Archive for March, 2009
Washington “Coffin Nail”
Tuesday, March 31st, 2009Thanks again to all who responded to the Washington Post’s deleting of Pooch from its pages. Even though the Post received hundreds of objections to this, they seem to have fallen into the void created by the eyebrow-raisingly huge complaint numbers generated by the dropping of Judge Parker. I have never read Judge Parker so can’t, um, judge it, but it has become apparent to me that there must still be a huge percentage of comics page readers that I know nothing about.
Washington Post columnist Gene Weingarten speculates that the strips that were chopped may have been so-selected because they are more wordy, noting that the sizes of the remaining strips shrunk, creating further demands on readers’ eyesight. He very kindly defends Pooch, saying “There is no reasonable process of analysis that concludes that “Hagar the Horrible,” which we still run, is a worthier strip than “Pooch Cafe,” which died yesterday. None. You could assemble a thousand smart, funny people in a room (okay, they’d have to be under 70 years old) and have them read a month of both strips, and their vote would be damn near unanimous. One of these strips has ideas, and textured characters, and a funny edge. The other is Hagar the Horrible.” Thanks, Gene! He also states that this comic change “has the feel not of a bandage but of a coffin nail.” The full article can be read here.
The newspaper industry has been shrinking for some time now, and the recession sure hasn’t helped. But this drop is particularly disheartening for this little chronicler of the modern dog, being that the Washington Post is a paper that puts (or put) comics on a pedestal, carrying (still) more than most and syndicating some strips of their own. To find out Pooch doesn’t make the top 95% of a paper such as the Post is a bleak omen indeed.
3.D Poncho
Monday, March 30th, 2009
Just re-posting this 3.D Poncho so it appears in the pantheon of other guest drawings. For the how-to, click here.
At The Beach
Sunday, March 29th, 2009
This is one of those panels from a daily strip that I think works, now looking back on it, as a stand-alone panel. It’s sort of interesting to take a panel out of context with the rest of the strip and see what it feels like. Or it seems interesting to me, anyway. Fish survived, btw, and went down one dress size.
Cat Pillow
Saturday, March 28th, 2009
Here’s a pic sent in by Jerry Greene of nowhere in particular. Not sure if this is a shot he took or a shot he found, but it is very casually Poncho-esque, reminiscent of strips such as:
Pooch Minus Poncho
Thursday, March 26th, 2009Well well! Perhaps inspired by Poncho’s disappearance in a few papers recently, (thanks to those who voted in the Washington Post poll) Shane Davis (yes, THE Shane Davis, the man behind Poncho’s chronicle of Austin, Texas), has decided to show us what Pooch would look like disappearing in stages.
“I would normally never, ever touch another cartoonists work BUT! I have been laughing my butt off at the new take on Garfield, the “Garfield Minus Garfield” strip,” writes Shane. “Well *ahem* I wondered what Pooch Cafe would look like if something similar ever happened…”
This formula really is effective on pretty much any strip. Anyone try “Marmaduke Minus Marmaduke” yet?
Poncho In Clarksville
Tuesday, March 24th, 2009CLARKSVILLE, TENNESSEE
Poncho’s latest trip has found him Tennessee way, hosted very kindly by Peggy Bonnington. Here we see him at the Customs House Museum; at Clarksville’s historic Courthouse, beautifully restored since the 1999 tornado destruction; visiting historic Dog Hill (he thinks Clarksville should rename it Pooch Hill); some beautiful rooftop architecture; competing in a raised-nose competition with a local reptile; an undisclosed street of some comeliness; and pestering some poor sod while he’s either trying to get some work done or get a nap in (sources were not specific).
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Poncho Tattoo
Sunday, March 22nd, 2009
Shane Davis hit the mark while taking Poncho around Austin, Texas a few weeks back, inadvertantly predicting a strip that appeared right around the same time with Poncho remarking (threatening?) to get a tattoo. Here are a few shots from Shane’s landmark Austin photoshoot of Poncho taking the plan a step further:
Washington Post To Put Pooch Out
Saturday, March 21st, 2009
Apparently the Washington Post is intending to drop a few comics, including the one which features so regularly on this particular site (hint: the initials are “P.C.”) If there are any readers of the Post who do not favor this decision, reader voices are sometimes heard, so you may sound yours by writing to the comics page editor at:
comics@washpost.com
Also there’s a poll being done where you can vote on these comic changes (and/or comment) here:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/comic-riffs/2009/03/the_post_poll_which_dropped_co.html
Poncho Icons
Thursday, March 19th, 2009
These are the 4 latest Poncho Icons posted in the Poncho Icon gallery. A little like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. For some reason Poncho just seems even more unsettling doing something like learning or acting zen.
Poncho Look-Alike
Wednesday, March 18th, 2009
Boris - submitted by M. Lawther, Cambridge, Ontario
Olde Boston X Bantam Bulldogge Cross. More Look-Alikes here.
