Baseball's Perpetual Underdog Might Actually Win It All

Dear Baseball Fans,

 

It’s happening. The sport’s perpetual underdog could actually take it all: The Chicago Cubs are in the running to compete to win the World Series. And with 103 wins in the regular season, they’re one of the frontrunners for the title. 


To anyone who doesn’t quite understand why this is surprising, let me remind you: This is the CUBS we’re talking about. This team has been the laughingstock of baseball since long before most of us were even born. As someone born and raised in Chicago, you can believe me when I say that this truly is a Cinderella story 100 years in the making.

 

 

Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis

 

The last time the Cubs won a World Series was in 1908. In case you’re unaware, that’s before World War I. It’s the year Ford’s Model T debuted. For crying out loud, MARK TWAIN was still alive.


They didn’t compete in another World Series until 1945, where they were cursed by a fan who was kicked out of Wrigley Field because he brought along his smelly pet goat. (I’m still curious as to why he thought this was a good idea.) Thus, the Curse of the Billy Goat was born, forbidding the Cubs from winning a World Series ever again.

 

 

Real Life Adventures
Real Life Adventures by Gary Wise and Lance Aldrich

 

It has plagued the Cubs (and their fans) for more than half a century. It turned the team into a national joke, and Chicago came to expect their beloved Cubbies to lose.

 

image from http://s3.amazonaws.com/hires.aviary.com/k/mr6i2hifk4wxt1dp/16101020/7b61e0a5-21a4-42aa-8489-0eacc62553c5.png
In the Bleachers by Steve Moore

 

While the Cubs have been the punchline of jokes for years (ahem, see above), this year they might just prove everyone wrong. The eternal underdog of baseball must break the Curse of the Billy Goat to win the 2016 World Series. Will the Cubs rise to the challenge and fly the ultimate ‘W’? Only time will tell. Now, that sounds like a comic strip I want to read.

 


— A Lifelong Chicago Cubs Fan

 





Happy Belated Birthday to the Richard Thompson

Our pal Richard Thompson would have been 59 last Saturday. But typical of him, he's the one who keeps giving us the gifts. I'll just leave this one here. 

 

You should check out all the Richard's Poor Almanacs and Cul De Sacs because they'll brighten up even your darkest night. 

Rpa151013

 

 





MAYONNAISE MONDAY: Doonesbury edition

It's Monday, so we all know what that means! Mayonnaise Monday. Just to be frank, I feel like Mayo Monday may be getting a bit stale. And we all know that stale mayonnaise is not only bad tasting but dangerous to your health. 

 

But you people are NOT releasing your grip on Mayonnaise Monday. Your strong, irrational and loving arms won't let it go. It's like your arms were made from some strong, irrational and loving oak tree. So (for you) I will press on!

 

And I can already hear the relieved reader responses: 

 

"Why?"

"Don't."

"Are those pants velvet?"

 

And I'd like to respond to those very fair inquiries, but the light is fading and this post is already too long. So let's move on ... 

 

Today's Mayonnaise Monday is by the original UUC! UUC = "Universal Uclick Comic" ... Doonesbury. Garry Trudeau's Pulitzer Prize-winning 46-year-storytelling masterpiece may yet challenge Charles Schulz's 50-year run as the longest story ever told by a single voice (no laryngitis jokes here, please).

 

So no more holding the mayo! Here's Doonesbury from May 27, 1986.

 

Db860527

 

Are you as tickled as I am to see that any comic would start with the dialogue, "So, how'd the mayonnaise get on my Monet, Curtis?"

 

You should also know that Garry's latest Donald Trump-themed book Yuge! has been burning up the bookstore checkout aisles. Digital sales too, I saw it as high as #3 overall on Amazon over the summer. I was (and you'll be) astonished how accurately Garry captured Donald even all the way back in the '80s. It's spot on. You should check it out. 

