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!

If a panel cartoon is good enough, it can wind up adorning kitchen refrigerators, office bulletin boards, and social media feeds for years on end. So how do panel cartoonists do it, with artwork that can sometimes amount to no more than a few scrawled lines, and text that might comprise just a few words? It’s a question that, apparently, haunted Phil Witte and Rex Hesner — so much so that they wrote a book about it, “Funny Stuff: How Great Cartoonists Make Great Cartoons.”

Well, the impetus was actually a little more complicated than that, as you'll hear when Dave London and Pete Chianca sit down with Phil and Rex for the latest episode of "Strip Search." Also, find out the latest about the rollout of the latest "Pet Peeves" collection by London & Chianca, "Nerd Dad!"

Bob Eckstein may, by his own admission, not have especially enjoyed being dragged to museums by his parents as a child. But something changed along the way, which is readily apparent If you take a look at Bob’s new book, “Footnotes from the Most Fascinating Museums.” It features 155 beautifully painted depictions of more than 75 museums in North America, accompanied by stories that help get to the essence of what makes them so special.

Creating the paintings wasn’t as difficult an undertaking as it sounds, according to Eckstein. “What I did was based on what the museum called for — I simply was the background music to the beautiful museums. And I just kind of tried to lend my skills to what was needed,” Eckstein says. “But I was very much a secondary person in this whole process, in the sense that the museum itself told me what style I should try to do."

And Eckstein spent about as much time tracking down the fascinating stories behind the museums that he included, several of the best of which he shared in the latest episode of "Strip Search: The Comic Strip Podcast." Listen to hear our discussion about museums, Bob's painting technique, and (for good measure) some real talk about the future of cartooning and the newspapers that have historically been their home.

Trigger warning: If you would rather not remember what middle school was like, you may not want to read “Timid,” the new middle-grade graphic novel by local cartoonist and illustrator Jonathan Todd, coming April 2 from Scholastic. But if you happen to be in middle school right now, or know someone who is, it’s unlikely you’ll find a better depiction of just how fraught and awkward those years can be. Dave and Pete find out how Jonathan did it when he appears on the latest Strip Search podcast! Also, we discuss the latest collateral damage from Gannett's comics page "consolidation": female cartoonists.

"Wallace the Brave" cartoonist Will Henry is far from the first person to find himself on the short end of the cost-cutting stick when it comes to corporate newspaper ownership. But he’s one of the few whose brush with the harsh realities of modern journalism had a happy ending. For his second time on "Strip Search" (check out his memorable first appearance, from 2019, here), Will shares that story, gives us an update on what's up with "Wallace" — now and possibly down the road — and talks with Dave about pens. (Lots of pens.) Also, find out what Dave and Pete have in store for their comic strip "Pet Peeves" in 2024!

It's ironic: We'd never want the Deweys as our next door neighbors, but as for Pat Sandy — creator of the Deweys in the comic strip "Next Door Neighbors" — we could talk to him all day! Join in as Dave and Pete discuss past "Peanuts," Pat's drawing style, and what went into his new collection "Block Party." Also, we revisit past interviews with two 2023 Ruben Award winners, Christopher Weyant and Will Henry!