Should the Coffee Pot Just Be Sitting On the Table Like That?

Nancy, March 4, 2026

Huh. Nancy's Aunt Fritzi is now canonically (at least) bisexual. Guy Gilchrist would never! Ernie Bushmiller is sitting in a rocking chair, slowly rocking, smiling, and nodding in acquiescence.

January 24, 1988

That doesn't seem like $200 worth of franks.

I'm also confused by the phrase "This one takes the rag off the bush" and the look of that administrative assistant. That definitely isn't Miss Preen.

I'm fine with the rom-com but I'd be a little miffed at the Asian fusion. I'm sure it's fine, but Asian food isn't something that's in the top three of food I'd choose. Mexican, American, Italian would be my top three. I'm sure someone reading this has a problem with that.

What was Wilberforce doing during this time? Did he get any Asian fusion? Did Wilberforce even have a babysitter or was he just chained out in the backyard?

Decaf Riff-Raff, Part 4 apparently

Nancy from January 1, 2026

In case you didn't know, the classic comic strip Nancy has a new writer/artist, Caroline Cash. Olivia Jaimes ended her run back in September after 7 years with her last comic being printed on December 31, 2025.

Cash did a series of guest strips over the summer and in her debut as the regular cartoonist, pays homage to past Nancy incarnations. Bushmiller (1925-1982), Guy Gilchrist (1995-2018), and Jaimes (2018-2025). Oddly, the Jerry Scott version, which ran from 1983-1995 despite being stylistically unpopular, is ignored.

Anyway, to check out the new Nancy, you can head to GoComics here.

February 16, 1967

I mean, I can't make a sweater. Although to be fair, I've never tried. I've made a pillow before. In middle school. In a FACS class.

Brutus had caffeine-free coffee back in September and he hated it! I don't know why he would make that his resolution. His hatred of caffeine-free coffee lasted three days!

Luck Be a Loser Tonight

Back in June of 2020, I began posting pictures I took from my issues of Wizard: The Guide To Comics. I basically kept it running until school started and I had to go back to work. It was something I really liked doing but I had to stop because of the time I needed to read through, get pictures, type tweets, and post the thread. I've also been wanting to post at least one issue here to see if it's something people would want to see return, either here or back on Twitter. Wizard #53 (January 1996) is the year-end spectacular. You can read the other issues, on Twitter, by going to the links here.

Wizard: The Guide to Comics #53. Cover by John Romita, Sr. and John Romita, Jr.

In the letters columns, someone posits that Superman is unable to run for President of the United States. Wizard responds that since technically Superman was "born" after crashing in Kansas, he is a natural born citizen. There's some praise for Neal Adams, someone ranks the most powerful DC heroes (Captain Atom is #1), someone upset at the rising costs of comics suggests digging through back issue bins and Wizard agrees. Someone asks whether Wizard is getting "soft" on comic book companies. Wizard responds that their "biting attitude" may vary from month-to-month but if comic book companies have a problem with what they say about their product then produce better material (they specifically bring up the Spider-Man Clone Saga). The Bunny Award goes to someone asking if Magneto could life Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, using his magnetic powers. The answer is: No.

In the news: More comics delving into The Crow mythos, Mike Grell is giving Maggie the Cat her own ongoing series from Image Comics, Topps Comics is bringing back classic Western characters Zorro, The Lone Ranger, and Lady Rawhide. Wendy Pini is drawing a new ElfQuest series, The Punisher is getting a new look.

A Croak of Brilliance An article on Harris Comics' newest superhero: Cyberfrog by Ethan Van Sciver. "This book kicks ass," say Van Sciver. Cyberfrog would last eight issues in 1996 and a handful of miniseries, the most recent being in 2019.

Casting Call 11 Wizard casts a movie starring a bunch of alternative comic book characters. Bill Campbell as Madman, Tom Hanks as Concrete, Joe Pesci as Cerebus, Robin Williams as Flaming Carrot, Denis Leary and Chris Farley as Milk and Cheese, and many more. The movie rights for this thing would be a mess.

