A big thanks to all who have signed up for my Substack NoozLetter! I hope I can be worthy of your attention! Also a big thanks to all who send me videos of bears doing…um…stuff. Frank sent me a message to say that it definitely wasn’t them, and besides, he only took one Binky Bar…I mean…if it HAD been Frank. Which it wasn’t.
Meanwhile, back at the Panda House…
Frank asked me again to say that the bear in the video is ABSOLUTELY not him. Mikey said it’s not him either.
Don’t forget to go see me over on Substack. I plan to publish once a week, still trying to decide what day!
Note to all the people who commented whether on Facebook or Twitter: there are NO plans to add a third floor to the Panda House so that Pinky can have a full penthouse suite and not have to share a bathroom with all the little cubbies.
So let’s see what’s up with Pookie’s visit to the pandas.
Now where did all those boxes of Go Fishies crackers come from?
Be the Bear Bob T no search warrants served this week Panda
Several people wondered where Pookie was going to stay if he moved into the Panda House, so I thought a little floor plan was in order.
My understanding was that they did a major renovation when Frank and Mikey moved in, and built the second floor over part of the main panda hose. Prior to that, what is now Mei’s Office/study, part of it was Pinky’s room and part was Bubba and Ping’s room, and Tian’s Bear cave was the baby’s room. Pinky appreciates having a much bigger room, of course!
Adding the second floor “kid’s suite” allowed them to give the kids a separate space with a dedicated computer room and their own little bear’s room.
Keep in mind I am not an architect if things don’t line up exactly.
Seems like they have plenty of space as long as no one else show’s up to stay. (Pinky doesn’t share)
Be the bear! Bob T thinks the GOP are a bunch of doody heads Panda
With the arrival of Pookie (aw!!! He’s so cute!) at the Panda House, I thought it would be a good day to look back on the entrance of Frank and Mikey to the Panda Chronicles. Of course, Mehitabel has always enjoyed interviews of animals who have raised their paws for Justice…
You just can’t trust crocodiles.
But we were speaking of bears…
Send in the bears!Helloooooo bears!I like bears.
That was Frank and Mikey’s introduction to the Panda Chronicles, and like bears everywhere, once you feed them, it’s hard to get them to leave.
Guess who’s coming for cuppycakes!!!!“We are NEVER going to get our security deposit back!!!”Ruh Roh….
And now you know how Frank got those fuzzy dice stuck on his ear!
I hope you enjoyed this look back at the first appearances of Frank and Mikey.
Till Tuesday (if we don’t have more technical difficulties)…
Be the Bear Bob T thinks the GOP are bunch of spineless weasels Panda
I really hate technical difficulties. Was it Mercury in retrograde? Sun spots? Six and Sebben messing with my internet provider? Mittens stealing the entire internet? But for some reason I couldn’t get this website to even open, let alone log in. Fortunately my web guru was able to wave a magical wand or maybe it fixed itself. Who knows?
Anyway, here we are, a day late and a dollar short!
In other NooZ…
Several of you might have noticed that on Twidder I had posted some enigmatic comments about waiting for something. What I was waiting for was to hear whether I had been selected for a short residency retreat for women who write/draw humorous comics.
I know RIGHT?!?!?!?!?!
Well, I finally heard, and to cut to the chase, I was not accepted, but I had a lovely bit of communication with the person in charge, a cartoonist I have long admired and have a lot of respect for. (Am I sucking up if she is reading this? Um…mebbee?) A long time ago, I took an artist’s business practices class, and while I may forget what I went upstairs for five minutes ago, I still remember what the instructor said about applying for things: Apply for everything you are remotely qualified for. While you might not get the thing, you never know who is going to see your work, what connections you will make for the future.
While it would have been really great to go someplace that isn’t home, have the opportunity to work and talk with others who are on the same path, it was great to be validated as being “the real deal.”
and in OTHER Nooz…
The Panda Cub Swap has been released into the world! Written by Beth Bacon and illustrated by moi, it’s the story of Lun Lun and the first surviving set of twins born at Zoo Atlanta.
You can order it from your local book store, your library, or Amazon using this link:
If you enjoy it and are so inclined, writing a short review on Amazon helps other people discover the book. I am so proud of the illustrations I did for the book. BTW, at some point this fall I will be offering the original illustrations for sale, so if you have a favorite one in the book, let me know if you are interested in having it.
Celebrating with some friends!
Don’t tell Six and Sebben this book is not about them!!!
Be the Bear Bob T hoping the Democrats can hold on to Congress Panda
There might be too many bears in the panda house, that aren’t strictly speaking…um…pandas.
