Category: Books & Comics

Wimic Widget? Wow!

andertoons

One of the things I love about my new Mac and its Tiger OS are the Widgets.

For those of you not in the know, there’s this kinda hidden screen of little useful items you can call up at a moment’s notice. Since Tiger came out there’s been a ton of these things created for just about every conceivable purpose. (Right now mine include a system stats ap, a calculator, the latest headlines from the New York Times, and a Magic 8 Ball.)

The new Wimic Widget seems destined to be a favorite as well. It gives you your daily cartoon fix from any number of sources (UComics.com, Comics.com, etc…) and seems to be customizable.

I do have to wonder how the syndicates make money off of this (my own free cartoon feature works on a different premise), but I’m really enjoying it.

For those of you still working in Windows, I pity you. I really do. (Did you see this?)

[posted with ecto]

The Complete Peanuts 1950-1952

andertoons

I had a big book buying spree near the end of last year. I think the UPS guy was delivering new cartoon books pretty constantly for a while there.

Of course it takes time to get to all of them, and one I’d neglected far too long was The Complete Peanuts (1950-1952).

What a great book! OK, the jokes are kind of dated, and it’s a far cry from what most would recognize as Peanuts, but the germs of the strip are there and it’s a fascinating and soothing read.

Some highpoints:

  • Page 81 – In what I can tell is the first Charlie Brown baseball reference, our favorite blockhead is the catcher instead of the pitcher/manager.
  • Page 117 – The first football kicking incident is actually perpetrated by Violet. (Lucy picks it up on page 268.)
  • Page 140 – Schulz’ iconic signature is rendered in a pseudo-German script following a music gag.
  • Page 248 – Schroeder breaks the fourth wall complaining that he should “put in for a transfer to a new comic strip.”

I must say, sometimes I buy books like this because I think I should. You know, I am a cartoonist after all. Shouldn’t I have all the Complete Peanuts on my shelf? But once I dug into it, I was surprised at how much I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Most modern cartoonists will credit Schulz as an influence as a matter of course, but it was fun to remind myself exactly what Schulz accomplished and what it meant to me.

I can’t wait to dig into the next volume!

Wipe That Smirk Back On Your Face…

andertoons4 Comments

Toiletpaper_1Laff Tissue was originally produced by S.S. Adams Co. in New Jersey in 1959.

Also sold as Laughing Tissue, Laughing Comic Tissue and the After Dinner Roll, the novelty item boasted over 6000 gag cartoons on each roll.

When they say they don’t make cartoon markets like they used to, maybe that’s a good thing…

(BTW, this would make a great birthday present for me if anyone’s still looking!)