bluetooth, adrift...
By Michael Cavna | August 26, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (3)
The Morning Line: Finding Political Strips to Nominate
As the Democratic National Convention gets into gear, often will we hear the impassioned chant: "O-bam-a!" And when Sen. Clinton has her Denver moment, her Greek chorus of diehard followers will chant: "Hil-la-ry!" To those names we'd like to submit...
By Michael Cavna | August 25, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (8)
The Morning Line: The Riffys: These Cartoons Are the Katt's Pajamas
After scouring the strips far and wide, we find before us a kitty after our own heart. At last, in Bucky Katt, here's someone on the comics page who appreciates -- nay, who understands -- the critic. In today's first...
By Michael Cavna | August 22, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (7)
The Morning Line: Hot Cartoon Characters on Parade!
It's a debate as old as the beer commercial. The name of the game is: Which Fictional Character Is Hotter? As in: Rhett or Ashley? Ginger or Mary Ann? Or pretty much any of the characters in the current flick...
By Michael Cavna | August 21, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (24)
The Morning Line: Cartoons That Just "Kill"...
A standup comic once offhandedly shared with us what audiences laugh the most at: "Nothing 'kills' like death." If that's the case, then today's Post toons are the height of hilarity. From the philosophical to the literal, they're to die...
By Michael Cavna | August 20, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (8)
The Morning Line: This Olympics Fever Just Won't Break
The Olympic marathon continues to hurtle by at the speed of sound -- as long as that sound is, say, the glacial golf dialogue in "Judge Parker." By "Olympic marathon," we speak not of the Beijing Games themselves but rather...
By Michael Cavna | August 19, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (8)
The Morning Line: 'Frazz' & the Evolution of a Comic Mystery
FRAZZ: Is it (primordial) soup yet? (UFS) Enlarge Comic When a cartoonist develops a rep for lacing his comic with sly references, we begin to read that strip in search of secondary cues and clues. Suddenly it's no longer just...
By Michael Cavna | August 18, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (10)
The Morning Line: The Riffy Awards (For Better or for Worse)
Much business to take care of today, so let's get right to it... First, many within the cartooning community are a-chattering over this week's announcement that beginning Sept. 1, "For Better or For Worse" will move into what is being...
By Michael Cavna | August 15, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (13)
The Morning Line: When Comics "Pull a Pastis"...
PEARLS BEFORE SWINE: Oh, Rat leaves his mark all right. (UFS)Enlarge Comic In today's "Pearls Before Swine," Rat coins a phrase that we feel compelled to appropriate without shame, embarrassment or royalty payment. The new phrase is "Pulling a Pastis,"...
By Michael Cavna | August 14, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (15)
The Morning Line: When Bad Art Happens to Good Characters
When a witty comic-stripper who has no pretension of drawing well gives us bizarre art, we get it. To quibble over the art is like complaining about the cinematography of a hilarious Christopher Guest mockumentary. Then, though, there are the...
By Michael Cavna | August 13, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (8)
The Morning Line: From John Edwards, Cartoon Lessons Learned
SALLY FORTH: Where parting is such sweet sorrow. (KFS)Enlarge Comic If there is one overarching Life Lesson to be gleaned from the whole John Edwards run-of-the-mill(worker) affair -- at least for cartoonists -- it is this: A pretty head of...
By Michael Cavna | August 12, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (9)
The Morning Line: The Olympic Bar Is Mighty Uneven
When you're a comic-stripper staring at that blank Bristol board, turning to World Events for inspiration can be a double-edged Exact-O knife. In the best of all worlds, you tap into the approaching zeitgeist with sparkling wit and eerie prescience....
By Michael Cavna | August 11, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (11)
The Morning Line: When Laffs Are an Olympian Task
TANK McNAMARA: Let the synchronized-tween-gymnasts-on-steroids jokes begin. (UPS)Enlarge Comic As the glorious Olympic torch is raised aloft tonight and the world's ultimate athletes bask in the heart-warming glow of international camaraderie before battling friend, foe and Beijing "air," there is...
By Michael Cavna | August 8, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (6)
The Morning Line: Our First Caption Contest
RHYMES WITH ORANGE: Your caption here. Literally. (King Features) Enlarge Comic We knew this fateful day could come. We've been biding our time -- waiting, waiting patiently for that just-right cartoon for Comic Riffs's first o-ffic-ial Caption Contest. And this,...
By Michael Cavna | August 7, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (24)
The Afternoon Line: When "Brewster" and "Sally" Collide
BREWSTER ROCKIT (Tribune Media) Enlarge Comic SALLY FORTH (King Features) Enlarge Comic So we're zipping through today's "Brewster Rockit," as our favorite space guy dissolves into a flashback loop, when suddenly we are struck by an intense flashback of our...
By Michael Cavna | August 6, 2008; 02:58 PM ET | Comments (3)
The Morning Line: "Judge Parker" & the Lemon Law
JUDGE PARKER: A smooth drive turns into one shifty proposition. (North America Syndicate) Enlarge Comic Damn you, "Judge Parker" -- you confound us and bedevil us like no other. You tempt us with sleek lines and winning curves, but then,...
By Michael Cavna | August 5, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (3)
The Morning Line: The Eternal Search for "Calvin's" Kin
BIG NATE: Some readers come seeking Calvin 2.0. (NEA) Enlarge Comic Ever since Bill Watterson packed up his toys and went home, the deep longing for his creations to return doesn't seem to subside. Devoted fans hold out hope, commiserate...
