Follow along with Zack’s continuing adventures at:
http://www.comics.com
And the Winners Are…
Congratulations to Greg Evans, winner of the National Cartoonists Society’s Reuben Award for Cartoonist of the Year! Greg is the talented artist of the comic strip "Luann", a funny and touching strip that brings to life the daily drama of being a young woman, including all the joyful discoveries and torturous experiences of adolescence.
Read "Luann" here:
http://www.comics.com/comics/luann/index.html
A big pat on the back to Stephan Pastis, creator of "Pearls Before Swine", winner of Best Newspaper Comic Strip of the year! "Pearls Before Swine" is the hilarious strip about a megalomaniacal Rat who thinks he knows it all and a slow-witted Pig who doesn’t know any better.
Read "Pearls Before Swine" here:
http://www.comics.com/comics/pearls/index.html
His Autograph Could be Worth Millions!
Well, we hope some day it will be. Meet Stephan Pastis, the creator of "Pearls Before Swine", on Aug. 16th, from 1:00 to 3:00PM, as he signs copies of his books at the Charles M. Schulz Museum, 2301 Hardies Lane, Santa Rosa, CA 95403. Call 707-579-4452 for more information.
Test Your Comics Knowledge
Q: Who is the wistful porcupine that has an ever-lasting unrequited love for a certain snobbish porcupine beauty and what is her name?
Don’t Know? The answer’s below.
Get to know Roy Schneider, creator of The Humble Stumble
"The Humble Stumble" is the story of how Joe, a single father, and Molly, the daughter he’s raising on his own, confront the challenges of being a family. Honest and funny, it’s a contemporary take on the family comic strip that is fresh and appealing.
Question: What’s your background as a cartoonist? How long have you been doing this?
Roy Schneider I started with a two-foot stack of Peanuts and a few Dennis the Menace paperbacks that came from a family friend. I tried in vane to imitate those drawings but didn’t start doing any "real" cartooning until my late teens. By that time, having become fascinated with 60s underground comic books and Mad magazine, I started drawing a really lame hippie strip called "Desmond," which didn’t get circulated anywhere outside of my friends’ refrigerator doors (thank goodness). The actual "wow-you-can-actually-make-some-money-at-this" stage began at age 21, when I was first published drawing a collaborative strip with a writer/editor at a small music magazine. It was a good experience, but not a good strip. Looking at the strength of "Calvin and Hobbes" in comparison each day was simultaneously humbling and inspiring, and motivated me to write my own material and eventually pursue syndication.
Q: Did you struggle with other comic strip ideas before landing on this one? Why do you think they didn’t click as well?
RS: I’d been sending in submissions for about ten years, practically non-stop, receiving little more than rejection form letters. For the most part, I now understand why my earlier strips didn’t sell. I think it had to do with the fact that they were really, really bad. I must have worked up at least 15 different concepts in the years before The Humble Stumble. One thing I find funny is that Molly was actually one of the earliest characters I created. She was born in a spoof fairy-tale strip called Cobblestones I came up with in the early 90s. Now, all these years later, here she is again, loosely representing my own daughter (who was all of 4 or 5 when the character originated)!
Q: Was there a "eureka" moment when you hit on the idea for The Humble Stumble?
RS: It was more of a "eureka weekend." I’d been in a fairly lengthy creative slump (marital separation can tend to do that), and my daughter and I were just beginning our "new life" as a duo. We had tickets to see the legendary Peter, Paul and Mary and I wanted to create a special piece of artwork to express how profoundly their words and songs had helped me while going through sad and painful times. I created a wordless, Sunday-format strip where Joe and Molly go through a series of scenarios together depicted as characters in various PP&M songs. I was able to obtain backstage passes and present it to them, which was one of the greatest moments of my life. When I returned home, I was very inspired and decided to take this concept and run with it.
Q: Because The Humble Stumble was born out of your own experiences as a single parent, it has the ring of truth to it. But how much do you find yourself taking creative license? How much is fictionalized? Can you give an example?
RS: Well, you definitely have to exaggerate sometimes to give a little more "punch" to the punch-line. Sometimes I don’t exaggerate at all, but that’s the exception rather than the rule. Usually something goofy or funny will happen around the house, and my mind says something like "hey, that was funny, but wouldn’t it have been funnier if---"
Q: One great source of humor for The Humble Stumble is in the way Joe has to play not just Dad, but the Mom role at times as well. As a single father yourself, have you found that this caused you to bend your initial views, to see male/female roles in a new light?
RS: Well, my wife and I definitely had our own roles - she did all the shopping, laundry, cleaning, cooking, bill-paying, taxiing… And I worked in an office designing toys all day, came home and played with my giggly daughter. When it suddenly became my job to not only earn a living, but to also assume all of the household responsibilities, it was quite a reality jolt! I’d always helped out with dishes or a little vacuuming here and there and respected homemakers, but that respect multiplied about 200 times when it became my job. Wow.
Q: In one recent strip, you subtly point out that there are plenty of books to help single mothers, but not single fathers. Do you see your strip as a way to help your fellow struggling single dads?
