Strip Search: The Comic Strip Podcast

Just when you thought Tim Jones — the creator, artist and writer of the self-syndicated comic strip "Sour Grapes" — couldn't possibly have any more surprises up his sleeve, he joins Pete and Dave on Strip Search to talk about his latest endeavor, an actual Sour Grapes soda! We caught up on that, the spread of "Sour Grapes" throughout the U.S., and what's next for Mr. Jones. Meanwhile, Pete and Dave discuss the impending end of "Baby Blues," a milestone for the National Cartoonists Society, and the latest on their new chapter book, "Freddy Peeves and the Scoop on the Sinking School."

Artists of the future, have we got the event for you. In this episode of Strip Search, we talk to Meena Jain, director of the Ashland Public Library in Massachusetts, and cartoonist and author Deanna Soukiasian  about the Ashland Library Young Artists Comics Fest coming March 21. (Including about how kid creators can participate with their comics, and sell them too, for cash money.) Also, Dave and Pete have book recs, an update on their upcoming chapter book "Freddy Peeves and the Scoop on the Sinking School," and a rundown of upcoming events.  

Strip Search is back for 2026, with a most special of special guests: Deon Parson, also known by his pen name "Supr Dee." "Rosebuds," his comic strip about a family of three very different sisters that he produces out of his home studio in Indiana, is nationally syndicated by King Features, and he's also the creator of the strips "Life With Kurami" and "Pen & Ink." We talk with Dee about his road to syndication, his methods and creative process, and just what's going on between him and Jim Davis. (Yes, that Jim Davis!) Also: Dave's got a new title, Pete's reading a new book, and Pet Peeves is getting ready for its next big launch. 

Douglas Laubacher is a cartoonist and art educator from Northeast Ohio. You can find his comic strip, "Unbound," in the Tuscarawas County Bargain Hunter and the Wooster Weekly News.  A member of the National Cartoonist Society, Doug can often be found traversing the land, teaching the mysterious craft of cartooning in various art centers and libraries throughout the region. (We know because he told us.) Check out our wide-ranging interview with Doug about "Unbound" and his cartooning history, along with some news about our latest Pet Peeves projects and a few adventures of our own. 

Arnon Z. Shorr has done his part to expand the palette of Jewish stories being told, in both film and later in comics and graphic novels . He's penned tales of mythical creatures (a High Holidays unicorn tale will be out soon), monsters, and perhaps most successfully, pirates, all with more than a nod toward Jewish history and culture. Shorr talked to Strip Search  about the joys of telling those stories — and also the challenges, especially in the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the war that followed. Also: Update on Friends of Strip Search taking home the gold (i.e. a Reuben Award), and find out where to see Dave and Pete this November!   

Boston Kids Comics Fest, which had grown exponentially since it launched in 2018, is taking a pause this year. But the good news is that there's a viable alternative, particularly for those west of Boston: the very first Young Artists Comics Fest, aka ALYAC Fest, coming to the Ashland Public Library on July 13, 2025. We talked to event organizers Meena Jain, past director of the Boston Kids Comics Fest and current director of the Ashland Public Library; Tony Davis, owner of the Million Year Picnic Comic Book Store in Harvard Square and a co-founder of the Boston Kids Comics Fest; and Katrina Ireland-Bilodeau, director of youth services/assistant director of the Ashland Public Library, about what to expect. Also, the latest on not one, but TWO new "Pet Peeves" books, based on Dave and Pete's popular comic strip.

Luse — a longtime local cartoonist himself — sat down with Pete and Dave to talk about what people can expect this year's Boston Comics in Color festival, and why it's more relevant, and necessary, than ever. Also in this ep: A new Art Spiegelman doc, the GoComics kerfuffle, and more! 

Brian Anderson isn't just a Worcester, Massachusetts native, although he gets extra props for that. He's also the creator of the very funny comic strip "Dog Eat Doug," the author of several children's picture books and illustrated novels, including "The Conjurers" trilogy, and now he's released two graphic novels based on the "Dog Eat Doug" characters, called "Sophie: Jurassic Bark" and "Sophie: Frankenstein's Hound." He lives in North Carolina with his family, which includes a herd of rescued dogs and cats, and now, he's on Strip Search! Listen in to his chat with Dave and Pete, and also to our tribute to the late, great cartoonist Jules Feiffer. 

