''Loose Parts'' is a daily single-panel

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

by Dave Blazek. It is similar in tone, content, and style to

Gary Larson Gary Larson (born August 14, 1950) is an American cartoonist who created ''The Far Side'', a single-panel cartoon series that was syndicated internationally to more than 1,900 newspapers for fifteen years. The series ended on January 1, 1995, ...

's ''

The Far Side ''The Far Side'' is a single-panel comic created by Gary Larson and syndicated by Chronicle Features and then Universal Press Syndicate, which ran from December 31, 1979, to January 1, 1995 (when Larson retired as a cartoonist). Its surrea ...

'', involving Theatre of the Absurd-style themes and characters. ''Loose Parts'' is currently syndicated by

Andrews McMeel Syndication Andrews McMeel Syndication (formerly Universal Uclick) is an American content syndicate which provides syndication in print, online and on mobile devices for a number of lifestyle and opinion columns, comic strips and cartoons and various other ...

and appears in newspapers across the country and overseas. ''Loose Parts'' was nominated for Best Newspaper Panel Cartoon division award in the 2010

National Cartoonists Society The National Cartoonists Society (NCS) is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the ...

Reuben Awards. After being nominated an additional three more times, it won the award in 2019, repeating in 2020.

History

''Loose Parts'' began in 1998 as a collaborative effort between Dave Blazek (the writer) and John Gilpin (the illustrator). Both men worked in the marketing department at ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'' and ''

Philadelphia Daily News ''Philadelphia Daily News'' is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper is owned by The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, which also owns ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', a daily newspaper in Philadelphia. The ''Dail ...

''. The strip was originally syndicated by the

Los Angeles Times Syndicate The ''Los Angeles Times'' Syndicate was a print syndication service that operated from 1949 to 2000. Owned by the Times Mirror Company, it also operated the ''Los Angeles Times'' Syndicate International; together the two divisions sold more than ...

; it moved to

Tribune Media Services Tribune Content Agency (TCA) is a syndication company owned by Tribune Publishing. TCA had previously been known as the Chicago Tribune Syndicate, the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate (CTNYNS), Tribune Company Syndicate, and Tribune Media ...

in late December 2000 when

Tribune Publishing Tribune Publishing Company (briefly Tronc, Inc.) is an American newspaper print and online media publishing company. The company, which was acquired by Alden Global Capital in May 2021, has a portfolio that includes the ''Chicago Tribune'', t ...

bought the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

''. In 2001 Gilpin stopped drawing for the single-panel cartoon and Blazek took up those duties as well; he now writes and draws ''Loose Parts''. Blazek moved ''Loose Parts'' to

The Washington Post Writers Group ''The Washington Post'' Writers Group (WPWG), a division of The Washington Post News Service & Syndicate, is a press syndication service distributing opinion columnists, breaking news, podcasts and video journalism, lifestyle content, and graphi ...

(WPWG) starting with the September 25, 2014 cartoon. In early 2022, the WPWG announced it was winding down its comic strip syndication service; soon afterward, Blazek moved ''Loose Parts'' to

Collections

* ''amusing thingies'' (2024) * ''Magnificent Stupidity'' (2021) * ''Quirky Rectangles of Mirth'' (2018) * ''oddfish sandwich'' (2014) - reprinted 2024 * ''Attack of the Chortling Stomach'' (2011) * ''Weird Things in Small Boxes'' (2008) – * ''Two Hundred Some Odd Cartoons'' (2006) – * ''Parts of My Brain'' (2003) – * ''Loose Upon The World'' (2001) –

References

External links

*
''Loose Parts'' on GoComics
American comic strips 1998 comics debuts Gag-a-day comics {{comic-strip-stub