Comic Riffs: General


Posted at 11:30 PM ET, 03/02/2011

TAKE THE COMICAL CHARLIE SHEEN QUIZ: Who said it first -- Sheen or a big-screen character?
By Michael Cavna
RANDY BISH (via cagle.com): "You have [a] right to kill me." -- Charlie Sheen...OR "Apocalypse Now"? Is Charlie Sheen subtly cribbing from his own scripts? Or perhaps, too, even his dad's? Comic Riffs has been combing Charlie Sheen cartoons and...

By Michael Cavna  |  11:30 PM ET, 03/02/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, The Sketchbook | Tags:  Charlie Sheen

Posted at 09:30 AM ET, 02/28/2011

THE 2011 OSCARS: 10 Geeky Facts About the Academy Award winners & losers
By Michael Cavna
"Toy Story 3" director Lee Unkrich hoists the Oscar for Best Animated Feature (Reuter) In an Oscars broadcast co-hosted by Spider-Man's best friend (the heavy-lidded James Franco) and the newly cast Catwoman character (the high-energy Anne Hathaway,), it's only...

By Michael Cavna  |  09:30 AM ET, 02/28/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Geek Buzz, General | Tags:  Anne Hathaway, Christian Bale, Halle Berry, Helena Bonham Carter, Natalie Portman, Pixar, Toy Story 3

Posted at 01:30 PM ET, 02/03/2011

Sports Jerk Poll: Tell DAN SNYDER what he's won...
By Michael Cavna
After years of tirelessly questing for new ways to lose, relentless Redskins owner Dan Snyder may finally be on the brink of winning something. A Lombardi trophy? Very funny. A $2-million libel case? Surely you jest. A resounding victory...

By Michael Cavna  |  01:30 PM ET, 02/03/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General | Tags:  Bill Hinds, Dan Snyder, Jeff Millar, Tank McNamara

Posted at 02:00 PM ET, 02/02/2011

Take the 'Ultimate' Challenge: Draw upon the TACO BELL & MARVEL alliance
By Michael Cavna
The good folks over at Comic Book Resources' Robot 6 have a swell feature they call "Food or Comics?," wherein they bandy about what Wednesday comics they'd buy on a budget. Well this week, thanks to the marketing smarts...

By Michael Cavna  |  02:00 PM ET, 02/02/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General | Tags:  Marvel Comics, Taco Bell

Posted at 02:30 PM ET, 02/01/2011

THE DAILY CARTOONIST site to shut down Comments section [UPDATED]
By Michael Cavna
As one of the more popular blogs for comics pros, Alan Gardner's The Daily Cartoonist bills itself as "the source for industry news for the professional cartoonist." What Gardner does not want his blog to be is the source...

By Michael Cavna  |  02:30 PM ET, 02/01/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General | Tags:  Alan Gardner, Drew Litton, Steve Benson, Ted Rall, The Daily Cartoonist, Tom Richmond

Posted at 01:30 PM ET, 01/22/2011

QUICK POST: Only 56 years later, the CCA seal of censorship is dead
By Michael Cavna
Even the malt shop has now shed that decrepit vestige from the '50s. Archie Comics and DC Comics -- the last two publishers said to still carry the cobwebbed Comics Code Authority Seal of Approval -- will no longer...

By Michael Cavna  |  01:30 PM ET, 01/22/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General | Tags:  Archie Comics, Comics Code Authority, DC Comics, EC Comics, Fredric Wertham, Ira Schnapp, William Gaines

Posted at 02:15 PM ET, 01/21/2011

TEAM CUL DE SAC: Richard Thompson launches cartoon campaign to fight Parkinson's
By Michael Cavna
A new squad of cartooning forces has assembled to battle Parkinson's disease. Its name: Team Cul de Sac. "Cul de Sac" creator Richard Thompson -- who announced in 2009 that he has Parkinson's -- says he's teaming with Andrews...

By Michael Cavna  |  02:15 PM ET, 01/21/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General, General | Tags:  Cul de Sac, Michael J. Fox, Richard Thompson

Posted at 02:30 PM ET, 01/06/2011

THE BEST IN COMICS: Time to vote from these nominees...
By Michael Cavna
In recent weeks, Comic Riffs asked readers to nominate their favorite comics and animations from 2010. From webcomics to feature films, we received hundreds of Riffy Award nominations, from which we've culled the finalists that received the most mentions....