A self-described failed cartoonist, Jeff Kinney spent eight years developing his first "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" novel after syndicates passed on his daily comic strip. Within a few years after that, he found himself with a hit book series and a movie in the works (the first of many), and he's since become the steward of a worldwide franchise that shows no signs of abating. Plus, he gives back every day to his community of Plainville, Massachusetts, via his bookstore, An Unlikely Story. How cool is that? For some reason, Jeff sat down with London & Chianca for a wide-ranging interview on Strip Search: The Comic Strip Podcast.   

Kim Tomsic, the author of middle-grade novels like "The 11:11 Wish" and "The 12th Candle," and nonfiction books like "The Elephants Come Home," has teamed up with "Off The Mark" cartoonist and author Mark Parisi for the new she-said, he-said illustrated diary book "The Truth About 5th Grade," published by HarperCollins. And what a book it is! Find out all about it when the pair appears on the latest episode of Strip Search. Also, Dave goes behind the scenes at the latest Rhode Island Comic Con.    

Since getting her start with her hilarious single-panel comic "Half Full," which is syndicated nationally by Andrews-McMeel, Maria Scrivan has thrown herself into her graphic novel work, and the result seems to have been as much fun for her readers as for herself: 2020's "Nat Enough" was an instant New York Times bestseller, and the series' popularity has only grown since. We sat down with Maria to talk about cartooning, graphic novels, and surviving middle school. Plus: Dave's review of the "What, Me Worry? The Art and Humor of MAD Magazine" at Norman Rockwell Museum! 

If a panel cartoon is good enough, it can wind up adorning kitchen refrigerators, office bulletin boards, and social media feeds for years on end. So how do panel cartoonists do it, with artwork that can sometimes amount to no more than a few scrawled lines, and text that might comprise just a few words? It's a question that, apparently, haunted Phil Witte and Rex Hesner — so much so that they wrote a book about it, "Funny Stuff: How Great Cartoonists Make Great Cartoons." Well, the impetus was actually a little more complicated than that, as you'll hear when Dave London and Pete Chianca sit down with Phil and Rex for the latest episode of "Strip Search." Also, find out the latest about the rollout of the latest "Pet Peeves" collection by London & Chianca, "Nerd Dad!"

Bob Eckstein may, by his own admission, not have especially enjoyed being dragged to museums by his parents as a child. But something changed along the way, which is readily apparent If you take a look at Bob's new book, "Footnotes from the Most Fascinating Museums." It features 155 beautifully painted depictions of more than 75 museums in North America, accompanied by stories that help get to the essence of what makes them so special. Creating the paintings wasn't as difficult an undertaking as it sounds, according to Eckstein. "What I did was based on what the museum called for — I simply was the background music to the beautiful museums. And I just kind of tried to lend my skills to what was needed," Eckstein says. "But I was very much a secondary person in this whole process, in the sense that the museum itself told me what style I should try to do." And Eckstein spent about as much time tracking down the fascinating stories behind the museums that he included, several of the best of which he shared in the latest episode of "Strip Search: The Comic Strip Podcast." Listen to hear our discussion about museums, Bob's painting technique, and (for good measure) some real talk about the future of cartooning and the newspapers that have historically been their home.   

Trigger warning: If you would rather not remember what middle school was like, you may not want to read "Timid," the new middle-grade graphic novel by local cartoonist and illustrator Jonathan Todd, coming April 2 from Scholastic. But if you happen to be in middle school right now, or know someone who is, it's unlikely you'll find a better depiction of just how fraught and awkward those years can be. Dave and Pete find out how Jonathan did it when he appears on the latest Strip Search podcast! Also, we discuss the latest collateral damage from Gannett's comics page "consolidation": female cartoonists.

"Wallace the Brave" cartoonist Will Henry is far from the first person to find himself on the short end of the cost-cutting stick when it comes to corporate newspaper ownership. But he's one of the few whose brush with the harsh realities of modern journalism had a happy ending. For his second time on "Strip Search" (check out his memorable first appearance, from 2019, here), Will shares that story, gives us an update on what's up with "Wallace" — now and possibly down the road — and talks with Dave about pens. (Lots of pens.) Also, find out what Dave and Pete have in store for their comic strip "Pet Peeves" in 2024!

