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If you adjust the years accordingly, this comic will work for almost anyone! However, no matter what time I go to bed on New Year’s Eve, I wake up at midnight because of the fireworks going off all over town. This year… my kids have fireworks ready. Comic by A. Stiffler at Chaos Life. Link -via reddit
The New Yorker rejected this great same sex marriage cover art by Robert Crumb, so he subsequently declined to do any more work for the magazine. I think Robert Crumb is an unlikely candidate for New Yorker cartoonist, because his illustrations are neither boring nor conservative enough for the average subscriber, but what do you think?
A while back, John told us of the official US government’s advice on surviving the zombie apocalypse by the Centers for Disease Control. Now, the CDC is back, this time with this: Preparedness 101: Zombie Pandemic.
A few select images after the jump (you can view the entire comic [PDF] from the CDC’s website): more …
See the rest of the comic at Doghouse Diaries to see what happens. Works every time! Link -via the Presurfer
You’re just walking along with one of your friends, enjoying the lovely day and the grass between your non-existent toes – then a plumber comes out of nowhere and… the terror! The terror!
You can probably guess what happens next.
Not for a long time, anyway! Ben Warheit doodles on Post-it Notes. The results are strange and funny observations on life and how life might be with a bit of a twist. This prehistorical scene is one of many that made me giggle. Check them all out at Ben’s newly relaunched site, I’m Ben Warheit. Link
A company called Sprout Home sells superhero comic books that, if you plant them in the ground, grow herbs. Each is sold in a plastic sleeve in mint condition should you choose not to bury yours.
Link via Comics Alliance
Michael of Ninjerktsu drew this comic about his hero Carl Sagan and his Spaceship of the Imagination in a space battle against the evil triumvirate of astrology, homeopathy, and perpetual motion.
Take a look: Link
Previously on Neatorama: 10 Neat Facts About Carl Sagan
Caldwell Tanner and Kevin Corrigan rounded up internet memes to bedevil Batman and Robin in a series of comic book cover mashups. There are five in all; this one is my favorite. Link -via Gorilla Mask
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I had to laugh at this, as my kids are desperate for something to do that doesn’t involve housework. From the mind of Jon Kudelka. Link -via reddit
Marvel artist Francesco Francavilla came up with an amazing art for the re-imagining of The Avengers as a band of medieval vikings:
The Hulk is seen as a, well, hulking Celtic druid, Captain Amerigo wields the familiar star shield, Thor is the actual Norse god, and there’s a man walking around in what appears to be iron [man].
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I’m sure you can decipher the rest. -via Neatorama’s Facebook page
Steven M. Johnson comes up with all sorts of wacky inventions in his weekly Museum of Possibilities posts, but something’s missing from his strange gadgets: names. Can you come up with a name for this one? The commenter suggesting the funniest and wittiest name win a free T-shirt from the NeatoShop.
Contest rules: one entry per comment, though you can enter as many as you’d like. Please make a selection of the T-shirt you want (may we suggest the Science T-shirt, Funny T-shirt, and Artist-designed T-shirt categories?) alongside your entry. If you don’t select a shirt, then you forfeit the prize. Good luck!
Update: Congratulations to winner NathanBBlu, who named the invention “Stalaglites,” and explained why. And also to winner lolamouse, who came up with “Light in the Loafers” (used to tell interested observers which way you go). Both win t-shirts from the NeatoShop!
You know this is going to be funny. Allie Brosch tells about the time she had oral surgery the same day as a friend’s birthday party. Part of the account reminds me of the viral video David After Dentist, except of course things get much worse. Link
The Oatmeal has the lowdown on Why Working from Home is Both Awesome and Horrible. I can vouch for the whole list of reasons, particularly the “loss of regimen”. Link -via Gorilla Mask
It’s time for another Fill in the Bubble Frenzy with boy genius Mal and his talking dog Chad! Fill in the empty speech bubble and win any T-shirt available in the NeatoShop -take a look around, pick one out and tell us what shirt you’d like with your submission in the comments. If you don’t specify a t-shirt with your entry, you forfeit the prize. Your entry must be text- no pictures this week, please. Enter as many times as you like, but leave only one entry per comment. Even if you have no idea what he’s saying, check out the other entries! Also check out Mal and Chad’s comic strip adventures by Stephen McCranie at malandchad.com.
