Laugh Tracks

March Madness

It’s my favorite time of the year -- a time when people come together to support and uplift a common goal. A time filled with excitement and energy. A time spent with friends and family gathered together.

 

No, I’m not talking about the holiday season. I’m talking about March Madness!

 

Kansas City has been a buzz the past five days with the Big 12 tournament and now with the NCAA men’s basketball tournament at the Sprint Center.

 

 

That is Priceless  

 

Have you filled out your brackets yet? 

 

I am cheering for Kansas!

 

--Julia

Scaring the Locals

In recent years, the zombie theme has exploded. Zombies have popped up in television shows, movies, books, comics and more. There is something entertaining in this macabre fantasy that finds itself ever-more popular. Zombies are comical and provide for an entire storyline of “what if” scenarios. 

 

You expect to see such gruesome creatures as zombies in the more edgy comics, like Lio and Break of Day, but they are also being played out in some of the classics, including Nancy and Marmaduke. 

Lio

Break of Day

 

Nancy

 

Marmaduke

 

I have fallen prey to the zombie revolution. At this point, The Walking Dead television series on AMC is almost a religion for me. I never miss an episode! I discovered an app called Dead Yourself. It is fantastic! You can snap a picture of yourself and, using Dead Yourself, see what you would look like as a zombie. Aren’t I a beaut!   

 

 

Embrace the undead hype, because this trend will never die.

 

--Julia

 

Snow Stud

The Midwest has been hit hard in the past couple weeks with snow -- about 24 inches in Kansas City.

 

I have come to realize that children see the snow so differently than adults do. Kids see a snow day filled with snowball fights, snow forts, sledding and no school. 

 

 

Nancy

Calvin and Hobbes

Soup to Nutz

Adults become a bit jaded to the beauty of snow because they experience all the repercussions. They deal with hazardous road conditions, cold cars, shoveling and power outages. There are a few adults, however, who never lose the fun in a snow day and one of those adults is my dad. 

He loves the snow and his engineered industrial snow blower. His “playing in the snow” consists of plowing every driveway on our block. This snow stud sincerely enjoys every minute of it. Helping others has always made my dad happy, and if he gets to use a cool piece of machinery in the process … all the better.

 

Be more childish and enjoy the snow!

 

--Julia

Sherpa Highlight -- Adult Children

Working in the comics industry is the greatest. I get to read the classics every day, like Calvin and Hobbes, Garfield, Dilbert, Doonesbury and Peanuts. Discovering new comics, however, is also another fantastic part of my job! I often browse the Sherpa section of GoComics.com to find new up-and-coming comics that I can follow.

 

My latest find is Adult Children by Stephen Beals.

 

I think I am fond of this one because it may or may not chronicle my life as a newly working adult. The panel layout is often unique and inviting to the reader.

 

                                                2.3.13

 

 

                                                2.12.13

 

                                                2.15.13

 

                                                2.16.13

Read more Adult Children here.

 

--Julia 

 

Endtown, Volumes One and Two

They are here! "Endtown" volumes one and two, by Aaron Neathery are now available for purchase.

If you like humor and apocalyptic scenarios, then you will love Endtown. Neathery expertly combines the two to create his comic strip.

 

Endtown comic bio:

 

It's the end of civilization as we know it. A mutagenic plague followed by a global war fought with disintegration weaponry has left much of the Earth a desert of fine powder and what remains of humanity fragmented into humans, animal-like mutants and bloodthirsty monstrosities with lots of teeth. The surface, still teeming with the mutagenic virus, has become the domain of the dreaded Topsiders; well-organized, technologically advanced and heavily armed un-mutated humans sworn to exterminate mutations of any kind in order to clear the way for the eventual resurgence of a new, genetically clean humanity. Faced with annihilation, mutants and "impure" humans have retreated into the depths of the planet to form communities and hope to win, or at least survive, what may prove to be mankind's final war. Endtown is the continuing story of one of those communities.

 

Bill Sherman recently reviewed the comic collection volumes -- check out what he had to say here.

 

Read more Endtown here.

 

Enjoy the comics!

 

--Julia

Pope Benedict XVI to Resign

On Monday, Feb. 11, Pope Benedict XVI announced his intent to resign from the papacy because of his advanced age. The Holy Pontiff is 85 years old and feels that he is too weak, physically, to carry out the duties of the position. On Feb. 28 at 8:00 p.m. (Rome time) he will officially step down.

