Meta tags:
description=8 posts published by Robyn Chapman and srbissette during May 2010;

Headings (most frequently used words):

the, of, archives, may, 2010, and, blog, monthly, dc, vertigo, imprint, congrats, class, nippon, fanifesto, tribute, to, diy, manga, junji, ito, uzumaki, strange, horror, life, cool, comics, 1990s, at, last, you, gaze, complete, milt, gross, garfield, fans, megan, kelso, louise, nevelson, about, favorite, places, contact, stats, meta,

Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (294), and (165), #comics (65), that (52), are (48), was (45), for (42), gross (35), with (34), garfield (33), his (33), this (30), from (28), comic (27), 2010 (26), one (25), which (24), more (23), but (22), about (20), story (18), they (18), like (17), posted (16), has (16), their (15), have (14), can (14), all (14), not (14), also (14), there (14), you (14), doujinshi (14), comments (13), most (13), davis (13), life (13), manga (13), work (12), strip (12), while (12), even (12), history (12), milt (12), blog (11), its (11), such (11), these (11), were (11), essay (11), image (11), vertigo (11), may (10), robyn (10), chapman (10), though (10), than (10), 90s (10), contemporary (10), form (10), yoe (10), acg (10), own (10), what (10), maxx (10), uzumaki (10), ito (10), 2009 (9), well (9), known (9), stories (9), being (9), feel (9), other (9), just (9), great (9), japan (9), our (8), works (8), some (8), time (8), series (8), many (8), over (8), himself (8), first (8), had (8), titles (8), scud (8), real (8), town (8), required (7), comment (7), students (7), way (7), black (7), tagged (7), historic (7), her (7), made (7), jim (7), fan (7), him (7), still (7), popular (7), world (7), often (7), lot (7), characters (7), out (7), book (7), who (7), course (7), today (7), into (7), horror (7), wordpress (6), com (6), cartoon (6), kelso (6), read (6), when (6), both (6), american (6), never (6), very (6), complete (6), note (6), years (6), people (6), success (6), off (6), them (6), how (6), present (6), bissette (6), drawn (6), pages (6), would (6), only (6), reader (5), content (5), create (5), library (5), schulz (5), graphic (5), nevelson (5), character (5), something (5), near (5), full (5), original (5), funny (5), new (5), culture (5), published (5), fans (5), enjoy (5), steve (5), teaching (5), survey (5), properly (5), submit (5), aspect (5), restricted (5), period (5), 1969 (5), books (5), hiawatta (5), man (5), self (5), publishing (5), assassin (5), kieth (5), schrab (5), love (5), superhero (5), through (5), artists (5), 1990s (5), junji (5), sense (5), now (4), center (4), journal (4), queen (4), megan (4), louise (4), leave (4), those (4), usually (4), color (4), day (4), found (4), jesse (4), durona (4), gnorm (4), gnat (4), strips (4), personal (4), things (4), itself (4), remains (4), followed (4), takes (4), done (4), makes (4), created (4), few (4), industry (4), funnies (4), standard (4), produced (4), almost (4), whole (4), sam (4), disposable (4), lawrence (4), derks (4), creative (4), however (4), jeff (4), find (4), really (4), joughin (4), someone (4), lived (4), betsey (4), market (4), class (4), got (4), carl (4), mefferd (4), imprint (4), get (3), name (3), log (3), already (3), studies (3), white (3), october (3), favorite (3), old (3), novels (3), amazing (3), incredible (3), issue (3), goes (3), she (3), inspired (3), see (3), didn (3), lasagna (3), could (3), will (3), come (3), thing (3), readers (3), show (3), commercial (3), popularity (3), largely (3), art (3), tale (3), two (3), friends (3), house (3), scary (3), special (3), jon (3), been (3), without (3), side (3), notable (3), award (3), via (3), everything (3), far (3), whether (3), last (3), gags (3), creator (3), during (3), title (3), group (3), career (3), line (3), disney (3), craig (3), issues (3), cartoonist (3), high (3), throughout (3), age (3), took (3), nize (3), baby (3), every (3), cartoonists (3), style (3), three (3), rob (3), think (3), much (3), typical (3), good (3), support (3), make (3), enough (3), shifts (3), outback (3), julie (3), place (3), extreme (3), where (3), talk (3), use (3), master (3), gyo (3), devotion (3), spiral (3), terrifying (3), shuichi (3), kirie (3), obsession (3), able (3), small (3), any (3), swardlick (3), japanese (3), fall (3), fukuoka (3), reading (3), young (3), mature (3), teenager (3), started (2), design (2), site (2), view (2), sign (2), subscribed (2), subscribe (2), schulzlibrary (2), account (2), feed (2), street (2), river (2), june (2), july (2), august (2), september (2), november (2), archives (2), visit (2), museum (2), research (2), faculty (2), share (2), learn (2), approach (2), artist (2), unfamiliar (2), painted (2), before (2), clear (2), interesting (2), interview (2), run (2), enjoyed (2), hero (2), depth (2), interviews (2), cat (2), minus (2), huge (2), grew (2), cartooning (2), despite (2), around (2), honest (2), admire (2), because (2), true (2), nature (2), wish (2), does (2), help (2), given (2), movie (2), sequel (2), save (2), negative (2), rendered (2), 2008 (2), helped (2), left (2), case (2), wanted (2), halloween (2), television (2), younger (2), audience (2), wrote (2), parodies (2), parody (2), older (2), take (2), talent (2), feline (2), companion (2), reduced (2), hilarious (2), shows (2), walsh (2), dark (2), past (2), entirely (2), 80s (2), winning (2), following (2), shorts (2), ran (2), 1994 (2), christmas (2), comes (2), originally (2), literally (2), lead (2), onto (2), illustrated (2), 1970s (2), changed (2), loves (2), madness (2), since (2), give (2), gaze (2), beloved (2), pop (2), count (2), four (2), giggle (2), moon (2), mullins (2), bit (2), various (2), humor (2), under (2), vet (2), fame (2), offering (2), iger (2), hospital (2), times (2), between (2), always (2), michael (2), vance (2), shop (2), should (2), several (2), including (2), press (2), adventures (2), after (2), herein (2), introduction (2), truly (2), comicbook (2), editor (2), jewish (2), growing (2), harvey (2), kurtzman (2), craven (2), reach (2), used (2), aloud (2), gibberish (2), longfellow (2), poem (2), back (2), until (2), hey (2), kid (2), say (2), highly (2), etc (2), dunt (2), esk (2), banana (2), oil (2), energy (2), whose (2), introduced (2), countless (2), panel (2), gag (2), wordless (2), anyone (2), together (2), flashy (2), entertainment (2), eventually (2), finds (2), feelings (2), became (2), darker (2), basic (2), premise (2), kill (2), upon (2), money (2), looks (2), artwork (2), uses (2), couple (2), draws (2), lines (2), dressed (2), violence (2), winters (2), superheroes (2), generation (2), absolutely (2), entire (2), decade (2), successes (2), same (2), cool (2), protagonists (2), early (2), vol (2), powerful (2), each (2), spirals (2), supernatural (2), control (2), particularly (2), conclusion (2), fairly (2), school (2), sickness (2), subtle (2), details (2), page (2), year (2), relatively (2), bay (2), area (2), air (2), kind (2), umezu (2), later (2), strange (2), fandom (2), fanworks (2), media (2), quality (2), order (2), property (2), must (2), states (2), seems (2), perhaps (2), featuring (2), professional (2), amount (2), anime (2), minicomics (2), know (2), circle (2), writers (2), rather (2), particular (2), spawn (2), preacher (2), scene (2), realize (2), tell (2), adult (2), impact (2), experience (2), mainstream (2), individuals (2), moore (2), grant (2), morrison (2), garth (2), ennis (2), tone (2), perfect (2), berger (2), website, email, write, loading, collapse, bar, manage, subscriptions, report, privacy, entries, meta, 240, 979, hits, stats, jun, apr, donations, inquiries, box, 125, south, main, junction, vermont, 05001, 802, 295, 3319, cartoonstudies, org, contact, december, january, february, march, april, ohio, state, university, osu, charles, santa, rosa, california, places, resides, restored, firehouse, bank, room, packed, zines, collections, related, ephemera, inspirational, resource, enthusiasm, collection, search, 216, describe, crafting, challenges, faced, woman, addressed, royal, tide, renown, sculptor, massive, assemblage, pieces, salvaged, wood, realized, point, current, sophisticated, yesterday, copy, mine, disappoint, pursue, profession, rough, edges, likable, relate, unapologetic, ways, carefree, happy, continue, successful, relevant, syndicated, 260, million, worldwide, 60s, composition, staff, heavy, lifting, garfiled, astounding, credit, deserves, lost, attempts, revitalize, franchise, gone, unnoticed, 2004, length, released, met, critical, disdain, 2006, bill, murray, excellent, voice, acting, films, reviews, cgi, matters, either, lacks, organic, brings, episodes, based, wildly, kitties, terms, greatest, fear, loneliness, speculated, died, ghost, wandering, said, simply, legitimately, certainly, disturbing, 1985, targeted, disguise, 1989, arch, discovers, odie, missing, abandoned, web, live, action, videos, insinuating, poor, faithful, schizophrenic, manic, depressive, albeit, praised, sanctioned, publication, altered, measured, parodied, dan, ironically, turn, reprints, removed, using, digital, manipulation, result, solitary, arbuckle, emmy, specials, came, 