By Michael Cavna  |  02:30 PM ET, 01/06/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General, General, General, General, General | Tags:  Best Comics of 2010, Riffy Awards

Posted at 01:15 PM ET, 01/04/2011

MARVEL MOVES: Axel Alonso takes the reins as editor-in-chief
By Michael Cavna
Calling all Marvel fans: Axel Alonso is your new editor-in-chief. Marvel Worldwide announced today that Alonso has been promoted to the EiC's seat, putting him in charge of "all day-to-day aspects of Marvel's publishing division." According to the announcement...

By Michael Cavna  |  01:15 PM ET, 01/04/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General, General, General | Tags:  Axel Alonso, Dan Buckley, Joe Quesada, Marvel Entertainment, Tom Brevoort

Posted at 11:00 AM ET, 01/03/2011

'Riffs in Review: Remembering 10 cartooning greats who died in 2010
By Michael Cavna
From such authentic street bards as Harvey Pekar and John Callahan to Pulitzer-winning political firebrands like Paul Conrad, some cartooning greats died in 2010. Here is what Comic Riffs and others said about 10 of these talents: TV animator...

By Michael Cavna  |  11:00 AM ET, 01/03/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General | Tags:  Alex Anderson, Alex Johns, Frank Frazetta, Harvey Pekar, John Callahan, Leo Cullum, Paul Conrad, Satoshi Kon

Posted at 07:16 PM ET, 12/05/2010

Danish actor who inspired 'TINTIN' dies at 98
By Michael Cavna
Palle Huld, the Danish actor said to have inspired the creation of the comics character Tintin, has died in Copenhagen at age 98, the Associated Press reports. In 1928, Huld won a contest by the Danish newspaper Politiken that...

By Michael Cavna  |  07:16 PM ET, 12/05/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General | Tags:  Hergé, Palle Huld, Tintin

Posted at 02:00 PM ET, 11/18/2010

Artists in Afghanistan: Luckovich, Pastis & Keane moved by latest USO Tour
By Michael Cavna
Stephan Pastis (from left), Mike Luckovich, Jeff Keane, Rick Kirkman, Garry Trudeau and Tom Richmond in Kandahar in November. (images used by permission from Tom Richmond) The soberness of war emerged from the darkness before Mike Luckovich and his...

By Michael Cavna  |  02:00 PM ET, 11/18/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General | Tags:  Garry Trudeau, Jeff Keane, Mike Luckovich, National Cartoonists Society, Rick Kirkman, Stephan Pastis, Tom Richmond, USO

Posted at 02:30 PM ET, 11/05/2010

'Due Date's' ZACH GALIFIANAKIS, champion of the comics
By Michael Cavna
Zach Galifianakis is not only the hottest-working comic actor this side of Russell Brand. He also is a welcome champion of cartooning. On HBO's "Bored to Death," Galifianakis plays a character loosely modeled after New York cartoonist/graphic novelist Dean...

By Michael Cavna  |  02:30 PM ET, 11/05/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General, General | Tags:  Dean Haspiel, Iron Man, Nick Galifianakis, Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifianakis

Posted at 10:00 AM ET, 11/03/2010

Best Comics Pitch of the Day: Candidate ALVIN GREENE, Ultimate Warrior
By Michael Cavna
Greene stumps for his superheroic efforts. (WBTV) Faster than an incumbent politician, stronger than the Hulk, able to leap both Michael Jordan and the ballot box in a single leap from logic. Alvin Greene may have lost his offbeat...

By Michael Cavna  |  10:00 AM ET, 11/03/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General | Tags:  Alvin Greene, Ultimate Warrior

Posted at 01:00 PM ET, 11/02/2010

DRAWING MUHAMMAD: Molly Norris and Zachary Chesser, six months after 'South Park'
By Michael Cavna
The original of this Molly Norris illustration was auctioned off last week in Northwest Washington. It's quite the twist to consider now, but several years ago, Zachary Chesser and Molly Norris might have been equally likely to send a fan...

By Michael Cavna  |  01:00 PM ET, 11/02/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General | Tags:  Comedy Central, Matt Stone, Molly Norris, South Park, Trey Parker, Zachary Adam Chesser

Posted at 02:30 PM ET, 10/23/2010

The Riff: From 'SOUTH PARK' to 'POOCH CAFE': When a sense of plagiarism plagues comedy
By Michael Cavna
"Cheating on a quiz show. It's like plagiarizing a comic strip." -- Paul Scofield, portraying Mark Van Doren in the 1994 film "Quiz Show" One of the most challenging things to accomplish as a creator is coming up with...