 

Yufge

Warmly, JG 





NEW COMIC ALERT! Spirit of the Staircase by Matthew Foltz-Gray

Spirit of the Staircase by Matthew Foltz-Gray
Spirit of the Staircase by Matthew Foltz-Gray

 

Matt, an introverted human befriends Mumford, a peculiar critter, along with a community of misfits, swimming through the issues of everyday living in the semi-magical realm of Knoxville, TN. Deeply mired in Magical Realism and Southern Gothic, Spirit of the Staircase is a strip that caricatures the small adventures and experiences every human and creature alike goes through on a daily basis. 

 

Follow Spirit of the Staircase on GoComics!





Talking 'bout Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes Or: Some explanation on recent updates to GoComics

Hey there, everybody!

 

We've heard your comments and frustration around our recent commenting policy change, and it's high time to explain that. But first give me a sec to introduce myself, and I'll explain why it happened like it did.

 

Hi, my name is Aaron Weber, and I'm the product manager for GoComics. For those of you who are blissfully unaware of the intricacies of tech-speak, that means my job is to not only think about GoComics 24/7, but to oversee its operations and act as the director per-se (and general cat-herder) for the upcoming relaunch.  Everything from the look to the function runs by my desk. I've been reading comics (both strips and comic books) for over 40 years, and my love for this art form has as much to do with why I'm here as my background in web development.  To whit - this is just a small sample of my bookcase.

 

Library Splash

 

While I'm a relatively new hire by Andrews McMeel Universal (the parent company of GoComics) standards, I've been in this role for just over a year now.  That year has been spent thinking about how to preserve the things we love about GoComics while embracing modern web standards and technologies, how to offer our fantastic creators more tools to communicate with you, our fellow comic fans, as well as just generally prettying up the place. 

 

To steal a line from Tyrone Davis, Let me tell y'all: That's a lot to think about. 

 

You might remember the survey we asked folks to fill out last November. That was me trying to get a feel for what you, the folks who make up the GoComics community, were looking to us to improve. We heard you loud and clear. Those answers informed so many of our choices for the relaunch, and (speaking as a comics fan), I think you're going dig what we've done with this glorious love-letter to comic art and storytelling we call GoComics. So thank you so very much for sharing your passion and opinions with us. I truly cannot thank you enough.

 

But let's get to this thing about the comments, yeah?

 

First up - Here's where we goofed. We didn't communicate the change to our commenting rules ahead of time, and you know what? That's on me. We had to make the call to implement the change quickly for a variety of reasons, and the site as it exists today lacks some tools that would allow us to convey urgent messages as they happen.  So this is me saying very plainly: I'm sorry we couldn't communicate it ahead of time, and I'm sorry it's been seen as disruptive to your GoComics experience. Those of you directly affected by the new guidelines have legitimate reasons for being upset about how it went down, and were I in your shoes I'd feel the same way.  I remember when the 7-11 I relied on for my daily dose of Pina Colada Slurpee swapped out my beloved flavor for some Mountain Dew monstrosity with no warning, and while no one ever found out what caused that unfortunate fire that leveled the building, I can't say I was sad it happened. But anyway - What I'm going to ask of you now is to let me explain why. 

 

Reason #1 - Letting commentators use HTML to alter formatting and image links into comments represents a not-insubstantial risk, as it opens GoComics up to bad actors who would use that freedom to exploit and disrupt everyone's experience on the site.  Our server team spends no small amount of effort protecting the site from malicious attacks on a regular basis. The fact that you see so little disruption to your experience is a testament to the skill and care our team generously gives the site. We've had a particularly bad round of that exact scenario of late, and locking off commenting was simply a case of self-preservation. 

 

Reason #2 - Because our (frankly pretty awesome) commenting community is linking images rather than uploading them in some very real ways we're potentially hurting other websites. Having a site as big as GoComics using up your bandwidth can put a real technical and financial pressure on whomever is actually hosting that image.  I can even give you a very recent example - The wonderful community of fans who wanted to partake in the current Luann wedding contest were frustrated on the first day of voting because we sent so much traffic to the wedding site that it simply could not handle the load and was unavailable for a good portion of the day.  That's just not great for the fans, it's not great for the Luann team, and it's not great for GoComics. We don't want to be the site that hugs other sites to death or imposes financial burdens simply because of how much traffic we send them. 

