It was announced yesterday that I was named a 2019 Pulitzer Prize Finalist.
Hearty congratulations to this year's winner, the great cartoonist Darrin Bell. (UPDATE 4/17: I just learned that Darrin is the first African American cartoonist to win the Pulitzer, which makes his deserving win even more fantastic!)
And congratulations to the other finalist, Rob Rogers, another great cartoonist, who was fired from his Pittsburgh Post-Gazette staff cartoonist position of 25 years for drawing cartoons critical of Trump, a situation he handled with dignity, integrity and humor. I'd just seen Rob speak about this last week, as I wrote here.
Being told out of the blue that you didn't win an award isn't always an awesome experience, but as losing goes, this is a pretty good way to lose. I'm genuinely honored to have been named in consideration of such a prestigious award. (UPDATE 4/17: Here is a link to the nominated Tom the Dancing Bug comics, on the Pulitzer website.)
I've a had kind of an amazing run of awards (and near-awards) recently, and it always delights me to have the chance to thank the fantastic partners and supporters of Tom the Dancing Bug:
- Andrews McMeel Syndication / GoComics, my partner and friend (yes, corporations can be friends - or, full of friends) for over 22 years;
- All of Tom the Dancing Bug's invaluable print clients;
- Boing Boing, an awesome website made by awesome people, which premieres the comic online every week and is an ardent supporter in every way; and
- Daily Kos, which has done so much for progressive politics and for political cartooning and for Tom the Dancing Bug!
And of course I thank Tom the Dancing Bug's INNER HIVE, which literally saved the comic strip when I started the Hive in 2012 and still saves it every single week. As I said to them in this week's mailing, I share the honor which each and every one of them, because they are on the Tom the Dancing Bug team and are an essential part of the Tom the Dancing Bug process.
With the decline of print newspapers, INNER HIVE subscribers sustain the new business model that makes Tom the Dancing Bug a viable enterprise. In return for their subscription fee, they get Pulitzer Prize-losing comics a day before they appear anywhere online, as well as commentary from a Pulitzer Prize-losing cartoonist. All this plus jokes, behind-the-scenes looks, extra exclusive comics and whatever other benefits and privileges I can dream up or make up.
(Yes, this just became a fund raising drive.) This is the best time to join the Tom the Dancing Bug team. Who knows, maybe your support will put Tom the Dancing Bug over the edge next year to become a Pulitzer Prize winner!*
Information on how to join the INNER HIVE can be found here, or you can simply and directly join through Patreon here.
Anyway, I truly appreciate all my partners, friends, fans and readers, in whatever capacity they support or enjoy Tom the Dancing Bug. I already feel so fortunate to have the privilege of making comics that are read by so many people. Being honored for my efforts is an extra thrill because I can hope that honor can help justify the support I've received and reflect well on the friends who have believed in me and the strip.
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*Not the way it works.
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