1988, here, paradise, told, bugs, contested, gary, larson, less, killed, stomping, foot, gave, ploy, paid, gained, wild, responsible, mugs, dolls, sick, car, windows, syndicate, written, marketable, indiana, 1978, little, appeared, fat, lazy, irritable, orange, pestering, loyal, canine, mountains, stephen, ccs, 2005, geezer, tapping, veins, neophyte, percolating, pleasures, 21st, century, gander, put, familiarity, silly, slapschtick, seasoned, devotees, hoot, drink, illuminated, childhood, exposures, procession, tropes, screwloose, fuels, fun, publishes, anywhere, cover, planned, third, along, plethora, 1948, antic, long, unseen, unread, lucky, collectors, vintage, rarities, 300, kilroys, emerged, staid, lineup, mystery, further, connecting, contextualizing, packaged, guidance, animator, insights, business, manager, frederick, recalls, working, bed, brief, fling, unflagging, vim, vigor, bubbling, remarkable, fox, crow, particulars, deal, tough, define, expert, once, printed, canada, publications, deviations, procedures, distributed, benjamin, sangor, listed, unresolved, final, appear, random, greenwood, 1996, forbidden, unusual, chapter, holy, grail, sorts, aficionados, notes, named, unless, walt, showcases, stellar, comprehensive, best, sterling, inclusive, showcase, uber, rare, 1947, author, offers, ideal, intro, jaffee, herb, son, natch, foreword, models, economy, lavishly, biographical, worth, price, admission, punctuated, cartoons, overview, provides, snapshot, rich, anecdotes, candid, health, plagued, latter, days, succumbing, morbidity, spirits, remain, spry, thus, inadvertantly, divined, mega, dose, surprisingly, unadulterated, duxbury, lad, bronx, neighborhoods, prepared, brand, satire, exposed, soon, laying, eyes, mad, reprinted, thomas, marvelous, 1944, inexplicably, mother, bookshelves, tender, divine, meaning, scribed, patented, phonetically, urban, completely, disemboweling, henry, wadsworth, 1855, epic, model, trochaic, tetrameter, exquisite, pen, ink, illustrations, tears, laughing, kept, tempting, rereading, finally, decoded, whatdyawant, backwoods, practically, memorized, six, song, hiawatha, calvalcade, witt, odder, poems, shelves, peppered, venerable, classics, recommended, alone, lift, soul, deark, dollink, night, front, shoulda, ate, eclair, 1895, 1953, dynamo, frenetic, alive, omnipresent, everywhere, roarin, twenties, loopy, non, sequiters, mouse, razzes, benena, hoil, among, catchphrases, coined, fêted, lifetime, america, prolific, heyday, seemed, single, pioneer, 1930, savage, lynd, ward, sober, woodcut, card, writing, animation, advertising, providing, inspiration, generations, elder, jules, feiffer, sergio, aragones, henderson, others, wrong, tome, cottage, launched, editing, fanzines, contributed, gifted, lovers, laugh, idw, era, abundant, reprint, volumes, handsome, hardcover, worthy, attention, celebration, eye, popping, treasury, octane, hilarity, arf, reviewed, laughs, loosey, goosey, rebellion, raucousness, slightly, ribald, occasions, srbissette, recommend, available, convenient, collected, encourage, post, section, below, maybe, change, then, gimmicks, puts, starts, mimic, attributes, break, problems, example, therapy, auto, bio, documents, ups, downs, relationships, explicitly, another, fireman, tells, concept, hired, creepy, tentacled, monster, learns, destruct, completion, mission, instead, killing, hooks, subsequent, taking, jobs, pay, nothing, different, techniques, bold, colored, traditional, dream, frank, frazetta, fitting, tiger, bikini, jungle, girl, scenes, glance, quintessential, bulging, muscles, scantily, women, unlike, visuals, freelance, social, worker, helps, homeless, worlds, progresses, connected, tragedy, happened, refuses, acknowledge, becomes, trauma, suppression, 1992, seven, industries, top, selling, publisher, supposed, aka, creators, actually, rights, did, stands, force, men, spider, seriously, normally, discuss, holographic, foil, variant, covers, costumes, lots, pouches, crash, intent, ignore, events, criminal, financial, failures, rectify, space, highlight, mistake, sympathetic, lacking, knowledge, likelihood, positive, outcome, impossible, desperate, hope, storyteller, suggest, themselves, squeamish, idea, hellstar, remina, themes, utter, towards, insane, dedication, stick, family, cases, become, twisted, contorted, builds, obligation, combined, disorienting, compels, forward, creates, sympathy, doomed, residents, impending, doom, understand, keeps, brother, developed, heartbreaking, nears, portrayed, normal, relationship, thrust, situation, village, overcome, unnatural, geometric, appears, plate, ripples, pond, coil, snail, shell, infects, trap, escape, commutes, contamination