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popculturebuffet · 2 years

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Breaking Cat News Retrospective: Year One: On The Air! (Comissioned by Emma Fici)

In Loving Memory of Stewie Magilcutty Mattingly 2006-2023 "A Legend that Will Live Forever"

So a few months ago I had some great fortune: I was getting back into comic strips, one of the great loves of my life and one I haven't indulged in on this blog nearly as much as I should. I never stopped reading them all together mind you, but I wasn't reading them daily and now I have it's through enjoyment. I found newer strips to adore like the nostalgic best friendship of crabgrass, the sibling chaos of Rosebuds and the charming reboot of heart of the city, found long running strips i'm now a huge fan of like Safe Havens, ON the FastTrack, and Kevin and Kell, all by one Bill Holbrook as well as Jumpstart which isn't but is fun, and reconnected with strips I hadn't really read daily like wallace the brave and phoebe and her unicorn. But while all of these are great and many will be talked about on here at some point (I'm saving K and K for 2021) out of all of them it was the one of the last ones I binged.. that ended up being my clear favorite and despite it only having been a few months, has worked it's way into being one of my favorite comic strips of all time.

Now i'd been planning to start covering it next year for it's 10 year anniversary.. but then something terrible happened last sunday that sped up plans: My cat Stewie, with me 17 years, had passed away. See reading the strip i'd related a lot of the antics to stewie, especially since my faviorite of the cast happened to also be an honry 17 year old cat. So I felt one of the best ways to honor my fur buddy.. would be to move this up and thankfully my friend Emma, who i'd gotten into the strip agreed to sponsor it. So with the time finally here those few of you who are either loyal readers of mine or just found this might need an intro

Breaking Cat News is a comic strip by Georgia Dunn, and this all started one day nearly 9 years ago when her cat Lupin knocked over a lamp and broke it. Her other two cats, Elvis, the older cat I mentioned and Puck, the gentler middle child, came to investigate and soon Georgia was improvising reporter voices for them… and it made her and her husband Ryan laugh so much she quickly made it into this comic.

She did what most would do and shared it with friends and what not and it spread around so much she decided to make some more… and they proved so popular she made a website, and the rest was history. THe strip was intially a self published webcomic, done in long form sunday like strips, before being picked up by Andrews McMeel aka Uversal Uclick, one of the two major comics syndicates who replayed the strip on their website , and it got popular to the point they published a collection, published more and eventually picked the strip up for dalies.

The strip has not only been a highlight of my day.. but something I love for it's wonderful fan community, who not only flooded my mentions with their condolences over my death, but have been one of the nicest comments sections iv'e found, as my talking on and on about these characters is not only apricated but encouraged and Georgia herself is a throughly kind person who not only comments occasionally but genuinely engages with and apricates her fans. So as such i've been chomping at the bit to do this longform and i'm happy to finally do so. So join me under the cut for a look at BCN's first year on the air as you meet Lupin, Elvis and gentle Puck as they hit the air.

BCN has a very simple, yet brilliant setup the above strip nicely highlights: three cats living in a big pink house report on the various goings on in said house as professional news reporters.. while still, having the logic and actions of a cat. For instance the endless struggle of a cat getting on the counter, table or what have you and having to scoop them off becomes our heroes trying to figure out why the humans guard the counter so jealously.. and also leads to one of my faviorite lines in the entire strip

Some day I will be able to use that panel, as i've used many of this strips for reaction images. Another reason why I wanted to do this really, to show where those panels are from and hopefully get more eyes on the strip.

Anyways like most comic strips the first yearcan feel a tad off in hindsight. Bloom County lacked focus and took a while to assemble it's early cast, with Opus finally bringing it all together. Snoopy was a very regular dog for several years who just happened to like eating candy instead of the imaginative weirdo we all know. Calvin caught Hobbes in a tiger trap, something never brought up again, as was his time in scouts. For Better Or Worse was more a bunch of domestic punchilnes instead of the generational family dramedy it became and all the better for. Every strip, and most works in general, take a bit to become their best self.

For BCN it's the fact the characters start out far less defined. Over time the cats would gain really fleshed out, dynamic, utterly wonderful personalities but for the first few months, their basically all the same person with their quirks only really hinted at. Again this is fair: Georgia was just playing off the very concept at first and likely didn't have much of an idea at first where to go with this beyond the cats just playing off The Woman and The Man (her and ryan's avatars). IT's not bad at all, but it feels weird to go back to after getting so used to what the strip becomes; a multilayered world with it's own history seperate from it's real world inspirations, a colorful and expansive side cast, and each of our main cat cast and our two human adults feel like well thought out fully formed characters. At this point it's just three interchangable cats, a fourth outside we'll get to, and two humans. It's not bad, but it is worth noting just how weird it feels while also reading the daily strip, which still has plenty of reality based antics but also has as much chaarcter humor as it does cat humor.

As Year One goes on though the cats slowly came into focus. So let's meet them shall we?

First up we have our man on the desk, 50's style reporter Lupin. Lupin was in real life adopted last out of the original trio as a kitten having been found with his various brothers and sisters in an abandoned apartment, carelessly abndoned. Lupin contracted a fever which as his intial fosters found, left him deaf, though nicely his disablity is just a part of him and only comes up once or twice in storyline, while still being compesnated for and given resonable acomindation when needed, as he relies on the teleprompter as seen in one strip where he dosen't realize a cricket's chirping is harming his friends ears for obvious reasons. He's a curious troublemaker, with a love of knocking thigns over, exploration, and teasing eldest cat Elvis

Next up is Puck, a black kitty with only three paws. In real life, puck was rescued from a concerned neighbor who noticed he had an infection and whose owners didn't care if he lived or died. He lost a limb, but eventually gained a forever home with the Dunns. Puck is gentle, sometimes shy, but always kind and upfront.

