Sandbox World:The Entertainment Playground For All Ages / Archives for comics

Marmaduke Creator Brad Anderson Celebrates 88 Years

Leave a Comment

marmaduke

Happy 88th birthday to Brad Anderson!  Brad Anderson?  He is better known for his creation Marmaduke.  His canine creation has been around since 1954.  Brad Anderson’s success pales in comparison to the likes of Charles M. Schulz and Hank Ketcham.  You either like Marmaduke or hate him.  The one panel strip has been criticized by many newspaper comic strip readers for being one of the worst strips ever.  The old school strip has stayed true to the original formulated humor.  Brad Anderson is still involved with the strip.  With less newspapers around, the strip is less prevalent as it was before but still has an audience.

In his satirical analysis at The Comic Strip Doctor, David Malki of Wondermark ranked Marmaduke among “the worst newspaper comic strips” alongside Heathcliff, Family Circus and Dennis the Menace.

Filed Under: art, comics, sandbox Tagged With: , , ,

Tintin App

Leave a Comment

tintin app

Now you can now own exclusively on your iPad the whole collection of Tintin.  So far they are available only in French.  For 49,99 €  (65.00) you can have the whole collection.  Considering you can buy them for about 6.00 a single book, it is a great bargain getting  the 20 books.  That’s almost half price for each book.  Lets hope the English versions will have the same offer.

tintin iPad

Filed Under: art, comics, sandbox Tagged With: ,

Surfing Batman

Leave a Comment

batman surferBatman surfing in shorts!  It might be stupid at best but still cool.

Filed Under: comics, sandbox, weird Tagged With: , ,

Dating for Dummies: Ventriloquist Pick-Up Line

Leave a Comment

dummiesAnother great moment from Bizarro.  This ventriloquist pick-up technique is a guarantee for those hard pressed in the dating scene. Dan Piraro is one of the old guard cartoonists that keeps newspaper comic strips alive. His blog has an added element that his single panel strips do not have. Get the behind the scenes extended view from the artist into the workings of a gag panel like this one.  Dan Piraro is a master of words and cartooning.

Filed Under: art, comics, sandbox Tagged With: , , ,

Aesthetics: A Memoir by Ivan Brunetti

Leave a Comment

Aesthetics-Ivan-Brunetti

Sandbox World favorite Ivan Brunetti of Misery Loves Comedy fame is back with a new book called, Aesthetics: A Memoir. I am excited to see the workings of his mind that crafted a whole unique universe that both offended and surprised the reader. The simplicity of his lined art weighs heavy in thought and execution.

Born to working-class parents in a small town in Italy, and reared in Chicago, Ivan Brunetti (b. 1967) was drawn to cartoons and comic strips from an early age. Finding inspiration in Spider-Man and Peanuts, he began crafting his own stories and gradually developed a unique style that he applied to imaginative, sometimes shocking subjects. The dark humor of his graphic novels earned him a cult following, yet his illustrations have had broad appeal. Now recognized as an award-winning cartoonist and illustrator, Brunetti has published his work in the New Yorker, the New York Times Magazine, and McSweeney’s, among others.

Aesthetics A Memoir

Filed Under: art, books, comics Tagged With: , , ,

Dysphoria

Leave a Comment

dysphoria1 dysphoria2

Jason Bradshaw is a reluctant drawer of sad things. He specializes in dysphoria.

Dysphoria is a state of feeling unwell or unhappy; a feeling of emotional and mental discomfort as a symptom of discontentment, restlessness, dissatisfaction, malaise, depression, anxiety or indifference.

Filed Under: art, blogging, comics, web Tagged With: , , ,

The Billion Dollar Hero: Insuring Billionaire Heroes

Leave a Comment

IronManBatman

Who says billionaires don’t care. Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark spend billions on their gadgets to protect the public. I could just imagine the insurance coverage they have. I am not a great fan of the info-graph, I could not pass this one.

One would think that in the DC and Marvel universe and especially in New York City there must be an insurance that covers both super-hero and super-villain damage. I would not want to live next to The Baxter Building, the rates must be through the roof. Are you not glad that you live in a normal universe where home owners insurance is cheap.

Filed Under: blogging, comics, movies Tagged With: , ,

Mark Zuckerberg as Loki

Leave a Comment

Evil-Dictators-Criminal-Mastermind-As-Comic-Book-Characters-4

Brazilian illustrator Butcher Billy creates The Legion of Real Life Super-Villains. I am fond of his Mark Zuckerberg as Loki, the god of mischief. Very apropos, I would say.

Filed Under: art, blogging, comics, web Tagged With: , , ,

Batmobile Sells for $4.6 Million

Leave a Comment

batmobile sold

The Batmobile used in the original campy 1960′s Batman TV series sold for $4.6 million at a collector car auction. This is Bruce Wayne money.

Famed car customizer George Barris — also known for creating the Munster Koach and the Beverly Hillbillies’ car — was tasked with creating the Batmobile in 1966. With a tight deadline, he decided that modifying the Futura, rather than starting from scratch, was the way to go.