Update: We have a winner! Congratulations to schm3cky who gave us:
“It’s just a note that says, ‘Duh nunt, duh nunt, du nunt, duh nunt.’”
The new caption contest is up at NeatoGeek! This week, the featured picture is a comic by cartoonist Joel Watson (what you see here is only a detail). The best caption will win a t-shirt from the NeatoShop, so look around and pick one out to include with your entry. Link
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Chris Sims of Comics Alliance offers up his choices for the 18 best panels in Batman’s 700+ issue history. He stipulates that they have to be actual panels (not poster art), Batman must be in the panel, and no full-page panels. The one above is from “Fear for Sale” by Mike W. Barr and Alan Davis (Detective Comics #570).
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from two and a half decades reading Batman comics, it’s that that dude straight up loves to punch people. As you might expect, this means there are some truly fantastic chin-checks delivered over the past 70 years, but nobody — not even Neal Adams — makes Batman deliver an uppercut quite as solid as Alan Davis in his all-too-brief late ’80s run.
That thing is just textbook perfect form: Great extension, moving forward to maximize power, and if the Scarecrow’s mask hadn’t been attached, I’m pretty sure Batman would’ve punched his head clean off.
Link for more of the best panels in Batman’s history.
I love these kinds of interactive generators, and this one’s pretty cool. For the above panel, fill in what you’d like each word balloon to say. Link via Buzzfeed (where there’s a bunch of funny examples).
Combine the imagination of a five-year-old with the talent of a professional comic artist and you get Axe Cop. Malachai Nicolle comes up with the stories and his 29-year-old brother Ethan Nicolle {wiki} draws them. The result is wonderful! Anyone who’s ever had, or ever been, a five-year-old storyteller will get a real kick out of this. Link
Man Eggs is a subversive humor type comic along the same lines as The Perry Bible Fellowship. Pop culture skewed for your daily humor serving.
Product is a graphic tale by Jon Phillips. The dystopian sci-fi plot can get a bit depressing if you think that will bother you. If not, you’ll be glad you stuck with it through to the end. Click the linked image to enlarge. Link -via Digg
Poor Scroll Lock. Have a look at more like this at AcidCow. Somebody help me out with On-Pause-Off… I don’t get it, is it a Mac thing?
Illustration: Kate Beaton
Brilliant webcomic goodness can be found all over the ‘Net, but in case you’ve missed her, check out Kate Beaton’s brand of humor. Subjects cover just about everything related to media, literature, and pop culture.
Link Kate’s LiveJournal here. via Yay!Everyday
It’s no wonder that Neatorama reader Guy won the recent Bent Objects caption contest – turns out he’s one of the guys behind Brevity, a darn funny syndicated comic strip. This one above, titled Medieval Tron, is my favorite, but they’ve got tons of other great stuff.
Links: Lots of comic panels at Comics.com | Brevity’s official website – Thanks Guy!
Having done novels, short stories, and web-serials, Stephen King is branching out to … comics. He’s agreed to co-write the first five issues of American Vampire by Scott Snyder, a new series for DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint:
So what lured the master of horror to comics after all this time? He certainly hasn’t been lacking for work, with a new novel, Under the Dome, due out November 10. He also released a novella, Ur, exclusively for the Amazon Kindle in February. But apparently, the promise of a fresh take on vampires was enough to entice King to make the jump.
Link (Illustration by Rafael Albuquerque) – Thanks Brian Ries!
What do you get when you mix together Transformers, airbrush car art and Mad Magazine Fold-in?