Elvis is a cranky siamise and older burnt out hardhitting journalist. He is the oldest of the cats and the only one in real life (it's unknown if this carries to the strip) who wasn't a shelter baby, with Georgia instaead adopting him from a farm while she was still single. Elvis is quick to anger, distrustful as heck to strangers, and clingy as heck to the woman. There's a good cat underneath it, and he loves his brothers and mom dearly.

IF your wondering who that strange cat in the rad hawiaan shirt is , we'll get to him later.

Story wise in contrast to the later years having frequent arcs mixed with one offs or one weeks dealing with various cat issues, the first year of strips is mostly just varoius shenanigans though a few running gags are set up that run into present day. Besides Elvis' on and off rivalry with the man and the leaves we have The bi monthly 2am running of the cats…

Our boys love of bacon

Their off hours wrestling league BCW, B C DUB, B C DUB!

Georgia is a wrestling fan herself, and it shows as most of the bcw gimmicks are in some way based on actual wrestlers, with Elvis wearing a singlet similar to Jerry the King Lawler, and Puck wearing an outfit similar to jesse ventura with the cadance of the macho man randy savage.

Story wise there's only three major beats and all are fairly loose, with the final one being the centerpiece of a story arc more like the ones we get later: a full on story followed to the end either over a few months or over about a month. The first is Georgia recapping her own real life pregnancy and eventual birth of her son, known her as the baby, the toddler and later the boy. The cats do their best ot help even fi they dont' quite understand

The actual arival slightly baffles Lupin and Puck but they come to accept their new roomate. Elvis… is a bit of a harder sell

It takes a while but eventually he softens on the boy too… if through shared trauma

It's fairly loose in contract to how later arcs go, but it makes sense as this was closer to the real life events presumibly, versus say the adoption of later cats, which has more of an arc to it.

The second dosen't payoff till the next year when they meet, but we do get the introductions of Sir Figaro Newton (Fig for short) and Tabitha, the cats living above our heroes (In real life it was reversed. )

They have their own running of the cats but we'll get to meet them in full next time.

For now though there's just one major arc and it start with a simple running gag. We're now circling back to that outdoor cat, as you simply must meet Thomas, Thomas, aka Admiral Thomas Whistchester, better known as Tommy! Tommy is based on a friends cat who had his own facebook, shared with his roomate sophie (who we'll also meet next time) before his sad passing, though you can still find it today to see plenty of the delicate artiste herself. He's a fluffy boy who just wants to be friends with our cats who all regard him with suspcion but Elvis in paticuarlly gets extra puffy and extra paranoid about their new pal

I also like his fun hawiaan shirt, which fits his party animal lifestyle well. I love the costuming for the cats, with each's outfit perfectly fitting their personality: Lupin has a full suit jacket which both nicely contrasts his chaotic nature as the strip goes and fits his usual roll as desk anchor, Puck has a simple but stylish white dress shirt and tie and Elvis has a more 70's suspenders and dress shirt combo. It's simple stuff but it shows off who they are and it's a key part of any comic strip, especially, even with the strip having alternate outfits for sleep and such, when they'll likely wear said outfit for the whole run of the strip. He's a nice kind guy. He even has a friend in louie, a skunk who sprays lupin who we've only seen all of twice in two decades despite being the coolest dude on the planet.

This also shows Lupin slowly growing closer to Tommy, a friendship that will presist throughout the strip. For his brothers though, it'd take quite the ordeal.. which starts as many tales do.. with Elvis's overestimation of what he can handle getting out of hand

Three hours later snows coming down, the rest of our heroes are panicked and Elvis himself is lost, cold and hungry.. when he runs into our boy Tommy… at first he's as receptive to his help as someone of his station and dignity would be..

To me this is where the strip grows the beard: in just three strips we've gone from the usual shenanigans.. to Elvis fighting to surivive. Not that the stakes are always high nor do they need to be: the slice of life feel of the strip is one of it's draws. But by raising them realisticly just a touch it forces Elvis to let his guard down and shows tommy as more than just comic relief, but a cat whose lost.. and willing to help others not loose what he had simply because he's that kind. It's the kind of depth that carries comedically and dramatically for the rest of the strip that up to this point had only barely been touched. This is where they cease being maybe one trait that's ignored if needed and ebcome the fully fleshe dout fur babies I know and love.

We then get the full story of how Tommy ended up like this, with Lupin finally truly warming up to him, realizing he's not so diffrent.. and fully being touched by Tommy offering up his bed.. while badly missing his family

The next morning tommy gets our hero home, greatful and with a new friend

But… Elvis realizes he can't leave things and having seen the sign we saw earlier takes a giant risk

The people recognize tommy, and call his woman, who will be both one of The Woman's closest friends and easily the biggest recurring human character outside the big pink house going forward. We get the tearful reunion you'd expect and badly hoped for

Turns out he was only a few blocks away, which is also nice setup as it means he can visit again after this. But for now he gets properly aquanited with our cast

And leaves to go to his happy home.. but with a reminder that wherever he goes.. he's one of them. A great way to end a great arc.

This christmas arc is one of my favorites of the series even now: Emotional, touching and perfectly in line with the season and it nicely sets the tone for everything to come. While things won't be this harrowing, our cats world is about to grow exponentially from here on out. So join me in march as the world gets wider, our heroes make some new friends, deal with some new babies, and things only get better from here. Thanks for reading.

#breaking cat news #georgia dunn #comic strips #cats #lupin #elvis #puck #tommy #the woman #the man #comics #kittys

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luckysipe · 2 years

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There they are - always showing courage...

Andrews McMeel Syndication, which distributes Dilbert, did not immediately respond Saturday to requests for comment. But Adams defended himself on social media against those whom he said “hate me and are canceling me.”