Caught In a Web The Spider-Man movie directed by James Cameron is in development hell at this point (thankfully, because it always seemed like garbage), so Wizard looks at Spidey's media history starting with "Amazing Spider-Man" (CBS, 1977-1979) to "Spider-Man: The Animated Series" (Fox, 1994-1998). Don't expect Cameron's Spider-Man movie until 1997 though because Cameron is focusing on some forgettable movie about a love story set aboard some dumb boat.

Separation Anxiety Have you ever wondered how comics (and Wizard magazine) are colored? Well, the good people at International House of Color (I.H.O.C.) will show you how it's done. According to the Grand Comics Database, I.H.O.C.'s last regular job was on Savage Dragon/Hellboy from Image Comics.

In Your Face Wizard spends the day with Rob Liefeld at home and at work at Extreme Studios. Liefeld talks about what he's doing with his own titles and talks about returning to Marvel. The article ends with this picture of Liefeld watching "Reservoir Dogs". It's not explained why the chair seems to be at a weird angle in relation to the TV or why the clock is on the floor.

First Look: X-Nation 2099 Tom Peyer and Humberto Ramos are getting a new X-Men series set in the Marvel 2099 universe. The new characters are Clarion, Wulff, Nostromo, Uproar, Willow, December, and Twilight. They certainly look very 90s. X-Nation 2099 would last six issues.

Urban Renewal Mark Gruenwald and Bobbie Chase are relaunching many of Marvel's titles, trying to bring the company back to basics and streamline things similar to when the titles first launched back in the 1960s. Wizard goes through each of the titles to explain the changes. Avengers, Captain America, Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Silver Surfer, Thor, Daredevil, Doctor Strange, and The Incredible Hulk.

Stan Lee Wizard has an extensive interview with Stan "The Man", Mr. Marvel himself, Lee. Lee details his life from getting into comics at the age of 16 to helping create nearly every popular Marvel character. They do a word association game with people Lee worked with. Jack Kirby: "The master." Steve Ditko: "Unique genius." John Romita, Sr: "The best there is." John Buscema: "The Michelangelo of comicdom."

Drawing Board Dong Thor wins some Maxx artwork with his Mortal Kombat art. Other interesting works of art: Starman by Orion Harbour, Gen13 by Jonathan Fisher, The X-Files by Kyle Vannoy, Batman by TJ Frias and Randy Ng.

This months Homemade Heroes:

Eight To Fore '96 Wizard takes a look at eight talents to keep your eyes on because they are going to be huge. I'm not being sarcastic. Charles Adlard, Edvin Biukovic, Darko Macan, Gene Ha, Ron Garney, Kevin Lau, Warren Ellis, and Humberto Ramos.

Spinning a New Web Confused about what's going on in the Spider-Man titles? Peter Parker is gone and Ben Reilly, who was supposed to be a clone is the real Spider-Man but is he a clone? Or maybe I have that all wrong. I tried reading the Clone Saga but never got into it. Marvel should release a massive trade of it. Anyway, Wizard tries to make sense of it from it's humble beginning in The Amazing Spider-Man #149 to the brand new title The Sensational Spider-Man #1.

Star Search Because Wizard can't go one issue without mentioning Todd McFarlane, Wizard tries to stir up controversy by saying "superstar" artists aren't as great as they, the industry, and readers make them out to be. They don't mention any names or really what the point of this article is. Older artists point out that "superstars" have been around for awhile (Neal Adams, for example) and that these things are cyclical and eventually a superstar settles into a place of normalcy. Wizard lists 10 artists who are reaching for the stars to be the next Todd McFarlane and many of these names, while popular, will quickly lose their "superstar" status. A few mentions: Joe Madureira, Tom Grummett, Humberto Ramos, Greg Capullo, Kelley Jones, Adam Hughes, among others.

