Episode 52, Jeff Kinney of 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid'
Strip Search
A self-described failed cartoonist, Jeff Kinney spent eight years developing his first “” novel after syndicates passed on his daily comic strip. Within a few years after that, he found himself with a hit book series and a movie in the works (the first of many), and he’s since become the steward of a worldwide franchise that shows no signs of abating. Plus, he gives back every day to his community of Plainville, Massachusetts, via his bookstore, . How cool is that? For some reason, Jeff sat down with London & Chianca for a wide-ranging interview on Strip Search: The Comic Strip...
info_outline
Episode 51, Kim Tomsic and Mark Parisi
Strip Search
Kim Tomsic, the author of middle-grade novels like “The 11:11 Wish” and “The 12th Candle,” and nonfiction books like “The Elephants Come Home,” has teamed up with "Off The Mark" cartoonist and author Mark Parisi for the new she-said, he-said illustrated diary book “The Truth About 5th Grade,” published by HarperCollins. And what a book it is! Find out all about it when the pair appears on the latest episode of Strip Search. Also, Dave goes behind the scenes at the latest Rhode Island Comic Con.
info_outline
Episode 50, Maria Scrivan
Strip Search
Since getting her start with her hilarious single-panel comic “,” which is syndicated nationally by Andrews-McMeel, Maria Scrivan has thrown herself into her graphic novel work, and the result seems to have been as much fun for her readers as for herself: 2020’s “” was an instant New York Times bestseller, and the series’ popularity has only grown since. We sat down with Maria to talk about cartooning, graphic novels, and surviving middle school. Plus: Dave's review of the "" at Norman Rockwell Museum!
info_outline
Episode 49, Phil Witte & Rex Hesner on 'Funny Stuff'
Strip Search
If a panel cartoon is good enough, it can wind up adorning kitchen refrigerators, office bulletin boards, and social media feeds for years on end. So how do panel cartoonists do it, with artwork that can sometimes amount to no more than a few scrawled lines, and text that might comprise just a few words? It’s a question that, apparently, haunted Phil Witte and Rex Hesner — so much so that they wrote a book about it, “.” Well, the impetus was actually a little more complicated than that, as you'll hear when Dave London and Pete Chianca sit down with Phil and Rex for the latest episode...
info_outline
Episode 48, Bob Eckstein Talks Museums
Strip Search
Bob Eckstein may, by his own admission, not have especially enjoyed being dragged to museums by his parents as a child. But something changed along the way, which is readily apparent If you take a look at Bob’s new book, “” It features 155 beautifully painted depictions of more than 75 museums in North America, accompanied by stories that help get to the essence of what makes them so special. Creating the paintings wasn’t as difficult an undertaking as it sounds, according to Eckstein. “What I did was based on what the museum called for — I simply was the background music to the...
info_outline
Episode 47, Jonathan Todd
Strip Search
Trigger warning: If you would rather not remember what middle school was like, you may not want to read “Timid,” the new middle-grade graphic novel by local cartoonist and illustrator Jonathan Todd, coming April 2 from . But if you happen to be in middle school right now, or know someone who is, it’s unlikely you’ll find a better depiction of just how fraught and awkward those years can be. Dave and Pete find out how Jonathan did it when he appears on the latest Strip Search podcast! Also, we discuss the latest collateral damage from Gannett's comics page "consolidation": female...
info_outline
Episode 46, The Return of Will Henry
Strip Search
"Wallace the Brave" cartoonist Will Henry is far from the first person to find himself on the short end of the cost-cutting stick when it comes to corporate newspaper ownership. But he’s one of the few whose brush with the harsh realities of modern journalism had a happy ending. For his second time on "Strip Search" (check out his ), Will shares that story, gives us an update on what's up with "Wallace" — now and possibly down the road — and talks with Dave about pens. (Lots of pens.) Also, find out what Dave and Pete have in store for their comic strip "Pet Peeves" in 2024!
info_outline
Episode 45, Pat Sandy and Ruben congratulations
Strip Search
It's ironic: We'd never want the Deweys as our next door neighbors, but as for Pat Sandy — creator of the Deweys in the comic strip "Next Door Neighbors" — we could talk to him all day! Join in as Dave and Pete discuss past "Peanuts," Pat's drawing style, and what went into his new collection "Block Party." Also, we revisit past interviews with two 2023 Ruben Award winners, Christopher Weyant and Will Henry!
info_outline
Episode 44, Heide Solbrig and LJ Baptiste
Strip Search
“Cartoonist” sounds like one of those jobs that would be cool to have, but how does one go about getting there? Well, turns out there is no one way, says , a cartoonist and media scholar who teaches art, comics and media studies throughout Boston. That’s one of the reasons why she — along with LJ Baptiste, another art educator and cartoonist from Boston, whose comic series has been running since 2012 — have developed a certificate program at MassArt to help would-be cartoonists figure out where to start. Both of them are this month's guests on Strip Search, where they...
info_outline
Episode 43, Boston Kids Comics Fest Preview
Strip Search
With comics and graphic novels being among the during the recent about what’s on the shelves at school and public libraries, some might forget the role the medium has played in turning millions of kids onto reading — not to mention providing joy, fun, and excitement to generations of readers. The — coming June 3, 2023 at Northeastern University — is here to remind you. Hosts Dave London and Pete Chianca devote the full episode to a discussion with fest COO Meena Jain, co-founder and creator liaison Tony Davis, and talking about what to expect from the event, why gatherings...
info_outlineThe inaugural chair of the Master of Fine Arts in Visual Narrative at Boston University, Joel Christian Gill recently talked to Strip Search about the exhibit he curated there, “Comics Is A Medium, Not a Genre,” running through March 24, 2023. It’s a free exhibit that covers a century and a half of American comic books, comic strips, graphic novels and more, in an attempt to show how comics can tell any kind of story to any age group or demographic. (Not just kids, in other words.)
“It becomes this really pure art form,” Gill says, explaining that comics, with their unique blend of words and visuals, have a way of reaching readers that other media might not. “It teaches you things because it talks to you on this subconscious level,” he says. Gill talked about curating the exhibit, about his own work — including the great graphic novel series "Strange Fruit" — and about why comics sometimes scare people to death.
Also: Dave and Pete discuss the big announcement that "Calvin and Hobbes" creator Bill Watterson is coming back to comics! (Sort of.)