Q: Has a new comic strip been selected to replace "The Elderberries"?
A.A.
A: Yes and no.
As readers of "The Elderberries" comic strip may have noticed, the comic's storyline has the retirement community closing down. That is because the strip is coming to an end. According to Clint Hooker, the editor at the Universal Uclick syndicate who oversaw "The Elderberries," artist Corey Pandolph decided to end the strip.
"He's got a lot of other projects going on," Hooker said.
Those projects include doing cartoons for The New Yorker and writing stand-up. Fans can follow Pandolph on Twitter @Fake_Rockstar or on his blog at www.
fakerockstar.com.
The last daily "The Elderberries" will run March 3, and the last Sunday strip will appear March 4. That final episode is dedicated to the memory of Phil Frank, who drew the strip until his retirement in September 2007, when Pandolph took over. Frank had been ill and died just five days after retiring.
In the Sunday comics, we are replacing the strip starting March 11 with "Cul De Sac," a strip by artist Richard Thompson about a feisty 4-year old girl and her older brother who live in a suburban neighborhood. The strip made its debut in 2007. Bill Watterson, the creator of "Calvin and Hobbes," praised the strip in a forward to its first book collection, writing, "I thought the best newspaper comic strips were long gone, and I've never been happier to be wrong."
For the daily paper, we will be experimenting and giving readers weeklong trials of various strips, starting March 5 with "Pooch Café," a strip about a rambunctious dog. We will be asking for reader response by mail at Comics, Winston-Salem Journal, P.O. Box 3159, Winston-Salem, NC 27102 or by email at
Q: Who are the McCann Twins in the Consumer Cellular commercials? The way they are introduced makes me think I'm supposed to recognize them from somewhere else.
F.D.
A: The McCann Twins are characters who were created for the commercial. "They" are actually the same guy, improv comic Ron Maestri. He has appeared in bit parts in various TV shows, including "Gossip Girl," "Bored to Death" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm." He also has done radio and commercial work and has appeared on QVC.
Q: I have heard of people being charged for having a rim around the license plates on their car. Why is that?
V.D.
A: This is not new. As of Dec. 10, 2010, according to N.C. General Statute 20-63, motorists who have frames or transparencies on their license plates that keep officers from being able to read them can be fined up to $100.
The precise wording of the statute: "Any operator of a motor vehicle who covers any registration plate with any frame or transparent, clear or color-tinted cover that makes a number or letter included in the vehicle's registration, the state name on the plate, or a number or month on the registration renewal sticker on the plate illegible commits an infraction and shall be penalized."
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