It's ironic: We'd never want the Deweys as our next door neighbors, but as for Pat Sandy — creator of the Deweys in the comic strip "Next Door Neighbors" — we could talk to him all day! Join in as Dave and Pete discuss past "Peanuts," Pat's drawing style, and what went into his new collection "Block Party." Also, we revisit past interviews with two 2023 Ruben Award winners, Christopher Weyant and Will Henry!

"Cartoonist" sounds like one of those jobs that would be cool to have, but how does one go about getting there? Well, turns out there is no one way, says Heide Solbrig, a cartoonist and media scholar who teaches art, comics and media studies throughout Boston. That's one of the reasons why she — along with LJ Baptiste, another art educator and cartoonist from Boston, whose comic series COMIXSCAPE has been running since 2012 — have developed a certificate program at MassArt to help would-be cartoonists figure out where to start. Both of them are this month's guests on Strip Search, where they talk to hosts Dave London and Pete Chianca about the program, the Boston comics scene, and their own upcoming projects. 

With comics and graphic novels being among the most challenged books during the recent upswing in complaints about what's on the shelves at school and public libraries, some might forget the role the medium has played in turning millions of kids onto reading — not to mention providing joy, fun, and excitement to generations of readers. The Boston Kids Comics Fest — coming June 3, 2023 at Northeastern University — is here to remind you. Hosts Dave London and Pete Chianca devote the full episode to a discussion with fest COO Meena Jain, co-founder and creator liaison Tony Davis, and comics scholar Hillary Chute talking about what to expect from the event, why gatherings like this are important for kids, and the explosion of comics as a medium and kids' comics in particular.  

Strip Search hosts Dave London and Pete Chianca sit down with Boston cartoonist Cagen Luse, creator of the LunchTime Comix strip in Dig Boston, and manga artist and animator Tyrone Motley, better known as ZeroSnake, to talk about the Comics in Color fest in Roxbury, coming April 29, 2023, to the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury, Massachusetts.

Fans of both comics and animals are clearly listening to what Jimmy Craig's creatures have to say. In the seven years since he launched his comic strip "They Can Talk," it's amassed 615,000 followers on Instagram, 658,000 on Facebook, and has spawned two books; the latest, "Are You Gonna Eat That?" from Ulysses Press, hits shelves this month. Dave and Pete caught up with Craig to talk about talking to the animals, and them talking back.

The inaugural chair of the Master of Fine Arts in Visual Narrative at Boston University, Joel Christian Gill recently talked to Strip Search about the exhibit he curated there, "Comics Is A Medium, Not a Genre," running through March 24, 2023. It's a free exhibit that covers a century and a half of American comic books, comic strips, graphic novels and more, in an attempt to show how comics can tell any kind of story to any age group or demographic. (Not just kids, in other words.) "It becomes this really pure art form," Gill says, explaining that comics, with their unique blend of words and visuals, have a way of reaching readers that other media might not. "It teaches you things because it talks to you on this subconscious level," he says. Gill talked about curating the exhibit, about his own work — including the great graphic novel series "Strange Fruit" — and about why comics sometimes scare people to death.  Also: Dave and Pete discuss the big announcement that "Calvin and Hobbes" creator Bill Watterson is coming back to comics! (Sort of.)    

Christopher Weyant has not just one, but two of the best jobs in cartooning. First off, he's a New Yorker cartoonist, where he's spent 25 years making light of, well, anything and everything. He's also an editorial cartoonist, often for the Boston Globe, skewering the powerful and pointing out the absurdity that seems to run more and more rampant in the halls of power these days. He sat down with Dave and Pete to talk about his dual career, how he got into cartooning, and how he approaches his work. Plus, what it's like to be a fellow! (A Harvard Nieman Fellow, that is.)

Harry Bliss is a longtime New Yorker cartoonist with thousands of gag panels and several dozen covers under his belt, and — more recently — the collaborator with comedy legend Steve Martin on a series of books: 2020's "A Wealth of Pigeons," and this year's bestselling "Number One is Walking," a series of comic book-style illustrated anecdotes about Martin's film career. He sat down with Dave and Pete to talk about how that partnership came about and what Steve is like to work with, along with a deep dive into his cartooning style, his favorite cartoons and cartoonists, and his early days in the cartooning biz.

