Marvin

For Father’s Day, we did something a little different on Inside the Kingdom. Instead of sitting down with one cartoonist or creator, I gathered a few of our King Features editors for a roundtable about dads, father figures, family strips, and the comics that shaped how we think about all of it. That sounds more formal than it was. Really, it was a group of people who spend their days reading, editing, thinking about, and caring for comics, talking about the funny-page dads who stuck with us. The ones we grew up reading. The ones who remind us of our own families. The ones who are trying their best, even when their best involves a bad joke, a nap, a sandwich, or an absolutely doomed attempt to understand their kids. And that became the heart of the conversation: comics are really good at showing dads in small, specific, human moments. Not perfect dads. Not grand speeches. Not the polished version of fatherhood that only exists in commercials where everyone is wearing linen and the grill somehow works. Comic strip dads are funnier than that. Messier than that. More familiar than […]

Hi, all! I hope you are recovering from your Thanksgiving feasts if you celebrate! Today, Saturday, November 26, is a very important day for comics history: the 100th birthday of Charles “Sparky” Schulz, the creator of Peanuts, one of the most beloved comic strips of all time. Usually, we only post about birthdays related to King Features comics, but Mr. Schulz was such an inspiration and good friend to so many of our cartoonists and had so much influence on the direction of not just comics but pop culture in the 20th century that we wanted to celebrate his legacy. Patrick McDonnell, the creator of MUTTS, spearheaded this project in collaboration with the Charles M. Schulz Museum to celebrate this special birthday! As you look around Comics Kingdom today, you will see many of cartoonists have contributed to this celebration by honoring Mr. Schulz in their comic strips. Here is a collection where you can see them all together! Todd the Dinoaur by Patrick Roberts Crankshaft by Tom Batiuk and Dan Davis Rhymes With Orange by Hilary Price & Rina PIccolo The Lockhorns by Bunny Hoest and John Reiner Daddy […]