, everyone, accustomed, beyond, universe, glyceride, emotional, pull, fleshed, clustered, detail, dizzying, purposeful, manner, facial, expressions, intense, portraying, dread, believable, calm, moments, unnerving, effect, dictate, flow, narrative, played, heavily, motion, build, feeling, loss, suburban, port, across, nagasaki, reminiscent, setting, capture, atmosphere, living, rural, parts, volume, masterpiece, raid, sirens, blaring, layout, towns, buildings, authenticity, allows, ever, part, connect, allowing, insight, born, gifu, prefecture, kazuo, shogakukan, dental, technician, balanced, beginning, gain, strong, notice, earning, range, bizarre, horrific, longer, having, movies, enigma, amigara, fault, drifting, classroom, 伊藤潤二, mini, swarlick, constructive, destructive, hold, represent, genuine, enjoyment, active, participation, vitality, clearly, seen, quantity, projected, national, reactions, existence, understands, ensure, mania, allow, theirs, somehow, belongs, believers, ultimate, expression, ownership, manifestations, pure, short, hard, copyright, law, especially, illiterate, technically, illegal, tolerated, illustrative, superior, understanding, value, speaking, suing, heck, legal, corporate, owned, sold, retail, stores, surely, says, brain, object, yoshinaga, fumi, incredibly, antique, bakery, format, specialized, instances, making, commander, boondock, saints, homicide, streets, surprised, browsing, rose, obscure, properties, mean, sure, harry, potter, star, wars, international, superhits, inevitable, meat, elbowing, stuff, buy, big, toy, hobby, shops, mandarake, second, stint, stumbled, treasure, trove, city, hidden, devoted, don, kiss, hook, variety, whimsical, composed, extremely, varied, straight, continued, types, comiket, purchases, collaboration, tend, groups, called, circles, distributing, aren, astonishing, effort, skill, production, xerox, operation, check, craftsmanship, babies, gigantic, convention, tokyo, occasionally, solely, went, held, dome, stadium, major, event, cut, saturday, weekend, thanks, forever, guys, turned, classmates, decided, needed, fangirl, generally, term, refers, amateur, commercially, subset, dear, heart, why, learned, speak, language, conversations, nippon, fanifesto, tribute, diy, commencement, uncategorized, photos, flickr, root, hog, die, ladies, gentlemen, congrats, swamp, consumers, leaves, mark, impressionable, minds, opens, doors, capable, earliest, examples, veterans, underground, comix, peers, innocent, constricts, type, defies, censors, word, novel, isn, ultimately, genre, wholesome, artistically, beautiful, gratuitous, lose, avoided, inappropriate, sheer, titillation, opened, window, yet, cusp, danger, despair, passion, counterculture, attacking, society, government, organized, religion, music, ears, cynic, myself, addition, against, pushed, revolution, radical, ideas, reflection, heroes, weren, strongmen, thoughtful, beliefs, running, contrary, discovered, disillusioned, moody, intelligence, angsty, macho, fluff, sex, drugs, keep, hooked, hbo, entertaining, substance, invisibles, embarrassed, saw, kids, tradition, crowd, thought, anything, grim, gritty, shallow, overly, driven, brandings, try, follow, look, wikipedia, want, knocked, socks, ripe, anti, mood, permeated, stage, 1993, karen, spearheaded, ashes, failed, touchmark, head, hunted, bulk, british, invasion, formed, core, alan, peter, milligan, neil, gaiman, launch, boasted, fit, brought, board, continues, acclaimed, dmz, fables, shade, changing, sandman, hellblazer, swampthing, knight, returns, watchmen, kicked, ass, monthly, home, skip,

Text of the page (random words):
eth s the maxx at first glance the maxx looks like the quintessential 90s superhero comic bulging muscles scantily dressed women and graphic violence unlike the standard 90s superhero though the maxx had more to it than flashy visuals it had a story the basic premise of the series is julie winters a freelance social worker helps out the maxx a homeless man dressed as a superhero the comic shifts between two worlds the real one and the outback as the comic progresses julie winters and the maxx learn they are connected through a tragedy that happened in julie s past which she refuses to acknowledge it also becomes clear that the maxx is not a story about a superhero at all but a tale about trauma and suppression also while the design of the maxx looks like the standard 90s superhero there is nothing standard about the artwork sam kieth uses a couple of different techniques in the maxx for the real world he draws with very bold lines and it s colored in a very traditional style however when the