Laugh Tracks

Big Comics Interview on Mr. Media!

Read or listen to the excellent interview with Lee Salem, president of Universal Press Syndicate, posted February 22 on MrMedia.com.  Salem comments on the syndicate's relationships with several former comic strip creators, including Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes), Gary Larson (The Far Side), and Aaron McGruder (The Boondocks). He also offers personal perspectives on fan-favorite comics like Doonesbury, FoxTrot and For Better or For Worse, and he even throws in some advice for would-be comic strip creators. Salem's views come from a unique vantage point - he's worked behind the scenes and played a large role in developing many of the most significant comic strips of the last 30-plus years. It's great backstage insight for comics aficionados!

15 Years of Non Sequitur!

Today Wiley Miller celebrates 15 years of creating Non Sequitur with the re-release of the very first Non Sequitur comic strip, which originally ran as a larger-format Sunday strip in newspapers on February 16, 1992. Miller has prepared it as a daily for today's re-release. In honor of Miller's anniversary, Universal Press Syndicate has posted a Wiley Miller Q&A on their site, in which the creator discusses the origins of Non Sequitur, his run-ins with controversy and the "experiment" that led to his childrens' book, "The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Basil."

Snowmen on the Rampage

An enterprising group of pharmacy students at the University of Nebraska Medical Center arranged an elaborate snowman attack, reminiscent of Calvin and Hobbes. 

Click to see the complete slideshow:

Romantic Flameouts from The Fusco Brothers

Think you've got it rough being single on Valentine's Day? Take heart. No one beats The Fusco Brothers when it comes to romantic rejection, and we've put together a small sampling of their failed pick-up lines from the past year to demonstrate why. Click on the strip below to see more Fusco misfires.

Lio Creator Mark Tatulli Interviewed on "Mr. Media"

He's prank-called the Peanuts gang, enlisted Superman for homework help, shipped a certain Family Circus wanderer to a home for wayward boys, and time-traveled to visit the Yellow Kid. Other than that, he's fairly normal. Unless you consider failed science experiments, out-of-control robots and monstrous reptile pets running around the house out of the ordinary. He also has a tendency to cross paths with aliens, witches and ghosts. Okay, he's a little odd.

Lio has been making huge waves since his debut on GoComics last May, landing in more than 250 newspapers and becoming the surprise hit of 2006. Creator Mark Tatulli recently discussed his quirky new strip in an interview with Bob Adelman of Mr. Media, which you can read or listen to at www.mrmedia.com.

You can check out all of Lio's adventures in the archives at My Comics Page. Your membership gives you unlimited access to the archives of every strip on GoComics (including Calvin and Hobbes, The Boondocks, Foxtrot, Bloom County and more) in addition to customizable daily comics page emails and comics collections.

Appendicitis in Pooch Café - So Funny It Hurts!

Leave it to Poncho, the altruistically-challenged canine star of Pooch Café, to take a life-threatening situation and make it hilarious. In this week's series, which began on January 29th, Poncho's owner, Chazz, is immobilized by appendicitis. Poncho heroically (okay, heroically for Poncho) calls 911, then...makes a sandwich. Say what you want about his courage, but Poncho definitely knows how to keep his cool in an emergency. If you haven't been reading Pooch Café, check it out. Everyday, Paul Gilligan playfully takes the concept of "man's best friend" and turns it on its head, yet somehow still delivers a character that is as amusing and endearing as any in comics.

And on a serious note, a Public Service Announcement: Appendicitis is no laughing matter outside the bounds of a comic strip. Check out WebMD's appendicitis page for information on symptoms and treatment. (And before you even ask - no, there are no sandwich suggestions.)