Joey and Herb discuss the local newspaper, coming to the realization that the daily print version isn’t going away anytime soon in Cold Springs. Internet speeds in remote Manitoba have dictated the need for locals to consume their community news in print and we all know that hardware store flyers are much more enjoyable printed on newsprint at an 85 lines/inch screen with shoddy registration. The same goes for the comics page, naturally.
Tag Archives: Cold Springs
The New Paperboy
Look who the new Cold Springs Clipper paperboy is! Wait – do they still call them ‘paperboys?’ Perhaps it should be ‘paper person’ or ‘paper carrier’ or… ‘paper delivery associate.’ At any rate, Joey is now gainfully employed in his new town in the integral position of ensuring the locals get their news – and flyers – in a timely fashion. Printed newspapers are still (barely) a thing these days, but Herb – ever pretentious – isn’t likening the local fish wrap to the periodicals he reads.
Congrats, Lollipop!
This special comic is dedicated to Jennifer Cuthbert’s The Adventures of Lollipop, celebrating it’s 20th anniversary this month! Lollipop and her gang have visited almost every corner of the globe, so I took a moment to imagine Lollipop’s gang visiting Cold Springs… with Joey and Herb standing by to deliver the hard truth. Congratulations on twenty years of adventures, Lollipop – here’s to twenty more!
Made in Australia
The weather warms up in Cold Springs, sending Joey and Herb down to the local tennis court. Joey has his struggles with the practice wall and learns a valuable lesson: never toss your racquet in frustration and if you do, always check the manufacturer’s info.
The Mighty Ducts
This one is one of the earliest comics I wrote. It’s been sitting patiently on one of the first pages of my sketchbook for almost two decades prior to being published today on the internets. This concept of listening to the exciting sportsball match through vents and/or ductwork in a home is something that is directly drawn from my childhood. The time I remember clearly was the 1984 Canada Cup hockey semifinal between Canada and the Soviet Union. I had a pretty strict bedtime of 9pm at the time and wasn’t able to watch the conclusion of that crucial game against those evil commies. I discovered I could *just barely* hear the game through the vent in my bedroom floor however, and I lied there for hours until Canada won the game in overtime.
A Little Entertainment
We find ourselves catching up with the resident villains of our humble strip – Gaston Malade and Mimi Dangereux – and find out that they have indeed been stationed in northern Manitoba by evil mastermind Cyrus Belgrave to work on some sort of top-secret project… And not just anywhere in northern Manitoba, but good ol’ Cold Springs. In fact, they’re headed toward the arena where a red-headed kid takes to the ice, representing said town for the first time. Cue the foreboding music…
Thin Ice
With hockey tryouts looming and the ball-eating bush cramping Joey’s ability to practice in his driveway, he and Herb are headed over to a nearby pond to get in some practice…
Snow for Joey
Go figure, now that Joey has moved to northern Manitoba, it’s Christmas and he’s still waiting on some snow to make the festive season feel just right… Things aren’t looking good until Earl arrives on his zamboni and donates just the right amount of the white stuff to make a snow angel, a snowman or have a good ol’ fashioned snowball fight! Fun fact: This is actually a true story! The Arena Manager in my hometown of Thamesford, Ontario (also Earl!) did in fact drive the zamboni around the corner to my house to stave off a green Christmas by dropping off some arena snow on our front lawn – complete with a sign affixed to a broken hockey stick! I’ve been waiting many years to turn this into a comic – God bless you, Earl Carter.
Starry Night
As Joey settles into his new home, he discovers something amazing: the utter majesty that is the night sky once you’re free of the city. Maybe Cold Springs won’t be so bad after all… Herb’s impressed as well and it inspires him to bring out all of the constellation puns – groan!
A Talking Cat?
Joey is trying really hard to come to grips with everything and he’s suddenly been thrown yet another curve. Meet Penelope, Joey’s… talking… pet cat.
A Decent Latte
No Joey, you didn’t dream all of this. And it turns out Herb is a bit of a – bear – in the morning if he hasn’t had his premium caffeine fix. On a positive note, it looks like the Joey’s bed got put together somehow, so there’s that.
Joey’s Top Three
Sorry Herb, but it turns out that 11-year olds have… simpler priorities. Although, to fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs, winning a Stanley Cup likely seems as improbable as solving world hunger. Fun fact: this strip was originally written in the summer of 2019, shortly after Joey’s Toronto Raptors were crowned NBA Champions. That’s why Herb thought he might be able to wiggle out of this…
Turkeytown
This just keeps getting better for Joey – not only is he about to start grade six 3000 km away from his former home, but he’s just learned that his new town has a turkey processing plant placed smack-dab in the middle of it. Fun fact: this is a shameless shout-out to my hometown of Thamesford, Ontario, whose local economy was also anchored by a turkey plant in the centre of the village – Cold Springs Farm. I spent a summer working there (fortunately, only one) and yes, on warm, humid summer nights the smell was unmistakable.
July in Manitoba
Admittedly, this is kind of a cheap shot at places like northern Manitoba, which everyone assumes are freezing all year round. Let’s just imagine it was a particularly “fresh” summer day en route to Cold Springs and Joey isn’t trying very hard to look for positives at the moment.
Grizzly Bear Crossing
Joey’s family is moving from the bustling, cosmopolitan city of Toronto to… the remote town of Cold Springs, Manitoba. He’s pretty sure his life is over, but he may have some more immediate concerns with his new home.
Smooth Sailing
We’re very excited to release the first ever Planet Joey “Sunday format” comic strip, a regular feature we’re calling Joey Weekends. This week, we’re catching up with Joey and his family en route to his new home: the remote northern outpost of Cold Springs, Manitoba. If you recognize Joey’s hockey uniform, you’ll know what city he’s moving from and yes, he’s sporting the classic Gretzky Jofa 235 helmet.