Archive for February, 2009
Not For Any Reason….
Saturday, February 28th, 2009
…but here’s a drawing of Carmen and Poncho from an upcoming daily that I sort of like. I just like the way Poncho’s head is peeking up, telegraphing trouble. I think I got this half-visible head poking up thing from the great Bill Watterson, although I’m sure Schultz and others did it too.
Dog Does Not Eat Homework
Thursday, February 26th, 2009Elizabeth Munoz, a Poncho Facebook friend, and teacher from Montreal, has let me know that she uses Pooch Cafe as a teaching tool for her English as Second Language class to help them learn to speak and use grammar. She says the recent series with Poncho’s brother Orlando was used in the following ways:
1. I use it to teach North American humor.
2. It is a great source of NEW vocabulary and bringing fun into the class.
3. I white-out all the dialogue and students have to imagine what Poncho is
saying.
4. We held a small debate on whether love or money was more important.
5. We are debating sibling rivalry on Tuesday.
(that’s teacher Elizabeth in the center)
“Believe it or not, my students (who range between 18 and 30 yrs. of age) are
expecting me to bring in the comic strip!” says Elizabeth. ” I just thought I’d use the strip
twice and boy was I wrong. So you’ve been my “warm up” for my class every
morning. “ The students are from Spain, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil,
Mexico, Korea, Japan and Lybia. Impresionante! (I think that’s Spanish for “awesome”).
Separated At Birth?
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009
Sarah Irish of Peru, ME, is a big fan (as am I) of the East Coast Canadian show Trailer Park Boys. She and her boyfriend saw the recent posts of Poncho’s peepers and noticed a startling similarity between him and the TPB character “Bubbles.” Good “eye”, Sarah!
Where’d You Get Those Peepers
Monday, February 23rd, 2009Ah, seems that I got the wrong “big eye” strip the first time out. Further information reveals this to be the pupil-popping strip question:
And here, for more big-eye fun, is the follow-up to the can-opener scientists experiment:
Mighty Monk Coffee
Sunday, February 22nd, 2009
Just a little job I finished for a coffee company called Mighty Monk. Love being able to implement some of my old superhero comic stylings. This man of the cloth looks uncomfortably energetic.
Poncho’s Pupils
Saturday, February 21st, 2009There is chatter once in a while when a pupil appears suddenly in one of Poncho’s eyes, as it did several times in the recent strip where Poncho’s brother Orlando reveals some devilish qualities, much to Poncho’s alarm. I love the usual blankness of Poncho’s features, but sometimes you just can’t properly express the feeling of abject horror or terror without a tiny shrunken pupil. Some readers like to make note of pupil appearances, and one mentioned a strip that first ran back in 2005 where lots of pupils (and irises) were peppered throughout the dog troop due to the wearing of thick, scholarly spectacles. Here, I think, is the strip being referred to, in it’s eye-popping glory.
The Shape Of Stains To Come
Thursday, February 19th, 2009As we all know, the occasional ‘butt drag’ in the grass is a necessary evil, however enjoyable it may be. My question is, what do I do about those embarrassing green stains on my rump?
Ranger, Texas
PONCHO:
With a name like “Ranger” I’m guessing that you’re not a Bichon Frise “best in show” type dog, so who cares about some grass stains? Okay, being a white-furred dog I do understand that sometimes those marks can come out in an unfortunate shape; I once walked around the dog park all day with a stain that looked just like Ryan Seacrest. It’s times like that when you find out who your friends really are. But generally, Ranger, don’t worry about it, just let the good times roll.
Doggie Look-Alike
Wednesday, February 18th, 2009
Sam submitted by Andree Bergmann
This is Sam. He loves to bark at squirrels, nap, and play ball. He hates baths and cats. Here he is sleeping with his favorite squirrel. He lives in Stuttgart Germany. According to Andree, not only looks a lot like Poncho but that he also has a lot of similar personality traits. Not sure Poncho would get that close to a squirrel, real or fake, but otherwise I’d say Sam’s channeling him well.
Guest Drawing
Sunday, February 15th, 2009
Here’s a guest drawing by Steven Golem. Looks like he’s simmering after another thwarted plan to dominate the world or mooch a piece of hamburger. Very angsty, I love it! (more guest drawings here).
Poncho And Boomer’s Hallucinatory Journey (part #2)
Wednesday, February 11th, 2009Here is part #2 of the boys’ baked-out journey. For those who are starting here, you may wish to begin with part #1 (below) to preserve chronological integrity.
Poncho And Boomer’s Hallucinatory Journey (part #1)
Monday, February 9th, 2009I mentioned this series below on the chat board a while back, it raised some curiosity since it never appeared in any of the early books despite running in those early years. I thought when I was doing it that it would be this interesting thing not normally seen on the comics page (outside of Zippy The Pinhead panels anyway), and that it may be lauded as ground breaking or at least as controversial. The sad true fact is that it got not a single reaction from anybody (the sound of head-scratching is usually pretty quiet). This was done when Pooch was still with Copely and was running in a relatively small number of papers and I didn’t have the watchful eye of Mr. Glynn to keep me from running rampant. Not sure if a Beatle-esque drug escapade would make it through to the printed page today, and so this is probably a topic the guys shan’t be revisiting any time soon.
Here, then, presented without pride but for curiosity and posterity purposes, part 1 of Poncho and Boomer’s Bad Trip (yes, part 2 gets even freakier).
A New Batch of Ponchos?
Friday, February 6th, 2009If Poncho wasn’t neutered, this could happen. Saints preserve us.
Poncho 3.D
Thursday, February 5th, 2009This was sent in by a rather clever, progressive thinking reader who asked to remain anonymous when I posted it. Isn’t is sweet? Take a bow, mysterious one!
The Ins And Outs Of Pooch
Monday, February 2nd, 2009Apparently Pooch was dropped from The Gwinnett Daily Post recently. But I was contacted by an editor at that paper doing a story about the public outcry over Pooch’s disappearance. The system works! Seriously, I didn’t know about the cancellation or response until the editor informed me, but much thanks to everyone in the area who supported.
Another fan has just informed me that Pooch has now disappeared from the Tribune-Democrat in Pennsylvania. Not sure how recently that happened, but if there are any Pooch Blog readers here from that area and they happen to like Pooch, the “this is an outrage” system seems to sometimes bear fruit, so if you’re so inclined you can address a letter to the “Comics Page Editor” at this addy:
The Tribune-Democrat
425 Locust St
PO Box 340
Johnstown PA 15907-0340
or ajohns@tribdem.com
…and express your opinion. I know for this purpose the Mailman will have to be utilized, but in this particular case perhaps we can overlook our differences.
Un-Advanced Panel
Monday, February 2nd, 2009
Not and advance panel this time, but an older panel. Just one I like with Poncho’s inner self really showing.
Sorry it’s been so long since a Poncho’s Travels post, readers. The Christmas season and inclimate weather conspired to keep Poncho in Chicago longer than expected, and currently he’s in transit, we’re all hoping nothing untoward has befallen him, hopefully he’ll reappear from post office limbo in the next few days.