The Big 10 Wizard goes over the ten biggest events in the comics world in 1995. The many comic book movies, the cost of comics going up (it's the paper, stupid!), The Spider-Man Clone Saga, something called The Internet, Magic: The Gathering, Bad Girls like Shi and Cyblade, small press companies, The Age of Apocalypse, Manga, and comic book distributors becoming exclusive to DC or Marvel.

Manga Scene talks about Koichi Ohata and his story M.D. Geist. The picks of the month are X 1999 and "Zenki".

Tom Palmer talks about what the small press companies are doing in 1996.

The "Generation X" TV-movie is going to lead to the greatest series ever and usher in a new wave of comic book TV shows. "Green Hornet", a movie starring George Clooney and Jason Scott Lee may start filming soon.

The Top Ten Comics are X-Men Prime #1, Shi #1, The X-Files #1, Lady Death #1, Vengeance of Vampirella #1, Ash #1, Generation X #1, Gen13 #1 (miniseries), X-Man #1, Gen13 #1. Marvel Graphic Novel #4 featuring The New Mutants is a back issue you need to watch out for. Animal Man #5 by Grant Morrison, Chas Truog, and Doug Hazelwood is a good and cheap back issue. And the books you should pick up? DC Vs. Marvel #1, Logan #1, Gen13/Maxx #1, The Phoenix Resurrection, and Star Wars: Boba Fett-Bounty On Bar-Koanda.

Card Market DC is getting their own OverPower cards that are compatible with the Marvel ones. It's also announced that Amalgam Comics (the combination of DC and Marvel in the aftermath of DC Vs. Marvel) will be getting it's own set. Batman Master Series is going to be released from Skybox as well as Power Chrome: DC Legends (a chromium card set) and Outburst DC Firepower (an embossed card set). 

Here are the top 10 writers and artists for this month.

Uncanny X-Men #328 is the best-selling comic for the month of November 1995. Honestly, the X-Men are basically the top 8 for November.

And finally, Wizard profiles Adam West and Burt Ward at the end of the issue.

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Crankshaft

We all know that Crankshaft just kind of time-hopped over the pandemic. I wonder how long they time-hopped this time because it's certainly not 2022.

Mallard Fillmore

Mm. It appears this Fishman guy doesn't understand this strawman argument either. How many people is Grogg able to kill with a giant boulder lifted over his head? Probably a lot less than with an easy to carry wooden club, just like someone with a gun could kill a lot more people than a person with a knife. But they know and understand this, they just don't care.

panel from The Lockhorns

Leroy is wearing the exact same sweater as the dog which is, to be honest, is adorable and instead of being angry and embarrassed, Leroy should be embracing this moment.

Nancy

Sluggo Points won't be accepted as real cryptocurrency until Elon Musk accepts them but make sure to jump on this bandwagon early so you'll be rich when they happens. Move over, Dogecoin, Sluggo Points are here.

The Born Loser

Aren't you more likely to get struck by lightning than win the lottery? No matter, Uncle Ted was struck by lightning and survived and seems to have no ill-effects from it. After winning the lottery and getting struck by lightning all in one day, fate should just leave Uncle Ted alone for the rest of his life.

If you would like to support my writing or research, you can buy me a cup of coffee over on Ko-fi. You can now also tip me on the Twitter app using Cashapp or Venmo.

Don't Forget to Salt It

One piece at a time? What was he doing cooking it like that? This?

Uncle Ted Gruber

On April 9, 2018, a new writer/artist debuted on the long-lasting legacy comic strips, Nancy. It was the first artistic change in 23 years. Taking over for Guy Gilchrist was Olivia Jaimes, a pen name, who promised to bring a 21st Century female perspective to the 80+ year-old strip. While reviews were initially mixed, Nancy has become more relevant and most of the negative comments are dismissed as being readers upset that this wasn't their Nancy anymore. But you can be the judge of that. Here is a small sampling of Nancy comics over the last year or so. For more, you can visit www.gocomics.com/nancy.

If you would like to support my writing or research, you can buy me a cup of coffee over on Ko-Fi. No commitment or subscription required.