RS: I hope so... I’m certainly plenty clueless myself, so I don’t know how much help I can be, apart from just letting other single dads out there know that they’re not alone. As for the specific strip mentioned in the question... I was looking for some reassurance in the bookstore one day, anything to help me figure this stuff out, and could not find one book for single fathers. They were all for single mothers; which, in all fairness, is understandable, but it was disheartening, as the number of single dads is definitely on the rise. I’ve thought about writing a light humor book on the topic. Maybe I could call it "When Men Must Purchase Feminine Sanitary Items."
Q: You’re also a musician. What do you play? What’s the status of your album?
RS: I play a lot of instruments decently enough to fool people into thinking I know what I’m doing... But primarily I play guitar, harmonica, mandolin, percussion and vocals (I fool around on flute, banjo, sax, clarinet, bass and keyboards). I’ve worked up a bunch of instrumental acoustic tunes over the years. I’m not sure when I’ll be able to find the time to get the album started, hopefully later this year.
Q: Will this experience find its way into the strip?
RS: I think it has already, actually... There are occasional strips where you see Joe playing his guitar or Molly with her violin, but I work music subtly into the corners quite often. Joe’s got a guitar on his coffee mug and music notes and treble clefs all over his bathrobe. Sometimes you see a guitar on a stand next to him and it has nothing to do with the gag, but just adds a little flavor. The dog’s name also has a familiar musical reference, for those who are into serious acoustic stuff.
Q: Despite the challenges, there’s a wonderful sense of freedom Joe has raising Molly - they share creativity far more than Tori’s parents do with her, for instance. How important is this to you?
RS: I think it’s very important for any parent to share whatever they can of themselves with their kids. The only things I know anything about are art, music and comedy, so I have always been a goofy dad and encouraged any interest my daughter has in the arts. Tori’s character has very strict, overly-serious parents who have already decided and planned what she will someday do for a career (although I don’t show them in the strip at this point). Tori’s character comes from real life observations, and I plan to use her a lot more in future strips.
Q: Lately, there’s been a conservative climate shift in our country. Do you ever get any flak that your portrayal of single-parent family life is somehow inappropriate? What would be your response?
RS: Hmm... Surprisingly, I haven’t received any such flak just yet, but I won’t be surprised if I do. My response would be that you have to deal with what life hands you as best you can. I don’t think it would be anyone’s first choice to do this alone! I’m hoping to show all single parents that they’re not alone and that it certainly helps if they can laugh at themselves.
Q: Comic strips tend not to age their characters - they exist in a sort of time limbo. So will Joe and Molly stay the same age, or will they grow? As your own daughter grows, how much does that change your perspective, or the observations you draw from for the strip
RS: This is one aspect of the writing that I do sometimes struggle with. My daughter is 14 now and going through entirely different things than even just a few years ago. Molly is a little "wise for her years," so I can work some of it in now, but make notes of other things for possible future use. I’m thinking Molly will gradually age somewhat, but probably won’t ever go past the earlier teenage years.
Q: Do you think Joe will ever find a new mate? Or would that spoil the dynamic? Is it sort of like Gilligan’s Island - why rescue them when they’re having so much fun?
RS: I prefer to let The Humble Stumble develop naturally, one installment at a time. I’m sure many people can relate to his current dating woes, getting his hopes up and watching them crash down in a heap. Hopefully there are people out there rooting for Joe, that he’ll find love again. Whether or not that will happen, or at what point, is tough to speculate...
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Happy Anniversary to Rose Is Rose and Committed
"Committed", the irreverent comic panel about modern family life by Michael Fry, celebrates its 10th anniversary in comics pages this month.
True to the hectic nature of contemporary life, the world of "Committed" is one in which both parents work, kids rule the roost and the house is an absolute mess. Full of wry humor, warm heart and wild cynicism, "Committed" depicts the realities of balancing family and career with at least a little bit of sanity. Fry receives thousands of e-mail messages from fans of the strip, many of whom attest to its place of honor on their refrigerator doors.
Read "Committed" here:
http://www.comics.com/comics/committed/index.html
This month also marks the 20th anniversary of Pat Brady’s charming and visually spectacular comic strip, "Rose is Rose". With a warm mix of fantasy and reality, "Rose is Rose" presents the extraordinary nature of everyday life as seen through the eyes of the Gumbo family.
"Silo Roberts", the new daily and Sunday comic strip by Rob Cabrera, is the story of a multiethnic middle child who struggles to find his place in today’s melting pot of a world. Honest, funny and realistic, "Silo Roberts" explores the twin challenges of a kid’s struggle to find himself and the next level of his favorite video game. 
Battle the back to school blues with new gear, supplies and more featuring your favorite comic strip characters. Buy now until August 31st and get $3.00 off purchases of $30 or more. Shop at the official Comics.com Back to School Center and enter coupon code COMICSB2S at checkout:
A: Pierpont, from the comic strip "The Grizzwells" has always pined for Jasmine, who merely gives him the cold shoulder. However, when he’s not around to shower her with attention, Jasmine starts wondering where Pierpont is and why isn’t he "annoying" her.