Funny Times
Encyclopedia
Funny Times is an American
humor newspaper
founded by the husband and wife team of Raymond Lesser and Susan Wolpert in 1985. Each issue is organized into sections such as "Relationships", "Dogs", "Politics", "Current Events", and others. The categories change somewhat from issue to issue.
The monthly publication is printed in the format of a daily newspaper. It is printed on newsprint paper, with each page measuring 11 X 17 inches. Every issue is exactly 24 pages in length, and the only ads it runs are for its own Funny Times-related merchandise. The political content is often subversive and has a progressive/liberal perspective.
FT's editors have also published a book called "Funny Times: The Best of The Best of American Humor."
FT Subscriptions are currently $25 per year. FT currently has about 75,000 subscribers. It includes cartoons, columns and essays that derive humor from pop culture, current events, politics and day-to-day living. It devotes a full page in each issue to the syndicated column News of the Weird
, which features dozens of bizarre true stories from around the world, compiled by Chuck Shepherd. Editor Ray Lesser frequently contributes his own humorous essays, and an essay by Dave Barry
can be found in virtually every issue.
Each issue contains choice selections of such offbeat comic strips as This Modern World
by Tom Tomorrow
, Bizarro
by Dan Piraro, Zippy the Pinhead
by Bill Griffith, Too Much Coffee Man
by Shannon Wheeler, Life in Hell
by Matt Groening
, Tom the Dancing Bug
by Ruben Bolling, The K Chronicles
by Keith Knight, and Slowpoke by Jen Sorensen.
Other contributing writers and cartoonists include:
Since January 2007, the Funny Times web site has featured something called the "Cartoon Playground", in which anyone with Internet access can create and instantly post their own comic strips using artwork drawn by Matt Wuerker. Some of the more frequent contributors to the Playground Cartoon section include individuals going by such names as: CIAgent, Claustrophobic, cta, Danger Dan, Demosfoni, Ducky, Earthmuffin, Elephant Man, Ellie May, Eric Per1in, Fracturedfish, Hal, Just Bean, Konrad Schwoerke, Lo Bottomy, Mr Smartypants, Queen Bean, Rick Dickulous, Sophie, Yankees with Hope, and Zack. These people sometimes communicate to each other using cartoons, turning the 'Cartoon Playground' into something like a social networking site. Good cartoons are put on the "editor's pick's" feature of the site. Some of the very best of these reader-created cartoons are featured in the monthly print edition.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
humor newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
founded by the husband and wife team of Raymond Lesser and Susan Wolpert in 1985. Each issue is organized into sections such as "Relationships", "Dogs", "Politics", "Current Events", and others. The categories change somewhat from issue to issue.
The monthly publication is printed in the format of a daily newspaper. It is printed on newsprint paper, with each page measuring 11 X 17 inches. Every issue is exactly 24 pages in length, and the only ads it runs are for its own Funny Times-related merchandise. The political content is often subversive and has a progressive/liberal perspective.
FT's editors have also published a book called "Funny Times: The Best of The Best of American Humor."
FT Subscriptions are currently $25 per year. FT currently has about 75,000 subscribers. It includes cartoons, columns and essays that derive humor from pop culture, current events, politics and day-to-day living. It devotes a full page in each issue to the syndicated column News of the Weird
News of the Weird
News of the Weird is a syndicated newspaper column edited by Chuck Shepherd that collects bizarre news stories. It was created in 1988. , it is syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate and published in more than 250 newspapers in the United States and Canada. As of July 2008, the daily internet...
, which features dozens of bizarre true stories from around the world, compiled by Chuck Shepherd. Editor Ray Lesser frequently contributes his own humorous essays, and an essay by Dave Barry
Dave Barry
David "Dave" Barry is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American author and columnist, who wrote a nationally syndicated humor column for The Miami Herald from 1983 to 2005. He has also written numerous books of humor and parody, as well as comedic novels.-Biography:Barry was born in Armonk, New York,...
can be found in virtually every issue.
