Writers get syndicated. Cartoonists get syndicated. But why not creative graphic artists? The trick on the creative side is being timely and topical, so it’s best to piggyback lingering issues and react quickly to news. Could be serious and data-oriented, with maps and charts and math. Or it could have a humorous, let’s-talk-about it twist, with lists like “10 Cockamamie Excuses Mel Read More …
We have pills for depression, so why not pills to help people who are laugh-challenged? Could be bio-braino-chemical in nature. Or not. Know those Valentine’s Day hearts with the romantic sayings? Why not candy pills with a joke on one side, and the punchline on the other? Not enough room? Then make the “pills” really Read More …
Or call it Pastimes. It’s weekly or monthly publication that aims to get people’s minds off their tribulations and troubles with puzzles, humor, comics, funny fiction, amusing photographs, observations/essays about TV and movies and video games and other distractions we love. Not news. Not gossip. (Better sources exist for those.) But things to do and things that make you smile. Read More …
NBC’s My Name Is Earl has a great concept: Misjudged but semi-lovable jerkwad gets hit by car after winning the lottery, knocking this bit of sense into his brain: Better make amends for your rotten life, or karma will get you. Well, why not find a real-life Earl, and have him make up his real life of Read More …
Doh! Elementary, my dear Bart-son! Homer with pipe and deerstalker cap wandering the moors, trying to sharpen his wits by indulging in Duff beer. *Urp!* Knowing Homer, the murder victims will all turn up alive — or turn out to be murderers. His archnemesis is Mr. Burn’s brother, Maury R.T. Burns.
Yes, there’s a noxious plant called Giant Hogweed. Better at popping out itchy blisters than poison ivy, supposedly. Can even cause blindness, some sites say. It’s cropping up in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, other states, and Canada. (Shot this photo of it outside Bancroft, Ontario.) Here’s my idea: Whoever develops an ointment to prevent or treat Read More …
Maybe I’m daft. I just think the gentle humor of the old Rocky and His Friends cartoons would work in short, funny novels for kids. Or maybe make them two parts, with a Fractured Fairy Tale or Mr. Peabody story in-between. Not talking comic books or graphic novels, though illustrations are always nice. Looking for a Read More …
Remember the XFL? Wrestling czar Vince McMahon tried to make a go of spring football without the pro wrestling gimmicks. It flopped. Should have had (a) mad fumble-recovery like scrambles at midfield each half instead of kickoffs, and (b) mascot fights at halftime. Beaks, feet, fur, even heads go flying.
Two-person TV show. No, two-person showdown. Total knockdown debating, intellectually at a very high level, but “fighters” wear boxing gloves and dance around a ring, landing verbal jabs. It’s a play, it’s philosophy! Every week a new profound, always relevant topic. Could be a play, actually.
This would be a popular product. Sure, people license cartoon characters for T-shirts and games and underwear. Fun stuff. But aren’t laughs even more needed during disgusting chores, like changing a catbox? Look forward to this every week at my house! Anyway, people love Garfield, people love cats, people love jokes, so market some catbox Read More …
If celeb baby news is beaucoup bucks (People mag paid millions for pics of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s newbie, Shiloh), well, celebrity baby publishing is bound to become its own industry. People begat Teen People, so why not Baby People? Babies are people, too, after all. And plenty of advertisers are out to Pamper Read More …
Ever notice how bags of chips or popcorn or cheese curls resemble puffy balloons and weigh almost nothing? Why not take that concept a step or two further? Fill bags with helium for a truly “light” snack. Better yet, figure out how to make snacks that float in mid-air. Maybe whip helium into the mix Read More …
Present a weekly whirlwind tour of all sorts of newspaper cartoons, from both comics and editorial pages. Shows inspired by a single strip pull a narrow audience. But delivering a variety of toons at a rapid-fire rate could appeal to almost everybody, young and old alike, in an easy, breezy, short-attention-span kind of way. DO Read More …
Par 3. Par 4. Par 5. Hmm. There are other options. Wouldn’t it be cool to have a golf course where you tee off from a mountain and watch the ball soar and bounce and bounce toward the hole a mile away? You hop in your Jeep and zoom after it. Maybe the hole’s par Read More …
Hic. How wry I am. Anybody could brew a batch of wild possibilities. In fact, each episode could be a takeoff on some other reality show. Extreme Makeover: Beer Edition. Survivor: Beer Island. Beer Apprentice. Beer Swap. Weakest Clink. Who Wants to Chug Like a Millionaire. America’s Top Beer-Ad Model. Or maybe this whole premise Read More …