By Michael Cavna  |  02:30 PM ET, 10/23/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General, General | Tags:  College Humor, Dogs of C-Kennel, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, Mick and Mason Mastroianni, Paul Gilligan, Pooch Cafe, South Park

Posted at 11:30 AM ET, 10/16/2010

'CHARLOTTE'S WEB' cover art snares $155K at auction
By Michael Cavna
(Courtesy of Heritage Auctions) That's some radiant sales price. Heritage Auctions had expected the original cover art for 1952's "Charlotte's Web" to fetch about $30,000. Instead, the iconic illustration for E.B. White's classic children's story has snared more than...

By Michael Cavna  |  11:30 AM ET, 10/16/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General | Tags:  Charlotte's Web, E.B White, Garth Williams, Heritage Auctions

Posted at 11:45 AM ET, 09/16/2010

'Draw Muhammad' cartoonist MOLLY NORRIS changes name, goes into hiding at FBI's insistence [UPDATED]
By Michael Cavna
Note: This report was originally published Sept. 15. Seattle Weekly announced Wednesday that it will no longer run Molly Norris's artwork. The newspaper is also reporting that legally, there is no more "Molly Norris." Norris -- the Seattle-based illustrator whose...

By Michael Cavna  |  11:45 AM ET, 09/16/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General | Tags:  Everybody Draw Muhammad Day, Molly Norris, Seattle Weekly

Posted at 04:30 PM ET, 09/05/2010

IN MEMORIAM: RIP Paul Conrad, Pulitzer-winning giant of political cartooning
By Michael Cavna
(File photo/Associated Press) Paul Conrad must have known his words would surprise me. "I shouldn't have become a cartoonist -- I should have been a novelist," he said like a tossed-off regret. "People don't remember political cartoons -- I...

By Michael Cavna  |  04:30 PM ET, 09/05/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General | Tags:  Los Angeles Times, Paul Conrad

Posted at 03:00 PM ET, 09/05/2010

'GIRL GENIUS' wins Hugo Award for best graphic story
By Michael Cavna
(Studio Foglio / Airship Entertainment) "Adventure. Romance. MAD PROPS!" For the second straight year, the World Science Fiction Society is offering its congrats to "Girl Genius," again bestowing upon the stellar "gaslamp fantasy" comic the Hugo Award for Best...

By Michael Cavna  |  03:00 PM ET, 09/05/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General | Tags:  Girl Genius, Hugo Awards, Kaja and Phil Foglio

Posted at 10:45 AM ET, 08/24/2010

THE EMMYS: 'American Splendor' artist basks in his HBO win
By Michael Cavna
From "True Blood" to "The Sopranos," HBO is known for having produced some of TV's best title sequences. Over the weekend, cartoonist Dean Haspiel was acknowledged for his place in that HBO pantheon. At the Creative Arts Emmys over...

By Michael Cavna  |  10:45 AM ET, 08/24/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General | Tags:  Dean Haspiel, Jonathan Ames

Posted at 02:30 PM ET, 08/18/2010

Afghanistan Update: RALL and BORS file from the streets of Taloqan
By Michael Cavna
(Images courtesy of Matt Bors) Political cartoonist Matt Bors told Comic Riffs this month that in traveling to Afghanistan during the war, he was seeking to talk "to the people it directly affects." What, he yearns to know, is...

By Michael Cavna  |  02:30 PM ET, 08/18/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General, General | Tags:  Matt Bors, Steven Cloud, Ted Rall

Posted at 03:00 PM ET, 08/13/2010

TRIBUTE: Remembering 'FUTURAMA' producer Alex Johns, 43
By Michael Cavna
ALEX JOHNS with his dog, Rio. (Courtesy of the Johns family.) Washington Post staff writer Manuel Roig-Franzia knew accomplished animation producer ALEX JOHNS, who was especially noted for his work on "The Ant Bully" and "Futurama." Johns died last...

By Michael Cavna  |  03:00 PM ET, 08/13/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General | Tags:  Alex Johns, Ant Bully, Futurama, John A. Davis, Lee Supercinski, Matt Groening

Posted at 05:13 PM ET, 08/12/2010

From bikini blunders (*sweat drops!*) to Irving nuptials, how do YOU remember 'CATHY'?
By Jane Elizabeth
CONNECT ON TWITTER: Hey readers, sum up 34 years of Cathy in a single Tweet. We'll round up some of the most fun and funniest and publish them here....

By Jane Elizabeth  |  05:13 PM ET, 08/12/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General

Posted at 08:45 PM ET, 08/11/2010

*AACK!* Cathy Guisewite will retire her comic strip 'CATHY' in October [UPDATED]
By Michael Cavna
Note: This item was originally posted at 4 p.m. Aug. 11. The rumors are true: Cathy Guisewite, the Emmy- and Reuben Award-winning creator of the acclaimed comic strip "Cathy," has decided to retire her feature as of October. "She's...