Filed Under: art, comics, talk, TV Tagged With: , ,

Smurf Hoarding: Biggest Collection

Leave a Comment

Karen Bell Smurf collection

When you watch hoarding shows, you feel sorry for people who let filth take over their lives. Collectors on the other hand are organized and accumulate vast collections. Many hoarders become this way because of some lacking missing element in their sad plight called live. They become distant and draw away from society. Are collectors any better? Karen Bell has amassed the biggest Smurf collection of merchandise. Sure there is order in this type of hoarding but when do you stop?

Filed Under: art, cartoons, comics, gadgets, kids, weird Tagged With: , ,

Doom Patrol by Richard Sala

Leave a Comment

doom patrol by richard sala

I love this Doom Patrol artwork by Richard Sala. Would it not be cool to have the Doom Patrol versus Doctor Doom?

doom patrol

doctor-doom-meets-doom-patrol

Filed Under: art, blogging, comics Tagged With: , , ,

Spider-Man is Dead

Leave a Comment

spider-man-is-dead

If you have not heard the news, Spider-Man is dead once again. The mind of Peter Parker is no longer with us. Doctor Octupus’ mind swap left Peter’s mind in his own dying body. We now have Spider-Man with Doctor Octupus’ persona. Holy Freudian mix-up! Fans are in an uproar over the latest calamity. Fans want the skin of writer Dan Slott for killing Peter Parker. Death threats were uttered on Facebook.

This Freaky Friday scenario reminds me of the Flintstones episode Monster Fred where Fred and Dino first swap minds and eventfully the whole cast is swapped also. There was also a Star Trek’s Turnabout Intruder where Captain Kirk swaps his body with a mentally unstable woman bent on killing him. Who could forget Gilligan swapping minds in The Friendly Physician episode. All these episodes have something in common with The Amazing Spider-Man #700, sooner or later the mind-swap will be reversed. Fear not Peter Parker fans, your friendly neighborhood geek will will be back.

“The stronger you are and the more influence you have, the greater your responsibility to be good to people. That idea has influenced generations of children … and I can think of no better message for a superhero to impart than for people to be good to one another, and Peter Parker always led by example.”

Spider-Man dead

“Gone are his days of villainy, but since it’s Doc Ock and he has that ego, he’s not going to try and just be Spider-man, he’s going to try to be the best Spider-Man ever,” said Slott.


Filed Under: cartoons, comics, web, weird, youtube Tagged With: , , ,

The End Of Bazooka Joe

Leave a Comment

2012 is the year of the end of Bazooka Joe and Twinkies.  Bazooka Joe was cheesy at best but a part of many generational youths. The taste of the gum lasted just as fast as you read the comic strip. Chewing Bazooka Joe and eating Twinkies was what was great about being American. These little innocent symbols are long forgotten because of company mismanagement. Long live nostalgia, we shall never forget you Bazooka Joe and Twinkies. What next Cracker Jack?

“What adults may remember best about Bazooka … is disappearing. The tiny comic strip featuring the eye patch-wearing brand mascot Bazooka Joe that has been wrapped around each piece of gum since 1953 is being replaced.

“New inserts will feature brainteasers, like a challenge to list 10 comic book heroes named after animals, or activities, like instructions on folding the insert into an airplane. They also include codes that, when entered at BazookaJoe.com, will unlock content like videos and video games.

“Bazooka Joe and his sidekick, Mort, who wears his turtleneck up over his mouth, will appear only occasionally as illustrations in the new inserts, but without the antics and corny jokes of the three-panel strips.”

 

Filed Under: art, blogging, comics, food, history, kids Tagged With: , , ,

Drawing Comics Lab: 52 Exercises on Characters, Panels, Storytelling, Publishing & Professional Practices

Leave a Comment

I was pleasantly surprised by Drawing Comics Lab: 52 Exercises on Characters, Panels, Storytelling, Publishing & Professional Practices by Robyn Chapman. I thought it was just another cartooning how to book. This little book has something for everybody. It’s not your regular cartooning book, there is a sense of passion for cartooning. Robyn Chapman’s guide is an easy read and insightful for cartoonist of any level.

Robyn Chapman has studied cartooning at two of the medium’s finest institutions, receiving her BFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design and her MFA from The Center for Cartoon Studies. In 2005 she became The Center for Cartoon Studies’ first fellow, and spent the next five years as their program coordinator and a faculty member. She has built and managed the curriculum for their successful Create Comics and Cartooning Studio workshops. Her cartooning courses, workshops, and lectures have brought her to classrooms at The New School, Wellesley College, The University of Iowa, and the 92nd Street Y.

Filed Under: art, books, cartoons, comics, kids Tagged With: , , , ,

The Complete Calvin and Hobbes Paperback

Leave a Comment

Better get a jumbo stocking for this Calvin and Hobbes tome of the complete adventures of your favorite kid/tiger duo. This time around the set is offered in paperback edition. It is less bulky and easier to read. If you are a Costco member you will definitely save a bundle. Amazon is offering equally a great bargain for this complete collection. Get it while it’s hot.

Filed Under: art, blogging, books, cartoons, comics, kids Tagged With: , ,