Strip Search with London + Chianca

  Arnon Z Shorr Arnon Z. Shorr has done his part to expand the palette of Jewish stories being told, in both film and later in comics and graphic novels . He's penned tales of mythical creatures (a High Holidays unicorn tale will be out soon), monsters, and perhaps most successfully, pirates , all with more than a nod toward Jewish history and culture. (Yes, there really were Jewish pirates!) Shorr talked to us about the joys of telling those stories — and also the challenges, especially in the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the war that followed. Shorr is currently working with a small team of creators on a Jewish comics anthology called “Chutzpah!” Find out more on Kickstarter . Also in this episode: An update on Friends of Strip Search taking home the gold (i.e. a Reuben Award), and find out where to see us this coming November! (Spoiler alert: It's here and here !) Listen below:

It's true: We've been remiss in updating our page with the latest episodes of Strip Search: The Comic Strip Podcast.  No one feels worse than we do. But never fear, you can catch up with our three latest episodes below! First, check out our conversation about the first-ever ALYAC Fest , a festival for young artists coming to Ashland, Mass. on Sunday, July 13: Plus, there's our conversation last month with Cagen Luse of the Comics in Color Fest — this year's event is in the rear view, but we always love a good chat with Cagen. And finally, earlier this year we chatted with the talented Brian Anderson of Worcester, Mass., creator of the very funny comic strip "Dog Eat Doug," and now of two graphic novels based on the "Dog Eat Doug" characters, called "Sophie: Jurassic Bark” and “Sophie: Frankenstein’s Hound.” As always, you can listen to episodes of Strip Search: The Comic Strip Podcast, on Spotify:

  Jeff Kinney (right). A self-described failed cartoonist, Jeff Kinney spent eight years developing his first “ Diary of a Wimpy Kid ” novel after syndicates passed on his daily comic strip. Within a few years after that, he found himself with a hit book series and a movie in the works (the first of many), and he’s since become the steward of a worldwide franchise that shows no signs of abating. Plus, he gives back every day to his community of Plainville, Massachusetts, via his bookstore,  An Unlikely Story . How cool is that?  For some reason, Jeff sat down with London & Chianca for a wide-ranging interview on Strip Search: The Comic Strip Podcast. In the middle of an international tour in the wake of the publication of his 19th “Wimpy Kid” book, “Hot Mess,” Kinney  talked about his love of comic strips, where “Wimpy Kid” came from, how he wound up in Massachusetts, his input on the “Wimpy” movies, his drawing methods and tools, and much more. Listen or watch b...

This is really what they look like.    Kim Tomsic , the author of middle-grade novels like “The 11:11 Wish” and “The 12th Candle,” and nonfiction books like “The Elephants Come Home,” has teamed up with "Off The Mark" cartoonist and "Marty Pants" author Mark Parisi for the new she-said, he-said illustrated diary book “ The Truth About 5th Grade ,” published by HarperCollins. And what a book it is! Find out all about it when the pair appears on the latest episode of Strip Search. Also, Dave goes behind the scenes at the latest Rhode Island Comic Con . Listen or watch below:

The one and only Maria Scrivan. Welcome to the 50th (!) episode of Strip Search! Who'd a thunk it? And we have a very special guest for our semicentennial show.  Since getting her start with her hilarious single-panel comic “ Half Full ,” which is syndicated nationally by Andrews-McMeel, Maria Scrivan has thrown herself into her graphic novel work, and the result seems to have been as much fun for her readers as for herself: 2020’s “ Nat Enough ” was an instant New York Times bestseller, and the series’ popularity has only grown since. We sat down with Maria to talk about cartooning, graphic novels, and surviving middle school.  Plus: Dave's review of the " What, Me Worry? The Art and Humor of MAD Magazine " at Norman Rockwell Museum! Listen or watch below, and scroll down for some examples of Maria's fine work. "Nat a Chance" comes out in March of 2025.

That's Phil and Rex, and no, they are not brothers. If a panel cartoon is good enough, it can wind up adorning kitchen refrigerators, office bulletin boards, and social media feeds for years on end. So how do panel cartoonists do it, with artwork that can sometimes amount to no more than a few scrawled lines, and text that might comprise just a few words? It’s a question that, apparently, haunted Phil Witte and Rex Hesner — so much so that they wrote a book about it, “ Funny Stuff: How Great Cartoonists Make Great Cartoons .” Well, the impetus was actually a little more complicated than that, as you'll hear when we sit down with Phil and Rex for the latest episode of "Strip Search." Also, find out the latest about the rollout of the latest "Pet Peeves" collection by London & Chianca, " Nerd Dad! "   A caption-less cartoon by "Funny Stuff" co-author Phil Witte.