Canceling this strip and any future and current collections is a no brainer. We’ll see what they actually do.

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editorialtoons · 3 months

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Matt Davies - Andrews McMeel Syndication

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tonytylerdraws · 6 months

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I just read someone referring to Webtoons and Tapas as syndicates (the same way you would refer to comic strip syndicates like Kings Features or Andrews McMeel) and it’s completely changing my view of them.

They’re functionally the same.

#webtoons #tapas #webcomics #newspaper syndicates

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petnews2day · 6 months

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Tips for traveling overseas with a pet

New Post has been published on https://petn.ws/htPtx

Tips for traveling overseas with a pet

Dr. Marty Becker | Andrews McMeel Syndication Whether you’re moving to a new country or simply visiting for a few weeks or months, taking a pet along requiresplanning and patience. Quarantine is rarely required, not even in the United Kingdom, but mandatory vaccinations, parasite treatment andpaperwork are musts. It’s also important to be aware of […]

See full article at https://petn.ws/htPtx #PetTravelNews

#Pet Travel News

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501baseballbooks · 9 months

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Mind your manners

Because you can put your baseball cap on a shelf: From the ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION BEWILDERED BY ATHLEISURE AND BASEBALL CAPS DEAR MISS MANNERS: Returning to the United States after several years of living in Europe, I have noticed that “athleisure” wear is acceptable everywhere, and that wearing baseball hats in restaurants (done by people of all ages, races and genders) is now OK too. What…

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ronkaplansbaseballbookshelf · 9 months

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Mind your manners

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topreviewin · 10 months

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DEAR SKIP MANNERS: We simply had our family room repainted and redecorated. Unbeknownst if you ask me, my partner, an established professional photographer, had certainly one of the woman photographs blown-up to a 3-foot-by-4-foot fabric printing and would like to hang it when you look at the newly minted living room. Only issue is, we don’t like picture, and I also actually don’t wish that measurements of picture holding inside our family room — specially when we now have artwork from about the entire world which used becoming regarding the wall space before we painted all of them. How do we inform this lady I’d choose to not have that printing regarding the wall surface without this exploding during my face? Yes, i am aware sugar goes a considerable ways to sweeten things, but that is a sensitive area. GENTLE READER: “I like it the way we had it before. You arranged those other pieces so beautifully. Wouldn’t that photo look fabulous in your office?” DEAR SKIP MANNERS: I’m traveling to business head office for a daylong ending up in stakeholders a few weeks. I recently got the schedule, and meal, happy hour and supper will undoubtedly be given to united states. For health reasons, we usually consume five smaller meals each day. Wouldn't it be uncouth to create a banana or sequence mozzarella cheese to treat on involving the offered dishes? Is having your own treat during a bunch conference unsuitable? GENTLE READER: individual treats might enjoyed during pauses, but unless you're willing to share, place them away during group meetings. String mozzarella cheese and bananas may show a distraction if you would not believe forward as if you — and result a workplace coup. In reality, you're going to have to excuse skip Manners, as she will today think about absolutely nothing else. DEAR SKIP MANNERS: we moved up to a friend’s household for products. There have been just three people truth be told there. The number had outlined some nibbles, and I also introduced some do-it-yourself crackers as a contribution. The number would not consume some of my crackers until I became going to keep — the gathering had been more than and each of united states visitors had been making at precisely the same time. She tasted one, declared it tasty, after that dumped the complete dish on the plate. I had been therefore amazed, we stated absolutely nothing. Had all of them already been consumed throughout the celebration, I would personally happen pleased. But since there have been many left-over, I experienced in the pipeline to just take all of them residence. I suppose i ought to said, “So glad you enjoyed them.” what's the appropriate etiquette for leftovers whenever taking meals to an event? GENTLE READER: When unsolicited outside meals is brought into some body else’s residence, it acquires squatter’s liberties and might sensibly be anticipated becoming the house associated with the home owner. Solicited products (as with potluck things) have actually murkier principles, therefore things often are offered in pots that have to be came back. So while your friend’s time had been regrettable, it absolutely was reasonable, in skip Manners’ estimation, on her behalf having anticipated that crackers had been a present-day and from now on belonged to this lady. And obviously simply to this lady. Kindly deliver the questions you have to skip Manners at the woman site, www.missmanners.com; to the woman mail, [email protected]; or through postal mail to skip Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. #ways #wifes #art #walls #blowup

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best2daynews · 2 years

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Racist video rant catches up with ‘Dilbert’ creator Scott Adams - National | Globalnews.ca - best news

The cartoon empire built by Dilbert creator Scott Adams is quickly crumbling. The latest fallout came Monday, when Adams’ distributor, Andrews McMeel Universal, announced it would cut ties with the cartoonist following his racist tirade about Black Americans. In a joint statement, Andrews McMeel chairman Hugh Andrews and CEO and president Andy Sareyan said the syndication company was “severing…

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ptbf2002 · 8 months

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My Top 30 Favorite Characters

#30 Charlie Brown (Peanuts)

#29 Tom Cat (Tom And Jerry)

#28 Jerry Mouse (Tom And Jerry)

#27 Bugs Bunny (Looney Tunes)

#26 Daffy Duck (Looney Tunes)

#25 Porky Pig (Looney Tunes)

#24 Woody Woodpecker

#23 Shaun The Sheep

#22 Danger Mouse

#21 Audrey Smith (Harvey Street Kids/Harvey Girls Forever!)

#20 Dot (Harvey Street Kids/Harvey Girls Forever!)

#19 Lotta (Harvey Street Kids/Harvey Girls Forever!)