Jeremy Kramer and Eric Vaughn of Truck Bearing Kibble, one of my favorite webcomics, have the answer! I won’t spoil the fun for you, so you’ve got to check it out yourself: Link
The following is an article from Uncle John's Triumphant 20th Anniversary Bathroom Reader
Who says that comic books don't contribute much to literature? Here's a few choice phrases, which origin can be traced back to comic strips:
Security Blanket Pioneering
child psychologist Richard Passman is given credit for identifying the
phenomenon of children habitually clutching or carrying a favorite toy
for comfort and security.
Charles Schulz first used the concept in June 1, 1954, Peanuts
comic strip by giving Linus a blanket to carry everywhere he went. Linus
called it his "security blanket." The term is now used by psychologists
to define a child's (or anyone's) excessive attachment to a particular
object. (Photo: Time
Magazine 1965 cover)
"We Have Met The Enemy And He Is Us"
Pogo Earth Day Poster by Walt Kelly (image via Wikipedia)
After winning the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812, Commodore Oliver
Perry wrote in a dispatch to General William Henry Harrison, "We
have met the enemy, and he is ours." Walt Kelly, author of the comic
strip Pogo, reworded the phrase as "We have met the enemy
and he is us," in the foreword to his 1953 Pogo collection
The Pogo Papers. The meaning: Mankind's greatest threat is ...
mankind. The quote became better known when Kelly used it on a poster
he was hired to illustrate for the first Earth Day in 1970.
The Heebie-Jeebies Billy
DeBeck coined the term in his hugely popular 1920s comic strip, Barney
Google and Snuffy Smith, about a community of backwoods hillbillies
and moonshiners. It first appeared in a 1923 strip where Barney tells
someone to "get that stupid look offa your pan. You gimme the heeby
jeebys!" It meant "a feeling of discomfort."
Other phrases coined by DeBeck: "horsefeathers," "hotsie-totsie,"
and "googly-eyed" (after Barney Google, who had huge, bulbous
eyes). The strip also gave us the nickname "Sparky," from the
name of Barney's horse, Sparkplug. (Many young comic-strip fans were given
the name "Sparky," among them, Peanuts creator Charles
Schulz.)
Palooka
Joe Palooka by Ham Fisher - via Wikipedia
It came from the main character of the 1920s strip Joe Palooka.
Joe Palooka was a boxer - likeable but dumb, a trait that probably came
from repeated blows to his head in the ring. Soon after the strip's debut,
any big, dumb guy might be called a palooka.
Milquetoast "Milk
toast" was a simple dish (toast served in milk) frequently served
at soup kitchens in the 1920s. Harold Webster named the main character
in his late 1920s strip, The Timid Soul, Caspar Milquetoast.
Thanks to the comic strip, by the 1930s the word "milquetoast"
had become common slang to describe anybody who, like Milquetoast, was
weak and timid.
Sadie Hawkins Day
The First Sadie
Hawkins Day, by Al Capp
It's from Al Capp's L'il Abner. One day a year in the comic
strip's rural setting of Dogpatch, single women would chase the single
men around. If they caught one, they got to keep - er, marry
him. The day got its name from Sadie Hawkins, the first woman in Dogpatch
who caught a husband that way. High schools in the United States still
hold "Sadie Hawkins Dances," to which the girls invite the boys.
Foo Fighter
(photo: Gasoline
Alley Antiques - lots of neat vintage books there!)
In Bill Holman's 1930s strip Smokey Stover, the title character
rode around in a bizarre-looking two-wheeled fire engine (with a fire
hydrant attached to it) that Smokey called a "foo fighter."
The term was used by World War II pilots for any unidentified aircraft
(including UFOs). The phrase became popular again in the 1990s when it
was used as the name of the rock band Foo Fighters. |
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The article above was reprinted with permission from Uncle John's Triumphant 20th Anniversary Bathroom Reader.
Proving that some things do get better with age, the latest Bathroom Reader is jam-packed with 600 pages of fascinating trivia, forgotten history, strange lawsuits and other neat articles.
Since 1988, the Bathroom Reader Institute had published a series of popular books containing irresistible bits of trivia and obscure yet fascinating facts.
If you like Neatorama, you'll love the Bathroom Reader Institute's books - go ahead and check 'em out!
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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
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
_____
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!