By Michael Cavna  |  08:45 PM ET, 08/11/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General | Tags:  Cathy, Cathy Guisewite, Universal Press Syndicate

Posted at 07:30 PM ET, 08/03/2010

VIRAL HUMOR: When Kanye West's tweets meet The New Yorker's cartoons
By Michael Cavna
(Post file images / Associated Press and Bloomberg News) Who knew Kanye West's sudden embrace of Twitter and the longtime pithy humor of The New Yorker's cartoons would make for such a viral marriage? And perhaps the more important...

By Michael Cavna  |  07:30 PM ET, 08/03/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General | Tags:  Kanye West, The New Yorker, Twitter

Posted at 07:00 PM ET, 08/02/2010

Remembering the writer who helped save 'SUPERMAN'
By Michael Cavna
Comic Riffs is taking a moment to appreciate one of the more oft-unsung superpowers in Hollywood, and particularly the power of Tom Mankiewicz. If he had an ultimate identity among some comics fans, it was as...The Script Fixer. Mankiewicz,...

By Michael Cavna  |  07:00 PM ET, 08/02/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General | Tags:  Superman, Tom Mankiewicz

Posted at 09:45 AM ET, 08/01/2010

DREAM TRAILERS: The 6 Best 'INCEPTION' Parodies This Minute [UPDATED]
By Michael Cavna
When it comes to fertile territory for parody, "Inception," it turns out, is the dream trailer. Leonardo DiCaprio's air-of-urgency voiceover. The succinctly simple plot description for a film that is anything but easy. And, to no small effect, Hans...

By Michael Cavna  |  09:45 AM ET, 08/01/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General | Tags:  Christopher Nolan, Dora the Explorer, Haruhi Suzumiya, Inception, Pixar's Up, Toy Story 3

Posted at 06:05 AM ET, 07/27/2010

A CARTOONIST'S TRIBUTE: Let us not forget the unflinching wit of John Callahan
By Michael Cavna
JOHN CALLAHAN'S "PELSWICK": If you were a teen cartoonist in the '80s, trying to figure out how best to shock the world with a punch line, there was one man you especially had to come to a reckoning with....

By Michael Cavna  |  06:05 AM ET, 07/27/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General | Tags:  John Callahan

Posted at 07:19 PM ET, 07/21/2010

Alleged 'South Park' jihadist blogger arrested in terror case
By Michael Cavna
Zachary Adam Chesser, the 20-year-old Virginia man who earlier this year allegedly posted controversial blog entries about the creators of TV's "South Park," was arrested Wednesday on charges of providing material support to a Somali extremist group linked to...

By Michael Cavna  |  07:19 PM ET, 07/21/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General | Tags:  Matt Stone and Trey Parker, Molly Norris, Revolution Muslim, South Park

Posted at 05:51 PM ET, 07/12/2010

Harvey Pekar book editor recalls a 'kind and diffident' man [UPDATED]
By Michael Cavna
UPDATE: This item was originally published at 1:50 p.m. ET Monday. "I would think that he's the only [VA] file clerk to also be a jazz critic, book reviewer for the Washington Post, and comic book writer and have a...

By Michael Cavna  |  05:51 PM ET, 07/12/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General, General | Tags:  Harvey Pekar, Joyce Brabner, Mike Rhode

Posted at 01:30 PM ET, 07/12/2010

Remembering Harvey Pekar, legendary bard of the 'underground' comic book
By Michael Cavna
Harvey Pekar and Joyce Brabner tell their tale in the film "American Splendor." (John Clifford/Courtesy of HBO/Fine Line) HARVEY PEKAR characterized himself as a flunkie of a hospital file clerk. What he really filed, for decades, were some of...

By Michael Cavna  |  01:30 PM ET, 07/12/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General | Tags:  American Splendor, Harvey Pekar, Our Cancer Year

Posted at 12:20 PM ET, 07/12/2010

'Draw Muhammad' artist placed on execution hit list; her online sites disappear
By Michael Cavna
NOTE: This post has been updated since Monday morning ET. A radical Islamic leader has placed Molly Norris -- the artist who helped spawn the recent "Everybody Draw Mohammad Day!" before distancing herself from the campaign -- on an execution...

