Hi Comics Fan,
Get ready for Valentine's Day! This Comics Update announces:
 Valentine's Day Gifts and E-cards
Valentine Wallpaper
An Exclusive Interview with Grand Avenue Cartoonist Steve Breen
Web-Only Comics
Guess Who Said That
Dilbert Clocks and Caps
Test Your Comics Knowledge
The New Pearls Before Swine Book
Bachelor Party
Strip of the Day Products for Arlo and Janis, Big Nate and Frazz
 Valentine's Day Gifts
Select a special design for your Valentine! You can order
Valentine-themed character designs and strips on products ranging
from clothing to prints. Order by February 5th to qualify for
standard shipping, or February 10th for two-day shipping.
http://www.cafepress.com/cp/store.aspx?s=unitedmedia.31654
 Valentine's Day E-cards
Choose an animated sentiment or a quick postcard, but don't forget
to send Valentine greetings!
Peanuts:
http://www.snoopy.com/comics/peanuts/fun_and_games/e_cards.html
Dilbert:
http://www.dilbert.com/comics/dilbert/e_greetings/index.html
Raising Duncan, Get Fuzzy, Rose Is Rose, Luann and 9 Chickweed Lane:
http://www.comics.com/ecards/html/ecards_love.html
 Valentine Wallpaper
Decorate your desktop with this special Snoopy design:
http://www.snoopy.com/comics/peanuts/fun_and_games/wallpaper.html
Interview with Grand Avenue Cartoonist Steve Breen
Question: When did you start drawing cartoons? Who were some of
your influences?
Steve Breen: I started drawing cartoons in junior high when I got
hooked on "MAD." It was simple gross-out humor with no words, a la
Don Martin and Sergio Aragones. Then I got into college and started
doing editorial cartoons for the school paper and I became
interested in the work of MacNelly, Oliphant and Conrad.
Around the same time, I also got into strip cartooning and I became
a "Wizard of Id" and "BC" nut. The first comic strip I attempted
was essentially "Wizard of Id" set in a zoo, with the zoo manager
an irritable little dictator and his head zookeeper a lanky doofus.
I then started to really appreciate "Bloom County," "Calvin and
Hobbes" and, of course, "Peanuts." I think you can see influences
of all these features on "Grand Avenue."
Q: You won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning in 1998.
What made you decide to create a daily comic strip? How is drawing
a daily strip different from editorial cartooning?
SB: In college I decided to try to do both editorial cartooning and
strip cartooning. I couldn't decide which I loved more. I still
can't. "GA" was the 10th strip I had sent to the syndicates (over
an eight-year period). I finally started getting phone calls back
instead of rejection letters.
Drawing a comic strip is a lot harder than doing the editorial
cartoons. With "GA" I'm completely on my own. As MacNelly said,
"With editorial cartooning, I've got the best gag writers working
in Washington, D.C."
Q: Are any of your characters based on real people?
SB: People ask that frequently, but the answer really is no. My
mother-in-law is a huge "Knicks" fan and an outstanding
grandmother, but that's about it.
Q: You live in San Diego, which doesn't get cold weather. What was
the inspiration for your recent "snow day" series?
SB: Well, snow is fun to draw, first of all. Secondly, although I
was born and raised in Southern California, I lived on the East
Coast for seven years and I really miss the seasons!
Q: What career would you like to try if you weren't a cartoonist?
SB: If I could survive the cutthroat dog-eat-dog pressure of it, I
think I would like the world of advertising. On a creative level I
think it would suit me. After all, an editorial cartoon is nothing
more than a mini ad campaign. You're trying to get people's
attention and make them buy your point of view.
Q: What advice do you have for aspiring cartoonists?
SB: Two pieces of advice: Be persistent and read anything you can
get your hands on. You always have to be fueling the imagination.
Read a month of Grand Avenue here:
http://www.comics.com/comics/grandave/index.html
Order the Grand Avenue book, "Your Grandma Rocks, Mine Rolls."
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0740718495/unitedmedia/002-4563454-3667257
Comic Category Spotlight: Web Exclusives
You won't find them in any newspaper, but at Comics.com you can be
one of the first to discover some of the best new comics. Some of
the most popular web-only comics are:
Pibgorn
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Pibgorn follows the epic saga of its eponymous, fairy heroine as
she blunders into and out of danger, magic spells, maledictions,
love, hate, rivalry, loyalty, trust, friendship and lousy hair
days.
Read a month of Pibgorn here:
http://www.comics.com/comics/pibgorn/archive/index.html
Sheldon
-------
Sheldon is a ten-year-old boy who earned billions with his own
software company. Despite his riches, Sheldon's still very much a
kid -- happily going to school, relaxing with friends at the ol'
swimmin' hole, and spending hours watching "Star Trek."
Read a month of Sheldon here:
http://www.comics.com/comics/sheldon/index.html
Working Daze
------------
Working Daze is a slightly skewed look at life in a modern,
high-tech office.
Read a month of Working Daze here:
http://www.comics.com/comics/workingdaze/index.html
Jane's World
------------
Jane chases vampires, needs sensitivity training, requires career
counseling and basically needs to get a life.
Read a month of Jane's World here:
http://www.comics.com/comics/janesworld/index.html
Guess Who Said That
Who said, "No one wants to hire a man my age"? The answer appears
after the next section.
 Technology, No Place For Wimps
Proclaim your technological superiority with the newest clocks and
caps from the Dilbert store.
http://www.cafepress.com/cp/store.aspx?s=dilbert.56621
Here's Who Said That
In Drabble, Ralph said, "No one wants to hire a man my age. Find
out why here:
http://www.comics.com/comics/drabble/archive/drabble-20030129.html
Test Your Comics Knowledge
Which comic has no dialogue? The answer appears after the next
section.
 Pearls Before Swine: BLTs Taste So Darn Good
Stephan Pastis' first book is coming out in March, and you can be
one of the first to own it! Discover Pearls strips you missed in
the newspaper, or enjoy old favorites again.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0740734377/unitedmedia/102-0995646-4501740
Answer to the Comics Knowledge Question
Ferd'nand is the classic "silent" comic strip, starring a wide-eyed
cherubic mime, his wife, son and dog. Ferd'nand is one of the 10
longest-running comic strips still being drawn. The strip was
originally created in 1937 by Danish film animator Henning Dahl
Mikkelsen for Presse-Illustrations-Bureau (PIB) in Copenhagen. The
strip gained wide popularity in Europe, so PIB brought it to
America where United Feature Syndicate began distributing it in
1947. Mikkelsen moved to California and continued to draw the strip
until his death in 1982. Today, Ferd'nand continues to be drawn in
"Mik's" style by Henrik Rehr.
Read a month of Ferd'nand here:
http://www.comics.com/comics/ferdnand/index.html
Bachelor Party
In this new addition to Comics.com, several twenty-somethings make
their way in the world, very, very slowly.
Read a month of Bachelor Party:
http://www.comics.com/creators/bachelorparty/index.html
Get Today's Strip on Products
Arlo and Janis, Big Nate and Frazz have joined the list of comic
strips available on products the day they're published. You can
also choose from selected older strips.
Arlo and Janis:
http://www.cafepress.com/cp/sotd.aspx?storeid=arlonjanis
Big Nate:
http://www.cafepress.com/cp/sotd.aspx?storeid=bignate
Frazz:
http://www.cafepress.com/cp/sotd.aspx?storeid=frazz
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