The Comics Curmudgeon
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| The Comics Curmudgeon | |
|---|---|
| URL | www.joshreads.com |
| Type of site | Blog |
| Owner | Josh Fruhlinger |
| Created by | Josh Fruhlinger |
The Comics Curmudgeon is a blog devoted to the newspaper comics page. Its author, Josh Fruhlinger, is a freelance writer and editor who additionally blogs about political comics for Wonkette in a weekly feature called Cartoon Violence.
Originally created as a way to amuse his friends, Fruhlinger's blog soon became a magnet for comic fans looking to express their meta-amusement with the sometimes bizarre world of the comics page. Additionally, several professionals in the comic world are known readers and contribute to the ever-growing comments section under the posts. These include Hägar the Horrible's artist/writer Chris Browne[1], Liō artist/writer Mark Tatulli[citation needed], and Sally Forth scripter Francesco Marciuliano.[2] Ed Power, who scripts the comic My Cage, was a longtime reader of the Curmudgeon before his strip was syndicated in early 2007. Bob Weber Jr., artist for Slylock Fox, created merchandise for the Curmudgeon CafePress store with original art of the character Cassandra Cat (from the Fox strip).[3]
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[edit] Content
Each day, Fruhlinger reviews select comics and snarks on them for a variety of reasons (bizarre artwork, nonsensical plots, and occasional praise, among others). Long running soap opera-style comic strips generally get the brunt of Fruhlinger's humor, such as perennial favorites Apartment 3-G, Mark Trail, and Mary Worth.
The blog's original name was "Josh Reads the Comics so You Don't Have To", which is reflected in the site URL, joshreads.com.
[edit] Impact
In most newspaper articles regarding the comics page within the last year, The Comics Curmudgeon is seemingly universally referenced, showing its impact and influence on the comics page world. Most famously, it is generally accepted as the flash point for the huge interest in a 2006 Mary Worth plot line involving the title character being stalked by a character named Aldo Kelrast, who resembled Captain Kangaroo. The stalker famously met his end by driving drunkenly off a cliff after being confronted on his behavior by Worth. "Aldomania" became perhaps the most commented-upon storyline in Mary Worth's history, generating several newspaper articles,[4] almost all pointing towards the Curmudgeon's embracing of this bizarre character and plot.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
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This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of the article are generally not sufficient for a Wikipedia article. Please include more appropriate citations from reliable sources, or discuss the issue on the talk page. This article has been tagged since December 2007. |
- ^ Chris Brown of Hägar the Horrible responds to CC
- ^ Francesco Marciuliano of Sally Forth links to the CC in his blog, calling it "America's Finest Website"
- ^ Fruhlinger reveals officially licensed Cassandra Cat (from the Slylock Fox cartoon) merchandise available at his CafePress store
- ^ Schwed, Mark (August 17, 2006), “Mary, Mary (Should she be wary?)”, The Palm Beach Post: 1E, <http://www.palmbeachpost.com/accent/content/accent/epaper/2006/08/17/a1e_maryworth1_0817.html>. Retrieved on 2007-06-12