By Michael Cavna  |  12:20 PM ET, 07/12/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General | Tags:  Everybody Draw Mohammed Day, Molly Norris

Posted at 12:40 PM ET, 07/08/2010

Animator is a finalist for Post's 'Real Art D.C.' contest
By Michael Cavna
The Post's "Real Art D.C." Contest has selected its fourth finalist and -- given his style -- both Gahan Wilson and Mike Judge might approve. The 27-year-old artist Adam Dwight (born Adam Griffiths), who works out of a Takoma...

By Michael Cavna  |  12:40 PM ET, 07/08/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General | Tags:  Adam Dwight, Real Art D.C. Contest

Posted at 11:30 AM ET, 06/28/2010

THE RIFF: Where does D.C. rate as a 'comics town'?
By Michael Cavna
As the mercury hit 99 degrees Sunday, I had to wonder: Is Washington, D.C.'s comics scene ripe for heating up, too? While talking with "Big Nate" cartoonist Lincoln Peirce over the weekend, I asked him how he came to...

By Michael Cavna  |  11:30 AM ET, 06/28/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General | Tags:  Aaron McGruder, Andrew Cohen, Ben Claassen, Comisgirl, Evan Keeling, Frank Cho, Herb Block, Jeff Kinney, Lincoln Peirce, Matt Wuerker, Michael Arndt, Mike Rhode, Richard Thompson, Shannon Gallant

Posted at 06:15 AM ET, 06/16/2010

The Plump Irony: Come Bloomsday, Apple admits mistake over 'Ulysses' app
By Michael Cavna
As literary apps go, Apple knows when to admit a wrong and replay the situation -- when, in hacker's terms, to take a Mulligan. Still, the incident is plump, if not stately, with irony. More than 75 years after...

By Michael Cavna  |  06:15 AM ET, 06/16/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General, General | Tags:  Apple, Robert Berry, Tom Bouden, graphic novel apps

Posted at 09:10 AM ET, 06/15/2010

AQUAMAN DOWN: The 10 Best BP Spill Cartoons [UPDATED]
By Michael Cavna
Aquaman was among the first casualties, tragically washing up weeks ago. And as the BP oil spill has worn on -- long uncapped, uncontained and un-"killed," top or otherwise -- visual satirists have co-opted numerous other cartoon characters. Given...

By Michael Cavna  |  09:10 AM ET, 06/15/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General | Tags:  Aquaman, BP Oil Spill, Bill Day, Matt Davies, Mike Keefe, Mike Luckovich, R.J. Matson, SpongeBob SquarePants

Posted at 07:15 PM ET, 06/09/2010

PARODY VIDEO: When famous cartoonists get hold of a camera
By Michael Cavna
Ever wonder what nationally syndicated cartoonists do when not playing golf, cruising the Mediterranean or hitting drives off of a yacht while sipping extra-dry martinis and cruising oh-so-casually toward the Aegean? Some of them, it turns out, channel their...

By Michael Cavna  |  07:15 PM ET, 06/09/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General | Tags:  Bill Hinds, Jeff Keane, Jerry Scott, Mark Tatulli, National Cartoonists Society, Reuben Awards 2010, Sean Parkes, Stephan Pastis, Tom Gammill

Posted at 01:20 PM ET, 06/06/2010

Get Him to the Peak: 'SHREK' stays No. 1 at box office
By Michael Cavna
DreamWorks Animation SHREK may have had to recall millions of glasses, but that didn't stop the animated mega-franchise from moving plenty of 3-D glasses over the weekend. "Shrek Forever After" made $25.3-million over the weekend to remain No.-1 at...

By Michael Cavna  |  01:20 PM ET, 06/06/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General, General | Tags:  How to Train Your Dragon, Iron Man 2, Marmaduke, Shrek Forever After

Posted at 09:20 AM ET, 06/03/2010

'Draw Muhammad' artist gains a surprising client -- in Pakistan [UPDATED]
By Michael Cavna
courtesy of Molly Norris The cartoonist whose artwork sparked last month's global "Everybody Draw Muhammad Day" campaign has a new client, but not one you might expect: A newspaper in Pakistan. Seattle artist Molly Norris tells Comic Riffs that...

By Michael Cavna  |  09:20 AM ET, 06/03/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General

Posted at 06:27 PM ET, 05/30/2010

REUBENS: History, 'Bizarro' top the marquee at cartooning's Oscars
By Michael Cavna
Reporting from the NCS Reubens in Jersey City... NCS Lifetime Achievement Award winner George Booth (photo by Michael Cavna) History was on parade Saturday at the cartooning world's version of the Oscars. And like any swell parade, balloons --...

