Over the years, I've talked with many comic artists, and many find the issue of putting a whole idea into just four panels to be the most challenging. Now imagine quadrupling this challenge, and putting the same idea into just one panel. Most comic artists would despair, but Dave Blazek would feel like a fish in the water because it's the thing that he does best. The brilliant cartoonist has years and years of experience doing syndications for The New Yorker and other prominent magazines, and by this point, he's reached a level of mastery that makes creating a single-panel comic seem effortless. Brevity is the soul of wit, so let's keep it short and jump straight in: here are the Loose Parts Guy cartoons!

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#1

Image credits: loosepartsguy

As stated previously, Dave Blazek is the "old guard" of the comic world, dating his Loose Parts comics back to 1998. Naturally, there's been only a select few who are as long in the tooth in the scene as Dave is. It was back in the day when there was no Instagram, or any other platforms that make the job of self-publishing much easier, and a comic had to sprout itself through the old comic route, the newspaper. Dave and then-partner John Gilpin found their home at the Philadelphia Daily News and Philadelphia Inquirer. And the rest, as the saying goes, is history.

#2

Image credits: loosepartsguy

#3

Image credits: loosepartsguy

So let's count how long the Loose Parts comic has been around for... That's 23 and a half years! And what's even more impressive than the actual timespan is that the comic has been nominated for, and won, an award. And unlike many other awards, this award actually means something. Turns out Mr. Blazek and the comic has won the National Cartoonists Society Reuben award, which is compared to Oscars of the cartoonist world in terms of importance. They won it twice in 2019, and in 2020, and have been nominated a few more times. If you were to present the comic as "critically acclaimed," you wouldn't be wrong.

#4

Image credits: loosepartsguy

#5

Image credits: loosepartsguy

The Loose Parts comic is self-described as an "oddly intelligent, weirdly entertaining and impulsively funny comic that graces newspaper pages, websites and refrigerator doors all across North America (and on other continents with smart people, too)." And this is true on all counts, but what I would also like to add is that it's well-balanced, as it's not peppered with gimmicks, same-old themes, tired cliches, and all the other stuff that experienced artists know are better avoided. Some might criticize the comic as being too reserved, but it's probably one of the reasons it's liked by mostly everyone, and not just a niche group.

#6

Image credits: loosepartsguy

#7

Image credits: loosepartsguy

If you liked these comics, perhaps you're up for more? Bored Panda, being the unofficial patron of comics, has more than plenty to offer. Most recently, we've published comics that are mostly about ADHD, which are called... Mostly ADHD! Up for more of those old school cartoons? Here's one by a Norwegian. And as we're talking about a person from a Scandinavic country, here's another comic by an Icelander, which, let me tell you, considering it's quite literally from Ice Land, is pretty cool.