story shifts to the dream world or the outback kieth shifts to pages painted with an almost frank frazetta like feel which is fitting since kieth draws a tiger bikini jungle girl in the outback scenes another great comic created in 1994 was rob schrab s scud the disposable assassin for fireman press the title tells the basic premise however there was a lot more to the comic than a funny concept in the first issue scud is hired to kill jeff a creepy tentacled monster however as he s about to kill jeff off for good scud learns he ll self destruct upon completion of his mission so instead of killing jeff he takes her to the hospital and hooks her up life support the subsequent issues are about scud taking on other assassin jobs just to make enough money to pay for jeff s life support which is also his life support while the comic is funny and great entertainment rob schrab also puts a lot of himself into the book scud eventually finds love which starts to mimic s schrab s own feelings the comic eventually became much darker which schrab attributes to a break up and various real world problems scud the disposable assassin is a great example of comics as therapy and it s done in a much more creative way than a typical auto bio comic it documents the ups and downs of his life and relationships without explicitly being out his feelings i highly recommend both the maxx and scud the disposable assassin which are both available in a convenient collected form there are many more great comics created in the 90s and i encourage schulz blog readers to post their own favorite 90s comics in the comments section below maybe together we can change the way people think about the 90s and show that comics then were more than just flashy gimmicks lawrence derks 1 comment posted in historic tagged image lawrence derks rob schrab sam kieth scud the disposable assassin the maxx at last you may gaze the complete milt gross posted on 05 05 2010 by srbissette 2 comments milt gross loosey goosey style followed the three rs rebellion raucousness and slightly ribald on a few occasions craig yoe laughs by the gross from the book reviewed herein pg 17 __ one man comics tome cottage industry craig yoe of arf fame who launched his career in the 1970s editing self publishing fanzines one of which i contributed art to has gifted cartoonists comics lovers and anyone who loves to laugh with the incredible the complete milt gross comic books and life story 2010 idw publishing in an era of abundant comicbook and comic strip reprint volumes this handsome hardcover is worthy of special attention and celebration offering a eye popping treasury of high octane hilarity from the one and only milt gross milt gross 1895 1953 was a cartoonist s cartoonist in his day a dynamo of frenetic energy whose every line was alive and in and of itself funny his work was omnipresent and everywhere from the roarin twenties on as were the many loopy non sequiters he introduced into our culture via his comics banana oil or as a mouse razzes it in nize baby benena hoil that s my pop dunt esk and nize baby among countless other catchphrases were all coined by gross fêted throughout his lifetime as one of america s most beloved and prolific cartoonists in his heyday gross seemed to do it all single panel gag comics comic strips comic books pioneer wordless graphic novels he done her wrong 1930 a savage parody of lynd ward s sober wordless woodcut novels movie title card art gag writing animation advertising etc providing inspiration for generations of cartoonists who followed including will elder harvey kurtzman jules feiffer sergio aragones sam henderson and countless others the schulz library shelves are already peppered with venerable gross classics all of which are highly recommended the titles alone lift the soul nize baby deark dollink dunt esk banana oil de night in de front from christmas i shoulda ate the eclair etc my personal all time favorite remains hiawatta witt no odder poems reprinted complete in thomas craven s marvelous book cartoon calvalcade 1944 which was inexplicably on my mother s bookshelves and always in reach i used to read hiawatta aloud at a tender age i had to read it aloud to divine its meaning it was scribed in gross s patented phonetically rendered urban jewish near gibberish well to me it was almost gibberish completely disemboweling henry wadsworth longfellow s 1855 epic poem the song of hiawatha a model of trochaic tetrameter gross s exquisite pen and ink illustrations reduced me to tears laughing and they kept tempting me back into my rereading hiawatta until i d finally decoded it which took years hey whatdyawant