 

Reason #3 - The new version of GoComics that we'll be sharing with you very shortly is built to look absolutely lovely on your desktop, laptop, tablet, or phone, and allowing images of any size, height, or width quite frankly can break that that experience. We would never, ever place our design and build above your enjoyment of GoComics, or the great feeling of community that can be found there, but at the same time we have to balance both some real limitations on how those images look on all the aforementioned devices, as well as the feedback from so many of you who told us that the current commenting system was obtrusive, distracting, and was taking away from your enjoyment of the comics. 

 

So there you have it. I'll say right now that I can appreciate that those of you who utilized the image and link options in the comments might find these reasons cold comfort indeed. We altered an experience you had come to consider part of your daily life, and while we did so with the best of intentions, it doesn't diminish the disappointment. 

 

So let's make a deal, one comic fan to another (or in this case, many others) - Our upcoming beta is exactly that, a beta. We're going to show you some new and exciting changes that we're thinking, (hoping, wishing, and a'praying) you're going to love, but the explicit promise in launching a beta is that we give you a chance to kick the tires as well as voice your feedback, which I can promise you we'll consider and explore with great care before we commit to a new way of doing things.

 

In the meantime, We'll continue to evaluate and explore our new commenting system (which looks great, by the way), and we'll listen to your feedback on what you want to see from it.  So while we've had to restrict some commenting options right now, that doesn't mean we're going to restrict them forever. 

 

Got questions? Fire 'em off in the comments below, and I'll address what I can. 

 

Again, It's frankly pretty great to finally make everyone's acquaintance, and I'm looking forward not only to helping everyone understand the nuts and bolts of what we're doing with GoComics, but to being a part of what is inarguably an absolutely wonderful community of fans who love the same art form I've loved my entire life.

 

Cheers and don't forget to

READ COMICS EVERY DAY, 

- Aaron





THE JACKALS STOLE OUR DOG!

Lost-Dog-Poster-lowres[5]

I am seething! Our dog has been stolen and I won't sleep until the perpetrators are punished and Marmaduke is back home and safe and resting in his most oversized way. If you have any information as to the whereabouts of Marmaduke, for the love of Pete, call today. Call now. If you've seen anyone suspicious around our building (Joel Friday doesn't count), please, please, please let us know. 

 

Marmaduke is gone


Crime scene photo. The criminals sliced off two of Marmaduke's fingers and left at the scene as a warning. 

 





CHANGE IS GOOD

Updated on 10/12/2016

 

HUGE improvements are coming to GoComics.com. We've heard your feedback and have been hard at work rebuilding the site from the digital ground up. Here's just a taste of what's coming your way in early 2017:

 

    1) Perfected reading experience

    2) Improved search

    3) Personalized comic recommendations

    4) New store

 

The comics look fantastic:

 

 

 

We're celebrating comics and the people who make them. The new GoComics makes your favorite comic strips, political cartoons and other content easier to read with an art-focused, gallery design. Everything is bigger and looks its best across your mobile and desktop devices.

 

Using the site is easy:

 

We've simplified search to deliver effortless discovery. You'll never have to manually pore over massive lists again. Our new search targets keywords like a champ, and you can filter results by genre, date and other crucial criteria.

 

 

 

 

 

We've added comic recommendations based on what you already like and follow. We're striving to help you discover even more content you'll love.

 

We're adding content. Get ready to explore the worlds of your favorite funnies through pages dedicated to learning more about comics, characters and their creators.

 

We're opening a store! Soon you can order your favorite books, calendars, prints, and more directly from GoComics.

 

But we didn’t stop there!

