Cross Panel Comics

I recently had a dream about a comic strip that was configured like a crossword puzzle. I found it really interesting and told my son, Martin, about it. He said, "Let's make one!"

I drew a grid on an 12" x 18" piece of paper and decided we would play a game like Scrabble. I would draw a strip, and he would draw an intersecting one. Then it would be my turn, and we would continue until the page was somewhat full.

It was actually easier than I thought it would be! We completed three. I've traced off, and cleaned up, one of them. Here is it below. I've indicated the panels I drew with blue. Martin's are in green. The first strip drawn was the middle horizontal one, starting with, "What are you doing?" Click to enlarge...

Like Scrabble, the tough areas were where something had to work when two squares inconveniently touched, such as the "Love is the solution." touching "What about overpopulation?" There's a joke there, but it doesn't jump out at you.

I'm thinking this has the potential to be a fun challenge for cartoonists, much in the same way a "24 hour comic" is!

(Update! See our other Cross Panel Comics here.)

Batgirl Flaunts It

This isn't my normal kind of post. Usually, I rewrite dialog or such, but I found the following coincidence to be interesting...

Last week, I mentioned my old Merciless Destroyer character. Her only "super power'" was her ability to distract men as she fought crime. It seemed like a novel idea when I wrote it in the 80's.

A few days ago, I read Detective Comics #371 (1968). I had recently picked it up at a local comic convention. After seeing the cover, I was curious about the story. (Wow! The cover actually did its job!)


In the story, Batgirl's "feminine traits" kept leading to her crime fighting failure. She would get concerned about her appearance, or she would scream at the wrong time. In the end however, her striking a sexy pose is what helped Batman and Robin defeat the bad guys!



They don't write 'em like that anymore.

1968, Folks.