Yesterday pretty much wrapped up the Paris Accord/Trump Isolationism sequence in my mind. More cartoons are drifting in, but, as is so often the case, the first burst contained both the obvious ones and the truly inspired and from there out it's all chaff.
The other yawner at this stage is the Kathy Griffin thing. I saw that the GOP is fundraising around it. If everyone who had no idea who she was three days ago each gave a dollar, they'd make millions.
Meanwhile, Scott Stantis has been dealing with the complexities of being a thoughtful conservative and having comic strip lead-times with Prickly City.
Given that he has to work with overall trends rather than specific events, I'd say he did damn well today and a whole lot better than a lot of people who aren't working under those constraints.
It's kind of a throwback concept. A half century ago, there were people like Barry Goldwater where you might disagree vehemently with their statements and policies, but it was clear they were working from a moral compass rather than simply for pragmatic, partisan power.
I'd say "I guess you had to be there" but Stantis is too young to remember those days.
Anyway, c'est le weekend and I'm going to let someone else do the heavy mental lifting today.
For instance, I'm confident that xkcd's Randall Munroe, the master of interactive maps and charts, has standing to call bullshit on those foolish clickbait maps that appear on Facebook and I suppose elsewhere.
One advantage of living off in a little state in the corner is that, when one of these bogus things announces each state's favorite whatever, they don't have an obvious, accepted cliche to hang on us the way they do for New York, California and the other Big Important Places.
Beyond "droll Yankee," that is, which they'd have to apply to all six New England states.
So it's quickly obvious that they have no idea who we are or what we do, beyond the early voting thing.
We also click on stupid stuff, but you'd have to apply that to all 50 states and some federal districts and possessions and whatnot.
Still, I can only vent, while Monroe can refute.
OTOH, I do know about squeaky toys, despite having had ridgebacks for the past 30 years or so. Very few ridgebacks have any interest in toys, but today's Speed Bump echoes my experience with my dogs' buddies.
We went to a dog event where they were handing out squeaky toys and, my boy having no interest, I brought it down to the park and gave it to one of his friends.
She squeaked it a few times, put a foot on it, got a better grip with her mouth and tore it open. Then she began pulling out the stuffing until she found the little squeaker, which she quickly, completely crushed.
Total time was less than 90 seconds, after which she kind of nosed through the stuffing to make sure there was only one squeaker and then wandered off to find something more interesting.
Next time, I'll give it to the horse.
(Yeah, I've seen this a million times, too. It still cracks me up.)
Speaking of life in the Granite State, here's an event coming up in Nashua next Sunday that I realize may be out of range for most of my readers but is worth mentioning anyhow:
The idea of a kid-oriented comic con is very appealing because I have this silly idea that you should refresh the supply of customers from time to time. It's not a prejudice shared by comic book publishers and stores.
It's okay, of course, for the major comic cons to be geared to the faithful, but setting one up that's more welcoming to newcomers seems sensible.
This isn't an entirely new concept, and, in fact, Denver's Comic Con, which comes up at the end of the month, is run by a group that, the rest of the year, works with schools to use comics and comic creation in the curriculum.
But that con is still a mob scene and, while there's no reason a six-year-old couldn't go there -- they even have a corner just for kids -- the potential for being lost in the overall chaos is pretty strong.
Anyway, I know some people who will be exhibiting in Nashua, so I'll chat them up and pick up some things for the grandkids, even if I don't get my face painted.
Again, it's just a little regional show, so the specifics may be of limited interest here, but the concept should not be. We need more of these events, and, given that cartoonists don't all live in major cities, it shouldn't be that hard to put small, newbie-friendly events together.
When you add up things like last month's "Quick Draw" fun event that brought Hilary Price, Maria Scrivan, Mo Williams and Mike Lynch to Brattleboro, Vt., as well as larger events like Kenosha, there may be a growing trend towards fun, public-friendly promotion of the art form.
I hope so.
Meanwhile, you can read this interview at GoComics with Friend-of-the-Blog Brian Fies.
Or, if you prefer downbeat stuff, there's this fare-thee-well from longtime Phantom writer Tony Depaul, who has resigned from the strip rather than let his creative rights be gobbled up under a claim of "work for hire."
I'm sympathetic because I had an informal agreement with a paper I worked for that my kids' serials were my own, but we hastened to get that formalized when the paper changed ownership, since, as they say, a verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's written on.
I'm pretty sure I knew the hazards of "work for hire" and copyright by reading about less cheerful outcomes.
Definitely better learned that way than through experience, though, however it happens, here's ...
... the only moment of zen you'll ever need:
wotthehell indeed
I appreciate it again, Mike. I didn't know GoComics had posted the interview until I read it here first!
Kid-centered comics conventions are the best. We have a local one called LumaCon that I'll participate in as long as they'll have me, and continue to attend as a fan after that. Everybody just seems to love comics and be there for the right reasons. I love 'em, hope they spread throughout the country.
Posted by: Brian Fies | 06/03/2017 at 11:09 AM