Neatorama’s own Adam Koford made this delightful mashup of Doctor Who and Peanuts. The Sopwith Camel could be a major advantage to a species that struggles with stairs.

Link via Super Punch | Adam’s Website

Though Pearl’s official biography claims that she was born in Van Cortlandt Park, she was actually conceived and executed by Adam Koford, an illustrator and cartoonist who lives in Utah and works for Disney Interactive there. She began life as Curtis the Squirrel, but switched genders at the suggestion of, depending on whom you ask, either parks staff members or Mr. Koford’s 8-year-old son, Damon.

Mr. Koford, noting Pearl’s open stance and perky tail, said she was “designed to be sort of a welcoming presence -– something that conveys the fact that the parks are a fun environment.” [...]

Mr. Koford credited his children with Pearl’s existence (he had three children at the time, and has added one more).

“It was the kids’ decision to do a squirrel,” he said. “We almost went with an owl, or one of the hawks that live alongside Central Park, but the squirrel was a bit funner to draw.”

Congrats! Link – Thanks Amy Koford!

The baby boy is yet to be named, but because he was born yesterday on 3-2-10, "Ignition Blast-Off" is tops in the running. Link – via Apelad Tweets

To celebrate his blog’s third year, John Struan of Super Punch invited 70 of his favorite artists to create tarot cards. The first 17 are done and posted on his blog. Check it out: Link (Happy 3rd Blogiversary, John!)

Arch Enemy T-Shirt by Adam Koford

Our pal Adam "Ape Lad" Koford has a new line of colorful T-shirts over at the Neatorama Shop that'll make the perfect Christmas gift. The shirts are based on some of his tweets.

Help support Adam and Neatorama, and get a great T-shirt to boot! Check 'em out:

If Snow Was Frosting	A Way to Spice Up a Meeting	Wrapped in Bacon
Minding the Gap	Higgs Boson	Execution vs. Ideas

Part of Neatorama's Christmas Special, where purchase of every item gets a free Mystery Bonus: Link

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Ape Lad.

Along Adam himself, Shirt.Woot will feature three exceptionally talented artists: Mark Frauenfelder of Boing Boing and MAKE Magazine, R. Stevens, creator of the Diesel Sweeties webcomic, and Mitch "Spacesick" Ansara (of the "I Can Read Movies" series fame).

The first T-shirt is The Evil That Men Do Except Instead Of Men It’s A Kite, by Adam Koford:

Check it out here: Link – Thanks Adam, and good luck!

It has taken us just a little over two weeks to ship, which is a significant improvement over the Mystery Sale back in February. While many of you got your shipments within just a few days, some of you are still waiting. The latest wave of shipments will take a few business days to arrive (a bit longer if you’re outside of the United States because of customs clearance). I appreciate your patience – your packages are on their way! Meanwhile, we’ll continue to work to improve the item selections and shipping time.

Many of you have gotten Adam Koford’s latest book, the Laugh-Out-Loud Cats Sell Out. At the list price of $12.95, it’s a steal! Plus, be sure to check the front jacket – Adam has kindly signed a Neatorama book plate you can affix to the book. It’s surely going to be a collector’s item!

I’ve been slacking on my posting duties on Neatorama – so, I’m looking forward to getting back on that horse … after I catch my breath!

My, my, my – it has been a month since we last had a Caption Monkey contest on Neatorama! Thankfully, our pal Adam Koford reminded me of my lapse (sorry, guys) and even provided the image (and prize) for today’s game.

Funniest caption (as judged by the esteemed Mr. Koford himself) will win the original Laugh-Out-Loud Cat panel above, with the winning caption inked in. Contest rules are simple: Place your caption in the comment section below – one caption per comment, but you can enter as many as you can think of.

For inspiration, be sure to visit Adam’s blog. Good luck!

Update 4/15/09 – Wow! Great submissions, guys! Adam has picked the winner … Congrats to Orkahm52 who won with this gem:

Hi guys! I'm still alive - just really, really busy with work (wow - just checked: I haven't posted nearly anything in about a week!) Regular postings by yours truly will commence soon. Thank you to the rest of the Neatorama authors who picked up my slack :)

Mystery Sale - All mystery sale orders have been shipped as of the Thursday. If you live outside of the US, your package may take up to a couple of business weeks to deliver (the postal service is usually very quick, it's customs clearance that is slow). Interesting discussion at the forum on this topic.

Upcoming Queue - I have a backlog of neat posts from the UQ that should've made it to the Front Page but didn't for some reason or another. If you've recently posted to the UQ but didn't get your post promoted, you may be pleasantly surprised in the next couple of days.

Call for models and designers - Thank you for everyone who submitted their applications! Unfortunately, we have fewer spaces than qualified applicants, so we have to make the painful decision to whittle down the picks to just a few of you. I have the final picks pretty much determined, and will email them in the next day or so.

Neatorama Layout - We're testing different layouts on Neatorama, so you may see new ads, search bar, etc. floating in and out.

Laugh-Out-Loud Cats #1083: Ape Lad [Flickr]

Laugh-Out-Loud Book Signing - Our friend and favorite illustrator Adam "Ape Lad" Koford will be signing copies of his new book The Laugh-Out-Loud Cats Sell Out, published by Abrams ComicArts and featuring an introduction by John Hodgman) at Meltdown Comics in Los Angeles (7522 Sunset Blvd) 3 to 5 pm today. Go say hello!

