Tag Archives: panda kindergarten

Fabulous Furry Friday Salutes…

…the panda kindergarten!

What could be better for this Friday the 13th than a look at the panda kindergarten, those rascally, recalcitrant, ruffians? They are the inspiration (well one of the inspirations, anyway,) for my newest book, Pandamorphosis!

2009 panda kindergarten class

The first appearance of the panda kindergarten, in much (MUCH) more innocent times…

And BTW, we’ve been making some guest appearances around the interwebs: hear just where all these pandas came from on Cordelia’s Mom, Still, and how Pandamorphosis finally got published on Cordelia Calls it Quits.  There will be some more guest appearances over the next couple weeks, which I will be sure to alert you to!

Meanwhile, back to the pandy kindy:

panda on rocking horse

wheel of pandas 1

The panda kindergarten’s hit game show, wheel…of…pandas!!!!!!

And of course, who could forget the panda kindergarten in their first appearance in the Panda Olympic Games?

Huzzah!

Huzzah!

Going for the ...um...chocolate chip.

Going for the …um…chocolate chip.

But the panda kindergarten may be best known for leading some of the newer and younger pandas astray…Sigh….I’m sure they are trying to be good…

"You are right and Wu is wrong...I'll never do it again, mommy."

“You are right and Wu is wrong…I’ll never do it again, mommy.”

And while we are thinking about Friday the 13th, (We were? Isn’t that kind of scary?) be sure to stop over to VSomethingSpeaks for this interesting look at the myths and mystery of Friday the 13th, which this very day is paired up with the full moon!

See you on Sunday for the exciting conclusion of “Pinky and the Meihems take a Hostage” (there is a panda scout merit badge for hostage taking, isn’t there?) and the return next Wednesday of Inspector Panda and the Case of the Picturesque Panda!

Keep Being the Bear!
Bob T. Panda

Huzzah!

and yes, it’s now available on Amazon!

Resistance is Futile!

I can never resist a good joke…especially when it’s me making it! Inspector Panda is taking the day off while we continue the sordid tale of Hobbes’ kidnapping by the panda kindergarten.

Meanwhile, around the web, I am on a bit of a blog tour, in honor of the publication of Pandamorphosis, my wordless picture book about…um…pandas. This week I wrote about the journey to publication on Cordelia Calls it Quits, and then I headed over (virtually speaking, of course) to Cordelia’s Mom, Still to tell the tale of where all these pandas came from! I have a few more stops on the tour coming up in the next couple of weeks. If you would like to have the pandas come by for a visit, drop me a comment and we can set something up!

Meanwhile, here is the continuation of our story:

I love a good art forgery, don't you?

I love a good art forgery, don’t you?

As I mentioned on Sunday, this cartoon and the previous one were inspired by Pearls Before Swine’s creator, Stephan Pastis and his recent series in which he collaborated with Bill Watterson.  I see your “set my hair on fire,” and raise you, “I would rip my own liver out with my teeth.” Is that enough name dropping for one day?

OK, Mr. Watterson, I have your tiger. Come and get him.

A Salute to the Masters of the Medium

Every once in a while I mention how I’ve learned from artists of the past, whether we are talking about fine art ,or illustration, or comics. One of my major inspirations in drawing comics is Bill Watterson, creator of the brilliantly unsurpassable Calvin and Hobbes.

So imagine my delight and envy when I read the post by Stephan Pastis (of Pearls Before Swine fame) where he relates the story of a project he recently did with Bill Watterson, which was brought to my attention on Twitter from Liam F. Walsh, cartoonist for The New Yorker. (And yes, I realize I am name-dropping like hell. Get over it.)

Of course, I had to let the pandas have their way with this story.

Excuse me, Mr. Watterson, but....

Excuse me, Mr. Watterson, but….

I’m sure that the panda kindergarten will..um…take very good care of Hobbes.

Be the Bear!
Bob T. Panda

Literature of the Panda: From Fabulous Furry Friday

Pandas have long had a presence in literature. The prestigious BamBooker Prize in panda literature is one of the coveted awards by the panda literary establishment.  (I bet you didn’t know there was a panda literary establishment, did you?)

While panda literature has often been overlooked by the world at large (read: overbearing cats), it is, in fact, one of the most loved genres in many parts of the globe. From autobiographical works, to novels, and poetry, pandas are on the forefront of creative writing. Or was that “creative accounting”? Well, no matter, today, Fabulous Furry Friday celebrates,

The Literature of the Panda!

More literature of the panda!

Bob’s well received autobiography

It all started here.....

It all started here…..

What do you mean by "was?"

What do you mean by “was?”

The Life of PIE....get it? *chortle chortle*

The Life of PIE….get it? *chortle chortle*

panda poetry slam

The cake abides….

Editors note: And of course, since this month is Pandamorphosis launch month (the real one, not Bob’s version of it) I had to stick in another plug for Pandamorphosis. You can find it on Amazon, or if you happen to live on Whidbey Island, Moonraker Books has copies in stock! (yay! Independent Book Stores!)

Huzzah!

Huzzah!

Well, that’s all from Fabulous Furry Friday! Keep Being the Bear, Panda On, and Pass the Cuppycakes!

Bob T. Panda

Inspector Panda in His Feature Debut

I know, I know, I’ve been promising this for a long time, but what with one panda then another, and Princess Pinky being so. very. insistent. that it is all about her, what’s a panda satirist to do? And I might add, I do have a few other things on my plate besides writing and drawing panda cartoons all day. (subliminal message…buy….more….books….)