Better Off Pooch
Tuesday, March 17th, 2009Pooch fan Doug Newman of Columbus, MS saw some of the parody Pooch movie posters and decided to make up a “quick-and-dirty Photoshop version of one of my favorite cult classics - 1985’s “Better Off Dead” with John Cusack.”
Yup, That Was Cerebus
Saturday, March 14th, 2009
For those who felt an odd familiarity towards one of the denizens of the realm of Droolia’s armpit and queried, yes that is indeed a tip of the hat to one of the heroes of my younger comic-reading days, Dave Sim’s Cerebus The Aardvark, a brilliant self-published comic-book series that began as a simple parody of Conan The Barbarian but evolved into the “longest sustained narrative in human history,” encompassing after 300 issues such topics as religion, politics, indentured servitude, and Oscar Wilde. An impressive and thrilling feat.
Guest Drawing
Thursday, March 12th, 2009
Guest drawing here by New Zealander Angela Wing of Poncho, or at least “his Maori cousin” She says she “kiwi-fied him a little”. I think its kiwrific! (ooh, stretch). More guest drawings here.
Advance Panel
Tuesday, March 10th, 2009
Uh, Poo Poo, the Karate Kid stood ON the garbage can, not… Well, forget I said anything, I can see you’re a little busy right now…
Quality Strip Collections
Sunday, March 8th, 2009Fellow Universal cartoonist and good friend Phil Dunlap draws and writes the wonderful and original strip Ink Pen and has just released his first collection. For those who don’t know it, this strip is highly inventive and expertly drawn, and uses a lot of superhero lore for it’s cannon fodder (which as a prodigy of Mighty Marvel, I dig highly). I highly recommend it, and not just ’cause I wrote the intro. Available at Amazon.
Another wildly innovative comic — available only on the web — is The Dada Detective, by Steph Freese, Dave Milloway, and Matt Wood. The second collection of this excellently drafted film noire spoof came out recently, which coincidentally I also wrote the intro for (after I looked up what the heck “Dadaism” was). It’s available from online publisher Lulu here.
Movie News!
Friday, March 6th, 2009
A few months ago the latest treatment I handed in to Sony got a thorough going-over, and the responses were extremely favorable. One higher-level exec in particular “loves loves loves” Pooch, and has pronounced it his “favorite”. This is especially great to hear, since the studio guard changed since Pooch was first optioned, and projects brought into studios by other execs who are no longer there tend not to get made, as the new execs like to only make the projects that they themselves initiated. But it seems Pooch has tip-toed through the fire, and is now one of their “top priorities.”
A producer with a very impressive list of credentials has now been invited to join in. We have a phone conference scheduled for next week, and I will be flying to Hollywood in April to meet with him and the other Sony people involved so far.
The notes that were given on my story have made it necessary to tear it down and for the most part begin again, but the overall comments about the basic world and characters were so enthusiastic that it still felt very, very positive. They’ve assured me repeatedly that they’re dedicated to preserving my “unique voice” in the film, and the producer mentioned above is apparently a new fan of Pooch and is known for helping preserve source material when ushering it onto film.
New Poncho’s Travels!
Wednesday, March 4th, 2009AUSTIN, TEXAS
Shane Davis and his wife really pulled out all the stops for Ponchos’ trip to the great state of Texas. As Shane states, “Everything in Texas is bigger, including the number of pictures we took.” They really had some fun, and there were so many to choose from, some will be saved for future blog posts. Here below are the picks of the litter: The majestic Texas State Capitol built in 1888; The Great Seal in the Capitol Rotunda displaying the Six Flags that have flown over Texas (that’s our guy right in the center); The Texas Governor’s Desk in his Reception Room (used to sign bills into law); The Driskell Hotel; the Pennybacker Bridge; Portrait of Audie Murphy; St. Mary Cathedral; The Littlefield House on the University of Texas campus, built in 1893; an early morning horse back ride; a REAL 5 ft long Western Diamondback rattlesnake!!!; enjoying a fine after-dinner cigar at Bobalu’s; one of several 10 ft. concrete guitars scattered downtown celebrating Austin’s role as the Live Music Capitol of the World; sitting in with flamenco salsa band The Brew at “The Oasis” restaurant; winding down watching the sun set in the enormous Texas sky over Lake Travis. Simply fantastic!
Almost Time…..
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009
…for more Poncho’s Travels pics! The shots from Texas should arrive tomorrow. In the meantime, here’s the little dickens boarding the plane for Tennessee. Expect some complaints about the airline food….
Poo Poo Look-Alike
Monday, March 2nd, 2009
Romeo submitted by Vic Bhai, Brampton, Ontario
We’ve got a great looking little Poo Poo here named “Romeo” (Droolia would be pleased). Vic says “he’s mostly Shih-Tsu with a bit of Maltese blood in him. He’s got Poo Poo’s “Backstreet boy” haircut, and my sister’s always talking about putting pink bows in his hair (I’m not making that up!).” While he’s still looking for his Juliet, he plays hard to get with some of the larger lady dogs. Sorta fits well with the recent series of Poo Poo in the snowstorm.