Strip Search, Episode 35 — Ruben Bolling

Ruben Bolling, a.k.a. Ken Fisher.

Ruben Bolling — the nom de plume of “Tom the Dancing Bug” cartoonist Ken Fisher — seems to be doing pretty well for himself. The Tufts and Harvard Law grad’s strip is nationally syndicated via Andrews McMeel; Clover Press is in the midst of publishing a beautiful set of full-color paperbacks collecting his complete works; and he was just given a coveted Reuben Award by the National Cartoonists Society. Oh, and he was a 2021 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Editorial Cartooning.

But one gets the sense he might give it all up to live in a world without Trump.

“I don't take Trump lightly. I don't I don't think he's necessarily funny or a clown,” Bolling told us about the former president. “I think he's unbelievably dangerous, and the movement behind him is an existential threat. So my job is to make fun of that — sort of whistling in the dark.”

Bolling sat down with two of his fellow Tufts grads — yes, that would be us — to talk about our shared Boston history, Trump, Bolling’s cartooning methods, his approach to satire, the origin of the pen name “Ruben Bolling,” and whether Red Sox and Mets fans ever truly made up after 1986. Listen or watch, and check out some of his work, below, and for more on Ruben Bolling check out tomthedancingbug.com. (Or if you’re interested in that aforementioned book series, visit Clover Press!)

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Strip Search, Episode 45 — Pat Sandy & Ruben Congratulations

It's ironic: We'd never want the Deweys as our next door neighbors, but as for Pat Sandy — creator of the Deweys in the comic strip "Next Door Neighbors" — we could talk to him all day! Join in as Pat joins Dave and Pete discuss past "Peanuts," Pat's drawing style, and what went into his new collection " Block Party ." Also, we revisit past interviews with two 2023 Ruben Award winners , the New Yorker's Christopher Weyant, who took home the prize for Gag Cartoon, and Will Henry, whose "Wallace the Brave" took home the award for Newspaper Comic Strip! Watch or listen below, and check out more "Next Door Neighbors" at GoComics and on Facebook .

Strip Search, Episode 41 — Jimmy Craig

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

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 .

Strip Search with London + Chianca

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