Independent animator (and former syndicated cartoonist) Chris Harding (Learn Self Defense) launches a new online comic strip today called We The Robots. There are thirteen comics currently posted and new ones scheduled weekly. I tend to be a fan of just about everything Chris does and this latest project is no exception. It should be noted that the strip is loosely related to the next animated short that he’s currently working on. He explains in one of his blog posts:

“It’s hard to explain the relationship between the animated Work In Progress, and the non-animated comic strip that goes with it. Both take place in the same fictional world of robots. The short is more broad and doesn’t revolve around any specific robot, where the comic strip has several regular characters.”

Today’s Non Sequitur comic by Wiley has a nice dig on th Schulz bio. Click HERE to read the entire strip.

(Thanks, Patricio)

In case you haven’t been following it, the debate over David Michaelis’ Charles Schulz bio rages on. Fresh comments from daughter Amy Schulz Johnson, Peanuts comic book artist Dale Hale and Peanuts animation producer Lee Mendelson add to the conversation. Join the discussion here.

Like Schulz’ Peanuts, Bill Watterson’s classic comic strip Calvin and Hobbes was beloved by many and still has a devoted following - despite it’s retirement in 1995. Tim from the Calvin and Hobbes: Magic on Paper website has unearthed a selection of Watterson’s student artwork, from his days at Ohio’s Kenyon College, drawn for the school newspaper and the 1980 yearbook. Considering that new Watterson art is rare, it’s great to see some old stuff that’s new to our eyes.

Good Grief! The conversation continues on our post about the Michaelis bio of Charles Schulz. Schulz son Monte adds some additional comments today, as well as new reactions from Schulz daughters Amy and Jill.

(Note: To keep the discussion from breaking into numerous threads, comments are closed for this post but can be continued in the other post with Schulz’s family comments.)

Going on sale tomorrow (10/10) is the first issue of a new DC Comics’ three-issue mini-series, CAPTAIN CARROT AND THE FINAL ARK, reviving the Zoo Crew characters created by Roy Thomas and Scott Shaw over twenty-five years ago. The new series is written by Bongo’s Bill Morrison, drawn by Scott Shaw!, and inked by Al Gordon. Scott says:

Not a “kiddie comic” — but, like THE SIMPSONS and ROCKY AND HIS FRIENDS, with a multi-tiered sense of humor that appeals to younger readers as well. The new Captain Carrot explores a world of “funny animals” that mirrors (and parodies) those of more traditional comic books. We also make fun of comic book conventions, J. J. Abrams’ upcoming giant monster movie, DC’s 52 and COUNTDOWN series, Tex Avery, Sergio Aragonés, Prince, Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, Jack Kirby’s NEW GODS and much more.

Scott and Bill will appear in person tomorrow afternoon from 4pm to 6pm at Golden Apple Comics in Northridge (8967 Reseda Blvd.) to sign the first copies.

Via Bizarro.com

I just caught the teriffic trailer for next year’s big budget live action Iron Man movie. Looks like they nailed it - but we’ll wait and see.

Of course I couldn’t help but think about how far we’ve come from those cheapie Marvel Super Heroes cartoons from the late 1960s. Actually. most of us who grew up with these god-awful things have fond memories of them. At the time, it was all we had. Among its assets, John Vernon (”Dean Wormer” from Animal House) as the voice of Tony Stark (he also did double duty as Sub-Mariner), and the Iron Man theme song is a classic.