Anyway, at long last, I am starting Inspector Panda’s epic (I hope) saga, starring Robert Thelonious Panda as Inspector Panda, Mr. Wu as his erstwhile assistant, and Babette de Panda as the troubled and troubling femme fatale!

(Special note to Princess Pinky: while this story is NOT about the Highway closing hacker incident, that case is still open, and Inspector Panda never closes a case unsolved.  Just sayin, ‘kay?)

If "trouble" ever had a proper name, that name is Babette de Panda...

If “trouble” ever had a proper name, that name is Babette de Panda…

As a rather geeky illustrator/cartoonist side note, I decided to make a switch from using technical pens for my drawings, to old fashioned dip pens.  I’m thinking that I can get a much more expressive  and varied line with them.  Just part of my evolution as a comics artist. (plus then I get to buy some new stuff in the art catalogues. Huzzah!)

Be the Bear and Panda On!
Bob T. Panda (not to be confused with Robert Thelonious Panda)

From the Fabulous Furry Friday Archives….

Spring has come and gone in the Pacific Northwest, as we slosh toward the month here known as “June-uary”  and the (brief) visitation of balmy days in the 60’s and low 70’s become just a distant memory, just in time for Memorial Day weekend here in the US of A.

We need funny, we need pandas, and we need it now!

excessive photoshopping of celebrities

I’m ready for my close-up…um..I am, aren’t I?

Are we laughing yet?

Mei xiang and bao bao try to cover up highway-gate

Inspector Panda is on the job!

As we prepare for an Inspector Panda Mystery, let’s reacquaint ourselves with this superior sleuth….

"Hello, Bai Yun?  this is Lun Lun...about that detective you suggested..."

“Hello, Bai Yun? this is Lun Lun…about that detective you suggested…”

...of course Boo-mints are pretty good too.

…of course Boo-mints are pretty good too.

Inspector panda

Will the twins get a merit badge for their road trip? Will Lun Lun fess up to where the girls are? Will Inspector Panda get a clue, or at least more twitter followers? Stay tuned!

That’s it for Fabulous Furry Friday’s visit to The Institute of Contemporary Panda Satire archives!

By the way, Pandamorphosis is now available from Amazon. Check it out on our The Panda Chronicles: The Books page today!

Keep Being the Bear!
Bob T. Panda

 

What Kind of Cuppycake are You?

Alert reader Marie Lamb sent me this quiz via fezbook, because as a loyal reader of The Panda Chronicles, she knows that cuppycakes are near and dear to all the pandas here. Of course it inspired a cartoon.  How could it not?

I have extra frosting!

I have extra frosting!

(By the way, when I took the quiz, it turns out that I am a lemon cuppycake)

Sigh….

Be the Bear
Bob T. Panda

Fabulous Furry Friday returns!

Today is the day when we revisit cartoons that have relevance to items in the news.  Since this is the “Panda Season of Love” and we have been focusing on our Scottish pandas, I thought a glimpse of the early days of pandas in Scotland would be in order.

Enjoy!

What could be more scottish than Pandas?

What could be more scottish than Pandas?

The Scottish pandas

Save some pie for me!

pandair flight of the scottish pandas

Pand-Air…it’s the only way to travel

Be the bear!

Bob T. Panda

Even More from the Panda Season of Love

Last week one of my esteemed readers commented on this post of the day of “Z” with a delightful scenario based on ACTUAL PANDA COMMUNICATION from our panda neighbors to the North, Er Shun and Da Mao, currently residing in Toronto as part of the “putting pandas to work” program.

News item: Gao Gao, the San Diego zoo stud muffin and father of five, is recovering from surgery of *ahem* a delicate nature. For more information, read the San Diego Zoo blog.

Of course, this inspired me to write a cartoon, which would make even more fun of pandas (well, boy pandas anyway). Sometimes they just make it too easy for me.

I smell frosting!

I smell frosting!

If YOU have read a real news story that you think that pandas would enjoy having their way with, just send it on in a comment. don’t worry about trying to figure out what the pandas will have to say about it.  We might not even comment on the story directly, but you never know what is going to trigger some panda satirical thought in my fuzzy little head. Operators are standing by to take your call.

fundraising on Kickstarter

Ha ha! George Clooney… where do those little pandas get these ideas?

Politicians misbehaving? strange cuppycake vending machines showing up on your block? Interesting trends in fashion?  Pandas may be interested.

Be the Bear
and
Panda On

Bob T. panda

 

Zippity Zoom* It’s the last day of the A to ZZZZZ Challenge

* Thanks and apologies to Nancy A.( who coincidentally just sold her first book! Huzzah!)  for using your title, but hey! Z’s, you know?

Yes we have reached the zenith of the A to Z (some might say the nadir), the zero hour, my zombie like stare, from too many hours staring at zee computer. (talk about cheap shots!)  How can I equate something that starts with “Z” to pandas? why, zoos, of course!

But, I promised you a new cartoon, didn’t I? And without any more zigzagging from zonked out cuppycake crazed pandas, here ’tis:

Zee mystery is about to begin!

Zee mystery is about to begin!

But I think you need a few more cartoons to make this a worthy finale, and what could be more appropriate than a couple of episodes of ZooNooZ, the only news show that looks the same whether you spell it upside down, frontwards, backwards, or upside down and backwards!  It’s like a multidirectional palindrome!

Did he really have to tell them THAT????

Did he really have to tell them THAT????

What happens in Vegas.....

What happens in Vegas….. (notice the lampshade? you might want to remember that later.)

Bears are on the ball!

Goodnight everyone!

Thanks for letting the pandas come and play at the A to Z Blog Challenge. We now return you to our regular schedule of pandas.

Be the Bear,
Bob T. Panda