 

While you can continue to sign in with your current email address, you'll also be able to log in with your Facebook, Google+ or Twitter accounts. *Cue applause*

 

Pro to Premium— GoComics PRO is now called GoComics Premium and is available for $1.99 per month, or $19.99 per year. If you’re already a PRO member, you are now a GoComics Insider. You’ll keep your current membership price until your next renewal period, where you’ll be given a discounted yearly rate. Thank you for supporting the art of comics!

  

We’re pumped to introduce you to the much-improved GoComics experience, launching later this year!

 

Access_Beta_button


 





We Like to Rock the House

Andrews-McMeel-Kansas-City-Publishing

(above: GoComics HQs in better times)


Now comics are a laughing matter, but this is not. Late last night, some debris came crumbling off of the side of our GoComics HQs building. We were lucky it was so late and no one got hurt. The person who first called 911 actually said the building was "collapsing." But he was overreacting like how when I read a funny comic and slap my knee and say softly to myself, "now that was a humdinger."

 

http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article106069062.html

http://www.kctv5.com/story/33320091/downtown-streets-closed-after-debris-falls-from-building

 

Hidden in plain sight: If you look closely in the windows in the photo above, you can see me practicing some marshall arts.

 

 





Mayonnaise Monday: The Wiley Edition

 

 

 Mayo monday 11.2 2

 

    It's Monday so we all know what that means! Another delicious installment of "Mayonnaise Monday!" One question I always like to ask is "why do people say mayonnaise is bad for you?"

It's really just a few simple ingredients. 

 

1) Eggs. A wonderful source of protein and choline. Probably best not to think about the implications if a super race of sentient chickens ever takes over the world and they realize what we've been doing all these years with their progeny.

 

2)  Oil. Literally fuel for the engine we call the body. End of discussion.

 

3) Vinegar. Talk about versatile! Reader's Digest gives you 95 darn reasons it's so amazing. 

 

    So let's all agree to stop bad-mouthing mayo and start spoon-mouthing it! LOL! And at 90 calories a teaspoon, you'll have plenty of energy to fight off those super chickens.

 

Nq081129

 

    Today's mayonnaise comic is courtesy of 2013 Reuben award winner Wiley Miller. Wiley's been doing Non Sequitur since 1992 and has also won the National Cartoonists Society best comic strip of the year in 1992 and best comic panel in 1995, 1996 and 1998.  

 

    Non Sequitur runs in more than 700 newspapers and is one of the most popular comics on GoComics. Sometimes in the dark hours of the morning, I like to pretend that Wiley and I are best friends. 





The Adult Bully: World Day of Bullying Prevention

Unless we’re talking about a character in one of the GoComics funnies, nobody likes a bully. It’s bad enough we had to deal with them back in school as kids, but (gasp!) some of them grew up to become the worst type of human: the Adult Bully.

 

Adam@Home
Adam@Home by Rob Harrel

 

The woman whose glare intimidated you into letting her cut in line? Adult Bully. Your coworker spreading nasty rumors at the office? Adult Bully. Your spouse nagging you to do the dishes? Adult Bull‒ ... wait a minute, that one’s just your spouse.

 

We’re pretty sure they’re the cause behind global warming, 2016’s election nominees and the fact that we work the Monday after the Super Bowl. But, alas! This deplorable group of grown-ups can be stopped with these simple tips:

 

  • Can’t beat ’em? Ignore ’em: The Adult Bully is self-centered and feeds off reactions. Unlike your golden retriever at the dinner table, the Adult Bully will go away if you ignore it.

 

  • Call them out, politely: “Ma’am, I’m sure you didn’t mean to cut in line, but it actually starts right behind me.” Don’t forget to smile!

 

  • Play dumb: The vicious Adult Bully is the reason sarcasm gets a bad rep (*sigh*). If the Adult Bully chooses to abuse this comedic art form by putting you down with sarcastic gibes, don’t let on that you’re aware (Think: “Oh thanks, Jim! I actually took three Excel courses back in college!”).