By Michael Cavna  |  06:27 PM ET, 05/30/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General, General, General, General, General | Tags:  Bizarro, Dan Piraro, National Cartoonist Society Reuben Awards

Posted at 10:19 AM ET, 05/27/2010

Pink-slipped cartoonist BILL DAY picks up RFK Award in D.C.
By Michael Cavna
BILL DAY, who was laid off last year by the Commercial Appeal in Memphis, officially picked up his Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award in a ceremony last night at George Washington University. Mike Rhode, who was one of the...

By Michael Cavna  |  10:19 AM ET, 05/27/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General | Tags:  Bill Day, RFK Awards, political cartooning

Posted at 02:30 PM ET, 05/26/2010

Why reinvited Swedish 'Muhammad' artist continues to make news
By Michael Cavna
Now that controversial Swedish artist Lars Vilks has just been invited to speak again at Uppsala University -- where a violent protest ended his lecture weeks ago -- the question arises anew: Do Vilks's actions continue to merit making...

By Michael Cavna  |  02:30 PM ET, 05/26/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General | Tags:  Lars Vilks, Muhammad art and cartoons

Posted at 03:52 PM ET, 05/20/2010

'Draw Muhammad Day': Pakistan bans YouTube; Facebook still blocked [UPDATED]
By Michael Cavna
UPDATE: The primary "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day!" and "Against 'Everybody Draw Mohammed Day!' " Facebook pages each have more than 100,000 "supporters." Elsewhere, the DC-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) issued "a Muslim response" to Everybody Draw Muhammad Day...

By Michael Cavna  |  03:52 PM ET, 05/20/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General | Tags:  Everybody Draw Mohammed Day, Facebook, Jon Wellington, Molly Norris, Muhammad cartoons, Pakistan, YouTube

Posted at 10:01 AM ET, 05/19/2010

Pakistan blocks Facebook in response to 'Everybody Draw Muhammad Day' pages [UPDATED]
By Michael Cavna
When is a cartoon not "just" a cartoon? Well, perhaps when an entire nation decides to ban its citizens' access to Facebook over a page spawned by an illustration. An illustration that, in turn, was created to support an...

By Michael Cavna  |  10:01 AM ET, 05/19/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General | Tags:  Everybody Draw Mohammed Day/May 20, Facebook, Jon Wellington, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, Molly Norris, Pakistan, South Park

Posted at 10:45 AM ET, 04/16/2010

Politico's MATT WUERKER accepts the Herblock Prize
By Michael Cavna
Matt Wuerker was clearly moved by the moment. "I was just trying to keep it together up there," the Politico cartoonist told Comic Riffs afterward yesterday. The moment was Wuerker's offering words of gratitude Thursday night as he accepted...

By Michael Cavna  |  10:45 AM ET, 04/16/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General | Tags:  Herb Block, Herblock Prize, Library of Congress, Matt Wuerker

Posted at 04:05 PM ET, 04/15/2010

PULITZERS: A third cartoonist won the big Prize, too
By Michael Cavna
And the cartoonists shall inherit the lectern. At least when it comes to the Pulitzers. On Monday, we reported that Mark Fiore won the Editorial Cartooning award for his SFGate.com animations (the first such entry to garner the honor)....

By Michael Cavna  |  04:05 PM ET, 04/15/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General | Tags:  Matt Richtel, New York Times, Pulitzer Prizes, Rudy Park, Theron Heir

Posted at 06:15 PM ET, 03/16/2010

How to save newspapers? Ted Rall has the answer [VIDEO]
By Michael Cavna
A coupla years back, alt-political cartoonist TED RALL told Comic Riffs: "At the end of the day, you still have as many people reading print newspapers in the future." Now, at last, we see how. Even if only satirically....

By Michael Cavna  |  06:15 PM ET, 03/16/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General | Tags:  David Essman, Ted Rall

Posted at 11:30 AM ET, 03/09/2010

'Garfield Minus Garfield': Are you listening, Hollywood?
By Michael Cavna
Some days, for the lightest of twisted humor, nothing pleases quite like "the existential angst of a certain young Mr. Jon Arbuckle" in "Garfield Minus Garfield." Comic Riffs has cited "GMG" early and somewhat often, but for the few...

By Michael Cavna  |  11:30 AM ET, 03/09/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General

Posted at 06:05 PM ET, 03/03/2010

'OBAMA' VIDEO: When 'SNL' presidents unite...
By Michael Cavna
THE META-POST: When "SNL" presidents stage a comedy summit... Because Comic Riffs often traffics in political humor -- and writes fairly regularly about the art of satire -- we offer this meta-post from Will Ferrell and the rest of...

