Back from a long absence! We’ve been…er…tied up ourselves, with other comic and art related projects. Hence the delay. But we thought that this was a nice way to get back into the flow of things. Enjoy!

The black and white noir-ish look of the comic, the signature hat and mask worn by Karma and Dogma…if you know comic history, you’d instantly have picked up that this panel is our tribute to The Spirit. Why today, you ask? Because today would have been the 94th birthday of Will Eisner, one of the earliest and most influential comic creators of all time. Called the “father of the graphic novel,” his A Contract with God and Other Tenement Stories (focusing on the Jewish immigrant experience) was one of the very first longform graphic stories.  He is one of the true pioneers of sequential storytelling and helped make it the art form it is today.

He was very proud of comic art’s evolution—and Mr. Eisner, we comic creators are proud of you. Thank you for everything you brought, either directly or indirectly, to art, to literature, and to our lives. Your Spirit endures!

Last night was supposed to be a “30-year storm” here in Southern California—winds and rain and temperatures lower than we’ve seen in 30 years. Well, it was cold, wet, and windy, but I’m not sure it quite lived up to the hype. Nonetheless, it seemed the right time to post our Figure of Speech panel. It can get cold and wet here, although nothing like colder parts of the world!

There’s nothing quite like a sad, soaked pet to bring out the pathos, is there? Watch this space—we should have another “water-themed” Karma Kat and Dogma up sooner rather than later!

And we’re back! This has been a crazy season when it comes to catching colds, passing them back and forth, and general feeling blah. But webcomics won’t update themselves, and so here we are!

I’ve had the idea for a comic like this for a long time, ever since I saw a New Yorker (or was it a Playboy) cartoon of a tiny toy dog looking in a mirror, and seeing a great dane. Our dog is the same—she thinks she’s a 65 pound lap dog, who wants nothing more than to snuggle with comfortable pillows and blankets, but when someone walks to the door that she doesn’t know, she’s all business and clearly fancies herself the fiercest security force on the planet. Meanwhile, our cat just quietly mews in that perturbed long-suffering tone that says “get off it, the mailman is walking off in just a moment, go back to sleep…”

Depending on your time zone, it might already be 2011 for you, but here in Sunny (but chilly) California it’s still early evening on December 31st, 2010.

It was Michelle’s idea to do a one-panel new year’s greeting. I agreed it would be fun, quickly whipped up the script, and you see the results on your screen.

In addition to Karma Kat and Dogma, Michelle and I would also like to wish you the best 2011 possible!

Happy New Year!

This one is all Michelle; she told me she wanted to surprise me, and she did!

Like so many Gen Xers, I really enjoyed Tron as a kid, and we’re both looking forward to seeing Tron: Legacy now, in glorious IMAX 3D, the way God (and Disney) intended.

What’s better than a Christmas in the Grid?

This comic has its root in an incident from many years ago. While we were out one day, some chicken breasts were thawing on the top of our refrigerator—absolutely out of reach of the dog. When we got home, the empty chicken packaging was on the floor, and the dog was trying to convince us that nothing unusual had happened while we were out. Did the cat jump up on the counter, and from there the refrigerator, to get the chicken for himself? Did our dog put the cat up to it? Who knows. Either way, it makes for a fun comic!

Social commentary takes a back seat to fun with pets in this one, but there is a bit of a laugh at the concept of “protection.”