 

  • Kill them with kindness: Call us crazy, but we think it’s kinda hard to be mean to nice people. Ask the Adult Bully how its day is going ... heck, give it a genuine compliment while you’re at it. You’ll confuse it so much, it won’t know what to do.

 

  • If all else fails, call HR: If the Adult Bully remains invincible to your bullying-prevention pursuits and you must endure its presence for 40 hours each week, we suggest contacting human resources.

 

Who knows? Maybe you’ll turn the Adult Bully back into its alter ego, the Mature Adult.

 

 

Invisible Bread
Invisible Bread by Justin Boyd

 

 

Questionable quotebook
Questionable Quotebook by Sam Hepburn




NEW COMIC ALERT! Small Potatoes by Paul Madonna

 

Potatoes161003

 

The Small Potatoes are what we say in our head, and hope we don’t say in public. They’re the frustration, anger and pettiness provoked by the absurdity of the modern world. Enjoy!

 

Follow Small Potatoes on GoComics!





Some smashing pumpkin (spice) comics

It's October again and we all know what that means. The pumpkin-spice spigot opens up and the treats and the references will come blasting at us from everywhere.

 

Just like that time Matt LaFramboise opened the fire hydrant with his dad's big wrench or whatever and you were standing directly in front of it and the great force of water just knocked you back down onto the street and you were stunned and hurt and everyone was laughing but you couldn't have anyone see you cry so you ran home and went in the basement and boy oh boy did the tears fall. 

 

Then your mom calls down and asks, "Is everything OK down there?"

 

And you just say, "I am FINE, MOTHER! Leave me alone with my stuffed animals."

 

Well, I could have used a funny comic or three to cheer me up back then, so what do you say we just throw chum in the ocean and round up some of last year's most-celebrated Pumpkin Spice jokes?

 

Because if I can cheer up even just two kids who are having a bad day, it will all be worth it. 

 

Sarah's Scribbles

Sasc150912

 

Garfield

Ga151018

 

 

The Duplex

Dp151013

 

The Argyle Sweater

Tas160229

Read this pumpkin spice post from comics editor Reed Jackson from a few years ago too!





10 Signs Coffee Controls Your Life ... And You're Totally OK With It

Ah, coffee. The magical drink that makes the world go around. Whether you’re the one-cup-a-day type or you’d prefer it be delivered through an IV, everyone can appreciate the liquid gold that is coffee. Café au lait, cappuccino, venti iced americano with skim milk and two Splendas -- why else would the world have so many different ways to drink it?

 

If you’re like me and consider your local Starbucks home base, I need not mention today is National Coffee Day. Regardless of caffeine’s potential “side effects,” this day deserves the highest form of celebration. 

 

Garfield by Jim Davis

 

I've been counting down to this day all year, and what began as a joyful celebration of National Coffee Day quickly spurred me to realize I'm powerless when it comes to coffee. All too relatable to the caffeine addicts of the world, here are 10 signs coffee controls your life (... and you are totally OK with it):

 

 1. 

 

 

 

Adam@Home by Rob Harrell
Adam@Home by Rob Harrell

You see absolutely nothing odd with this scene. In fact, you’re contemplating moving your coffee pot to your nightstand as we speak. Seriously, somebody give the genius who thought of this the Nobel Prize already.

 

 

 2. 

 

Real Life Adventures
Real Life Adventures by Gary Wise and Lance Aldrich

The judging looks from your co-workers have inspired you to get creative with your caffeine intake. Nobody ever specified how big a coffee mug should be.

 

 

 3.

 

Non Sequitur
Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller

You’d wait in this line before bearing the horror of walking two blocks to the coffee shop down the street. No coffee, no walkee.

 

 

 4.

 

Maintaining
Maintaining by Nate Creekmore

 And you know this stuff isn’t something for amateurs.

 

 

 5. 