Each issue contains choice selections of such offbeat comic strips as This Modern World
This Modern World
This Modern World is a weekly satirical comic strip by cartoonist and political commentator Tom Tomorrow that covers current events from a liberal point of view. Tomorrow also runs a weblog that informs readers about stories of interest, often presented as a follow up to his cartoons...
by Tom Tomorrow
Tom Tomorrow
Tom Tomorrow is the pen name of editorial cartoonist Dan Perkins. His weekly comic strip This Modern World, which comments on current events, appears regularly in over 90 newspapers across the U.S. and Canada as of 2006, as well as on CREDO Action and Daily Kos, where he is its comics curator...
, Bizarro
Bizarro (comic strip)
Bizarro is a single-panel cartoon written and drawn by cartoonist Dan Piraro. Launched January 22, 1985, the panel appears daily in 350 markets throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia...
by Dan Piraro, Zippy the Pinhead
Zippy the Pinhead
Zippy is an American comic strip created by Bill Griffith. The character of Zippy the Pinhead initially appeared in underground publications during the 1970s...
by Bill Griffith, Too Much Coffee Man
Too Much Coffee Man
Too Much Coffee Man is an American satirical superhero created by cartoonist Shannon Wheeler, and which has appeared in comic strips, minicomics, webcomics, comic books, magazines, books, and operas....
by Shannon Wheeler, Life in Hell
Life in Hell
Life in Hell is a weekly comic strip by Matt Groening. The strip features anthropomorphic rabbits and a pair of gay lovers. Groening uses these characters to explore a wide range of topics about love, sex, work, and death...
by Matt Groening
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
, Tom the Dancing Bug
Tom the Dancing Bug
Tom the Dancing Bug is a weekly satirical comic strip by cartoonist and political commentator Ruben Bolling that covers current events from a liberal point of view. The strip appears in mainstream and alternative weekly newspapers, as well as on the Boing Boing website. Tom the Dancing Bug won...
by Ruben Bolling, The K Chronicles
The K Chronicles
The K Chronicles is the autobiographical comic strip by independent cartoonist Keith Knight. Until February 2010 one could find it updated every Wednesday at Salon.com. The strip previously appeared in the San Francisco Examiner....
by Keith Knight, and Slowpoke by Jen Sorensen.
Other contributing writers and cartoonists include:
- Steve AltesSteve AltesSteve Altes is an American rocket engineer and writer, best known for his humorous essays. His specialty is getting hired into unusual occupations and writing funny accounts of his misadventures...
- Alison BechdelAlison BechdelAlison Bechdel is an American cartoonist. Originally best known for the long-running comic strip Dykes To Watch Out For, in 2006 she became a best-selling and critically acclaimed author with her graphic memoir Fun Home.-Early life:...
- Andy BorowitzAndy BorowitzAndy Borowitz is a comedian and New York Times bestselling author who won the first National Press Club award for humor. He is best known for creating the satirical website , which has an audience in the millions...
- Matt Bors
- Eric Broder
- Bill BrysonBill BrysonWilliam McGuire "Bill" Bryson, OBE, is a best-selling American author of humorous books on travel, as well as books on the English language and on science. Born an American, he was a resident of Britain for most of his adult life before moving back to the US in 1995...
- Sean Chiki
- Andrei CodrescuAndrei CodrescuAndrei Codrescu is a Romanian-born American poet, novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and commentator for National Public Radio. He was Mac Curdy Distinguished Professor of English at Louisiana State University from 1984 until his retirement in 2009....
- Lloyd DangleLloyd DangleLloyd Dangle is an American writer and visual artist, particularly known as a cartoonist, illustrator, and political satirist...
- DerfDerfDerf is the pseudonym of American artist John Backderf, most famous for the comic strip The City, which has appeared in a number of alternative newspapers since 1990. In 2006 Derf won the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for cartooning....
- Will DurstWill DurstWill Durst is an American political satirist; he considers himself a modern mix of Mort Sahl and Will Rogers....
- Bob HarrisBob Harris (writer)Bob Harris is an American radio commentator, writer, stand-up comedian, and thirteen-time Jeopardy! contestant.From 1998–2002, his daily political commentaries aired on an average of 75 radio stations across the U.S., winning awards from the and the Associated Press...
