Strip Search
A podcast where “Pet Peeves” cartoonists Dave London and Pete Chianca interview cartooning professionals and talk comic strips, comic books and illustration. (And maybe crack a few gags along the way.)
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Episode 47, Jonathan Todd
03/24/2024
Episode 47, Jonathan Todd
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 cartoonists.
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Episode 46, The Return of Will Henry
02/08/2024
Episode 46, The Return of Will Henry
"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!
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Episode 45, Pat Sandy and Ruben congratulations
10/10/2023
Episode 45, Pat Sandy and Ruben congratulations
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!
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Episode 44, Heide Solbrig and LJ Baptiste
09/11/2023
Episode 44, Heide Solbrig and LJ Baptiste
“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 talk to hosts Dave London and Pete Chianca about the program, the Boston comics scene, and their own upcoming projects.
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Episode 43, Boston Kids Comics Fest Preview
05/29/2023
Episode 43, Boston Kids Comics Fest Preview
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 like this are important for kids, and the explosion of comics as a medium and kids' comics in particular.
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Episode 42, Cagen Luse & ZeroSnake
04/23/2023
Episode 42, Cagen Luse & ZeroSnake
Strip Search hosts Dave London and Pete Chianca sit down with Boston cartoonist Cagen Luse, creator of the LunchTime Comix strip in Dig Boston, and manga artist and animator Tyrone Motley, better known as ZeroSnake, to talk about the , coming April 29, 2023, to the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury, Massachusetts.
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Episode 41, Jimmy Craig
03/24/2023
Episode 41, Jimmy Craig
Fans of both comics and animals are clearly listening to what Jimmy Craig’s creatures have to say. In the seven years since he launched his comic strip "," it's amassed 615,000 followers on Instagram, 658,000 on Facebook, and has spawned two books; the latest, “Are You Gonna Eat That?” from Ulysses Press, hits shelves this month. Dave and Pete caught up with Craig to talk about talking to the animals, and them talking back.
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Episode 40, Joel Christian Gill
02/28/2023
Episode 40, Joel Christian Gill
The 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, “,” 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.)
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Episode 39, Christopher Weyant
02/09/2023
Episode 39, Christopher Weyant
Christopher Weyant has not just one, but two of the best jobs in cartooning. First off, he’s a New Yorker cartoonist, where he’s spent 25 years making light of, well, anything and everything. He’s also an editorial cartoonist, often for the Boston Globe, skewering the powerful and pointing out the absurdity that seems to run more and more rampant in the halls of power these days. He sat down with Dave and Pete to talk about his dual career, how he got into cartooning, and how he approaches his work. Plus, what it's like to be a fellow! (A Harvard Nieman Fellow, that is.)
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Episode 38, Harry Bliss
12/22/2022
Episode 38, Harry Bliss
is a longtime New Yorker cartoonist with thousands of gag panels and several dozen covers under his belt, and — more recently — the collaborator with comedy legend Steve Martin on a series of books: 2020’s “A Wealth of Pigeons,” and this year’s bestselling “Number One is Walking,” a series of comic book-style illustrated anecdotes about Martin’s film career. He sat down with Dave and Pete to talk about how that partnership came about and what Steve is like to work with, along with a deep dive into his cartooning style, his favorite cartoons and cartoonists, and his early days in the cartooning biz.
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Episode 37, Kellen Paul/Community Art Center
12/09/2022
Episode 37, Kellen Paul/Community Art Center
You may not have heard of the comic book “Kellen the Kid.” Yet. But odds are pretty good that someday you will. It’s one of several comic books and strips created by Kellen Paul, a 9-year-old cartoonist and illustrator who’s been plying his trade at the Community Art Center in his hometown of Cambridge, Mass., and whose work has taken the center by storm. Kellen — accompanied by the center’s director of programs, Sarah Winter, and Jada Alleyne, the center’s school-age program manager — joins Dave and Pete on Strip Search: The Comic Strip Podcast to talk about cartooning and what the center is doing to help hundreds of kids get in touch with their creativity every year. (And also to give Dave and Pete a few cartooning tips.) Also, in the intro: A discussion of #Schulz100, the 100th birthday tribute to "Peanuts" creator Charles M. Schulz.