Some of you might be wondering who Josie is. Josie is Frank and Mikey’s sister, and she does not approve of their career choices. She is the bear who stayed home to look after Mom and their youngest brother Scooter. (See last summer’s road trip to Alaska with Frank and Mikey as they searched for their family reunion.
Josie and Scooter’s names (and existence) are owed to Amy of Panda Twitter, who came up with names for the cubs that appeared in one of the numerous videos of bears behaving badly that circulate on the internet. The exploits of Frank and Mikey owe much to these videos and Nooz stories of bears doing things they shouldn’t.
I guess we’ll find out on Thursday whether or not Josie tracked her clueless brothers down, along with her missing cub.
Meanwhile, today is the “Book Birthday” for The Panda Cub Swap, the real life story of the birth of the Meihems. I threw a little party in it’s honor!
Let’s have one more round of celebration for the DC Panda Kids!
You can’t make me….Uh oh…it’s the Pinky Revenue Service!Well, it WAS a good messaging opportunity…Is there anything more fun than watching Bike play wit Mommee or even just roll around in the den by himself?
I hope you enjoyed these ‘toons from the archives, as we celebrate the birthdays of Pinky, Bubba, and Bikkie!
‘Toon in next week for more fun with pandas, and mebbee a little bit of current events!
Be the Bear Bob T I have definitely not been in the secret tunnel under Purr-a-Lago Panda
Stories have a way of regenerating as new s**t comes to light! But for now, we are going to call this story done, with this episode.
So Let’s get to it!
It looks like Bikkie made a new friend! Call the building contractor, Tian! We might need to make an addition on to Bikkie’s room. And who does this cub belong to? I guess we’ll find out eventually.
A Little Bit About My Process:
Some stories start with an idea that is floating around on the internet. These nooz stories enter my brain, slosh around a bit, colliding with existing characters, melding with preconceived ideas, and finally plooping out onto the page.
For instance: Where did Frank and Mikey come from?
In the fall of 2018, when it became apparent the the current SCOTUS nominee was even more awful than we thought he was, the thought crossed my mind, wouldn’t it be funny if he was eaten by bears on the steps of the Supreme Court?
Naturally, Mehitabel (being the savvy journalist that she is,) invited the bears for an interview on ZooNooZ. To be completely candid, their personalities emerged with little intervention from me. Honestly, sometimes I think I am merely a conduit through which the various cats, pandas, and other animals that appear in these pages, and speak their own thoughts.
Once here, I could not get the bears to leave, despite very pointed glares coming from Mei Xiang as she dealt with her ever expanding household.
And so it is with all the other characters. Sometimes, they don’t have much to say to me, so I let them just wander around in the background, until they have pressing business with me.
Process:
For those who might be interested, here is how my ‘toons come into being:
Idea > scribbled post it note > write script, seeing if I can fit the action/dialog/cast into a 4 panel strip > rough pencil sketch in my sketchbook to figure out layout > light editing of placement, text > redraw the toon on smooth Bristol paper > ink in panel lines > ink in text> ink in all characters > erase pencil lines when dry > Scan > clean up scan in photo editing program > post on The Panda Chronicles
Whew!
Be the Bear Bob T I have no classified documents Panda
Several people had expressed their concern about Bikkie arriving home in time for his birthday. I can only say, time is a very elastic thing in ‘toon world, so it is STILL Bikkie’s birthday as we arrive in today’s ‘toon!
Also, a little POOF can account for many elaborately drawn scenes!
Send cuppycakes and magical wands!I love a good art forgery, don’t you?Feed me, Mama!“If Pinky is grounded, can I have her dessert?”Oh come on…hasn’t that ever happened to you? One minute there are two dozen cuppycakes just sitting there, and the next minute they’re gone?Don’t ignore Princess Pinky!
Remember Bubba’s first birthday when he flunked cake?
Bubba flunks “cake”
He was determined not to let that happen on his 2nd Birthday!
It does not pay to be late! You don’t want to flunk cake again, do you, Boo Boo?
2020 was the year we thought we were all going to lose our minds, or die from the plague, or be faced with four more years of you know who. But in August, something wonderful happened. And then there were Three!(or 4 counting Ping!)
A new cubby! The possibilities are endless!Pinky did something wrong? I’m shocked!Bikkie has a name!!!!
Later in the year, we will rerun the whole Beary Poppins story, but for now, here is one of my favorite panels…
Let’s go fly a kite…uh oh.
And to wrap up our Birthday Celebration Weekend…
I hope you are enjoying Bikkie’s cake at the zoo! Stay ‘tooned till “toonsday!”