By Michael Cavna | August 4, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (10)
The Morning Line: When Frazz Razzes Rockwell
During his life, Norman Rockwell's name was rarely associated with controversy, and most of the debate since has centered on whether the Art World should recognize him as an "artist" and not just a mere illustrator. But it is refreshing...
By Michael Cavna | August 3, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (9)
The Morning Line: That Vexing "Family" Tree
FAMILY CIRCUS: Who's the better gag writer: Bil or Billy? (King Features) Enlarge Comic Do not be fooled. Oh, "Family Circus" pretends to be a mild-mannered, stuck-in-the-'60s comic panel, but that is a mere ruse. Under the cloak of simplicity,...
By Michael Cavna | August 2, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (2)
The Morning Line: "Beetle's" Buck[Naked] Privates
We read "Beetle Bailey" -- with its painfully dated gags -- and only one word comes to mind. Not "funny." Nor "quaint." No, the only term that often resonates is this: "pervy." BEETLE BAILEY: This man's army loves its privates...
By Michael Cavna | August 1, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (5)
The Morning Line: Garfield -- Bring on the Crazy
Enlarge Comic | Dr. Liz may administer her own lip injections, but her shots at Garfield are getting toothless. (Universal Press Syndicate) Oh, we once had hope for Liz. Given her intelligence, education and access to large animal-prodding implements,...
By Michael Cavna | July 31, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (4)
The Morning Line: When Parents' Bedrooms Attack
Big Nate: Funny, funny. Now: We think we just threw up in our mouth a little bit. (NEA Inc.) . We cannot lie: Today's "Big Nate" so took us by surprise, we almost choked on our wheat Chex. And...
By Michael Cavna | July 30, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (7)
The Morning Line: "Judge Parker," Laff Riot
Judge Parker: A sly guffaw? Hardly par for the course. (North America Syndicate) . Ladies and gentledudes of the court: Let the record show that today, Tuesday, July 29, for the first time this year, we -- ahem --...
By Michael Cavna | July 29, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (12)
The Morning Line: Cartoonists -- No Vacation for You!
Non Sequitur: Old news is good news if you're a cartoonist needing a little time off. (Universal Press Syndicate) . Baldo: Cutlery aside, running your reprints can cut both ways. (Universal Press Syndicate) . The writers of "Non Sequitur,"...
By Michael Cavna | July 28, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (7)
The Morning Line: Carlin in the [Censored] Comics
Doonesbury: How much did George Carlin inspire us? There's so much we just can't say. [click to enlarge](Universal Press Syndicate) George Carlin had his Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television. According to today's "redacted" "Doonesbury," drawn in...
By Michael Cavna | July 27, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (1)
The Morning Line: Blondies Have More Puns
Blondie: Could the end be near? As the late-great Warron Zevon said: "Enjoy every (Dagwood) sandwich." (King Features) No, no, this cannot be. Dagwood is going seriously existential on us. The plaintive gaze, those soul-bearing eyes staring right through...
By Michael Cavna | July 26, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
The Morning Line: "Sherman" Survives a Snark Attack
No lame or flat-lining punchline consumes us today, and the badly drawn panel holds no perverse allure. Like flecks of gold in the creekbed, three strips catch our eye and fancy this morning, each mined for small joys. So without...
By Michael Cavna | July 25, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (4)
The Morning Line: Hands Don't Lie
The eyes might be the windows to the soul, but when it comes to cartooning, the hands are the dead giveaway as to an artist's attention to detail, time-spent and talent. "Zits' " Jim Borgman does stylish hands that "read"...
By Michael Cavna | July 24, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
The Morning Line: Losing All Perspective
Quick riffs on today's toons... Perspective, shmerspective! "Beetle's" slacking off again. (King Features) Perspective and proportions are so staggeringly askew in "BB" today, we can say with almost absolute certainty that Mort Walker himself did not personally draw this comic....
By Michael Cavna | July 23, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
The Morning Line: Go 'Forth' and Multiply
Some mornings if we're not careful, the comics -- especially prior to that first jump-start cup of coffee or Darjeeling -- can really play with our sense of Commonly Accepted Reality. Text doesn't match facial expression, or sequential time is...
By Michael Cavna | July 22, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (18)
The Morning Line: Honey, They Shrunk the Strips
Cartoonists have joked for years -- through gritted teeth and inky fits of frustration -- that newspapers publish their strips so small that the occupation has been reduced to scribbling on stamps. But some days now, when we look at...
By Michael Cavna | July 21, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
The Morning Line: Do You Do 'Derivative'?
Drawing wacky single-panel toons is treacherous work in "The Far Side's" long wake. (Universal Press Syndicate) "Imitation is the sincerest form of syndication." -- Anonymous* (* okay, we coined that -- but "anonymous" lends that certain authoritative air, no?)...
By Michael Cavna | July 20, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (10)
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; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (8)
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; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (10)
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; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
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; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
The Morning Line: The Cat Also Rises
Jeremy responds to the thundering herd. (King Features) Neither curiosity nor lasagna moves this kitty. (Universal Press Syndicate) Now that we've known each other lo these past 24 hours, I feel as though I can trust you. So in...
By Michael Cavna | July 15, 2008; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
The Morning Line: Meta? Meh.
The funnies? Agnes is not amused. (Creators Syndicate) What is in the drinking water -- or at least the inkwells -- of some of the nation's cartoonists these days? Why are some comic artists, when staring blankly at their...
By Michael Cavna | July 14, 2008; 10:39 AM ET | Comments (14)