i was a backwoods kid i d practically memorized it by the age of six which is more than i can say for the original longfellow poem i thus inadvertantly divined my first mega dose of jewish humor in a surprisingly unadulterated form though i was a duxbury vt lad growing up far far from the bronx neighborhoods gross grew up in hiawatta also prepared me for mad and harvey kurtzman s brand of cartooning and satire which i was exposed to soon after first laying eyes on hiawatta in craven s book with the complete milt gross comic books and life story editor author yoe offers an ideal intro to gross s life times and career though the al jaffee introduction and herb gross son of milt natch foreword are models of economy yoe s lavishly illustrated biographical essay is almost worth the price of admission in and of itself punctuated with many never before published gross cartoons and comics pages yoe s overview provides a snapshot of the cartoonist and his personal life the whole is rich in anecdotes and candid about the health issues that plagued gross in his latter days without succumbing to morbidity the reader s spirits remain as spry and high as gross s gags throughout what craig yoe showcases herein is not just a stellar comprehensive introduction to gross s best known works but a sterling and truly all inclusive showcase for the complete uber rare acg american comics group comicbook series milt gross funnies 1947 which only ran two issues it s an unusual chapter in gross s career and in comics history and in its way a holy grail of sorts for gross aficionados as yoe notes there were no other comics named after their creator unless you count walt disney s comics and stories which didn t have one line drawn by disney in them the particulars of the deal between gross and acg has always been tough to define acg expert michael vance once wrote these books were printed in canada by milt gross publications both deviations from standard acg procedures and may have been only produced and distributed by the benjamin w sangor shop whether this title should be listed as an acg book remains unresolved gross s final work in comics would appear for several years in random acg titles including giggle and moon mullins vance forbidden adventures the history of the american comics group greenwood press 1996 pg 30 how milt gross funnies emerged from the usually staid acg lineup remains a bit of a mystery yoe goes further in his own research connecting and contextualizing milt gross funnies with the various acg humor titles packaged under the guidance of vet animator jim davis of fox and crow comics fame not the garfield creator of today and offering insights from acg business manager frederick iger from yoe s own interviews with the industry vet iger recalls gross working from his hospital bed at times during his brief fling with acg and milt gross funnies which makes the unflagging vim and vigor of the work bubbling off these pages even more remarkable yoe also publishes for the first time anywhere gross s cover for the planned third issue along with a plethora of four color stories gags and comic pages from giggle comics the kilroys moon mullins all 1948 and more all in all over 300 full color pages of antic gross comics long unseen and unread save by the lucky collectors of such vintage rarities despite the familiarity of the silly gross slapschtick for seasoned devotees it s a hoot to drink it all in illuminated with color all my childhood gross exposures were black and white only and the procession of beloved characters and tropes from that s my pop to count screwloose and more only fuels the fun whether you re a geezer like me tapping old veins or a neophyte new to gross these pages are percolating with pleasures few 21st century comics even approach give it a gander or as gross himself would have put it at last you may gaze stephen r bissette ccs faculty since 2005 may 4 2009 mountains of madness vt 2 comments posted in historic new book garfield and fans posted on 05 04 2010 by robyn chapman 5 comments note steve bissette and i are teaching a course in contemporary comics history survey of the drawn story ii as it s properly known our students are required to submit an essay in blog form on an aspect of contemporary comics history they are restricted to the period of 1969 present today s essay is by jesse durona enjoy garfield and fans by jesse durona in 1978 a little comic strip appeared that changed the world it is about a fat lazy irritable orange feline who loves lasagna and pestering his loyal canine companion this comic strip of course is garfield garfield is written and illustrated