Laugh Tracks

Jeff Danziger on YouTube!

GoComics editorial cartoonist Jeff Danziger has posted a nice little video on YouTube in which he talks about what goes into the creation of a political cartoon, what he gets out of it, and why he thinks cartoonists do what they do. Click the play button on the screenshot below to start the video:

New Editorial Cartoons: Clay Bennett!

The Pulitzer Prize is just one of a host of awards Clay Bennett has won in his editorial cartooning career. Best known for his recently ended tenure as the editorial cartoonist for the Christian Science Monitor, Bennett has an unmistakable drawing style, with clean, simple images whose soft edges belie the cartoonist's sharp wit. His cartoons began running on GoComics on January 16th.

For more info on Bennett, check out his bio. Click on the cartoon below to see his latest.

The Argyle Sweater - Coming to a Newspaper Near You!

Universal Press Syndicate has announced a print syndication deal with GoComics standout The Argyle Sweater. The single panel cartoon will launch in newspapers on April 7th.

The cartoon became an instant hit when it launched on Comics Sherpa in the fall of 2006, growing an even larger following when it made the jump to GoComics just a few months later.

We're thrilled to see Scott Hilburn's work paying off with this print syndication deal, and we're especially proud that the next big thing in your newspaper's comics section started right here. Congratulations, Scott!

New Comic: Rick & Rack!

Cartoonist Ethan Long's new weekly comic strip, Rick & Rack, is about a raccoon named Rick and a male deer named Rack. Where does it go from there? Your guess is as good as Ethan's!

"What is this strip about? Well, come to think of it, I really don't know," says Long. "All I know is that I love to draw the characters, put them into different situations and write funny dialogue for them."

So there you have it. If you like talking cartoon animals who say funny things in various settings, then Rick & Rack is the strip for you!

New Comic: It's All About You!

Maturity, humility and selflessness are wonderful things. Unfortunately, they don't really make for great comedy. Self-centeredness? Really funny.

Tony Murphy's new daily comic strip, It's All About You, is all about the self-centered patrons of a local cafe and the barista who serves as their coffee counter therapist.

Pooch Café Creator Inks Movie Deal with Sony!

Great news to follow-up yesterday's post (and demonstrating why creator blogs are such a good thing). This morning Paul Gilligan announced on his Pooch Café blog that he has reached a movie deal with Sony, producers of the CG films Open Season and Surf's Up, to bring a computer-animated Poncho and the rest of the gang to the big screen!

Fans know Pooch Café is full of material - the Poncho/Chazz/Carmen triangle, Poncho and friends plotting against the neighborhood cats, Poncho's field trips with Fish. And who isn't already dreaming about a "fully-operational" Cat-Catapult in the film's final act?

Keep watching Paul's blog and this one for updates, as the next year or so will see the first stages of development, including story and character designs. Congratulations, Paul!

Paul Gilligan's Pooch Café Blog!

Paul Gilligan's Pooch Café blog has everything a fan of the strip could want: Poncho icons! Movie posters! A Doggie Look-Alike contest! A Cat-Catapult Design contest! Message board! The Straight Poop!

"The Straight Poop," you ask? Okay, everything a fan of the strip could want...and possibly more.

Check it out at http://poochcafe.com.

Luck Runs Out

Mark Pett is doing what no health inspector or surgeon general's warning ever could: He's shutting down Lucky Cow.

In case you missed it, Universal Press Syndicate announced last Friday that Lucky Cow, Pett's fast food-themed comic strip, will come to an end on February 2nd. Pett is looking for "more time to pursue other creative opportunities." The final Sunday strip will run on January 27th. Read the official press release here.

Thanks, Mark, for 4+ years of Gary, Clare, Leticia, Elvin, Saturday ads, Kenny the bully (and his mullet), and most especially for one of our favorite comic strip characters of all time, the genius that is Neil.

Pibgorn Sketch Art!

Pibgorn creator Brooke McEldowney is a fan-pleaser at heart. And he knows Pibgorn fans can't wait for new installments of his thrice-weekly strip. But given his already heavy workload (he's also creator of the daily strip 9 Chickweed Lane), doubling his output on Pibgorn isn't possible. So McEldowney is doing the next best thing.

Starting January 3rd, McEldowney began posting Pibgorn sketch art on the days when new Pibgorn strips don't appear. Fans will now see a new Pibgorn strip on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with each strip followed on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday by its original sketch art. It's a behind-the-scenes look at the making of a strip, three times a week.

A big 'Thank You', Brooke, from Pibgorn fans everywhere!