#18 Stan Marsh (South Park)

#17 Kyle Broflovski (South Park)

#16 Kenny McCormick (South Park)

#15 Homer Simpson (The Simpsons)

#14 Bart Simpson (The Simpsons)

#13 Billie (Magiki)

#12 Oggy (Oggy And The Cockroaches)

#11 Minion (Despicable Me/Minions)

#10 Sonic The Hedgehog

#9 The Boyfriend (Friday Night Funkin)

#8 The Girlfriend (Friday Night Funkin)

#7 Yumi Yoshimura (Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi)

#6 Ami Onuki (Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi)

#5 Hilda

#4 Lincoln Loud (The Loud House)

#3 Pucca

#2 Mickey Mouse

And #1 Spongebob Squarepants

Original Template: https://www.deviantart.com/jcp-johncarlo/art/Top-30-Favorite-Characters-Template-683808451

Peanuts Animated Specials Belongs To Charles M. Schulz, Lee Mendelson, Bill Melendez, Bill Melendez Productions, Lee Mendelson Film Productions, Andrews McMeel Syndication, Andrews McMeel Universal, Inc. United Feature Syndicate, Inc. United Media Productions, The E. W. Scripps Company, Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates, WildBrain Studios, Peanuts Worldwide, LLC, WildBrain Ltd. Apple TV+ And Apple Inc.

Tom and Jerry Belongs To William Hanna, Joseph Barbera, Rembrandt Films, Sib Tower 12, Inc. MGM Animation/Visual Arts, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Cartoon Studio, Harman-Ising Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. MGM Holdings, Inc. Amazon MGM Studios, Amazon.com, Inc. Turner Entertainment Company, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. Warner Bros. Animation Inc. Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution Warner Bros. Television Studios, Warner Bros. Television Group, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. WarnerMedia And Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.

Looney Tunes Belongs To Leon Schlesinger, Hugh Harman, Rudolf Ising, Harman-Ising Productions, Leon Schlesinger Productions, Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. DePatie–Freleng Enterprises, Format Productions, Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Animation, The Vitaphone Corporation, Vitagraph Company of America, Turner Entertainment Company, Warner Bros. Animation Inc. Kids' WB! The WB, The WB Television Network, Inc. Tribune Broadcasting Company, LLC. Tribune Media Company, Nexstar Media Group, Inc. Cartoon Network, Boomerang, The Cartoon Network, Inc. Warner Bros. Discovery Networks, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, Warner Bros. Television Studios, Warner Bros. Television Group, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. WarnerMedia, And Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.

Bugs Bunny Belongs To Ben Hardaway, Cal Dalton, Charles Thorson, Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, Bob Givens, Robert McKimson, Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. DePatie–Freleng Enterprises, Format Productions, Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Animation, The Vitaphone Corporation, Vitagraph Company of America, Turner Entertainment Company, Warner Bros. Animation Inc. Kids' WB! The WB, The WB Television Network, Inc. Tribune Broadcasting Company, LLC. Tribune Media Company, Nexstar Media Group, Inc. Cartoon Network, Boomerang, The Cartoon Network, Inc. Warner Bros. Discovery Networks, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, Warner Bros. Television Studios, Warner Bros. Television Group, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. WarnerMedia, And Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.

Woody Woodpecker Belongs To Walter Lantz, Ben Hardaway, Walter Lantz Productions, Universal Cartoon Studios, Universal Animation Studios LLC, Universal Television LLC, Universal Pictures, Universal City Studios LLC, NBCUniversal Film and Entertainment, NBCUniversal Syndication Studios, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, NBCUniversal Media Group, NBCUniversal Media, LLC, And Comcast Corporation

Shaun The Sheep Belongs To Nick Park, Bob Baker, Aardman Animations Limited, WDR Media Group GmbH, Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln, ARD, Netflix, Inc. ABC Kids (Australia), Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Disney Channel, Disney Branded Television Disney General Entertainment Content, Disney Entertainment, The Walt Disney Company, CBBC, CBeebies, BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Television, BBC Worldwide Ltd. BBC Studios Ltd. And British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Danger Mouse Belongs To Brian Cosgrove, Mark Hall, Wang Film Productions Co., Ltd. Cosgrove Hall Films, Cosgrove Hall Fitzpatrick Entertainment, Ltd. Boat Rocker Media Inc. Thames Television, Pearson Television, FremantleMedia, Fremantle Limited, ITV 1, ITV Studios Global Distribution, ITV Studios Limited, And ITV plc

Danger Mouse (2015 TV series) Belongs To Brian Cosgrove, Mark Hall, Cosgrove Hall Fitzpatrick Entertainment, CHF Entertainment, FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment, Fremantle Limited, Boulder Media Limited, Boat Rocker Media Inc. CBBC Production, Windmill Lane Studios, CBBC, BBC Television, BBC Worldwide Ltd. BBC Studios Ltd. And British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Harvey Street Kids/Harvey Girls Forever! Belongs To Alfred Harvey, Emily Brundige, Dave Enterprises, Digital Emation, Inc. NE4U, Inc. The Harvey Entertainment Company, Classic Media, LLC, DreamWorks Classics, DreamWorks Animation Television, DreamWorks Animation LLC, Universal Pictures, Universal City Studios LLC, NBCUniversal Film and Entertainment, NBCUniversal Syndication Studios, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, NBCUniversal Media Group, NBCUniversal Media, LLC, Comcast Corporation And Netflix Inc.

