Strip Search: The Comic Strip Podcast

It's a jam-packed episode as Strip Search returns from a brief late-summer/early fall hiatus! Our special guest this month is John Yuskaitis, the creator behind a hilarious strip called Saved & Spoiled that's been simply taking off recently, both as an online webcomic and a special feature on Atmosphere TV. Besides that, Dave and Pete throw around some hot topics:

• New projects from Chuck Dillon, Will Henry and Stephen Pastis
• RIP PC Vey
• How AI slop is coming for your favorite comic strips.

Plus, a shameless plug for the National Cartoonists Society! Listen in for more.

This month, we sit down with Charles Brubaker, a talented writer, cartoonist, and animator based in Tennessee, and currently the writer and artist behind a new strip, "Lauren Ipsum." He's also doing his part to preserve some previously forgotten comics through his own Smallbug Studios. Plus: We discuss the "Zombie Strip" phenomenon (no walking dead are involved), and have some big news about friends of Strip Search Tim Jones (of Sour Grapes" fame) and Will Henry, the mastermind behind "Wallace the Brave."

If you're a fan of comic strips, you may know this month's guest Norm Feuti from his two syndicated strips, "Retail," which ran from 2006-2020, and "Gil," which he drew from 2012-2022. He also does the early reader series "Beak & Ally" — that one was the winner of the Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor in 2022 — and "Hello, Hedgehog!," and he just released a new middle-grade graphic novel, "A Kid Like Me," about finding your place in the middle school social landscape. PLUS: Dave and Pete talk about retiring cartoonists, this year's Reuben nominees, and grawlixes.

Just when you thought Tim Jones — the creator, artist and writer of the self-syndicated comic strip "Sour Grapes" — couldn't possibly have any more surprises up his sleeve, he joins Pete and Dave on Strip Search to talk about his latest endeavor, an actual Sour Grapes soda! We caught up on that, the spread of "Sour Grapes" throughout the U.S., and what's next for Mr. Jones. Meanwhile, Pete and Dave discuss the impending end of "Baby Blues," a milestone for the National Cartoonists Society, and the latest on their new chapter book, "Freddy Peeves and the Scoop on the Sinking School."

Artists of the future, have we got the event for you. In this episode of Strip Search, we talk to Meena Jain, director of the Ashland Public Library in Massachusetts, and cartoonist and author Deanna Soukiasian about the Ashland Library Young Artists Comics Fest coming March 21. (Including about how kid creators can participate with their comics, and sell them too, for cash money.) Also, Dave and Pete have book recs, an update on their upcoming chapter book "Freddy Peeves and the Scoop on the Sinking School," and a rundown of upcoming events.

Strip Search is back for 2026, with a most special of special guests: Deon Parson, also known by his pen name "Supr Dee." "Rosebuds," his comic strip about a family of three very different sisters that he produces out of his home studio in Indiana, is nationally syndicated by King Features, and he's also the creator of the strips "Life With Kurami" and "Pen & Ink." We talk with Dee about his road to syndication, his methods and creative process, and just what's going on between him and Jim Davis. (Yes, that Jim Davis!) Also: Dave's got a new title, Pete's reading a new book, and Pet Peeves is getting ready for its next big launch.

Douglas Laubacher is a cartoonist and art educator from Northeast Ohio. You can find his comic strip, "Unbound," in the Tuscarawas County Bargain Hunter and the Wooster Weekly News. A member of the National Cartoonist Society, Doug can often be found traversing the land, teaching the mysterious craft of cartooning in various art centers and libraries throughout the region. (We know because he told us.) Check out our wide-ranging interview with Doug about "Unbound" and his cartooning history, along with some news about our latest Pet Peeves projects and a few adventures of our own.

Arnon Z. Shorr has done his part to expand the palette of Jewish stories being told, in both film and later in comics and graphic novels . He's penned tales of mythical creatures (a High Holidays unicorn tale will be out soon), monsters, and perhaps most successfully, pirates, all with more than a nod toward Jewish history and culture. Shorr talked to Strip Search about the joys of telling those stories — and also the challenges, especially in the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the war that followed. Also: Update on Friends of Strip Search taking home the gold (i.e. a Reuben Award), and find out where to see Dave and Pete this November!

Boston Kids Comics Fest, which had grown exponentially since it launched in 2018, is taking a pause this year. But the good news is that there's a viable alternative, particularly for those west of Boston: the very first Young Artists Comics Fest, aka ALYAC Fest, coming to the Ashland Public Library on July 13, 2025. We talked to event organizers Meena Jain, past director of the Boston Kids Comics Fest and current director of the Ashland Public Library; Tony Davis, owner of the Million Year Picnic Comic Book Store in Harvard Square and a co-founder of the Boston Kids Comics Fest; and Katrina Ireland-Bilodeau, director of youth services/assistant director of the Ashland Public Library, about what to expect.

Also, the latest on not one, but TWO new "Pet Peeves" books, based on Dave and Pete's popular comic strip.

Luse — a longtime local cartoonist himself — sat down with Pete and Dave to talk about what people can expect this year's Boston Comics in Color festival, and why it's more relevant, and necessary, than ever. Also in this ep: A new Art Spiegelman doc, the GoComics kerfuffle, and more!