What Stephan Pastis Does While Waiting for his Tuna Sandwich

Stephan Pastis, the genius behind Pearls Before Swine, orders a tuna sandwich for lunch, and amuses himself unconstructively by doing this.

Today's Poor Almanack

Here's a slice of desperate graveyard humor for the imploding newspaper business. If they could only reposition themselves as something more necessary, newspapers might survive. Did you know that you can clean glass with a newspaper and white vinegar?

Mardi Gras Parade 2009

The First Family makes its way down Wilson Blvd on Fat Tuesday (photo thanks to Jennifer Hart, Arlington), and they're followed by Gov. Palin, below (photo thanks to Bono Mitchell). I appreciate these as I was stuck at home and missed all the fun. My daughter Charlotte represented the family, kindly chaperoned by Mike Rhode and his daughter Claire.

Awaiting the Parade

Sarah and Barack can't wait to meet you at the Mardi Gras Parade, Tuesday at 8 pm, Courthouse to Clarendon on Wilson Blvd in Arlington.

Wouldn't this make a good illustration for a kinda scary children's book?

My thanks to Bono for the photo!

Oscar (R) Repeat

Here, I posted this last year, but too late to do anybody any good.

Today's Poor Almanack

This isn't entirely true. I did see Wall-E. And this may be the clumsiest lettering I've done, at least for this month.

When Worlds Collide, Part Five

Here's the grisly finale to our little story.

When Worlds Collide, Part Four

I'm proud to have done the first cartoon featuring an assorted jellies caddy. 

Mardi Gras Parade 2009

You may remember the above from last year.

Here's this year's Clarendon Mardi Gras poster. Various diverse hands have been constructing larger than life versions of some Almanac finger puppets to amaze and amuse the crowd.

Barack Obama, left, the magnificent Bono Mitchell, right.

When Worlds Collide, Part Three

Is that thing a tiki head, an Easter Island head or Abraham Lincoln? I just figure it's a pretty off-putting restaurant tchotchke and not at all condusive to fine dining.

You'll note "lowering" was changed to "glowering" in the final version, if you have time for such things.

When Worlds Collide, Part Two

Since I've got nothing to say and no time to say it, I'll just post the week's Cul de Sacs. Here are Tuesday's and Wednesday's. A commenter on gocomics suggests the P.J. stands for pepperjack, which seems reasonable.

When Worlds Collide

This week the Otterloops go to P.J.Piehole's Family Restaurant, which I stole from the Poor Almanac. It's my futile attempt to better integrate my personality.

A Valentine's Day Public Service.

And some advice; if you're on a deadline and in a hurry, draw candy. It's quick 'n' easy!

Fridge Funnies

I did this in March '04. It kinda wrote itself, and seemed to make sense. In some interview years ago Maurice Sendak said that in Dickens' books everything is alive; the chair is alive and the table is alive and the fire in the grate is alive, etc. This takes that idea to ridiculous extremes, I hope.

So a coupla years later I did another fridge cartoon. It got a little convoluted, though I like the final balloon. And I like the implication that the photograph is several rungs above the comic strip on the social ladder, and that the comic strip is a little wiseguy in a derby. I'd planned on doing some more chatty fridge-clutter cartoons; they're like those old animated cartoons from the 30s where all the books on the shelves would open up and the characters would spill out and do funny stuff.  But they're hard to draw and to think up and I'm lazy. For some reason I have no trouble drawing most of your major appliances. Stoves, washers and dryers present no difficulties. But refrigerators defeat me.

Five

As Alan Gardner kindly pointed out, today is Cul de Sac's 5th birthday. Which has me worried, as Alice is only four, so I've somehow screwed up the math again. Above is the first sketch and the drawing used on the Post Magazine cover the week it debuted. Originally it was going to be on the plastic bag holding the paper too, but that didn't happen. Which is a relief, as it might've scared away Post readers and depressed sales.

I like the sketch a lot, and I wish I could draw the strips so loosely, but somehow drawing things in little boxes cramps looseness and forces the lines to behave.

Oont

I stole Oont from a Bugs Bunny cartoon. Don't nobody tell!

Gutzon

I'm confident that this is the only instance of a comic strip using Gutzon Borglum for a cheap laff.