South Park Belongs To Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Bardel Entertainment, Inc. Titmouse Canada Animation Inc. Titmouse, Inc. Celluloid Studios, Braniff Productions, Parker-Stone Productions, South Park Studios, MTV Entertainment Studios, Comedy Central, Comedy Partners, MTV Entertainment Group, Paramount+, Paramount Global Content Distribution, Paramount International Networks, Paramount Domestic Media Networks, Paramount Media Networks, Inc. Paramount Streaming And Paramount Global

The Simpsons Belongs To Matt Groening, Anivision, DR Movie, Film Roman, LLC Hanho Heung-Up Company, Klasky-Csupo, Inc. Rough Draft Korea Co., Ltd. Toon Boom Animation, Toonzone Entertainment, Wild Horse Animation Group, Gracie Films, 20th Television Animation, 20th Television, Disney Television Studios, Disney General Entertainment Content, Disney Entertainment, FOX Broadcasting Company, FOX Entertainment, FOX Corporation, And The Walt Disney Company

Magiki Belongs To Eryk Casemiro, Cyril Deydier, Pegbar Animation, Animasia Studio, Rainbow S.P.A. Paramount Media Networks, Inc. Paramount Global, DeAgostini Publishing Italy S.P.A. DeAgostini Editore S.P.A. DeAKids, DeA Junior, DeAgostini S.P.A. DeAPlaneta Kids And Family, DeAPlaneta Entertainment, Télé Images Productions, Zodiak Kids Studios France, Banijay S.A. Ketchup TV, KidsMe S.R.L. Gulli, TiJi, Metropole Télévision S.A. Groupe M6, Frisbee, Switchover Media, Discovery Italia S.R.L. Discovery Networks Italia, Discovery Networks EMEA, Discovery Networks International, Discovery, Inc. And Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.

Oggy and the Cockroaches Belongs To Jean-Yves Raimbaud, Big Star Enterprise, Armada TMT, Digital Emation, Inc. Neon Pumpkin, DongWoo Animation Co. Ltd. Gaumont Multimedia, The Gaumont Film Company, Xilam Animation, France 3, France Télévisions S.A. CANAL+ Family, CANAL+ S.A. Groupe CANAL+ S.A. Vivendi SE, Gulli, Canal J, Metropole Télévision S.A. And Groupe M6

Despicable Me Belongs To Sergio Pablos, Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio, Illumination, Universal Pictures, Universal City Studios LLC, NBCUniversal Film and Entertainment, NBCUniversal Syndication Studios, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, NBCUniversal Media Group, NBCUniversal Media, LLC, And Comcast Corporation

Minions Belongs To Brian Lynch, Illumination, Universal Pictures, Universal City Studios LLC, NBCUniversal Film and Entertainment, NBCUniversal Syndication Studios, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, NBCUniversal Media Group, NBCUniversal Media, LLC, And Comcast Corporation

Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi Belongs To Sam Register, Renegade Animation, Cartoon Network Studios, Cartoon Network, The Cartoon Network, Inc. Warner Bros. Discovery Networks, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution Warner Bros. Television Studios, Warner Bros. Television Group, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. WarnerMedia, And Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.

Hilda Belongs To Luke Pearson, Mercury Filmworks, Atomic Cartoons Inc. Thunderbird Entertainment Group Inc. Nobrow Press, Flying Eye Books, Silvergate Media Limited, Sony Pictures Television Kids, Sony Pictures Television Studios, Sony Pictures Television Inc. Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. Sony Entertainment, Inc. Sony Corporation of America, Sony Group Corporation, And Netflix, Inc.

The Loud House Belongs To Chris Savino, Jam Filled Entertainment, Boat Rocker Media Inc. Nickelodeon Animation Studios, Nickelodeon Productions, Nickelodeon, Nicktoons, Nickelodeon Group, Paramount Global Content Distribution, Paramount International Networks, Paramount Domestic Media Networks, Paramount Media Networks, Inc. Viacom International Inc. And Paramount Global

Pucca (TV Series) (2006-2008) Belongs To Boo Kyoung Kim, Calvin Kim, VOOZ Co., Ltd. Studio B Productions, Inc. DHX Media Vancouver, WildBrain Studios, DHX Media, Ltd. WildBrain Ltd. MBC TV (South Korean TV channel), Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation, Toon Disney, Jetix, Jetix Europe N.V. Disney Branded Television, Disney–ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution, Disney General Entertainment Content, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, Disney Entertainment, Disney Enterprises, Inc. And The Walt Disney Company

Pucca: Love Recipe (2018) Belongs To Boo Kyoung Kim, Calvin Kim, VOOZ Co., Ltd. DeAPlaneta Kids And Family, DeAPlaneta Entertainment, Planeta Corporación, S.R.L. BAZOOKA Studio, Tooniverse, CJ ENM Entertainment Division, CJ ENM Co., Ltd. CJ Corporation, MBC TV (South Korean TV channel), Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), Discovery Kids (Latin American TV channel), Discovery Latin America, Discovery Networks International, Discovery, Inc. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. Disney Channel Japan, The Walt Disney Company (Japan) Ltd. Disney Channel (Southeast Asia), Disney Networks Group Asia Pacific, The Walt Disney Company (Southeast Asia) Pte. Ltd. Disney Branded Television, Disney–ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution, Disney General Entertainment Content, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, Disney Entertainment, The Walt Disney Company, Amazon Prime Video, Amazon.com, Inc. And Netflix, Inc.

Pucca Belongs To Boo Kyoung Kim, Calvin Kim, VOOZ Co., Ltd. King Features Syndicate, Inc. Hearst Communications, Inc. CJ ENM Entertainment Division, CJ ENM Co., Ltd. And CJ Corporation

Mickey Mouse (film series) Belongs To Walt Disney, Ub Iwerks, Floyd Gottfredson, Celebrity Productions, RKO Radio Pictures Inc. Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. Sony Pictures Releasing, Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. Sony Entertainment, Inc. Sony Corporation of America, Sony Group Corporation, United Artists Corporation, United Artists Releasing, LLC, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. MGM Holdings, Inc. Amazon MGM Studios, Amazon.com, Inc. Walt Disney Studio, Walt Disney Productions, Walt Disney Feature Animation, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Pictures, The Walt Disney Studios, Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Disney Entertainment, Disney Enterprises, Inc. And The Walt Disney Company

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popculturebuffet · 1 year

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Breaking Cat News Years 4 and 5: Archived Footage (Patreon Review for Emma Fici)

Hello all you happy people and welcome back to my look at one of the best comic strips of all time, breaking cat news!