 

FoxTrot
FoxTrot by Bill Amend

Your family’s attempts to curb your caffeine intake have resulted in a fight or two. OK, more like ten.

 

 

 6.

 

Moderately Confused
Moderately Confused by Jeff Stahler

Album covers, movie characters, famous works of art ... you find inspiration in the most random places. Who needs to see the Mona Lisa in Paris when you can have it stamped on a mug right at home? Careful, she'll be watching you wherever you go.

 

 

7.

 

Sarah's Scribbles
Sarah's Scribbles by Sarah Andersen

Maybe you forgot to wear your contacts to the grocery store, or maybe you were just in a hurry and didn’t read the fine print. Either way, the morning you realized you bought decaf went something like this.

 

 

8.

 

Big Top
Big Top by Rob Harrell

“Coffee? No, thanks. I’ve had eight.” The cause of your sleepless nights is lost on you.

 

 

9. 

 

Ziggy
Ziggy by Tom Wilson & Tom II

When asked your thoughts on life, your philosophy is clear.

 

 

10. 

 

Fowl Language
Fowl Language by Brian Gordon

And at the end of each day, you can always count on one thing proving to be true.  

 


But you’ve accepted it. Because it’s not an addiction, it’s a way of life.

 

Happy National Coffee Day!

 

... psst!! We also created a coffee cartoon collection for your enjoyment.

 





Voting Tips From the Only Source You Can Trust

Rpa151109

I lean heavily on comic strips for all my major life decisions: Hyundai or Kia, porkpie or tin foil, Tupac or Two-Ply ... all the classic debates. So when I happened across this Richard's Poor Almanac, I knew my decision was going to be made for me on November 8th.

 

So there is now no reasonable debate, comics strips have all the answers, you only need to look in the right place. The whole factory is yours Charlie. Now if you'll excuse me it's the time of day I like to simultaneously read some Glenn McCoy editorials and some Doonesburys

 





WHITE-HOT MAYONNAISE MONDAY

Rc090402

 

Today's Mayonnaise Monday (patent pending) is courtesy of Reality Check from Canada's Dave Whamond. Canada's Dave has won a bunch of NCS awards and he's a great children's book author as well.

 

He's won the Silver Birch, the Blue Spruce and the Red Cedar awards which are either book awards or some type of odd vandalism against trees. LOL! Dave's character Oddrey from his book series is below. Isn't she adorable? Dave is also hopeful that the NHL puts a team back in Edmonton very soon. Zing Zing!

 

Oddrey 3

 

Incidentally, did you know the Mayo Clinic was named after frontier and Civil War doctor William Worrall Mayo? Golly! I once put on a mayo clinic when my family was gone for the weekend and I had a large spoon and a jar of the good stuff all to myself. Though whatever sense of accomplishment I might have felt was short-lived. It was hellman. 





NEW COMIC ALERT! Now Recharging by Maiji/Mary Huang

 

 

Now Recharging by Maiji/Mary Huang
Now Recharging by Maiji/Mary Huang

 

Emmie's world might sound familiar. It's a place where hopes and dreams constantly collide with the ups and downs of daily life, from job interviews (scary!!) to ho-hum chores like groceries and laundry. Except this world has robots — and Emmie is one of them. How does a sheep-loving android who is bad at math and worried about nonexistence get by? 

 

Follow Now Recharging on GoComics!





BRAD & TONI ARE GETTING HITCHED AND YOU'RE INVITED

LUANN_sept.16-oct.3

 

People who know me well are always asking me to shut the heck up about how much I like to go wedding dress shopping. 

 

Well, that's not going to happen, but now I can at least talk about it within the context of my job ... so you can stop asking, Shena.

 

If you're even a casual fan of Greg Evans' "Luann" you know that Brad and Toni are getting married very soon and you're invited/ challenged/ compelled by the spirit of creativity to become an active participant!

 

That's right you can design the dress that the foxy Toni is going to wear in the strip! What the?!

