December 9th, 2017

News Around the Kingdom: THE GIFT OF LAUGHTER and THE GIFT OF NOTHING

by The King

Hello, Royal Readers,

This week, fresh from participating in the NCS Auction to benefit disaster relief, SNUFFY SMITH cartoonist John Rose reminds his fans to continue to exhibit the spirit of generosity by giving the gift of the laughter this holiday season!. John showcases two of the bodaciously best collections of his SNUFFY SMITH comics. Check out his blog!

Snuffy Smith collection

Meanwhile, MUTTS cartoonist Patrick McDonnell is thinking along the same generous lines. Visit Mutts Central at Mutts.com and you’ll see that on Dec. 30, 2017 (and annually on the first Saturday after Christmas), they’re celebrating The Gift of Nothing Day — a day to spend time with loved ones who already have “everything” or want “nothing” for the holidays. The special day was inspired by Patrick’s bestselling children’s book, The Gift of Nothing, which features beloved MUTTS duo Mooch and Earl. In the book, Mooch wonders what to get Earl on a special day. Finally, he discovers the perfect gift — a box filled nothing! “Nothing,” he explains, “… but me and you.” Check out Patrick’s blog to find out how you can celebrate The Gift of Nothing!

Mutts: The Gift of Nothing

In other news,

INTELLIGENT LIFE cartoonist David Reddick is having more fun than ever with his sketches of Gwen — clearly a fave!

Gwen – from David Reddick’s Sketch Book

This week in Part 1 of his 1971 BEETLE BAILEY Timeline series, Brian Walker reveals the origin story of Lt. Flap. In The Best of Beetle Bailey, Mort Walker recounts that BEETLE was banned in the military newspaper, Stars & Stripes, and how the comic was reinstated. Check out the details on Brian’s always interesting blog.

Beetle Bailey Sunday page color proof, February 28, 1971.

Over in Part 1 of the 1971 Timeline series of HI AND LOIS, Brian shows how Chip takes over babysitting his siblings for the first time. Is Lois right to be nervous? Naturally. You just know how there is going to be that inevitable phone call… See how it all played out — and learn some personal history from Brian in his always charming blog.

Hi and Lois Sunday page color proof, March 7, 1971.

And finally, in his BIZARRO blog this week, Dan Piraro has fun with a host of cartoons — twice as many as usual —  because he didn’t post anything last week. No wonder he headlines his blog “Doublewide!” Don’t miss Dan’s hilarious and always insighful blog!

Dan Piraro’s BIZARRO

Thanks for catching up on this week’s News Around the Kingdom.

Have a great week, and see you again next Friday!