 

The last pope to resign was Pope Gregory XII in 1415 -- nearly 600 years ago.

 

The pope has a tough job. The past few years have been especially stressful for the Roman Catholic Church and the pope. On top of the sex abuse scandals, there is this tension between preserving tradition and fostering progress that the Holy Pontiff must grapple with every day. For someone who is getting up in years, it can be very taxing.

 

According to Canon law, a resignation must be made freely and properly manifested. The resigning pope must also be of sound mind. I have mixed feelings about Pope Benedict’s resignation, but if he feels it is his duty to the Church to step down,  who am I to argue with the pope?

 

This announcement, however, has caused quite the stir in the Catholic community and society abroad. Even our GoComics cartoonists are contributing to the conversation.

 

Steve Benson

 

Ken Catalino

 

Chip Bok 

 

Glenn McCoy

 

Chan Lowe

A new pope is to be elected and in place by Easter. I am eager to see who fills the position and if he can handle the immense pressures and expectations of the job. 

 

--Julia

#Blackout

The Doozies

Last night the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers were matched to play for the NFL championship in the Super Bowl XLVII. During the game, half of the lights suddenly went out at the Mercedes Dome in New Orleans. For 35 minutes the teams stopped play and waited for the power to be restored, however, social media did not cease.

 

There was much confusion, and for many, social media became an outlet to express their frustration, bewilderment and amusement, so much so that #blackout became a trending topic on Twitter. At my Super Bowl party, I couldn’t help but tune in to the conversation.

 

These are some of my favorite tweets:

 

 

The game may have been delayed, but the entertainment was uninterrupted.

 

--Julia

 

The Peanuts Gang on TV

Recently, the Peanuts gang has spiced up MetLife’s commercials for term life insurance. Typically an uncomfortable topic, life insurance is made a bit more light and cheery with the help of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Peppermint Patty, Schroeder and Woodstock. Check out the Peanuts characters on these commercials.

 

 

 

 

 

I have never had an interest in life insurance, but anything with the Peanuts cast must be “cool.”

 

Read the Peanuts comic strip daily here.

 

 

-- Julia   

 

Sporting Embarrassment Month

I hereby dub January "Sporting Embarrassment Month."

 

Exhibit A:

World-class cyclist Lance Armstrong confirmed in a multi-part interview with Oprah Winfrey that he did indeed use performance-enhancing drugs during his cycling career. All of his Tour de France wins were aided by doping. 

 

 

Athletes around the globe are shocked and discouraged, as are cartoonists. 

 

Paul Szep 

 

Gary Varvel

 

Signe Wilkinson

 

Exhibit B:

Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o was also caught in a lie. His girlfriend who allegedly passed away days before the Michigan State game never existed. 

 

Read the Deadspin article that broke the news. 

 

Fans across America felt for him during his time of “grieving” and offered him support and condolence. They reveled in his triumphant performance during the Michigan State game because they believed he played while facing immense adversity. To find out that it was all a hoax is incredibly disheartening and confusing, to say the least. 

 

Steve Benson 

 

Jerry Holbert

 

Henry Payne

 

Current and future athletes should take note of these events and be reminded that honesty is always the best policy -- especially in this day and age when, information is a click away. 

 

Happy "Sporting Embarrassment Month"!

 

--Julia

 

 

 

BCS Championship Game: Alabama vs. Notre Dame

 

It’s finally here -- the ultimate college football matchup. Tonight is the BCS championship game, in Miami, Fla., with Alabama pitted against Notre Dame.

 

Both teams have weathered the college football season better than most. Alabama is coming into the game with one loss to Texas A&M, while Notre Dame is undefeated.

 

Alabama, lead by coach Nick Saban, is gunning for its third BCS championship win in four years. The Crimson Tide is stocked with a tough lineup, including quarterback A.J. McCarron and running back Eddie Lacy, and is ready to take on Notre Dame with a strong winning football tradition.

 

Notre Dame, coached by Brian Kelly, is looking to upset Alabama and finally turn around its long-standing record of defeat. The Fighting Irish have the No. 1 ranked defense in the nation and are led by Heisman Trophy finalist linebacker Manti Te’o.

 

TANK MCNAMARA is predicting an Alabama win, but I’m not so sure. 

 

 

After all is calculated and debated, it boils down to a will to win. I’m looking forward to a good game.

 

--Julia