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Episode 36, Zach Clemente of MICE
10/10/2022
Episode 36, Zach Clemente of MICE
Outreach Co-Director Zach Clemente — also the founder of the Boston-based comics publisher Bulgilhan Press — joins Pete and Dave to talk about how MICE plans to come roaring back this year bigger and better than ever. (But still with plenty of holdovers that people are sure to recognize at their new location at Boston University.) Also: Learn about your chance to meet Pet Peeves at the event Oct. 15!
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Episode 35, Ruben Bolling
10/04/2022
Episode 35, Ruben Bolling
He just won the 2022 National Cartoonists Society's Reuben Award for Editorial Cartooning, and he's saving the world from Donald Trump one comic strip at a time. And now, is on Strip Search! Pete and Dave talk to Ruben about their shared background — Go Fighting Jumbos! — how the strip "Tom the Dancing Bug" became so political, and Bolling's tips and tricks for doing great cartoon satire.
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Episode 34, Bob Eckstein
08/10/2022
Episode 34, Bob Eckstein
The acclaimed cartoonist and author returns to Strip Search to talk to Dave London & Pete Chianca about his new book, "," plus the return of bookstores, refining the perfect cartoon idea, making the most out of the least lines, and much more.
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Episode 33, Crowden Satz
07/11/2022
Episode 33, Crowden Satz
is one of the funniest and most prolific single-panel gag cartoonist in the biz, and now he's telling the tricks of the trade to Dave London and Pet Chianca on the latest Strip Search comic strip podcast. Also: Dave and Pete on the new comic strip "Crabgrass," "Thor: Love and Thunder," and also on their plan to pull a Kate Bush with their 1980s comic strip, "Swidey."
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Episode 32, Keith Knight
06/01/2022
Episode 32, Keith Knight
Keith Knight — the man behind the nationally syndicated comic strips — goes deep with Dave and Pete on his Hulu TV show “,” his "" project, and what’s next for the cartoonist, activist and erstwhile Michael Jackson impersonator.
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Episode 31, David Milgrim
05/04/2022
Episode 31, David Milgrim
In the latest "Strip Search" podcast, Pete and Dave sit down with "Goodnight iPad" author David Milgrim to talk about society's technology troubles, the dangers of Elon Musk buying Twitter, and his own latest projects — including a series of comic essays and a brand new strip in the offing.
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Episode 30, Cagen Luse & Pat Sandy
04/10/2022
Episode 30, Cagen Luse & Pat Sandy
It's two (two!) guests for the price of one in this month's episode of Strip Search, when "Pet Peeves" cartoonists Dave London & Pete Chianca welcome Cagen Luse of Comics in Color, talking about this year's all-in-person festival in Boston, coming April 23; and Pat Sandy, the cartoonist behind the hilarious "Next Door Neighbors," discussing his new comic strip collection.
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Episode 29, David Sipress
03/06/2022
Episode 29, David Sipress
In this episode of "Strip Search: The Comic Strip Podcast," "" cartoonists Dave London & Pete Chianca interview — one of The New Yorker magazine’s most well-known contributors — about his wonderful new memoir “What’s So Funny,” a cartoonist’s origin story that delves into tortured family dynamics and hard-learned life lessons that can make you cringe and chuckle all at once. Also: Dave and Pete have mixed emotions on the "Bloom County" TV show; a plug for the latest must-have comic strip compilation; and the usual banter.
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Episode 28, Hillary Chute
02/04/2022
Episode 28, Hillary Chute
In this episode of "Strip Search: The Comic Strip Podcast," "Pet Peeves" cartoonists Dave London & Pete Chianca go deep with Hillary Chute, a Distinguished Professor of English and Art & Design at Northeastern University and comics scholar, about the banning of Art Spiegelman's "Maus"; the rise of comics in popular culture; the shift in "adult" comics from underground to the mainstream; graphic novels for beginners; and much more.
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