Top 10 Blogs - Gerard Vlemmings of The Presurfer, one of my favorite blogs on the Web, was asked by Blogs.com from Six Apart to pick 10 funny, weird, strange, and interesting blogs. We're honored to be one of 'em. The other 9 are also excellent: Link - Thanks Gerard!

The following is a guest blog by Adam Koford, current curator (if you believe his tale) and/or creator (if you believe John Hodgman and everyone else) of the Laugh-Out-Loud Cat comic strip and the The Laugh-Out-Loud Cats Sell Out book

Alex has graciously asked if I would write a post about the comic strip I help create and curate entitled the Laugh-Out-Loud Cats. You may have seen it featured here from time to time on Neatorama. If not, and you don't know what I'm talking about, feel free to visit the archive of the comic, which contains well over 1000 installments.

I'll wait.

Done? Good.

Here's a very short version of the history of the Laugh-Out-Loud Cats comic strip (which you may or may not believe): in 1912, my great-grandfather Aloysius Koford created a short-lived comic strip featuring two hobo cats, Kitteh (the big one) and Pip (the small one). In spite of it's quick disappearance from the few newspapers that ran it, the world and words of the two filthy felines he drew somehow made their way into the cultural subconscious of America, and ultimately the internet. Though long dormant, Aloysius' influence finally resurfaced sometime within the past few years, in a much-transmogrified form, as LOLCats. If you are unfamiliar with standard-issue internet LOLCats, I am both shocked and somehow very happy for you.

As I mentioned, some have chosen not to believe this origin of the webcomic I've been saddled with for the past 21 months. That is their right. John Hodgman, in his introduction to my new collection of comics (the Laugh-Out-Loud Cats Sell Out, available now from Abrams ComicArts), makes a valiant attempt to disprove my tale. I leave it to you, the reader, to weigh the evidence and be the judge. But let's leave that debate for another time (I myself am not sure whom to believe anymore).

Several cultural touchstones show evidence of being influenced by my great-grandfather's handiwork. Or, if you don't believe my great-grandfather actually existed: I, Adam Koford (coincidentally also a cartoonist) have looked to several influences in the creation of the Laugh-Out-Loud Cats comics. I'll list a few of the less obvious examples, without mentioning the LOLspeak we've all learned to love and hate.

Paper Moon

Peter Bogdonovich's wonderful road movie about a traveling con-man and the young girl who may or may not be his daughter was released on the day I was born. The two aren't technically hoboes, but they are petty thieves, and by the end of the film you'll love them both.

Sullivan's Travels

Preston Sturges' 1941 film starring Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake is a movie about hoboes. John L. Sullivan (McCrea) is a movie director tired of making popular comedies. To research his career-shifting epic of the common man, entitled O Brother Where Art Thou?, he decides to hit the road as a hobo to see how the down and out live. Hilarity ensues, plots are twisted, lessons are learned, and Veronica Lake makes the best looking tramp you ever saw.

Old Doc Yak

I first read the adventures of Sidney Smith's anthropomorphic talking yak on the Barnacle Press website, which has several months of the strip archived. It's not his most significant creation, and not particularly monumental in the history of comics, but it is fun to read.

I've since learned (with the help of the essential Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics and several wonderful blogs) that most early 20th Century comic strips still retain their charm if you're willing to invest some time to get to know the characters.

Hank Ketcham

Dennis the Menace was never my favorite character growing up: in his 50 year history, you can count the number of times his parents smiled on one hand, and I he didn't use that slingshot nearly enough. But it was certainly fun to look at. Hank Ketcham and his ghost artist Al Wiseman crafted a charming world that any cartoonist would be wise to learn from.

B. Kliban

You'll likely recognize his trademark cat, especially if you have any memories of the 1970s, but Bernard Kliban created many more strange and hilarious drawings. To me, he's the quintessential cartoonist: his work can be cryptic and impenetrable on one hand, and timelessly funny on the other.

My very own children

They say you should write what you know, and I don't think I could have created Pip before I had kids of my own. Pip's inexplicable fascination with leaves has it's genesis in my own son's early obsession with any and every tiny rock we'd come across in our meanderings. Kitteh's anger at the mere mention of ducks has it's roots in one of my kid's early perception that ducks only existed to be chased (he's since learned otherwise).

Finally, the Laugh-Out-Loud Cats wouldn't exist without people like you. That may sound trite, but it's true. I started the project as a way to make money, one drawing at a time. Nearly 1,100 drawings (only a few of which I still own), 600 or so fan club members, and a hardcover book later, you've helped me create a little world of hoboes and bindle sticks I've grown to love exploring. Thank you.

_____

A. Koford is the cartoonist behind such web gems as the 700 Hoboes Project, Order-a-Monkey (the origins of our collaborative Caption Monkey series), Alphabet of Monsters, Onomatopedia, and oh yes, the Laugh-Out-Loud Cats as well as the Neatoramabot and Neatoramanaut.

Definitely check out Adam's new book The Laugh-Out-Loud Cats Sell Out ( with introduction by John Hodgman.)

_____

Are you an author and would like your book featured on Neatorama? Please email me about a possible guest blog post just like this one!

Congratulations to one of Neatorama’s favorite artists, Adam "Ape Lad" Koford, who just made the 1000th Laugh-Out-Loud Cats cartoon!

Link | See Adam’s Laugh-Out-Loud collection at Flickr