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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 Yorker panels, see his other IG account, @jimmytried.)

Also, in this month's introduction, our take on the "Dilbert" brouhaha, and some very special upcoming events. Take a listen!


 




Jimmy Craig will be with Mark Parisi at the Harvard Book Store April 6.



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