- Jim HightowerJim HightowerJames Allen "Jim" Hightower is an American syndicated columnist, activist and author.-Life and career:Born in Denison, Texas, Hightower came from a working class background. He worked his way through college as assistant general manager of the Denton Chamber of Commerce and later landed a spot as...
- Garrison KeillorGarrison KeillorGary Edward "Garrison" Keillor is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio personality. He is known as host of the Minnesota Public Radio show A Prairie Home Companion Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (born August 7, 1942) is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio...
- Paul KrassnerPaul KrassnerPaul Krassner is an author, journalist, stand-up comedian, and the founder, editor and a frequent contributor to the freethought magazine The Realist, first published in 1958...
- Peter KuperPeter KuperPeter Kuper is an American alternative cartoonist and illustrator known for his autobiographical, social, and political observations.-Early life:...
- Carol LayCarol LayCarol Lay is the author of a weekly comic strip, Way Lay, which first appeared in 1992 and which runs in the LA Weekly and Salon. It is also printed in daily and weekly newspapers as far afield as Hong Kong and Norway. Lay has been drawing professionally for over 25 years.-Biography:Lay was born...
- Richard LedererRichard LedererRichard Lederer is an American author, speaker, and teacher best known for his books on word play and the English language and his use of oxymorons...
- Bill MaherBill MaherWilliam "Bill" Maher, Jr. is an American stand-up comedian, television host, political commentator, author and actor. Before his current role as the host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher hosted a similar late-night talk show called Politically Incorrect originally on Comedy Central and...
- Chris MonroeChris MonroeChristine Monroe is an American painter and cartoonist best known for her weekly comic strip “Violet Days,” which appears in the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Duluth News Tribune....
- Michael MooreMichael MooreMichael Francis Moore is an American filmmaker, author, social critic and activist. He is the director and producer of Fahrenheit 9/11, which is the highest-grossing documentary of all time. His films Bowling for Columbine and Sicko also place in the top ten highest-grossing documentaries...
- Daniel PinkwaterDaniel PinkwaterDaniel Manus Pinkwater is an author of mostly children's books and is an occasional commentator on National Public Radio. He attended Bard College. Well-known books include Lizard Music, The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death, Fat Men from Space, Borgel, and the picture book The Big Orange...
- K. A. Polzin
- Phil Proctor
- Ted RallTed RallTed Rall is an American columnist, syndicated editorial cartoonist, and author. His political cartoons often appear in a multi-panel comic-strip format and frequently blend comic-strip and editorial-cartoon conventions. The cartoons appear in approximately 100 newspapers around the United States...
- Rita RudnerRita RudnerRita Rudner is an American comedienne, writer and actress.-Early life:Rudner was born in Miami, Florida, the daughter of Frances, a homemaker, and Abe Rudner, a lawyer. Her mother died when she was 13. After graduating from high school at 15, Rudner left Miami and headed to New York City to embark...
- David SedarisDavid SedarisDavid Sedaris is a Grammy Award-nominated American humorist, writer, comedian, bestselling author, and radio contributor....
- Terry Stawar
- Matt Wuerker
Since January 2007, the Funny Times web site has featured something called the "Cartoon Playground", in which anyone with Internet access can create and instantly post their own comic strips using artwork drawn by Matt Wuerker. Some of the more frequent contributors to the Playground Cartoon section include individuals going by such names as: CIAgent, Claustrophobic, cta, Danger Dan, Demosfoni, Ducky, Earthmuffin, Elephant Man, Ellie May, Eric Per1in, Fracturedfish, Hal, Just Bean, Konrad Schwoerke, Lo Bottomy, Mr Smartypants, Queen Bean, Rick Dickulous, Sophie, Yankees with Hope, and Zack. These people sometimes communicate to each other using cartoons, turning the 'Cartoon Playground' into something like a social networking site. Good cartoons are put on the "editor's pick's" feature of the site. Some of the very best of these reader-created cartoons are featured in the monthly print edition.