 

Yes the! Head on over to www.luannfan.com and you can get all the details how to submit your design. But wait, there's more!

 

Even if you don't have the skills, desire or emotional accessibility to design, you can vote for your favorite submitted design! The winning design will be the one Toni wears in real life. OMG! This is going to be great!

 

Lu160902 





WINNERS OF THE SHERPA BOOK GIVEAWAY

 

To everyone who entered the Sherpa Book Giveaway -- thank you!

 

The six winners of our random drawing are: Murray Crossman, Sean Kleefeld, Tony Savoni, Rotifer Thalweg, Craig Wittler, and Isaac Wooten.

 

Please email me asap and let me know what address I should use to send you your Sherpa book.

 

Onward and upward with the cartoon arts!

 

David Stanford, aide de sherpa
[email protected]

 

 





YOU SHOULD REALLY HARNESS THAT JERK INSIDE YOU

Vader jump 2.0

One of my favorite quotes/maxims is "thank the heavens we don't say everything we think." Imagine if you told your coworkers/spouse/bookie/llama wrangler what you really thought of them? Oh, mercy! I know I can think some pretty dark thoughts when someone cuts me in line or tells me my "slacks are too tight again."

 

But here's a curveball! If you're in tune with those things that you're holding back -- those times when you don't say everything you think -- it can help develop good comic characters. 

 

You: What the heck are you talking about? 

Me: Read the rest of the post.

You: OK. But your slacks are too tight again.

Me: I am as God made me!

 

Experts agree, writing a comic is not easy: no actors to give emphasis to your words, no laugh track, no musical score and you get maybe 100 words to get your point across ... maybe.

 

Former UU president and editor Lee Salem would famously (and illegibly) scrawl on comic submissions from even professional comedy writers, "not as easy as it looks." 

 

But back to your unedited "dark side," Louis CK recently revealed that in his delicious "everything's amazing and nobody's happy"  piece there was not actually a guy sitting next to him on the plane who said, "this is BS." He said those were the dark thoughts HE was having and he invented the guy next to him for the bit. He also said this was the case for most of his comedy. Louis CK is clearly in tune with the jerk inside him.

  

Isn't that true in comics too? Look at these comics: Peanuts, Pearls Before Swine, Get Fuzzy, Dilbert. All of them quite successful and all have a character or two who could be charitably characterized as a jerk who says whatever comes to mind: Lucy, Rat, Bucky, Pointy-Haired Boss. 

 

Are these characters just the darker sides of their creators? I can't find the source but I swore I read where Charles Schulz said that each one of his characters was an aspect of his own personality. Stephan Pastis said that very thing in this interview.

 

Dark/mean characters provide conflict and when you have conflict you can have fertile ground for humor. You can always dial it back if you get too cruel or offensive ... but there is value in that journey ... what will you find? Who will you see? Uncle Al? What are you doing in here?  

 

So, yes, by looking deep inside and listening to your small, charcoal heart, you could find some amazing material. 





JUST ANOTHER MAYONNAISE MONDAY

The weather here was great this weekend. And anyone who knows me well knows that when the weather is right, I like to fill my days with long bouts of rollerblading, eating taffy and jazz dancing. 

 

All that action burns a heckuva lot of calories so I have to be sure to keep my nutrition levels in check. I do a modified Paleo diet which keeps me in tip-top shape but doesn't necessarily translate to weight loss or a fit figure. It's the "mayonnaise first/last" regiment made famous by Dr. Mantis Toboggan. 

 

"What does this have to do with GoComics?" Is probably what you're asking yourself right now. And let me say, I love your curiosity! 

 

I thought we could do a regular "Mayonnaise Monday" feature here on the blog. Mayonnaise is the world's most favorite egg-oil-lemon based condiment and it's about time somebody gave it its proper recognition!

 

Let's start this regular feature with the sublime Cul De Sac

 

 

Cul de Sac by Richard Thompson
Cul de Sac by Richard Thompson




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