By Michael Cavna  |  06:05 PM ET, 03/03/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General | Tags:  FunnyorDie.com, Saturday Night Live, Will Ferrell, political satire

Posted at 02:30 PM ET, 02/27/2010

$uperheroes: Not all fans put currency in the million-dollar sale
By Michael Cavna
"This sale is groundbreaking," says a comics dealer who helped conduct the transaction. (ComicConnect.com / AP) With the twin million-dollar comic-book sales this week, some collectibles officials touted the deals as game-changers. Yet not all comic-book fans were so...

By Michael Cavna  |  02:30 PM ET, 02/27/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General | Tags:  Batman, Scott McCloud, Superman

Posted at 01:05 PM ET, 02/08/2010

Reader picks: What was the funniest SUPER BOWL ad?
By Michael Cavna
[ UPDATED: Comic Riffs will update periodically with posted videos as nominated (by comment or e-mail) by readers -- including 2010 midgame nominees] All Super Bowl fans have their own ways to enhance their viewing of the Big Game. Some...

By Michael Cavna  |  01:05 PM ET, 02/08/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General | Tags:  Super Bowl commercials

Posted at 09:55 AM ET, 01/02/2010

Remembering Post ombud DEB HOWELL
By Michael Cavna
It is one of my favorite stories about cartoonists, for which the tales and anecdotes and fabled shenanigans are legion: Some years back, Mike Luckovich and at least several other editorial cartoonists were attending a national political convention and,...

By Michael Cavna  |  09:55 AM ET, 01/02/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General | Tags:  Deborah Howell

Posted at 09:47 PM ET, 01/01/2010

Danish cartoonist who caricatured Muhammad faces alleged armed intruder
By Michael Cavna
The Danish Muhammad-cartoon controversy remains as potentially lethal as ever. A Somali man allegedly tried to break into the Aarhus residence of Danish political cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, who has faced death threats for his illustrations of the Muslim prophet,...

By Michael Cavna  |  09:47 PM ET, 01/01/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General | Tags:  Kurt Westergaard

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 12/30/2009

A glorious line of work: Remembering legendary caricaturist DAVID LEVINE
By Michael Cavna
As a young and hungry caricaturist, I found it impossible to pursue my creative enterprise seriously without studying at the altar of one artist in particular: the legendary David Levine. For caricaturists, Mr. Levine's shadow was (and is) so...

By Michael Cavna  |  06:00 AM ET, 12/30/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General | Tags:  David Levine, New York Review of Books

Posted at 02:15 PM ET, 12/07/2009

Which comic strip do we deem 'Best of the Decade'?
By Michael Cavna
Not only is it that time of year -- it's also that time of the decade, when The TV Hosts, The Media and The Grand Poobahs of Pop Culture Punditry assign rankings to everything notable in the 10-year rear-view...

By Michael Cavna  |  02:15 PM ET, 12/07/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General | Tags:  Cul de Sac, Richard Thompson

Posted at 04:00 PM ET, 11/07/2009

Remembering Comic-Con co-founder Shel Dorf
By The Reliable Source
In this June 29, 2006 picture, Sheldon Dorf holds a Dick Tracy comic book in Ocean Beach, Calif. (AP Photo / San Diego Union Tribune) I met Shel Dorf just once, in the mid-'90s in San Diego, but boy,...

By The Reliable Source  |  04:00 PM ET, 11/07/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General

Posted at 08:30 AM ET, 10/17/2009

Maurice Sendak Day: From Page to Screen, Appreciating the 'Wild Things' Spirit
By Michael Cavna
Some of the greatest authors ever to write for children have a telling trait in common: They do not sugarcoat childhood. Rather, childhood is a wild thing to be stripped of saccharine sentiment and told plain and straight and...

By Michael Cavna  |  08:30 AM ET, 10/17/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General

Posted at 11:05 AM ET, 10/14/2009

Poll: From Sarah Palin to Michelle Obama--Which Female Icon's Story Would You Most Want to Read?
By The Reliable Source
"FEMALE FORCE" salutes four women leaders. (Bluewater Productions ) A new trade-paperback comic lands today, picturing a foursome you might never see so chummily assembled in real life. The "Female Force" bio-comic series has previously featured these four icons,...

By The Reliable Source  |  11:05 AM ET, 10/14/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General

Posted at 04:05 PM ET, 09/28/2009

'Riffs Picks: Rall to Raina--Highlights From This Year's SPX
By Michael Cavna
Fantagraphics to the left of me! Top Shelf to the right of me! From friends to roamin' fans to cartoonists, the Small Press Expo (SPX) event over the weekend in Bethesda, Md., was thick was enthusiasm and talent --...

