Once upon a time, a cartoonist put the Three Little Pigs in the suburbs and never looked back. This week on Inside the Kingdom, we sit down with Francis Bonnet — the creator, writer, and illustrator behind Suburban Fairy Tales — to talk about 20+ years of fairy tale humor, landing at King Features Syndicate, his new book Set Sail to Fail, and what it really takes to keep a comic strip going for two decades.

Whether you’re a longtime fan of the strip or discovering it for the first time, this is a fun, honest look at life as a cartoonist.

📰 Read Suburban Fairy Tales on Comics Kingdom:

comicskingdom.com/suburban-fairy-tales

📖 Get Set Sail to Fail on Amazon:

amazon.com/Set-Sail-Fail-Suburban-Collection/dp/B0DFXXWH6F

⏰ CHAPTERS:

0:00 — Intro
2:00 — Who Is Francis Bonnet?
5:00 — The World of Suburban Fairy Tales
9:00 — 20 Years of the Strip
13:00 — Craft & Creative Process
17:00 — Set Sail to Fail & Sunday Editions
20:00 — Lightning Round
23:00 — Where to Find Francis

#SuburbanFairyTales #ComicsKingdom #InsideTheKingdom #ComicStrips #KingFeatures #FrancissBonnet #Webcomics

This week on Inside the Kingdom, we’re joined by Victor Van Acker, creator of Dumplings — a funny, family-friendly strip about Dani, her lovable pup Benny, and the friends (and frenemies) who make everyday life feel like a full-on adventure.

We talk about:

• Finding comedy in school days, friendships, and kid-sized “big deals”
• Building a cast that includes Dani, Benny, and a memorable crew of friends and pets
• Victor’s path to cartooning, from drawing for his family to making Dumplings a daily strip

Read Dumplings on Comics Kingdom, and explore the archive to catch up from the beginning. Like, subscribe, and tell us which character you’re backing: Team Benny or Team Cat Logic.

Dumplings on Comics Kingdom: https://comicskingdom.com/dumplings

About Dumplings: https://comicskingdom.com/dumplings/about

Victor Van Acker (creator page): https://comicskingdom.com/creator/victor-van-acker

What makes toddler life so funny, and so familiar

This week on Inside the Kingdom, we sit down with George Gant, creator of Beware of Toddler, the weekly Sunday comic on ComicsKingdom.com. The strip follows a stay at home dad trying to survive daily life with his wild two year old daughter, and somehow finding laughter in the mess.

George shares how the comic started, how he finds the joke in real parenting moments, and what it has been like growing the strip from webcomic roots into a wider audience through King Features and Comics Kingdom.

Read Beware of Toddler on ComicsKingdom.com (new strips every Sunday), and explore more creator conversations by subscribing to Inside the Kingdom.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro02:10 How Beware of Toddler began06:00 Building the characters12:00 Writing and drawing process18:00 Joining Comics Kingdom24:00 Milestones and recognition29:00 Lightning round33:00 Outro

#Comics #ComicsKingdom #BewareOfToddler #GeorgeGant #KingFeatures #Cartooning #ParentingHumor

Step into Hootin’ Holler with us!
This week on Inside the Kingdom, we’re joined by John R. Rose, the cartoonist carrying forward the legendary comic strip Barney Google & Snuffy Smith — one of the longest-running strips in American history.

We talk about:

• The strip’s 100+ year legacy

• The evolution from Barney to Snuffy

• Life and humor in Hootin’ Holler

• John’s creative process and daily cartooning routine

• Why readers have loved these characters for generations

Read Barney Google & Snuffy Smith daily on ComicsKingdom.com
Subscribe for more creator stories, comic history, and behind-the-scenes chats!

What makes a comic quietly brilliant?

In this episode of Inside the Kingdom, we sit down with Hilary Price, the award-winning creator of Rhymes With Orange. Since 1995, Hilary’s strip has captured the humor of everyday life with sharp observation, warmth, and wit.

We talk about the origins of the comic, finding confidence in subtle humor, the creative process behind a long-running strip, and Hilary’s thoughtful perspective on AI and the future of art.

