The link between badgers and waffles

Yeah, yeah, yeah, Cul de Sac is outta the test center. So, sue me. The more I read it, the more I enjoy it. Here's today's peek into the neighborhood. Creator Richard Thompson noted in a previous post that he commutes from room to room in his home. I'd swear somedays he's peeked into mine -- Otterloop West.

I don't get it

At all. Can someone explain? Windex? Velvet?

Meanwhile, I'm hearing a bit about "Agnes" and "F Minus." Mostly positive. Most of the negative comments come in letters from our older readers. Such as this, from Jack:

"Agnes": Ho-hum, yawn, shrug.

"F Minus": Pointless, absurd in most cases. Offends the sensibilities. Where did you find this abomination?

I suppose some "F Minus" fans would say absurdity is the point of the comic, and that it doesn't strive to be sensible. But, "abomination?" C'mon. A tad strong, I believe.

Traffic n beans

I have to share this. Talk about a freaking slice of life! Start to finish, deja vu. I especially love the last panel.

It's kid humor day.

Mother Goose and Grimm So THAT's where M&Ms come from.

Sherman's Lagoon A little ED and then a little SBD. Does it get any better?

Check out Arctic Circle

A poster asked if I'd seen Arctic Circle. Yep, I have a folder from the syndicate. It went over so-so in the office. Thanks for reminding me to check in on it and see how it's coming along.

It's about Ed, Oscar and Gordo, three penguins who migrate from antarctica to the artic. Antics regularly include their polar bear, tern, lemming and rabbit friends. Alex Hallatt, the creator, lives in Lyttelton, a wonderful town on New Zealand's south island. My friends and I stopped there while tramping some years ago. A real delight. A guy we met at the train station insisted we stay at his home instead of finding a youth hostel or a cheap motel. Everyone was friendly and the surroundings are absolutely gorgeous.


Here's a couple of sample strips to get a feel for the 'guins and their banter:








Take a look at the site and let me know what you think. We should pop in and look at Cul de Sac today, too. I miss those rascals!

Another cartoonist friend loses his job

I mentioned yesterday there was an online interview with former Gazette editorial cartoonist Chuck Asay. It's a bummer we don't have a staff cartoonist, especially for local issues. Now I read on The Daily Cartoonist that another former colleague lost his job cartooning for the editorial pages.

Gordon Campbell started out freelancing and then was picked up full time at The Daily Bulletin in Ontario, Calif. He's a great guy, who brought a local flavor and voice to that paper's opinion pages. He had a few things to say about it.

It's about time

This is what kills me about story strips. It can take for-freaking-ever to move a story along...

Did it really take the other man to get to this point? Haven't followed this storyline? Read the last week or so here.

A double-whammy:

A talk with Chuck Asay

Chuck Asay, former Gazette editorial cartoonist whose work still appears in our paper through syndication, did an e-mail interview with Charles Brubaker, Baitu creator and blogger.

You can read it here. It comes complete with examples of Chuck's work.

Chuck's a wonderful man and was a lot of fun in the newsroom - always ready for conversation and a hearty laugh.

Ouch! Talk about hitting a sore spot...

How many cubicles do you suppose this is hanging in today?

Sometimes Non Sequitur slays me.

Tatulli times 2

Requests come in from time to time for Lio creator Mark Tatulli's other strip, Heart of the City.


Worth a test?

Here's today's strip:





Click here to see the archives.

Day By Day gets a vote

Just got a call from a guy who said he has been disturbed by the test comics so far. He suggested we run "Day by Day" by Chris Muir.

Here's today's strip:





OK... No agenda there. With only a page and a half of comics, I think we'll stay away from overt politics. And I don't have enough time in the day to respond to all those phone calls!

Do comics influence behavior?

I've received two complaints in recent days about comics "inciting bad behavior in kids" -- Lio and Zits. I hear people out, but find it difficult to believe these comics unduly influence kids' actions.

A teacher called to say Sunday's Lio might incite violence against teachers and that the strip, in general, includes too much violence and bad behavior. Here's the strip:

I have at least a dozen close friends who are teachers. None has complained about the strip - this particular one, or others.

Does Beetle Bailey incite young soldiers to sloth or older soldiers to skirt chasing? Does Dennis the Menace incite kids to play practical jokes? Do adults read Dilbert and then go off on their boss?

I dunno, just seems people place way to much importance on the strips they don't like.

I've mentioned Zits. Here's today's strip, which prompted a complaint from someone who has had issues with the strip before -- it is leading to the downfall of American society:

How about trying Curtis?

A faithful comics reader commented on yesterday's posting and called to say she'd like us to consider running "Curtis" on our pages. I read it now and then. What do you think?

Would you rather see "Curtis" or, say, "Hi and Lois"???

Here's the Sunday, Monday and Tuesday "Curtis" comics this week:

New comics missing today

Well, somehow wires got crossed at the paginators and our new test comics didn't make today's paper. We should be squared away for tomorrow, though.




Here's today's "Agnes" and "F Minus," which should have appeared in the comics test center:





Agnes, of course, includes characters you'll see over and over, so getting a feel for them may make the difference between enjoying the strip and skipping it.

F Minus, however, is a gag a day, so it's easier to pop in and out of.

Dagwood and Blondie at a loss for words

Are they making fun of themselves?

This strip is, after all, all about reruns.