A self-described failed cartoonist, Jeff Kinney spent eight years developing his first “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” novel after syndicates passed on his daily comic strip. Within a few years after that, he found himself with a hit book series and a movie in the works (the first of many), and he’s since become the steward of a worldwide franchise that shows no signs of abating. Plus, he gives back every day to his community of Plainville, Massachusetts, via his bookstore, An Unlikely Story. How cool is that? For some reason, Jeff sat down with London & Chianca for a wide-ranging interview on Strip Search: The Comic Strip Podcast.

Kim Tomsic, the author of middle-grade novels like “The 11:11 Wish” and “The 12th Candle,” and nonfiction books like “The Elephants Come Home,” has teamed up with "Off The Mark" cartoonist and author Mark Parisi for the new she-said, he-said illustrated diary book “The Truth About 5th Grade,” published by HarperCollins. And what a book it is! Find out all about it when the pair appears on the latest episode of Strip Search. Also, Dave goes behind the scenes at the latest Rhode Island Comic Con.

Since getting her start with her hilarious single-panel comic “Half Full,” which is syndicated nationally by Andrews-McMeel, Maria Scrivan has thrown herself into her graphic novel work, and the result seems to have been as much fun for her readers as for herself: 2020’s “Nat Enough” was an instant New York Times bestseller, and the series’ popularity has only grown since. We sat down with Maria to talk about cartooning, graphic novels, and surviving middle school. Plus: Dave's review of the "What, Me Worry? The Art and Humor of MAD Magazine" at Norman Rockwell Museum!