By Michael Cavna  |  04:05 PM ET, 09/28/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General, General, General

Posted at 05:40 PM ET, 09/25/2009

'Cul de Sac' Migrates & Cavna Hits the 'Town'
By Michael Cavna
A meta-post heads-up, since I'd be remiss not to mention it... Comic Riffs has occasionally posted its personal cartoons both fresh and archived on this site, but beginning this weekend, my art will also appear biweekly in the newly...

By Michael Cavna  |  05:40 PM ET, 09/25/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General

Posted at 10:05 AM ET, 09/22/2009

New Album Cover Art: Tom Tomorrow (Pearl Jam) Joins Some Select Company
By Michael Cavna
Pearl Jam's "Backspacer." (AP Photo/MonkeyWrench Records) At the recommendation of new Post pop-music critic Chris Richards, I'll get around soon to listening to all of "Backspacer," the Pearl Jam CD that drops/lands/arrives/roars-toward-consumers today (here's Chris's review). Thing is, at...

By Michael Cavna  |  10:05 AM ET, 09/22/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General

Posted at 10:30 AM ET, 08/13/2009

Not Your Everyday Gratuitous 'Twilight' Roundup
By Michael Cavna
'FEMALE FORCE' (Bluewater Productions) As November's release of the "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" draws nigh, expect those Twilight tie-ins to strike as quickly as Edward Cullen's canine teeth. Among the post-Comic-Con announcements is the news that Bluewater Productions...

By Michael Cavna  |  10:30 AM ET, 08/13/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General

Posted at 10:05 AM ET, 07/30/2009

G.I. Joe to Salute the Troops at Andrews Air Base
By Michael Cavna
The new G.I. Joe movie doesn't hit theaters till Aug. 7, but some members of the military will see it a week early. Paramount Pictures is announcing that it will screen "G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra" tomorrow...

By Michael Cavna  |  10:05 AM ET, 07/30/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General, General, General

Posted at 01:15 PM ET, 06/13/2009

Eat Your Heart Out, Wonder Woman. Here Comes OPRAH!
By Michael Cavna
On the heels of creating comic books featuring such women as Michelle Obama, Sarah Palin and Caroline Kennedy, Bluewater Productions' "Female Force" will next spotlight... 'FEMALE FORCE' (Bluewater Prod.) ... OPRAH WINFREY. To which Comic Riffs has just one...

By Michael Cavna  |  01:15 PM ET, 06/13/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General | Tags:  Oprah Winfrey

Posted at 11:30 AM ET, 05/12/2009

Animated Reactions: A Few of Our Favorite Shorts
By Michael Cavna
The Maryland Film Festival unspooled in Baltimore in recent days, and notably, the lineup included several films by one of my favorite short-form animators, Bill Plympton. I've been an avid fan of Plympton's color-pencil lines since the Oscar nominee's work...

By Michael Cavna  |  11:30 AM ET, 05/12/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General

Posted at 11:30 AM ET, 04/28/2009

Check Out: New Animations From 'Cul de Sac' & 'Pooch'
By Michael Cavna
As the syndicates continues to unveil new animation shorts of their strips, I find myself fascinated with seeing what elements from static comics make a successsful transition -- and what is lost is translation. In the latest "Pooch Cafe" animation,...

By Michael Cavna  |  11:30 AM ET, 04/28/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General

Posted at 05:26 PM ET, 04/16/2009

Here Comes the 'Judge'! Strip to Return to Post's Pages
By Michael Cavna
It's official: After an impassioned response from readers -- not to mention thousands of respondents to two poll votes on Comic Riffs -- The Washington Post has decided to bring back "Judge Parker." The serial strip -- which has enjoyed...

By Michael Cavna  |  05:26 PM ET, 04/16/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General

Posted at 09:57 PM ET, 03/22/2009

This Just In: Post to Drop 'Brevity'
By Michael Cavna
Tomorrow, a Readers' Note in The Post will announce that a sixth feature, the single-panel "Brevity" by Guy & Rodd, will be dropped from the paper's print comics section come March 30. Comic Riffs has previously reported on the...

By Michael Cavna  |  09:57 PM ET, 03/22/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General

Posted at 02:26 PM ET, 10/06/2008

This Just In: OPUS, and Breathed, to Retire Next Month...
By Michael Cavna
Cartoonist Berkeley Breathed is announcing today that not only will he retire his weekly strip "Opus" on Nov. 2 -- right before the election -- but that he himself is also walking away from his 30-year career in cartooning. His...

By Michael Cavna  |  02:26 PM ET, 10/06/2008 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  General