Laugh Tracks

Duke 2000 Playing Cards

Back in 2000, Uncle Duke of Doonesbury made a historic and memorable run at the Oval Office. Alas, Duke's efforts were unsuccessful...but reminders of the Duke 2000 campaign abound. Andertoons has posted images on Flickr of a collection of Duke 2000 playing cards available back in the day exclusively at Starbucks. The face cards feature Doonesbury characters with memorable quotes from Duke's campaign.

Looking for more Duke 2000? You can also watch the now-classic Duke 2000 campaign videos at Doonesbury.com.

Interview with Halo and Sprocket creator Kerry Callen

Kerry Callen, creator of the fun metaphysical comic series Halo and Sprocket, was interviewed by Newsarama about the upcoming release of Halo and Sprocket: Natural Creatures, a graphic novel-length collection of short stories to be released in July.

You can enjoy the first Halo and Sprocket mini-series everywhere you go by downloading the GoComics mobile comic book reader application for your phone. Visit m.gocomics.com on your mobile phone browser. Visit the GoComics Comic Book section for more info.

Look for GoComics at NY Comic Con!

GoComics will be exhibiting with Andrews McMeel Publishing at Booth 1715 at the NY Comic Con this weekend. If you're a comic strip fan and you plan to attend, look us up - we'd love to meet you!

In-booth signing schedule:

Friday
   •  2pm - Dan Piraro (Bizarro)

Saturday
   •  11am - Gary Gianni and Mark Schultz (Prince Valiant)
   •  2pm - James Gurney (Dinotopia)
   •  4pm - Mark Tatulli (Lio)

Special engagement Saturday, 12pm, Room 1E02:
   •  James Gurney slide presentation "Dinotopia, Behind the Scenes." Book signing to follow.

And don't forget to check out our friends' exhibits:
   •  TOKYOPOP - Booth 1321
   •  Devil's Due Publishing - Booth 1156
   •  Image Comics, Inc. - Booth 1407
   •  Teshkeel Comics - Booth 1944
   •  Virgin Comics - Booth 1415

Pibgorn on Shakespeare

Brooke McEldowney, the creator of Pibgorn, announces the publication of the brand new Pibgorn graphic novel “Pibgorn Rep: A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”  It will be available from Pib Press at the end of April. The original series, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” was presented online as an ongoing storyline in the Pibgorn comic.  After the story began appearing online, Mr. McEldowney was inundated by requests from teachers, students, Shakespeare lovers and just about everyone else to release the story in book form.  This book, with an introduction by Alan Dean Foster, obliges with new art and Mr. McEldowney's original unexpurgated panels.  For more about the book, and how to order, see the official Pibgorn blog here.  Read Pibgorn online.   

New Comic: Mal and Chad!

While Mal and Chad was making its syndicated debut on GoComics last week, creator Stephen McCranie was making his way to Japan for a semester-long study abroad trip. Want to see how much fun he's having? Check out the first episode of Stalking Japan, his video blog. (The pre-trip Pilot Episode is also fun.)

Meanwhile, back at GoComics: Mal and Chad is a strip about a child prodigy named Malcom who hides his genius so that he can live the life of a normal kid, pursuing the affections of fellow fourth-grader Megan and confiding in his canine companion, Chad. The strip runs Monday-Friday.

Screamland #1, On Sale Now!

Screamland, written by GoComics' own Harold Sipe with art by Hector Casanova, is on sale now! Look for it at your local comic book shop!

Screamland, from GoComics' Harold Sipe

Wednesday is the biggest day of the week for comic book fans, but March 12th is a bigger Wednesday than most for us here at GoComics.

A lifelong comic book fan, GoComics manager of product development Harold Sipe is the guy who sees to it that hit comic books like Bone, Elephantmen, GODLAND, TMNT and more make it to your mobile phone. Now Harold has taken his love for comics to the next level - he's written an excellent 5-issue comic book series called Screamland, the first issue of which lands in comic shops on March 12th from Image Comics.

The series follows the present-day lives of legendary film stars Frankenstein's Monster, the Mummy, the Werewolf and Dracula, all one-time A-listers who were discarded by Tinseltown with the rise of CG special effects. After decades of clinging to the last threads of their celebrity, the monsters have been offered a film project that may put them back on the Hollywood map.The pitch-perfect art for the series is provided by Kansas City-based artist Hector Casanova (The Lurkers, Midnight Album).

We'll have more info on Screamland in the next few days, leading up to its Wednesday release. In the meantime, check out these links:

• Newsarama interview with Sipe and Casanova.
• ComicMonsters.com interview with Sipe.
• ComicMonsters.com also has this very cool article in which Casanova discusses his mixed media approach to character design on Screamland, with lots of images.
• Get Screamland wallpapers for your mobile phone here.
• Screamland profile on MySpace.

Paul Gilligan on Comics Coast to Coast!

Pooch Café creator Paul Gilligan was the guest on the Comics Coast to Coast podcast last week. Paul discussed a wide range of topics, including the Pooch Cafe movie deal, the process of creating the strip, his pet situation, and even politics.

Click here to go and listen!

New Comic: Basic Instructions!

People like to get advice from someone who knows. That's one of the reasons Scott Meyer created Basic Instructions, the comic strip he calls "Your all-inclusive guide to a life well-lived." Meyer is just the guy to help you out with some of your toughest everyday situations, like when you're forced to listen to someone blather on about their vacation, or when you're trying to pick a new razor, or when you're wondering what small part you can play in the destruction of society.

A veteran stand-up comedian, Meyer draws himself, friends and family members as the regulars in Basic Instructions. This twice-weekly strip has a lot of things going for it, including a clever concept, an experienced comedy writer, and a big endorsement from Dilbert creator Scott Adams. Read it!

Lio Creator Mark Tatulli in Online Chat - 1pm EST!

Lio creator Mark Tatulli will join Washington Post Comics page editor Suzanne Tobin today at 1pm EST for an online discussion. Click this link to follow the discussion and submit questions!