Laugh Tracks

How to Draw Lesson XVII (Tom bites the Big Apple)

Alpha bitey

This lone square of cake and accompanying plastic balloons are all that's left of a raucous celebration we held this morning in honor of the new online/interactive version of the Mini Page launching soon. While I have my moral dilemmas about taking a big bite out of doe-eyed Alpha Betty's head, I have no other choice if I want to experience what all my colleagues are calling "the taste-good cake of the summer."

-LW

Universal editorial cartoonists on Iran

I have a hard time hating on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, mostly because he looks just like an older Middle Eastern version of my friend Robert. However, an amazing set of photos at the Boston Globe makes it clear how scary and volatile the situation in Iran is at present. Below are editorial cartoon perspectives on Iran from Universal Press editorial cartoonists Tom Toles, Pat Oliphant, Tony Auth and Stuart Carlson, in that order.  

Submission Tip #2134

If you're doing a character-based strip, keep the amount of characters to a minimum. The more characters you have in those first weeks, the harder it is to:

a) figure out who everybody is
2) understand their personalities
xviii) connect with any of the characters

-JG

Ink Pen Breaks Down Looney Tunes Literary Devices This Week

-JG

Check out Pandolph's New Comic "Greene With Envy"

Check out the latest project from Corey "The Eldeberries/Toby: Robot Satan/Lil Spencer/Barkeater Lake" Pandolph here .

-JG

Insert Foot Here

 

Let me tell you this, yesterday's Stone Soup resonated with this blogger. Both my daughters cut their big toes after they took off their sandals and/or Crocs while we were out this weekend. Luckily, neither cut was serious (though they would probably both disagree) and we were able to get on with our lives after Hello Kitty band-aids and some jelly beans (though the cinnamon ones were declared "too spicy").

-JG

Bouncing against the fourth wall

I love the way Mark Tatulli continues to break/bend/dent the traditional format and reality of two-dimensional comic strips. And having sustained my share of pogo stick-related head injuries as a youth, I can certainly relate to Lio's pain here. Still, I'd have a lot more sympathy if he'd just learned after the first bounce or two. Maybe finding out you're trapped in a four-paneled world takes some to sink in. 

-LW

Thursday June 11, 2009 ... Al Fusco is Aware

Submission Tip #412

If you're going to submit ... study the market diligently before you decide on a premise. Look at the vulnerable older strips, the untapped formats, give your comic obvious and easy-to-pick-up-on differentiators. You have to be unique, funny and not too high-concept to get an editors' attention.

-JG