Richard Thompson's fanciful progenitor

Check out Richard's blog for a story of Virginia, Santa Claus and possibly how a thread of talent works through generations.

New Wuerker book!

Librarian Martha Kennedy reports, "Matt Wuerker and Sara Thaves just published Inks Campaign '08, a book of election cartoons, [with] a selection of cartoons by leading cartoonists including 8 Pulitzer Prize winners. Published by The Cartoonist Group, ISBN 0-9773284-4-9. Looks good!"

So, any more details, Matt?

Comic Riffs gets anecdotes from Wilkinson and Johnston

Michael Cavna's got two more today - "Fave Fan Anecdotes: 'For Better or For Worse' & Signe Wilkinson".

Kal's Christmas card and online story

Kal sent this note in today and gave his permission to reproduce his excellent Christmas e-card:

On December 15 The Baltimore based Stoop Storytelling series came to the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall for a Holiday extravaganza. The crowd of 1600 enjoyed an evening of entertaining and compelling stories and music. I was honored to be one of the guest storytellers. I recounted my "Strange and wonderful" relationship with Maryland Governor/Comptroller William Donald Schaefer. You can listen in on the 7 minute story online here: http://www.stoopstorytelling.com/shows/35/storytellers/248

The story is really funny - go listen to it.

Comics Articles in Today's Free Papers UPDATED

And there's an online-only Aqua Teen Hunger Force bit at the Express today - "Hunger Forced: 5 Ridiculous Moments From 'Aqua Teen's' Shake."

Porter, Christopher. 2008.
Noisy, brutal genius: The second season of 'Metalocalypse' is a hilarious headbanger.
[Washington Post] Express (December 23): 17

Greenberg, Rudi. 2008.
Just keeps getting quirkier: The sixth volume of 'Aqua Teen' is as whacked as ever.
[Washington Post] Express (December 23): 15

Associated Press. 2008.
Batman and Japan: In a new book, perfect together.
Washington Examiner (December 23); 18

20-year-old Thompson illos

I was sorting through some clippings I inherited (so to speak), and ran across these two 1987 Thompson drawings from the August 17th Washington Post Health section on humor and health.

OT: Dan Reynolds writes in (updated)

Dan Reynolds wrote in a few minutes ago to complement me on the site and ask why he's not mentioned here. I think it's because he has nothing to do with DC. But I own at least one of his books, Christmas Meltdown, and think I have his Belt Height book too, so heck that's close enough for now given this economy. Go check out his site at Go Comics for his Reynolds Unwrapped panel. As you can see from this cartoon I grabbed from the site, he's topical (and funny, but we're all about topicality here).

Dan wrote in, "I'm in the snowbound regions of Upstate NY. I'm located in what's called a snowbelt area north of Syracuse, NY. I'm published in almost every issue of the Reader's Digest and have been for years... My main gig is in the greeting card business. You may not realize it, but my cards are everywhere...they've appeared on American Greetings cards, but most prominently on Recycled Paper greetings (for18 years) and Papyrus Greetings (with whom I have my own line.

My work is basically in every city in the country. Next time you go into the store to get a card, one that sells RPG or Papyrus, look and you will find.

Also, EVERY year I can almost guarantee you you receive my work in forwarded email during the Thanksgiving and Xmas season. You know those cartoon emails with 5 or 6 cartoons...at least one of them is mine every time. (True! I have) I even receive these from people who don't know they're my work!

Dan's working it hard with a daily email of current comic panels, "For sign up of 365 REYNOLDS UNWRAPPED cartoons for one year, please send $10 cash, check or money order (or if you REALLY want to support keeping me in black ink instead of red, you can throw in a cartoonist tip) to Dan Reynolds, PO BOX 444, Brewerton, NY 13029
or send at least $11 via pay pal using this info: dan@reynoldsunwrapped.com Your daily REYNOLDS UNWRAPPED will commence as soon as received. My web site is: www.reynoldsunwrapped.com"

So there you have it, information about the sadly underexposed world of greeting card cartoonists, and a look at a new business model for cartoons.

I think we might start calling this "Support Your Local Cartoonist." I imagine at least as many people will get that, as get the "Reynolds Unwrapped" title.