This time as you can probably guess by the title we're going back to go forward See as I outlined last time in what i'm supsecting to be late 2016, BCN was picked up by U-Versal U-Click, aka Andrews McMeel Publishing, aka GoComics aka Jimmy the Reach. For those not as familiar with them as a comic strip nerd like me a refresher: U-Versal/Andrews is a newspaper syndicate, which helps both distrbute comics to newspapers the traditional ways an din the last few decades also puts them online and maintains the archives, so even with print collections having died off for the majority of strips, you can still find the complete works of most strips. Their easily the biggest of the two that exist, having dozens of iconic strips under their umbrella: Calvin and Hobbes, Doonesbury, Bloom County (those two shared with the washington post writers group, a smaller syndicate), For Better or Worse, Phoebe and Her Unicorn, Heart of the City, Big Nate, Pearls Before Swine and SO much more. They also are nice folks who let you visit the archives for free.

Not only did they handle the collections, but they also gave her a nice bump, allowign Georgia to go from freeflowing strips published whenever she could to a daily format that still supported the long sagas the strip, and sundays to still do the one offs the strip was famous for. The fandom nicely moved with her, with many a longtime fan having come in from the web runa nd being just.. lovely to me when I started out. And with Go Comics still providing a digtial space there weren't a lot of downsides: Georgia got a more visable platform, more pay for her work, yearly collections.

This was all great news and in the long run it pushed the strip to even higher highs , and it's only gotten better. In the short.. it had one small drawback. For the next two years or so of strips… they had to go back. See it's the downside of a webcomic getting picked up: you need to spend some time, sometimes a few weeks sometimes longer, aclimating the newspaper audience, which pauses it for those who have been reading it all along. Most take a few months, wallace the brave did, crabgrass did, Phoebe and her Unicorn did, and reprint strips.

Georgia.. got a bit more ambitious. Instead of just reprinting the strip up to this point.. she redrew the whole damn thing. Every strip was represented either as a daily storyline that extended it or as a sunday strip, simplyt aking an old strip and reconfiguring it. Everything happened and even with two arcs skipped over, they still happened two, but it's simply expanded and redrawn to fit Georgia's evolved art style

So the big question i've had since considering this project in the first place is .. how the heck do I cover these. You'd think "oh well just skip em you stupid weak baby, you gonna cry now you stupid weak baby", and in that case.. please seek help or at least better simpsons refrences. But I really can't.. while the strip DOES go back in time… it's still moving forward in how Georgia does things: it's worth looking at how she adjusts to the format, changes up how she works with it, and what she changed. What she added> What new characters were introduced. And of course the handful of new storylines that are every bit as canon as what came before and simply come up between those stories i've covered.

There's entirley new running gags, character bits, and payoffs that simply were not there before. So I compromised: I'm still doing these bcause their valuable and well done strips, but I'm doing two years at once this time, discussing both how the strip evolves and the handful of arcs that are all new and all diffrent. And just as a heads up this isn't even the end of the semi-reboot as next time we have to deal with beatrix's arc, it's just out of the arcs covered that one has the most added bits.. mostly to help explain why bea didn't join the family.. but someone else we'll meet next time does. For now though let's get back on the ari and explore what's old, what's new, and what smells like toast.

Everything Stays, But It Still Changes

Something that caught me when doing this is that while a lot of story beats are repeated, Georgia used going back to the beginning to get new material, to use the fact she had to strip things back to do more antics with just the big three. We also get a nice prequel to Tommy's intro strip

You can also see with this the early strips of this run.. have a bit of a change. Georgia wasn't doing the coloring herself for the dailies. And .. i'm not a huge fan of it. I"m not against having the syndicate do colors, but it has to fit the art style. BCN has a very free flowy, painted style that's very beautiful and the coloring is a major part of that. I can't blame Georgia for trying it, being a daily cartoonist is exhausting and I also don't begrudge a single one that DOESN'T do their own coloring: the majority of artists don't. It's just in this case the syndicate also really didn't make the colors match the style, so their a bit flat.

The stories are still as sharp as ever, and like Tommy's storyline the characters moving in gets more expansion. For starters the woman is visibly pregnant for it, and is at the start of the strip, likely to speed up introducing the boy. While she was always precise with introductions, the newspaper run takes it to a new level as she had a very clear and well thought out two or so year plan. As such while , much like the original year one, we're mostly limited just to the main trio and tommy cat wise, things move on at a decent clip and the move is moved up, with Puck bringing his brother some tea and some nice moments.

The biggest most noticable change though.. is that THe Man and Woman are more active characters. They still have the primary role of doing thigns our heroes just don't understand or thrwarting them for reasons they don't understand while still being loved by all.. okay the Woman is loved by all, the man is loved by 2/3 and resnted by a cat who was there first dammit. While the strip had hints of it as it went, the daily run is where the man and the woman really become character sin their own right, with the woman becoming a vehcile for Georgia to chroncile her own life and foibles

And.. I love it. It feels like the last step to the strip reaching full speed. It's been great so far, at the top of it's game but allowing herself to be a character allows georgia to really vary up the humor. The primary focus is still on our intrepted reporters, as it shoudl be, but it opens it up for the woman/georgia's own loves of cozy mysteries, sci fi, and much more, to be fodder for some really great jokes. It's also where the strip starts to let more of Georgia's personal intrests in in general, leading to some great bits. The biggest of which we'll tackle later

And even with all the neat new stuff…. the old also gets a nice coat of paint as the cat's new level of expression (even if they still default to having no mouths when needed), makes already great moments even BETTER. Take for instance Puck's dramatic reunion with buzzy mouse after the people find him under the couch.

