Laugh Tracks

Speaking of Comics

Wimpy Kid creator Jeff Kinney is credited with firing up the book interest of young "reluctant readers." When the New York Times asked him about the children's books he loved he said, "Looking back, I realize my favorite stories weren't in books, they were in comics." Kinney cites Little Lulu, Frontline Combat and Classics Illustrated, but says "The works that stood head and shoulders above the rest were Carl Barks's Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge comics from the 1940 through the 1960s....Proof that great storytelling endures from generation to generation." You can read the article here.

T-shirts, Mugs and all kinds of Comic Swag, Oh My!

Check out the GoComics Store at Zazzle

 

Jonathan Franzen is a Plugger!

You know who else keeps something in a small box in his freezer?  Obscure romantic-thriller author (and now Plugger) Jonathan Franzen, that's who!

Vote for the new Imagine This character's name!

 

Voting is open for one week for the new Imagine This character's name! Cast your vote in the sidebar widget at the top right!

 

Ziggy Caption Contest Winner!

We've read all of the fantastic entries, and with the help of Ziggy creator Tom Wilson II, we've narrowed them down to the best of the best. Here they are: The winner and runners-up of the Ziggy Caption Contest!

 

The winner, who will receive an original Ziggy panel signed by Tom Wilson II:

"If I knew turning 40 was going to be this much fun, I'd have done it earlier!" Congrats to Michael M. of Pinkerington, Ohio!

 

These five runners-up will each receive a signed copy of the Ziggy 40th anniversary book:

"40 is the new 20, when you've got friends to share it with!" Debby S. of Bloomingdale, Michigan.

"It's always nice to celebrate your anniversary with a familiar face." Mark G. of Normal, Illinois.

"With good friends, facing another birthday is a piece of cake!" Bil W. of Palmdale, California.

"I'm NOT over the hill. I just have a clear view of the top!" Mel L. of Racine, Wisconsin.

"If this is over the hill, then I'm looking forward to the ride down." Christopher G. of Hauppauge, New York.

 

Big thanks to everyone who entered!

GoComics at San Diego Comic-Con 2011!

Next week, San Diego will be taken over by America's biggest comic fans. So dust off your Spock ears, put the finishing touches on your Iron Man costume and get down to the GoComics Booth (#1500) at San Diego Comic-Con.  Not only will you have a chance to actually get into your favorite comics (hmm...what could THAT mean?) you'll also have a chance to get autographs from some of your favorite cartoonists! The full schedule is below. See you there! 

And if you can't make the show, don't worry. We will post exclusive interviews and clips from the show floor all week long on our Twitter account. Start following us today! #GoComics

 

Thursday (7/21)   10:30 AM Patrick McDonnell (Mutts)

 

Friday (7/22)       11 AM Greg Evans (Luann)

                           12:30 Hector Cantu (Baldo) 

                            2 PM Lucas Turnbloom (Imagine This) 

                            3:30 PM Shannon Wheeler (Too Much Coffee Man)

                            5 PM  Glenn and Gary McCoy (The Flying McCoys)

 

Saturday (7/23)   10 AM: Brooke McEldowney (9 Chickweed Lane, Pibgorn)

                           11:30 AM: Keith Knight (K Chronicles, thInk)  

                            1 PM Lalo Alcaraz (La Cucaracha)

                            3 PM Mark Tatulli (Lio, Heart of the City) 

 

Sunday (7/24)     1 PM Brooke McEldowney (9 Chickweed Lane, Pibgorn)

                           3 PM Mark Tatulli (Lio, Heart of the City)

 

SDCC Thursday schedule is out!

If you were lucky/crafty/conniving enough to have secured/swindled/stolen your ticket to the hottest event of the year - Comic-Con International in San Diego - there was some much-anticipated good news for you today: The Thursday schedule was released!

 

Universal Uclick and GoComics will be there. Will you?

 

White-hot Crossover Action! Doonesbury and The Spectacular Spider-Man?!

Brian Cronin at ComicBookResources.com has gathered some comic book easter eggs featuring comic strip cameos by Mike Doonesbury and Zonker Harris of Doonesbury, Calvin and Hobbes...of...Calvin and Hobbes, and more. 

 

 

Check it out!

Name the New Character in Imagine This!

 

Your parents did it. Michelle and Bob Duggar did it and did it and did it. Frank and Gail Zappa did it, with odd results. (Am I right, Dweezil, Ahmet, Moon Unit and Diva Muffin?)

 

That's right. They all GAVE SOMEONE A NAME.

 

And now Lucas Turnbloom, creator of Imagine This, invites you to do it. Last Friday, Lucas introduced a brand new character in Imagine This. Here she is:

 

 

 

Aww, isn't SHE adorable? Now SHE just needs a name! (HINT: she's FEMALE.)

 

So let's have a contest!

    - To enter, send your entry to Lucas via email at imaginethiscontest@gmail.com.
    - The contest starts today, July 6th, and ends at midnight next Wednesday, July 13th. 
    - Lucas will announce the finalists on Thursday, July 14th, and one week of voting will commence.
    - The winning name will be revealed in the strip.
    - The winner will receive a signed copy of the new Imagine This book, "Toys in the Attic," which makes its debut at this year's Comic Con International in San Diego!
    - Rules stuff: Enter as many times as you like. Naming the character does not give the winner copyright over the character. Kids, get your parents' permission.

 

Good luck!

ON FINDING THE LOST SIDE

Kory Merritt’s THE LOST SIDE OF SUBURBIA is a highly unusual feature -- extended open-panel storytelling, mysterious in theme and beautiful in execution. After a run on Sherpa it recently began appearing on GoComics.

 

To make it easy for you to explore the backlist of tales in the LSOS archive, here’s a Table of Contents:

 

Heckbender                                                                                     February 22, 2010 – June 8, 2010
Thirteen-year-old Abby ventures into a swamp to save her brother from a child-eating creature, and learns that not all monsters are mindless. 

Vix Reynard and the League of Astonishing Vermin                          June 9, 2010 – August 15, 2010 
Classic literary animal characters unite to stop an evil mastermind from breeding an army of super-rats.

 

No Story, No Room                                                                     August 16, 2010 – December 12, 2010
A milquetoast man faces thieves, swamp monsters, and sorcerers in a reluctant quest to find his own story.

 

The Undoubtedly True Exploits of Derring-Do Dan the Adventure Man      Jan 17, 2011 – July, 2011
Derring-Do Dan has battled villains, giants, and shape-shifting orcas, but his greatest challenge may be a humble tavern rat.

 

Kory Merritt is an elementary and middle school art teacher, and has a second feature now appearing on Sherpa -- the equally distinctive SUNNY SIDE OF KEUKA, which is drawn by the Hammondsport Student Cartoonist Club, which meets on Friday afternoons. You can check it out here.