There's a Washington Webtoonists group?

Tom Spurgeon had a link to a Washington Webtoonists group. If you guys are still functional, drop me a line please.

Our Man Thompsons coughs up a cover

John Read's Stay Tooned mag, a good collection of interviews at a reasonable price, will feature Our Man Thompson on the cover says the Daily Cartoonist. It will have as well an interview conducted at a secret secure location at HeroesCon (during which I sat at his table and watched crestfallen faces when I explained that I wasn't Richard Thompson, but was in fact several inches taller, and they could have easily told us apart if I hadn't been sitting down. I also claimed he was a black Jamaican Rastafarian that they should look for in the crowd if someone was particularly persistent).

Comic Riffs interviews cartoonists

Cavna mentions one of his anecdotes about being a sports cartoonist, and then gets stories for "Favorite Fan Anecdotes: 'Speed Bump' and 'Sherman's Lagoon'". This is a nice idea, and I've liked all three stories so far. Be sure to read the first comment too.

That Darn Toles ... continued

Balancing the Cartoonist
Washington Post Saturday, December 20, 2008; A15

Dec. 13 Free for All writer Jim Welch proposed that The Post use a conservative cartoonist a couple of times a week.

No need to worry; there are already two alternatives: George F. Will and Charles Krauthammer, both of them harsh in their agenda, sufficiently extremist and frequently sketchy enough to provide more than a balance for Toles.

-- James Oglethorpe

Falls Church

·

I'd like to offer an alternative to Jim Welch's suggestion.

I have no problem with Toles's politics, although I don't share them. What I object to is that he, like Herblock before him, is seldom funny.

I'd prefer a cartoonist who shares your editorial page's political views but presents them in an amusing, sophisticated and light-handed way.

-- Myron Ebell

Cheverly

·

Pay no attention to the letter asking that you not run Tom Toles. He is the best part of the editorial page.

-- Gloria Berg

Arlington

Cul de Sac book inscriptions

Guess what I'm giving out for Christmas this year.









And here's another satisfied reader - my Dad.

OT: Dean Haspiel's NY Times comic about holiday drinking

Dean Haspiel did a cartoon for the New York Times Proof blog - Snow Dope - starring himself. A couple of days ago he wrote an entry for their blog, and then followed that up with a post on his own blog.

Comic Art in today's Washington Post

The Opinion section has what purports to be "The Year in Cartoons." It's not a very good selection.

Steve Brodner illustrates 2009 predictions in the last Sunday Source section, which also presumably means that we won't see Danny Hellman's illustrations in the paper anymore either.

A wire story on Broadway's Shrek musical (sigh) was interesting - "The Star of 'Shrek' Basks in the Green Light," By Kristen A. Lee / Associated Press, Washington Post Sunday, December 21, 2008; M10.

Dave Betancourt's review of "The DC Comics Encyclopedia," Washington Post Sunday, December 21, 2008; Page BW14

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 12-24-08

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 12-24-08
By John “Krampus” Judy

(Wishing you and yours a Super Saturnalia and a Sizzlin’ Solstice!)

AMERICAN FLAGG DEFINITIVE COLLECTION, VOL. 1 TP written and drawn by Howard Chaykin. The first seven issues of the Eagle Award-winning sci-fi cop adventure series that put Chaykin on the map!

ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN #11 by Robert Kirkman and Jason Howard. Guest-starring Invincible, who had better hope he can live up to his name.

BATMAN #683 by Grant Morrison and Lee Garbett. More musings and strung together vignettes from Morrison’s batcave opium dream.

BILLY BATSON AND THE MAGIC OF SHAZAM #3 written and drawn by Mike Kunkel. The continuing saga of Captain Marvel versus Black Adam, told in an all-ages appropriate style. Fun, out of continuity stuff!

DAREDEVIL #114 by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark. High-kickin’, ninja-killin’, blind as a bat, kung-fu action! Recommended!

HULK #9 by Jeph Loeb, Art Adams and Frank Cho. If you liked last issue you’ll like this one too!

