Hola, Sneakers. Welcome to Episode 425! Is it okay to say we’re halfway there? Where that is we’re not too sure!
This week: mixed up; pinky toed; a token of our esteem; sexy gym; our legacies; replication is fun; art = childbirth; the cold shoulder from the third dragon; pasta is a dish best served cold; the real Chef Boyardee; the Aunt Jemima Cookbook is short; syrup vs. syrup; mac and cheese tips; cold foods; medicine break; disturbing fingers; grateful cats; unfunny comic strips; Blondie talk; a newspaper comic strip overview; it’s easy to be funny; trivial headlines; don’t give the people what they want; Peanuts first commercial; Question of the Week – Sneakers respond; and, finally, Dave at your window.
Question of the Week: What newspaper or webcomic strip would you recommend to other Sneakers?
Thanks for listening.
If you would like to support fellow Sneaker Canaan Grall’s Kickstarter campaign, please go here! He is very close to his goal, and you can help him reach it!
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Little Nemo in Slumberland should have been on that list!
In your dreams!
I agree! Little Nemo was like the fine art of the comics strips.
I can’t be the only one that wants a comic strip sidecast now!
I say we call it The Stripping Dragon!
Ferg isn’t the only one! Side cast Stripping Dragon!!!
Yes, I knew female manga artists existed, and female newspaper comic strip artists. But I never saw any female names in American comic books, so for a long time I thought that if I wanted to do comics here, I’d have to draw a newspaper strip or introduce the concept of Japanese-style comics to the western world (I wasn’t aware it had already been done).
I just looked up “Itchy” from Dick Tracy and his wiki says: “Itchell “Itchy” Oliver was a career criminal with a skin condition that caused him to itch more than the average person.” So what, he has eczema? I’ve had eczema all my life so I guess in the Dick Tracy world, I’d be made into a villain. Hell, I’m itchy right now! Give me all your money!! (No really, I’ve spent so much money on moisturizer and supplements this winter…)
I have psoriasis so I’m also evil in the Dick world and probably the James Bond world too. I was misdiagnosed with eczema for a few years and still have many a cream in the drawer.
Here’s the oral history of Bongo I brought up with Nina’s interview (and mine)… http://flimspringfield.net/ByeBongo
I had a brain tumour the size of an egg so I’d like to think I’d be called Egghead in the Dick Tracy world. Or The Tumour. Or maybe it grew so big it stuck out the side of my head, so I could be called Goose Egg!
I can’t believe Mutts didn’t make that list. It’s a great strip that does a lot with a little. Being simple does make it repetitive though, but I think all comic strips are if you sit down and read a whole bunch in a row.
I have to mention a comic that never lasted long (I think, I only have one volume and never saw another one) called Hey, James! by Mark Tonra. It was from Universal Comics Syndicate and it had less lines (not dialogue, actual drawn lines) in the whole strip than a single panel of Calvin of Hobbes but it was SUPER expressive. A wonderful strip. I picked up my copy from the Beguiling in Toronto so lord knows how easy it is to find in a regular store. They probably made just one copy for the Beguiling and that’s it.
Liberty Meadows was also good in its prime. Another short lived comic that is less fondly remembered as the creator slowly descends into a caricature of himself. (Outrage!) There was a time when he actually really tried, but if people are willing to pay you thousands for one thing, hey! Do that one thing.
Oh, and immense thanks for the link to the kickstarter. It got funded! What are you, social media influencers or something?
Congratulations on the Kickstarter being funded! Well deserved!
Not being nowhere near the connoisseur you guys are with comic strips, I do remember seeing Bloom County and The Far Side for the first time during their run in the 80’s. My best friend actually clipped the first Far Side comic out and brought it to school he thought it was so funny, I’d never seen anything in the funnies “that funny” before that. It was a pack of vultures sitting around what was a cowboy they had eaten and one of the vultures was wearing the oversized clothing from the cowboy’s body. The copy said, “Hey look at me boys, I’m a cowboy! Howdy, howdy howdy!” I think I peed myself.
I was a fan of the Star Wars comic strips that ran back in the 70’s and 80’s and mainly because of Russ Manning’s art, who I recognized from Tarzan. I think up until then we’d only had comic art from Howard Chaykin in the comic books. It only got better when Al Williamson took over later on to give it a wonderful sense of realism. Williamson had the skill to capture likenesses so well without over rendering or hatching his art. He could show that Vader’s helmet was shiny just but adjusting the line weight that created a reflective look on a surface, something that looks easy but really takes so much fearlessness to achieve. I remember watching Steve Rude ink a sketch once. He referenced Williamson’s work as he brushed down solid black ink over so much of the sketch saying he’s learned to not be afraid of the blackened areas by studying Williamson’s work. “He was fearless in that area.” Rude said.
I think you guys could do another spin-off podcast based on comic strips and their history, I really enjoyed that part of this episode.