Archive for January, 2010
Saturday, January 30th, 2010
Look-Alike
Thursday, January 28th, 2010
Caleb - submitted by Kevin Stahnke from Austin, Texas.
“He’s a melon-headed pitbull who is giving his best charm-school smile for the photo. We had just finished swimming at the local lake and clearly life was agreeing with him on this day. He’s quite the character and much like Poncho he always seems to be getting up to trouble but his heart’s in the right place.”
Colors
Monday, January 25th, 2010
Great color design is a wonderful thing. I can sometimes please myself with the colors I’ve thrown around, usually if it works it happens right off the bat, but if I’ve missed it, it somehow becomes impossible to get it right. People who get it right every time blow my mind, Lynn Varley, Sean “Cheeks” Galloway, Michael “The Norm” Jantze, pour example.
I also learned many years ago, first from a senior at the ad agency I worked at out of college that blowing up a small drawing can give it a really sweet quality. Somehow imperfections become sensitive and interesting.
The covers of the new Peanuts collections embody both of these things quite elegantly, designed by celebrated cartoonist Seth. Just for fun I decided to borrow his aesthetic from “The Complete Peanuts” volume #1 and apply it to a Chazz doodle. What Seth has done is deceptively simple, yet brilliant, I wish I’d conjured it first.
NCSF Scholarship
Saturday, January 23rd, 2010
The National Cartoonist Society Foundation gives an annual scholarship to a budding cartoonist in the name of Jay Kennedy. For information click here.
The Patron Saint of Lost Pork Chops
Friday, January 22nd, 2010
Hey, where are all the communion wafers?
Poncho’s Travels
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010Switzerland
Well, it has to be said, Poncho is far more traveled than I and as if scouting around America’s capital wasn’t cultural enough, here he is traversing the Swiss Alps!
Christian Mosimann and Alexa Burger took Poncho with him on their recent visit to Switzerland. Taking to the snow like a pooch to a kibble bag, here is the fella gearing up for his first snow-boarding lesson (safety first of course); then confidence overcame him and he shed the helmet to flaunt his features for the Scandinavian ladies; heading up to higher slopes; tasting a delicious culinary marvel - the fondue; contemplating nature and finally looking out over to the Italian Alps.
Great photos guys and, even though I’m not a fan of the cold, I can appreciate what absolutely stunning scenery you had to enjoy your holiday.
Print Sale - Wow!
Saturday, January 16th, 2010The holiday season’s over - but maybe you’re stocking up on some bargain goodies for 2010? Or thinking of the perfect gift to get that hard-to-buy-for person? Well, that’s enough pat commercial jargon, we’re selling the limited merch on The Pooch Store at rock bottom prices. (”Everything must go!” “We’re CRAZY!”).
Get both color printed Sundays on top quality card, together with a set of decals - all for the low, low price of $25 (including P&P)!!! That’s right - just $25 and these three items can be all yours.
Bypass the store and just send us an email if you want this deal, letting us know your preferred method of payment (PayPal or check), your mailing addy and how you’d like the prints personalized.
Prints are limited so get in quick for this offer!
Panels
Thursday, January 14th, 2010
Here’s a progression of panels from pencils to inks to colors. Nothing fancy in the technique, other than the fact that I still draw with pen and paper, from what I’m hearing that is becoming a rarer thing. So far I’m sticking to it, I just like it better. I have a painfully clear vision of me with a long, grey beard yelling at pod-children to get off my space grass, and then returning to my home-pulped paper and rusty drawing implements smuggled in from the former Soviet Union. The children (having no fear of me at all) will peek through the windows and point and laugh, as I will also have failed to put on pants.
Lordy Lordy Look Who’s Ten-y
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010An illustrious (sic) anniversary passed by recently which a good friend of mine pointed out that I forgot to observe: The Pooch Café 10th anniversary. Yes indeed, Pooch Café debuted on Jan 4th, 2000, “the first comic of the new millennium”. It appeared in about 20 papers, including The Globe And Mail and the San Diego Union-Tribune, two papers that have been kind enough to print every Pooch strip ever created (except that one where it accidentally looked like Poncho was “aroused”). Poncho has drank a lot of toilet water and stained a lot of carpets since then. Thanks to readers old and new for partaking of the journey. A wag to you all.
Incongruous Advance Panel of the Day
Sunday, January 10th, 2010
“Do you speak English?” “Parlez vous Francais?” “Sprechen sie Deutsch?” “Quack?”
Poncho’s Travels
Saturday, January 9th, 2010Washington DC
Roger and Annika Albright gave Poncho a great tour of the Capital. Here we see him paying respects at the Iwo Jima memorial; waxing philosophical with Mr Einstein; solving the world’s problems with Lincoln; catching up with Nixon outside the Watergate complex; giving himself the heebie-jeebies on the (in)famous Exorcist staircase; and finally lamenting over his rejection from The Washington Post. You guys did a great job - thanks so much!
Off To A Great 2010
Wednesday, January 6th, 2010A very nice report from the excellent sales team at Universal Press: 10 new newspapers are kicking off the new year with Pooch, including The Houston Chronicle, The Washington Olympian, Indiana Tribune, and a bunch of fine papers in North Carolina. Sweetest of sweet biscuits!
Got ‘em! Got ‘em!
Monday, January 4th, 2010My good friend Jen found this clip on Pet Tube, and it reminded her of the “classic” Pooch (seen in the “classic dailies” Pooch section) of Poncho mistaking his own feet as targets while wearing bunny slippers. To see the vid click here.
The Year Of The Pooch
Saturday, January 2nd, 2010
This haunting shape was spotted by loyal Pooch fans CS and JM in Hamburg. “No editing involved”, writes CS, “but any idea what the second eye means?” It can only be a Prophecy Of Doom. Or perhaps he drank too much blue toilet water again.