🎨 Featuring: Rhymes With Orange
🎙️ Guest: Hilary Price
📚 Explore the full archive at ComicsKingdom.com

Step into the surreal, sideways, wonderfully weird universe of Bizarro!
In this episode of Inside the Kingdom, we sit down with Wayno, the brilliant cartoonist carrying the daily strip forward.

We dig into:

• The origins of Bizarro and its iconic hidden symbols

• How Dan and Wayno built a creative partnership

• What it means to maintain a legacy comic in a digital era

• Blondie’s 95-year milestone — and what it teaches all creators

• The future of offbeat, smart, visual humor

Read Bizarro daily on ComicsKingdom.com and explore the full archive!

New episodes weekly. Like, subscribe, and leave a review — it helps comics fans find us.

In this episode of Inside the Kingdom, we sit down with the award-winning cartoonist behind Legalization Nation, the groundbreaking comic strip that investigates the real-world cannabis industry, policy failures, misinformation, and the human stories buried underneath it all.

We talk about:

• The rise of comics journalism

• What inspired Legalization Nation

• How Box reports, researches, and draws each installment

• The complexities (and contradictions) of cannabis legalization

• Where the industry is headed — and why comics can explain it best

Read Legalization Nation daily at ComicsKingdom.com.
Subscribe for more creator interviews from the world of King Features Syndicate.

It’s Thanksgiving week — and what better time to celebrate one of America’s most iconic families? In this special Inside the Kingdom episode, we sit down with Dianne Erwin and Dana Young Coston to talk all things Blondie — now celebrating 95 incredible years in newspapers and online.

From Dagwood’s legendary sandwiches to Blondie’s timeless humor, this episode is a feast of nostalgia and new beginnings. We’ll dig into how Blondie continues to evolve for modern readers, the creative care behind keeping a legacy alive, and even some Blondie-inspired recipes that fans have been sharing this Thanksgiving week.

🍞 Listen in for:

• The origins of Blondie and its 95-year journey

• How the strip stays fresh for digital audiences

• Blondie’s family recipes and food traditions fans are recreating

• Why laughter (and a good sandwich) are timeless

✨ Read Blondie every day at ComicsKingdom.com/Blondie
🎧 New episodes of Inside the Kingdom drop weekly — subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!

What does “success” look like when you’re still figuring it out? Today we hang with Luca Debus, creator of Wannabe—a slice-of-life strip following three roommates (McKenzie, Andy, and Margot) as they chase big dreams and survive the small stuff. We talk origin stories, Schulz’s influence from Luca’s book Funny Things, writing kind comedy, and how daily strips thrive on platforms like Comics Kingdom and Webtoon.📚 Buy the 2024 collection Dumb by Choice (Feb 14–Dec 31, 2024) - https://www.lulu.com/shop/luca-debus/wannabe-dumb-by-choice/paperback/product-gj2eyq5.html?page=1&pageSize=4📰 Read Wannabe on Comics Kingdom - https://comicskingdom.com/wannabe📲 Follow Luca: Linktree - https://linktr.ee/luca.debusTimestamps: 0:00 cold open 1:00 intro 13:00 characters 21:00 craft 31:00 highlight strips 40:00 Q&A 49:00 outro.

Meet John Hambrock, creator of The Brilliant Mind of Edison Lee—the daily & Sunday comic about a ten-year-old inventor whose experiments collide with family life, a grumpy grandpa, and a very helpful lab rat named Joules. We talk origin stories, writing science gags, collaborating with Anne Morse Hambrock (the strip’s colorist and contributing writer), and the craft behind a great punchline.

⏱ Chapters
0:00 Cold open
1:00 Intro
3:30 Origins
8:00 Building Edison’s world
16:00 Process & coloring
23:00 Reader favorites
29:00 Craft talk
33:00 What’s next
38:00 Outro

🎙️ Subscribe for more creator deep-dives from Inside the Kingdom.
📚 Read The Brilliant Mind of Edison Lee on Comics Kingdom and explore the book collections.
🏆 Fun fact: Edison Lee launched in 2006 and earned the NCS Silver Reuben for Best Newspaper Comic Strip (2021).