After this we get our first major addition to the lore in this new version, the mystical and wonderful creature, the mailman.

This also begins a trend for the strip that leans into the new format: normally most story arcs for the cats came and went: we saw something big happen, saw it play out , then moved on. The stories all had an impact.

Having a new format, Georgia now breaks up the storie, having ones that either play out over a few months with other stories inbetween or ones like this mailman that take quite some time to payoff. We also get the cats dealing with the terrors of the vacuum, their mortal enemy… another seed to payoff later.

I'm also glad because while i'm mostly glossing over previous material… there is one strip I DID not get to cover. okay there's actually a lot of them because Tumblr's image limit is bad and should feel bad, but there's one bit in paticular I was still sad I never got to cover and thought I never would as I was sure it wasn't recovered… but low and behold it was. Is it plot relevant? no, it's why I have to skip a lot of my faviorite bits sadly and enrouage you to read the full strip. But is it one of the funniest thing in the entire strip? HECK. YES. So when Georgia first had the baby someone around her she's never idenified… said this nonsense.. and the cat's reactions to this bullshit are just.. the best thing in the world.

After this glory we get more of the vacum as elvis gets stranded away from the others and his idnginacy soon turns to terror as the vacum strikes him where he is!

That last panel always strikes me as the most adorable thing. IT really underlines how close these two are, and during an earlier Vacum attack, Elvis rescued puck.. he really would do the same. So with that bit of bravery we enter our first proper full on new storyline. While this is somewhat based on the cats visiting the vet in the original there we really didn't see the visit any. Here though…

Also yes those are some familiar faces making an early cameo in the background. ALso I wish we'd see melty dog again. He's a very good boy.

We also meet Tommy's Woman earlier, as she's working as the vet's assitant.. and as a result gets to meet Elvis earlier too.. it goes about as well for her as it did for her fluffy boy

We also get our first new addition to the cast in this run, one who will be important when we catch back up with the regular timeline: Dr. Mann. And unlike the man and woman that's his actual name.

With the vet's visit over, Puck continues his mailman vigil, las gatos noches settle in up above setting them up for later and their woman gets a much earlier apperance, likely because Georgia decided to cut her intro arc.

The woman's costume confused me at first.. but the man's made what the heme was both more obvious and more awesome

Also yes, those really were their costumes for the boys first halloween. Just when you think you can't love Georgia Dunn more you find out this. As you can probably guess I fucking love little shop of horrors and let's just say if all goes well you'll be hearing more about that in october. Elvis takes his imprisonment well..

After that we get an arc that actually ran LAST WEEK at the time of this review. Yeah sadly the strip is currently in reruns as Georgia injured her wrist. Thankfully she's fully recovered and can draw again, it just means the strip is in reruns (ones chosen by the fans), until it catches back up. But it was still good timing as this arc about leftovers.. leads to one of the best stylistic touches of the strip: Waxing Lyrical. For those unfamiliar with the trope it's when a character drops song lyrics into conversation. The cats will drop many or throw in outright parodies of song staring with this banger.

Also why the Man was so opposed to giving the cats food I DO NOT know. I mean my dog also begs constantly, but you still give them a scrap.

We then get Elvis' Christmas Adventure Again, and this arc and the mice arc the next year are the main reason for the staggered introductions: Both stories NEED the Christmas setting and thrive off it: Elvis getting lost is all the more harrowing because of the winter chill, and also makes it that much easier to buy Tommy could talk him into finally accepting help, with with the mice the entire story revolves around it being christmastime. Both stories just dont' have as much impact if they aren't around santa season. So it was either skip them entirely and try to cram every character introduction into a week.. or simply slow it down slow it way down, which sadly means it's a while before we get back to present day… but as we've seen also allowed for a LOT of new stuff and will continue to.

While I was mildly inconvenienced by the former at first going through these archives allowed me to see the brilliance: while Georgia had to start over her it allowed her what all creators long for: a chance to go back to a story and add stuff they thought of only after they were done. Even as a reviewer myself, there are times after a review I think of a joke and simply can't fit it in the way the review's structured. So I can't begrudge her for seeing an opportunity to slot in stories from when the kids were babies or even new stories that just so happen to fit into the old timeline.

We also get SOMEWHAT of a payoff to the mailman storyline.. as afrter much exaustive searching… Puck's efforts bear fruit.

Sometime later, we get the introduction of Georgia's sister, aka the intruder, aka the love of lupin's life. We also get the start of another running gag where Georgia tries not to frame her special boy as the loveable garbage cat he is

And like many things the real elvis does do this. And it sounds adorbale. We also get to see some precious baby pictures of my precious boy as The Sister waas there for it

We then get the ceiling cats proper intro, the only big diffrence being we get subtitles this time for what fig's saying all the time, not just for the one strip. Though it dosen't change much it's still a nice touch

We do get an expansion on BCW, as it gets a new talent added to the roster

Who seems to be a take on Dusty Rhodes Baby. I approve. One match with a dq finish for Leapin Lupin to retain later and it's time for another grudge match…

Our heroes try the obvious tactic of just.. dumping the fur back on there but the woman simply vacums it back up leaving our heroes on the run… which is bad because Elvis can't run on linolem and puck refuses to leave a man behind. Luckily lupin leaps in, saves them.. but he's fed up and has a brilliant plan

Okay about as brilliant as you'll get out of Lupin. I love burt's caption humor here (explained in universe as him putting them on the archived footage) Also don't think I didn't notice him calling PUck cute ealrier. Maybe puck has a shot with him after all. Just saying.

