CSotD: … and now, here’s the news
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Tom Richmond broke the big news in cartooning yesterday, which is Mad Magazine's naming of Bill Morrison as editor.
Mad has been not so much in a tailspin as in the center of a lot of speculation after DC decided to move its offices from New York City to LA.
In my opinion, this move would have been impossible and unthinkable a half century ago, when the magazine was awash in Yiddishisms and East Coast sensibilities, but changes in society and in staffing seemed to make the humor less regional, not simply in Mad but in general: Mike Myers's caffeeklatch act on SNL stood out, while, in the days of Henny Youngman and Alan King and Shecky Green and Myron Cohen, he'd have just been some kid riffing on what everybody knew.
Still, there was an understandable staff pushback, and there was also speculation that DC was simply going to shut things down.
Well, they aren't, and I would recommend that this is a better topic on which to click on links than to read my thoughts, and Heidi MacDonald seems to have the most complete coverage, though Richmond was first and is an insider.
If you're interested, you should check them both out.
I met Bill two years ago at Kenosha and the main pieces in which he figures are here (mostly at the top) and here (mostly at the bottom), but he's a quiet guy and didn't leap out and stir things up the way some others do.
That's not a judgment, only an observation. As noted in that second blog, he signed and doodled books until it was literally too dark to see, and he's an awfully nice guy, but if he were my editor, I'd learn to listen carefully because, when he does speak, what he says has substance.
And now more on a developing story …
Tina's Groove is in its final days over at Comics Kingdom, and Rina Piccolo has an extensive blog entry on the whole thing.
It's worth reading not only because of her only-somewhat-mixed emotions but because of some insider things she shares about cartooning in general and, very specifically, the notes she took in a conversation about developing the strip she had with legendary comics acquisitions-and-ongoing-editor Jay Kennedy.
As for those emotions, they're also of interest because she's going forward to a partnership both she and Rhymes With Orange creator Hilary Price are very much looking forward to, but, on the other hand, 15 years is a long time and there have to be a few sighs as she packs things up with Tina.
My own experience with leaving jobs has been far more "Get me out of here!" than nostalgia — maybe I tend to stay too long at the dance — but this feels more like moving out of that house with the marks on the doorway where little Johnny got his height measured on each birthday.
It's not that you don't want to make the move, but there are a lot of things at which to take one last look.
So this is the final week: The last daily will run Saturday; there will be a Sunday but it was already in the hopper before the final date was set.
Meanwhile, I'm seeing a freshened energy emerge at RWO that sure helps soften the loss. Hilary Price has always been one of my favorite cartoonists, and this partnership matches up a pair of kindred souls. It's going to be a blast to watch!
Juxtaposition of the Day
(Bizarro)
Down at the park where our dogs gather, we have dogs who like to chase sticks and dogs who don't.
My dog is a ridgeback and they are, for the most part, uninterested in toys of any kind. A particularly devoted ridgeback will fetch a ball or stick once, and then, the second time, watch it go and wonder why you don't hold on to it. And if it goes in the river, well, too bad, because most of them aren't big on getting wet, either.
However, in addition to dogs who like to chase sticks and dogs who don't, there are dogs who like to chase dogs who like to chase sticks, which is along the lines of "competitive fetch," and Vaska enjoys that game greatly, though it quickly turns into a game of keepaway.
If you have a long enough stick, competitive fetch can get a little out of control. Here's an unposed lineup of Vaska's dearest friends.
I'm using this
One of the cartoonists I met at Kenosha who, unlike Bill Morrison, does bubble over with scattershot wisecracks is Soup to Nutz creator Rick Stromoski, and I'm planning to steal this, because I know, deep down inside, that what people at checkstands really yearn for in their jobs is funny people to come up with witty responses to required questions.
Hilarious in Mad Magazine, so imagine how much more so at Price Chopper!
When they ask this one, I generally respond, "Yes, and more" because, in most cases, it's true. Very rare to show up at checkout with only what I was looking for.
It's when I get to the parking lot that I realize I forgot something, but, then, I wasn't looking for it, was I?
Even on those occasions that I couldn't find something, I'm always afraid to say "no" because I'm scared it will touch off some sort of inquiry and, honest to god, it didn't matter or I'd have flagged someone down in the aisle and asked.
Which I'm also kind of reluctant to do, because, in some stores, they aren't allowed to just tell you where something is but are required to stop what they're doing and take you there, and it just wasn't that freaking important.
Though now I think it might be kind of funny to respond at the checkout stand with, "Today? Or in life?"
It would not be funny to burst into song, but I'll leave you the earworm:
Mike Peterson has posted his "Comic Strip of the Day" column every day since 2010. His opinions are his own, but we welcome comments either agreeing or in opposition.
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