Tom The Dancing Bug Blog

O!

An alert reader points out another example of a Louis Maltby-type signature.  I think these examples show that Louis is going places!

 

this week's comic

Louis Maltby:  Center of the Universe

Matthews: Very, Very Wrong

This is very entertaining.

"Heh, heh, heh.  Wanna bet?"

Going beyond the boiling point...

My friend Mikhaela Reid is quitting political cartooning.  This is bad news for cartooning because she had a unique voice and viewpoint in the field.  But it may be good news as well, because I'd love to see what she does in other forms, such as longer comics or graphic novels.  I'm really sorry to see this happen, but I'm betting on this being a positive turning point.

Now I know what happens to Louis when he grows up...

Come on, this is really Barack Obama's signature?  Really?  The "b" bisecting the "O"?

Reminds me of a certain seventh grader...

UPDATE:  Many commenters on the web have felt the need to rush to Obama's defense, saying he had to use something like 10 pens to create the signature for this historic bill.  My point (and this was not even a criticism!) was not that the signature was poorly executed, but that it's a bit juvenile for a president to have a signature that gimmicky.  Frankly, I find it endearing.

But that bisected O is clearly what he intends his signature to look like.  I think he should have made it a skull, like Louis did -- that would put the fear of God in the Republicans.

Hi there

Hey, everybody.

If you've been directed to this blog because of the fabulous and fascinating story that's pushed Health Care Reform off the front pages -- Salon's cancellation of Tom the Dancing Bug -- why not become a facebook "fan," and/or follow me on the "twitter," and follow the story as it develops.  Who knows where it will go next?

Soon:  an actual Tom the Dancing Bug comic strip!

Everybody Could Use Some NeoIntegrity

I'm participating in what should be a fantastic show at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art in New York City (through May 30):  NeoIntegrity.  The brainchild of Keith Mayerson, it shows the work of literally hundreds of cartoonists in one jam-packed room.  I contributed the Tom the Dancing Bug comic about "urban bears."

Is this a cool poster, or what?

MoCCA
594 Broadway, Suite 401
(btwn. Houston and Prince)
New York, NY 10012
Tel. 212-254-3511
Hours: Tues-Sun 12pm-5pm
General Admission: $5
Members Free
Children 12 and under: Free Admission
Become a Member

From the MoCCA website:
NeoIntegrity:  Comics Edition
March 12 – May 30, 2010

Neointegrity: Comics Edition is an exhibition curated by artist Keith Mayerson that includes over 210 cartoonists, illustrators, animators, and fine artists who work with the spirit and power of iconographic languages.  With creators young and old, historic, currently famous, and soon-to-be-famous, the exhibition is also about the community and legacy of iconographic art and its ability to productively influence the world. 

Originally conceived as a utopic attempt to begin an art movement, the first installment of the NeoIntegrity show was held in the summer of 2007 at Derek Eller Gallery in New York City.  That show incorporated over 180 fine artists, with some cartoonists and illustrators mixed in to breach questions of high and low, rarified and pluralistic.  NeoIntegrity: Comics Edition takes the proposal a step further, showing the relatability of creators harnessing the iconographic vehicle to express themselves and to tell stories for a culture to understand itself in order for it to become a better place.

One note on the Salon thing...

I've gotten a number of emails asking if complaining to Salon could help reverse the decision.  Just so I don't have to keep responding to these emails, I'll say here that I got the impression that it would not -- the decision seemed very firm, and made with an awareness of the popularity of the strip.

But if you want to write to Salon to express your disapproval, I guess I shouldn't discourage it.  If you do, remember:  even when provoked to anger, Tom the Dancing Bug readers are always courteous and respectful.

Salon, so long.

People of Earth:

Salon.com has informed me that they have canceled Tom the Dancing Bug.  I have no idea where they're going to get their australopithecine comics now.

Of course I'm grateful to them for the run the comic has had with Salon -- founder David Talbot brought it on board at the site's inception, way back in 1995 when the world was shiny and new.  Just for fun, below is the first Tom the Dancing Bug that appeared in Salon -- you can see precursors to my "News of the Times" format, and to God-Man.  For some reason, I always liked drawing God characters.  Just trying to get on His good side, I guess.

I was told that the cancellation was made because of "severe budget constraints," and that traffic for the comic continued to be good.  I know that must be the case; it was consistently on Salon's "most read" list.  In fact, on the day they informed me, Thursday, out of the dozens of features to be published on that day, Tom the Dancing Bug was one of the leaders in popularity.

And when I checked in yesterday to see what Salon's "Comic Page" looked like, I saw that Tom the Dancing Bug was still there, and doing fine in comparison to what is now Salon's last surviving comic strip, Tom Tomorrow's great This Modern World.

But that's life in the fast lane of the information superhighway.  Of course you can still read Tom the Dancing Bug every week in newspapers across the country, and from the link here at www.tomthedancingbug.com and at gocomics.  But Tom the Dancing Bug is now a full free agent on the web, looking for a partner with a strong web presence that would be enhanced by frequent particle collider jokes, ducks making fun of presidents, and ghosts of living celebrities.  And frankly, what web publication wouldn't?

-Ruben Bolling

THIS WEEK'S COMIC

My most totally awesome comic ever.

T-Rexes... on SATURN!!