by jim davis who originally created him to be marketable his original strip gnorm gnat was published in indiana in the 1970s davis had originally wanted to syndicate gnorm gnat but was told that bugs are not funny which can be contested given the success of gary larson s the far side never the less davis killed off gnorm gnat literally via a stomping foot and gave life to garfield davis ploy to create a more popular character paid off in full as it lead him to create one of the most popular comic strip characters in american culture garfield has gained wild commercial success responsible for everything from mugs to dolls that sick onto car windows the 80s and 90s were when garfield enjoyed most of its popularity most notable are the emmy award winning television specials such as here comes garfield garfield in paradise and a garfield christmas special following the success of these shorts came garfield and friends which ran from 1988 to 1994 garfield s popularity can also be measured by how often it is parodied most notable is garfield minus garfield a strip created in 2008 by dan walsh this strip takes the series in dark and ironically hilarious turn walsh s comics are reprints of past and present garfield strips with garfield himself removed from the strip using digital manipulation the result is an entirely new take on the now solitary jon arbuckle poor jon without his faithful feline companion he is reduced to a schizophrenic manic depressive albeit a hilarious one jim davis himself has praised the comic and even sanctioned its publication the book shows both the original and altered comics side by side there are many other parodies of garfield that can be found on the web one such parody is lasagna cat which takes older strips and makes live action videos out of them while funny they take a negative view of jim davis himself insinuating that he has no talent one of the more interesting takes on garfield was done by jim davis himself in october of 1989 davis wrote a 6 strip story arch in which garfield discovers that jon and odie are missing and their house has been abandoned with no friends left garfield has to come to terms with his greatest fear loneliness some have speculated that in this strip garfield has died and his ghost was wandering the house davis himself has said this is not the case and that he simply wanted to do something legitimately scary for halloween it is certainly a more disturbing halloween tale than even the 1985 television special garfield in disguise which was also scary but targeted to a younger audience garfield while it is an astounding commercial success is not often given the credit it deserves it has lost a lot of its popularity over the years and attempts to revitalize the franchise have gone largely unnoticed in 2004 the first full length garfield movie was released though it was met with critical disdain it was followed by a sequel garfield a tale of two kitties in 2006 even bill murray s excellent voice acting could not save these films from their negative reviews the garfield show a cgi rendered series in 2008 has not helped matters either the series lacks that organic feel that davis art brings to the characters and many of the episodes are based off those from the wildly popular original series as for the strip itself which is still the most relevant thing about garfiled it remains the most popular syndicated comic strip in the world it has over 260 million readers worldwide jim davis now in his 60s still does all the composition himself though he does have a staff of over 50 people to help with the heavy lifting such as the tv show on a personal note i am a huge fan of garfield i grew up on the series and it is one of the things that inspired me to pursue cartooning as a profession garfield despite being rough around the edges is a very honest and likable character we can relate to him and we admire him because he is true to his nature and is unapologetic about it in some ways we wish we could be like him carefree and happy it is because of this that garfield will continue to be successful for many years to come jesse durona 5 comments posted in historic tagged comic strips garfield garfield minus garfield gnorm gnat jesse durona jim davis lasagna cat megan kelso louise nevelson posted on 05 02 2010 by robyn chapman leave a comment yesterday i read an old copy of the comics journal the schulz library has a very near complete run and enjoyed an interview with a comic hero of mine megan kelso the journal in known for its in depth interviews and this one didn t disappoint one point i found interesting was made about was kelso s story q...