I am not a believer in ghosts. I know, that's sound shocking coming from someone who seems to write a lot of ghost stories and traipses around cemeteries and deals with history but I am a spectral skeptic. Anyway, we all know that noise is really a kid that Uncle Ted kidnapped and has locked in a small cage in his attic, right? He's getting hungry. So very hungry.

No One Heard Chopping?

You would not believe the day I had yesterday. You can read about it on Patreon though since I am still keeping what I was a part of under wraps. This is some of that exclusive content I've been so lax in getting made.

Have you noticed that Nancy has a new cartoonist. Olivia Jaimes, apparently a pseudonym, has taken over the strip after Guy Gilchrist retired from the comic, but not from cartoons, back in February. What makes Jaimes unique to the world of Nancy is that Jaimes is the first woman to draw the iconic little girl in the comic strip. That's right, in the 96 years since Fritzi Ritz began, becoming Nancy in 1938, it has routinely been drawn by men.

That's not really that shocking when you think about it though. Larry Whittington created Fritzi Ritz. The comic was taken over by Ernie Bushmiller in 1925 who introduced Nancy, Fritzi's precocious niece, in 1933. Bushmiller continued on the strip until he passed away in 1982. Afterwards, the strip was done by Al Plastino (1982-1983), Mark Laskey (1983), Jerry Scott (1984-1995), and Guy Gilchrist (1995-2018). Jaimes plans on using Nancy as a sassy and occasionally grouchy commentator on 21st Century happenings.

Since I have always liked Nancy in whatever form she takes, here is the first week of strips which started on April 9. If you would like to read more, go to www.gocomics.com/nancy.

And don't forget, there are numerous way that you can support LAMNB, my writing, and my history research. Just click one of the links below.

Patreon ---------------> https://www.patreon.com/tauycreek
Ko-Fi -----------------> http://ko-fi.com/tauycreek
Help fix my car -----> https://www.gofundme.com/fix-brian039s-hood

This is such an odd beginning for the new cartoonist. We get Nancy with pie and then she puts salt on it. Then suddenly a hamburger and stick of butter appears. What?

Is Sluggo sort of ethnic now? Someone commented on how jarring the new Nancy is from what Guy Gilchrist did. Well, of course, Gilchrist did Nancy for 22 years. He developed the characters, had a distinct style while also being similar to Bushmiller. I don't know if everything that Gilchrist did is still canon but I love we're only two days into this new format and people are already saying it's terrible.

Okay. Three days of people commenting on Nancy from afar. That's kind of weird. Maybe this is just a way to (re)introduce Nancy to audiences or something.

🎵Feeling like a boss, and staring at the stars, it doesn't matter the cost, cause everybody wants to be famous. 🎵

For the last three, four? weekends, they have been terrible. Rainy, cold, just terrible for doing things outside. Meanwhile, the weekdays are near perfect. Sunny, spring-like, but once the weekend hits, crap!

She's a kid, why does she have to do anything on her break? I'll be honest, I don't care if you spend your time sitting around, playing video games and watching TV as long as you are at least a semi-productive member of society. Reach for the stars, kids!

Sadly, there are no Sunday strips of Nancy, at least not yet. I enjoy the minimalism that Jaimes uses which is similar to Bushmiller and, to be honest, her Nancy is more similar to Bushmiller's art than Gilchrist's was. Personally, I am a fan of what's going on in the new Nancy. I say give it a shot. What do you have to lose?

Why was Brutus not at his son's baseball game? Oh, probably because they always lose and who wants to watch a team lose over and over again? But now here's Brutus telling Wilberforce that they aren't that bad of a team. Then why you watch me play, Dad? Why won't you watch me play?

🤨 What? Why? I understand that Wilberforce and Hattie are kids--9-year-olds to be exact--but this just seems ignorant. And holy crap, that would be a nice looking tree. Look at this thing:

Your fir tree is crap next to this thing. Just plain crap.