Strip Search, Episode 28 — Hillary Chute

Comics scholar Hillary Chute stands in front of a stained-glass image of an Art Spiegelman drawing, in a photo taken by cartoonist Alison Bechdel. How's that for synergy?

So we're used to talking to people smarter than us here at Strip Search: The Comic Strip Podcast — but maybe not THIS MUCH smarter. Yes, "Strip Search" was truly honored to welcome Hillary Chute, a Distinguished Professor of English and Art & Design at Northeastern University who’s written numerous books on the comics art form — and edited one, due in November, called “Maus Now,” analyzing the far-reaching impacts of "Maus," Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize winning, seminal work about his father's experience in the Holocaust.

To say she was delightful is an understatement, but don't take our word for it — you can listen to or watch the podcast below. Her expertise about "Maus" in particular offered the perfect opportunity to delve into the recent controversy over its banning by a school board in Tennessee, but we also touched on the rise of comics in popular culture; the shift in "adult" comics from underground to the mainstream; graphic novels for beginners; and much more.

We're hoping this will mark the return of regular monthly episodes of "Strip Search," now hosted on Libsyn. (Are you a cartoonist, comic artist, illustrator, critic, gag writer, or just a generally cool individual who'd like to come on? Email us at petpeevescomic@gmail.com!) Want a heads up when a new episode drops? Subscribe to the Pet Peeves newsletter and you shall be in the know.

Meanwhile, you can also read about Hillary's take on the Maus controversy at Boston.com; and you should make note that that she'll be moderating an online discussion on “Time and Graphic Memoir” with cartoonist and graphic novelist Alison Bechdel, author of “Fun Home,” on Tuesday, Feb. 8, at 6 p.m.

Enjoy the podcast below, along with an example of Hillary's only personal comics credit — a series of strips about the philosopher Roland Barthes, which she wrote with Bechdel, for some reason (you'll have to listen to the podcast to hear why). [Caution: Naughty words.]

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Strip Search, Episode 45 — Pat Sandy & Ruben Congratulations

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Introducing Strip Search, the cartooning podcast

Hello all! Welcome to Strip Search, a new podcast where we'll be interviewing cartooning professionals and talk comic strips: their history, classic comics, the current state of the industry, and comics to watch out for. If you're a cartoonist or humorous illustrator and want to appear on the podcast with Dave and Pete, email us at petpeevescomic@gmail.com .

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When most comic strip animals talk, they don’t exactly scream “realism.” It was hard to imagine that Garfield was speaking for most cats when he declared his hatred of Mondays or his love for lasagna. But the animals that populate “They Can Talk,” the wry, brilliant weekly webtoon by cartoonist Jimmy Craig, don’t just sound authoritative — they’re downright relatable. And fans of both comics and animals are clearly listening to what Craig’s creatures have to say. In the seven years since he launched the strip, it’s amassed 615,000 followers on Instagram, 658,000 on Facebook, and has spawned two books; the latest, “Are You Gonna Eat That?” from Ulysses Press , hits shelves this month. Listen or watch below as we catch up with Craig to talk about talking to the animals, and them talking back. You'll find samples of his work at the bottom of this post, and for more you can visit Jimmy's website, theycantalk.com , or his Facebook and Instagram feeds. (Plus, for his standalone New

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