IMMORTAL IRON FIST #21 by Duane Swierczynski and Travel Foreman. The Iron Fist of the future fights a kung-fu robot! Honest!

NEW AVENGERS #48 by Brian Michael Bendis and Billy Tan. There have been a few changes in the line-up since Norman Osborn took over the show from Tony Stark. Hence the “New” in the title.

PREVIEWS by Marvel and Diamond Comics. The Magic Eightball of the comics biz!

PUNISHER WAR ZONE #3 of 6 by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon. Spare yourself the pain. Skip the movie and buy the comic. Recommended.

THOR #12 by J. Michael Straczynski and Olivier Coipel. Sure, Loki’s schemes are bound to put Asgard in a tizzy right quick, but what’s it all mean to Broxton, Oklahoma? Will the wavin’ wheat still smell sweet? The wheat-watch starts here!

TOP TEN SEASON TWO #3 of 4 by Zander Canon and Gene Ha. More quality time with the good peace officers of Neopolis. Amazingly good stuff even without Alan Moore. Recommended.

ULTIMATUM #2 of 5 by Jeph Loeb and David Finch. Glug, glug, glug, Magneto, glug, glug, glug…

UNKNOWN SOLDIER #3 by Joshua Dysart and Alberto Ponticelli. The Doctor becomes The Soldier in this latest iteration of the classic DC war hero. Recommended.

www.johnjudy.net

Cartoons can put you in jail in America and Australia

People were mocking an Australian judge for declaring that cartoons using the Simpsons children in sexual situations wasn't just bad taste or copyright violations, but rather "Fake Simpsons cartoon 'is porn'" The BBC article by Nick Bryant noted, "An appeal judge in Australia has ruled that an animation depicting well-known cartoon characters engaging in sexual acts is child pornography."

Well, here in America, judges in Richmond (90 miles from DC) just did the same thing - "Child porn cartoon conviction upheld in Va." by LARRY O'DELL, The Associated Press, Friday, December 19, 2008. O'Dell wrote, "Child pornography is illegal even if the pictures are drawn, a federal appeals panel said in affirming the nation's first conviction under a 2003 federal law against such cartoons. ... Judge Paul V. Niemeyer noted in the majority opinion that the statute under which Whorley was convicted, the PROTECT Act of 2003, clearly states that "it is not a required element of any offense under this section that the minor depicted actually exists.""

There's a similar case going on now in now in Iowa that the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is helping with.

I have a child, and have no interest in this type of thing, but one wonders why the First Amendment only applies once in a while. I don't recall any add-ons that say "except for photographs or artwork that we really don't like."

The Tale of Despereaux reviews

"The Mouse That Bored: 'Despereaux' Delivers Exquisite Technology -- Storytellers Simply Failed To Affix a Proper Tale," By John Anderson, The Washington Post
Friday, December 19, 2008; C01.

"Killer Soup, and a Mouse to the Rescue," By MANOHLA DARGIS, New York Times December 19, 2008.

Our Man Thompson's Obama-nation

The New Yorker is selling prints of the drawing of Obama as FDR that Richard did for them a few week ago.

Kal designs new board game

The subject line "Kal designs new board game" sucked me right into the email:

If your financial indicators are looking down, there is one way to pick your spirits up. Play "Credit Crunch", the new board game launched in this week's Christmas double edition of The Economist. The game (designed and created by Kal ) is also available to all online. Go to

www.Economist.com/boardgame

to download the board, currency, playing cards, rules, and player icons.

Let me know if you play the game and how it works out. We can tweak the rules with feedback from readers.

Oh, man, I just love this stuff. I'll be assembling one of these babies. There's a hard copy in the December 20th issue, as well as a Tintin article.

A not-quite-ready for Bollywood Superman

This is a fun little story about a quirky small budget Superman movie being made in India, although I'm sure that the Time-Warner lawyers have already descended on them as a result of this article - "Spinning Quirky Yarns: Film Industry in Small Indian Textile Town Makes Low-Budget Parodies Of Bollywood Smash Hits With a Lot of Heart, Local Flavor and Ingenuity," By Rama Lakshmi, Washington Post Foreign Service, Thursday, December 18, 2008; A19.