Laugh Tracks

New Comic: Home and Away!

Cartoonist Steve Sicula doesn't have to look very far to find inspiration for the daily trials of Sam and Sandy Szwyk, the working parents of new GoComics addition Home and Away.  Balancing the demanding schedule of a double-income household where conference calls, business trips, soccer practice and parent-teacher conferences often collide is a challenge Sicula faces everyday in his own life.

So how does the cartoonist's family handle their situation? Sicula says, "Just like everything else, we just adapted. Some would call it 'mutated,' but I prefer 'adapted.'"

Another Bill Watterson Sighting!

Legendary Calvin and Hobbes creator Bill Watterson, known for decades as one of the most private figures in comics, stepped out into the spotlight ever so briefly in 2007 to offer his praises for Richard Thompson's brilliant Cul de Sac.

Scarcely a year later, Watterson has once again emerged from his post-Calvin retirement, and once again, it's Cul de Sac that has him talking. The first Cul de Sac collection, Cul de Sac: This Exit, is set for September release and features a foreward by the enigmatic cartoonist.

"I thought the best newspaper comic strips were long gone, and I've never been happier to be wrong. Richard Thompson's Cul de Sac has it all--intelligence, gentle humor, a delightful way with words, and, most surprising of all, wonderful, wonderful drawings."

That's the Watterson equivalent of the State of the Union address right there, and that's just the first paragraph! You can read the entire forward (and pre-order the book) here.

Single and Looking Ends Sunday

Cartoonist Matt Janz will end Single and Looking this Sunday.

"I wish I could blame my departure on cartooning burnout, the lack of square footage to hold all of my syndication cash or those crusty old comic strips that are hogging all the newspaper space," said Janz, in an announcement on the Single and Looking website, "but the reality is that my strip just didn’t attract enough newspapers. I think it needed a talking cat."

The strip, which began running on GoComics in 2003, was known as Out of the Gene Pool until Janz changed the name in 2007 to reflect the shift in direction the strip had taken in recent years.

Janz also expressed gratitude to his syndicate and fans in the announcement. "Thanks to the Washington Post Writers Group for their committment to making this little strip bigger and to anyone who took 10 seconds out of their day to read my work."

Re-runs of Out of the Gene Pool and Single and Looking will begin running soon on GoComics.com.

Happy 30th Birthday, Garfield!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GARFIELD! Everyone's favorite fat, lazy, lasagna-loving feline turns 30 today!

We're celebrating with a couple of terrific Garfield comic collections on GoComics beta: Garfield at 30 - Highlights! features several of the most monumental strips of Garfield's first 30 years, with first appearances of major characters and lots of strips that kicked off big events. Garfield's Birthday Strips features each of the annual strips celebrating Garfield's birthday, as well as Jon's and Odie's. Enjoy!

(Everyone can read the first two pages of comics in these collections. GoComics Pro members can read them all!)

Spotlight on Richard Thompson at HeroesCon!

Cul de Sac creator Richard Thompson gets the star treatment Friday, June 20th at Heroes Convention in Charlotte, NC. From the HeroesCon website:

3:30pm - SPOTLIGHT ON RICHARD THOMPSON | Room 219
The first great newspaper comic strip of the 21st Century has arrived, and like Mutts and Calvin & Hobbes before it, Richard Thompson's Cul De Sac has spent its first several months in syndication operating just underneath the pop-cult radar, adding papers steadily, readying to break out into the Next Big Thing. Join Tom Spurgeon for a wide-ranging discussion about art, caricature, and the Otterloop Family with one of the best cartoonists in North America, bar none. It's the panel you'll get to brag about attending in the years ahead, after Thompson conquers the comics world.

“Heroes Convention” was founded in 1982 by Shelton Drum, owner of Charlotte's Heroes Aren't Hard To Find comics shop. Since then the convention has become famous for its comics-first and family-friendly atmosphere, where fans can mingle directly with professionals and exhibitors. Boasting an incredible guest list built mainly on reputation and goodwill, HeroesCon is known nationwide as a "must" on the summer schedule, drawing fans, exhibitors, and creators from every region of the country to the Charlotte Convention Center.

It's alive! Calvin Re-animated!

Since their favorite strip was retired at the end of 1995, fans have been clamoring for the return of Calvin and Hobbes to the comics pages. While it's not exactly the return they've been hoping for, this week's Lio series is, in a way, granting their requests.

Get ready, Germany! Here comes Bleeker: der elektronische Hund!

Jonathan Mahood recently announced on the Bleeker Blog that his strip, Bleeker: The Rechargeable Dog, has been picked up by Die Zeit, Germany's largest national weekly newspaper. Die Zeit will run 12 weeks worth of Bleeker on a new kid's page called KinderZEIT, starting on June 12th.

It's been an amazing journey for Bleeker, a strip that started out on Comics Sherpa in 2006 and is now internationally syndicated online and in print, with an animation deal to boot. Congrats, Jonathan!

Interviews with Lucas Turnbloom, creator of Imagine This

Comics Sherpa's Lucas Turnbloom has been all over the comics scene recently, plugging his strip, Imagine This, and discussing his founding role in the newly-launched TallTale Features comics site. Check out his guest appearance at Comics Coast-to-Coast, where he's interviewed by Tom Racine and Mythtickle creator Justin Thompson. He also gives a nice interview on Gigcast with hosts JT Shea and Scott Gallatin.

Read Imagine This on Comics Sherpa or check out Lucas' blog at ImagineThisComic.com.

*Whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting out in cartooning, Comics Sherpa can help you refine your comic strip and get exposure. Click here for more info.