Strip Search with London + Chianca

This month, we sit down with Charles Brubaker, a talented writer, cartoonist, and animator based in Tennessee, and currently the writer and artist behind a new strip, " Lauren Ipsum ." He's also doing his part to preserve some previously forgotten comics through his own Smallbug Studios.  Plus: We discuss the "Zombie Strip" phenomenon (no walking dead are involved), and have some big news about friends of Strip Search Tim Jones (of " Sour Grapes " fame) and Will Henry, the mastermind behind " Wallace the Brave ."  Listen or watch the podcast below, and make sure to scroll down for examples of Charles's work! You can also find out all you need to know about him and his cartoons at bakertoons.com .

The one and only Norm Feuti.   If you’re a fan of comic strips, you may know this month's guest Norm Feuti from his two syndicated strips, "Retail," which ran from 2006-2020, and "Gil," which he drew from 2012-2022. He also does the early reader series "Beak & Ally" — that one was the winner of the Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor in 2022 — and "Hello, Hedgehog!," and he just released a new middle-grade graphic novel, "A Kid Like Me," about finding your place in the middle school social landscape.  PLUS: Dave and Pete talk about retiring cartoonists, this year's Reuben nominees, and grawlixes. Watch and/or listen here, and make sure to check out samples of Norm's work below as well. (Want more? Visit him at normfeuticartoons.com .) Norm's new middle grade graphic novel is available now. Norm is the author of the "Beak & Ally" and "Hello, Hedgehog!" series. "Gil" by Norm Feuti. "Ret...

  The one and only Tim Jones. Just when you thought Tim Jones — the creator, artist and writer of the self-syndicated comic strip " Sour Grapes " — couldn't possibly have any more surprises up his sleeve, he joins Pete and Dave on Strip Search to talk about his latest endeavor, an actual Sour Grapes soda! We caught up on that, the spread of "Sour Grapes" throughout the U.S., and what's next for Mr. Jones.  Meanwhile, Pete and Dave discuss the impending end of "Baby Blues," a milestone for the National Cartoonists Society , and the latest on their new chapter book, " Freddy Peeves and the Scoop on the Sinking School ." Listen or watch below, and scroll down for some examples of Tim's work (and the soda!). That may or may not be the back of one of the Strip Search hosts' heads in the background.

Artists of the future, have we got the event for you. In this episode of Strip Search, we talk to Meena Jain, director of the Ashland Public Library in Massachusetts, and   c artoonist and author   Deanna Soukiasian   about the   Ashland Library Young Artists Comics Fest   coming March 21. (Including about how kid creators can participate with their comics, and sell them too, for cash money.) Also, Dave and Pete have book recs, an update on their upcoming chapter book "Freddy Peeves and the Scoop on the Sinking School," and a rundown of upcoming events. Listen and/or watch below: The ALYAC Fest is coming to Ashland Library, 66 Front St., Ashland, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday, March 21. In addition to the Young Artists tables and headliners Kayla Miller and Franklin Peirce, the event will feature comics character cosplayers, comic and drawing workshops, food trucks, a calmer space and quiet drawing area, and ASL interpreters available. Full schedule is avai...

  Deon Parson, a.k.a. Dee Parson, a.k.a. Supr Dee Strip Search is back for 2026, with a most special of special guests:  Deon Parson , also known by his pen name “Supr Dee."  “ Rosebuds ,” his comic strip about a family of three very different sisters that he produces out of his home studio in Indiana, is nationally syndicated by King Features, and he’s also the creator of the strips “Life With Kurami” and “Pen & Ink.” We talk with Dee about his road to syndication, his methods and creative process, and just what's going on between him and Jim Davis . (Yes, that Jim Davis!) You can check out some of Dee's work below, and make sure to click the links above to see more. Also: Dave's got a new title, Pete's reading a new book, and Pet Peeves is getting ready for its next big launch. Listen and/or watch here for the full scoop: View this post on Instagram A post shared by $upr Dee (@suprdee2)

  Douglas Laubacher is a cartoonist and art educator from Northeast Ohio. You can find his comic strip, “ Unbound ,” in the Tuscarawas County Bargain Hunter and the Wooster Weekly News.  A   member of the National Cartoonist Society , Doug can often be found traversing the land, teaching the mysterious craft of cartooning in various art centers and libraries throughout the region. (We know because he told us.) Below, watch or listen to our wide-ranging interview with Doug about "Unbound" and his cartooning history, along with some news about our latest   Pet Peeves projects   and a few adventures of our own, and check out some of Doug's work. Meanwhile, make sure to check Doug out at Substack and on Bluesky !    

  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.

Bob Eckstein may, by his own admission, not have especially enjoyed being dragged to museums by his parents as a child. But something changed along the way, which is readily apparent If you take a look at Bob’s new book, “ Footnotes from the Most Fascinating Museums. ” It features 155 beautifully painted depictions of more than 75 museums in North America, accompanied by stories that help get to the essence of what makes them so special. Bob Eckstein Creating the paintings wasn’t as difficult an undertaking as it sounds, according to Eckstein. “What I did was based on what the museum called for — I simply was the background music to the beautiful museums. And I just kind of tried to lend my skills to what was needed,” Bob says. “But I was very much a secondary person in this whole process, in the sense that the museum itself told me what style I should try to do." Bob spent about as much time tracking down the fascinating stories behind the museums that he included, several of th...

Trigger warning: If you would rather not remember what middle school was like, you may not want to read “Timid,” the new middle-grade graphic novel by local cartoonist and illustrator Jonathan Todd, coming April 2 from Scholastic . But if you happen to be in middle school right now, or know someone who is, it’s unlikely you’ll find a better depiction of just how fraught and awkward those years can be. We find out how Jonathan did it when he appears on the latest Strip Search podcast! (For more on Jonathan and "Timid," check out his website here .) Also, we discuss the latest collateral damage from Gannett's comics page "consolidation" — specifically, female cartoonists — and give an update on "Nerd Dad!" the Pet Peeves collection coming later in 2024. Watch or listen (and check out some highlights from "Timid") below, and if you're in the Boston area, here are some places where you can catch Mr. Todd in person: Book release and talk , Bel...