As for said cutie, Puck's job is to guard the vacum's lair, aka the closet, as while Puck is the better boxer, the vaccum terrifies him too much. We also get a nice sweet moment from Lupin who reassures him it's okay to be scared. So with that the plan is a go, using the studio mikes and for Lupin the mobile teleprompter to cordinate. Lupin gets into naked fighting stance and while the woman sighs, Elvis tracks the cord and Puck decides to cautiously enter the lair…. and finds something shocking

Sadly he can't inform Elvis or Lupin in time as Elvis bites.. the av cord. I love that joke and that nice swerve. Puck swears this dusty cherub won't be an orphan, his exact words, and goes to stop lupin from fufiling his naked destiny. Thankfully he does and Lupin backs down, realizing she's simply been terriotiral because she's got a herd to protect. The bad news is Elvis is still trying to eat the cord to kill this mama bear.. the good news …

I mean in his defense The Woman, the toys are just as much for your amusment as him. Be honest about that…. though it's still really hard to loose an argument where the other person is trying to argue for choking to death.

Lupin and Puck take Elvis to the lineloim, a nice chekovs gun, and the Woman plugging the baby vacum in shows them. Elvis and puck order cords and take a nap and Lupin makes an agreement with the inanimate object

This arc is great: not only is it pateintly hilarious, but it has a weird but wholesome emotional core: yes we know what's actually going on but the strip does one of the things it does best: contextualize something from the cats point of view turning a simple vacuming session into a battle to the death and then a race to stop Elvis and Lupin from orphaning a majestic creature.

After this we get the million dollar debut of PENGO… he's the Boy's faviorite toy and willr emain a fixture for the rest of the strip, always by his child's side.

We also get introduced to the woman's love of cozy mysteries. I really wish I could show EVERYTHING set up, but well blame tumblr. Or blame me for not picking the best format for this blog there's plenty of blame to go around.

We move on to the birth of the girl, the boys shedding up the man's wardrobe (He's a video editor for the record), Burt makes his debut again, Pengo gets a bath hobbes style.. and with that we come to our final arc for today as novemeber and december are taken up with strips remade into daily arcs and naturally all I want for christmas is revenge closing out the year. But at at time when most major stories were being reprtined.. one coudln't.. so Georgia found a workaround

Save Our Pucky

So as i've mentioned in the past two posts the ghost arc… wasn't adapted for this run. Georgia PLANNED to.. but realized the amount of newspaper clippings meant it just coudln't be compressed into a daily format. The same was likely true for Wicket. Problem is Wicket, while very important to Baba's backstory, isn't really relevant to the main story, still being at the shelter at the time of this writing and thus not a concern to the rest of the cast: baba had long moved past him, our heroes vanquished him and it's unlikely he's leaving the comy confines of the shelter this time. He occasionally gets mentioned on dr.scuttles blog and while he likely WILL return I can see why it was way easier to just skip over his arc and fill the audience later if he returns.

Conversely though Tillie, the cat ghost… had a lot more to explore, and Georgia clearly wanted to expand the concept, so instead of recapping her arc, Georgia simply made a sequel, still aclimating the newspaper readers to the fact there's a ghost in their home but it's better than being alone, but allowing her to move forward iwth the concept.

So this adventure begins with Puck discovering a way to the attic early in the morning and deciding to go for a nice brisk climb complete with hoodie and backpack, long before his brothers wake. But while our boy is more cautious than say.. Lupin, which granted a chiuana on cocaine and 3 cans of redbull is more cautious than lupin, he can still make a mistake or too.

What I like about this arc's conflict is the stakes.. are distresingly real. Sure there's a ghostly fix.. but the idea of a pet getting stuck somewhere they can't be found in time is every pet owner's nightmare. I still haunted by finding my own cat dead and it was from natural causes simply lying down and going onto his eternal rest. Thankfully this is a comic strip so tillie can help.. unfrotunatley the only cats who can see her are less than helpful

Also while this goes on we get in the sundays the first of the tails from the space heater, aka the boys tellign spooky stories. It sadly won't get brought up much here but their a delight every year.

Anyways Elvis eventually gets over himself when Lupin reveals a note from puck. Puck was thankfully conteious enough to say he'd gone climbing. I mean given how Elvis is, it's required but it still saves his life as elvis now gets why Tillie was haunting him and since she's apparently spent the last ten minutes getting hissed at by tabitha, she's more than willing to give him another shot . So whlie Tillie goes to get Tabitha (Since she needs BOTH cats to rescue puck) and assure puck heis rescues on the way the rest of her crew and their radio show gets introduced

Sidebar:Tabitha's hissy face is adorable. Anyways Elvis bridges the gap, as well as explaning it to the other two what's going on. The godo news is they can use the dumbwaiter.. the bad is they have to use elvis as tilly has to guide them, even if elvis is the worst climber. Lupin bids him farewell. I'd be madder at him for pulling his annoying younger sibling schtick at a time like this but I love his t-shirt for the mew.

While we find out the other reporters are all the cats form the shelter, and the golden mouse,…. but despite all our heroes efforts..

Luckily.. help arrives

So with that everything is okay, PUck carries elvis back down and the humans find the two in the dumbwaiter. And with that we conclude today's broadcast and these two arcs. It was a lot more fun than I thought it'd be and there's a lot of good content. So while the binge may be a bit wobbly as you'll have read some of these arcs already (And are free to just skip over them, as most are about the same), I still highly recommrend reading this era. It helped solidfiy Georgia as a character in her own strip, added some fun new bits to the series universe, and gave us a great ghost story

Next Time: MORE RERUNS.. but we rerun to the end as we get setup for the future and finally enter the present as the station gets a new visitor on a quest. What is her mysterious mission? Can our heroes help her? And what is her utterly heartbreaking backstory? Find out next month and thanks for reading!

#breaking cat news #georgia dunn #comics #cats #elvis #puck #lupin #tabitha #the woman #the man #the boy #the sister #dr mann

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