You may not have heard of the comic book "Kellen the Kid." Yet. But odds are pretty good that someday you will. It's one of several comic books and strips created by Kellen Paul, a 9-year-old cartoonist and illustrator who's been plying his trade at the Community Art Center in his hometown of Cambridge, Mass., and whose work has taken the center by storm. Kellen — accompanied by the center's director of programs, Sarah Winter, and Jada Alleyne, the center's school-age program manager — joins Dave and Pete on Strip Search: The Comic Strip Podcast to talk about cartooning and what the center is doing to help hundreds of kids get in touch with their creativity every year. (And also to give Dave and Pete a few cartooning tips.) Also, in the intro: A discussion of #Schulz100, the 100th birthday tribute to "Peanuts" creator Charles M. Schulz.

Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo Outreach Co-Director Zach Clemente — also the founder of the Boston-based comics publisher Bulgilhan Press — joins Pete and Dave to talk about how MICE plans to come roaring back this year bigger and better than ever. (But still with plenty of holdovers that people are sure to recognize at their new location at Boston University.) Also: Learn about your chance to meet Pet Peeves at the Kids Con New England event Oct. 15!

He just won the 2022 National Cartoonists Society's Reuben Award for Editorial Cartooning, and he's saving the world from Donald Trump one comic strip at a time. And now, Ruben Bolling is on Strip Search! Pete and Dave talk to Ruben about their shared background — Go Fighting Jumbos! — how the strip "Tom the Dancing Bug" became so political, and Bolling's tips and tricks for doing great cartoon satire.

The acclaimed cartoonist and author Bob Eckstein returns to Strip Search to talk to Dave London & Pete Chianca about his new book, "The Complete Book of Cat Names (That Your Cat Won't Answer To, Anyway)," plus the return of bookstores, refining the perfect cartoon idea, making the most out of the least lines, and much more.

Crowden Satz is one of the funniest and most prolific single-panel gag cartoonist in the biz, and now he's telling the tricks of the trade to Dave London and Pet Chianca on the latest Strip Search comic strip podcast. Also: Dave and Pete on the new comic strip "Crabgrass," "Thor: Love and Thunder," and also on their plan to pull a Kate Bush with their 1980s comic strip, "Swidey."

Keith Knight — the man behind the nationally syndicated comic strips ​​ "The Knight Life," "The K Chronicles," and "(Th)ink" — goes deep with Dave and Pete on his Hulu TV show "Woke," his "Black Mug Shots" project, and what's next for the cartoonist, activist and erstwhile Michael Jackson impersonator. 

In the latest "Strip Search" podcast, Pete and Dave sit down with "Goodnight iPad" author David Milgrim to talk about society's technology troubles, the dangers of Elon Musk buying Twitter, and his own latest projects — including a series of comic essays and a brand new strip in the offing. 

It's two (two!) guests for the price of one in this month's episode of Strip Search, when "Pet Peeves" cartoonists Dave London & Pete Chianca welcome Cagen Luse of Comics in Color, talking about this year's all-in-person festival in Boston, coming April 23; and Pat Sandy, the cartoonist behind the hilarious "Next Door Neighbors," discussing his new comic strip collection. 

In this episode of "Strip Search: The Comic Strip Podcast," "Pet Peeves" cartoonists Dave London & Pete Chianca interview David Sipress — one of The New Yorker magazine's most well-known contributors — about his wonderful new memoir "What's So Funny," a cartoonist's origin story that delves into tortured family dynamics and hard-learned life lessons that can make you cringe and chuckle all at once. Also: Dave and Pete have mixed emotions on the "Bloom County" TV show; a plug for the latest must-have comic strip compilation; and the usual banter.

In this episode of "Strip Search: The Comic Strip Podcast," "Pet Peeves" cartoonists Dave London & Pete Chianca go deep with Hillary Chute, a Distinguished Professor of English and Art & Design at Northeastern University and comics scholar, about the banning of Art Spiegelman's "Maus"; the rise of comics in popular culture; the shift in "adult" comics from underground to the mainstream; graphic novels for beginners; and much more.