Admit it. It’s your lifelong dream to be drawn into a Raccoon Toons comic strip. Of course it is. I mean, if it isn’t your lifelong dream, then your dream is stupid and you should get another dream. Like being drawn into a Raccoon Toons comic strip for example. There. Glad we’re all on the same page.

So, now’s your chance to fulfill that lifelong dream of yours by entering the “Who Wants To Be In a Comic Strip?” contest!! There’s a lot of words in the name of this contest and I’m kinda tired of typing them out, so we’re just going to refer to it as “WWTBIACS?” from now on. Hmm. I kinda hoped that acronym was going to spell something cooler than that, but hey whatever. I guess it is what it is. But I digress…

For the rest of March I will be posting comic strips FOUR DAYS A WEEK!! Why you ask? Because I love you. We should really go out for milkshakes sometime. We could cuddle. Just sayin’.

During this month-long comic strip posting bonanza, you have the opportunity to enter the WWTBIACS? contest! The winner will be drawn into a future Raccoon Toons comic strip, thus fulfilling all your hopes and dreams and allowing you to die happy. You’re welcome.

Entering the contest is super easy and super free. Here’s how:

1. Subscribe/Like/Follow

Subscribe to Raccoon Toons in some capacity. Pick a method. RSS/email, like us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, etc. (RSS or email guarantees you the most updates.) Pick one. Heck pick all. More is always better. Go big or go home.

2.Share

Share your favorite comic strip/post/cartoon/whatever from the site. The rule here is that it needs to be your FAVORITE. Don’t just pick the most recent. Poke around the site and find that comic or post or cartoon that speaks to the very yearnings of your soul like no other. Than share it. Post it on Facebook. Twitterize it. Email it to a friend. Post it on your blog. Write the URL in a letter to your grandma. Share the crap out of it. Because nothing says “this cartoon fulfilled the very yearnings of my soul” like sharing it with everyone you know on social media websites. And if you have more than one favorite, than clearly you need to share them all. Clearly.

3. Tell Me You’ve Entered

Leave a comment somewhere on the website or on the facebook page telling me you’ve entered. Or email me directly and let me know to enter your name into the contest drawing. Bottom line: if you do not tell me what and how you shared, I won’t know that you did it, and your name won’t be entered into the contest. And you want your name entered into the contest. It’s your lifelong dream.

4. Eat a Cookie

Yes, I will also accept the eating of Fig Newtons, even though they are fruit and cake and technically not cookies. But so delicious… Mmmmmm….

That’s it! SO easy!! At the end of the month, one lucky winner will be selected at random and will be drawn into a future Raccoon Toons comic strip! YES!! So don’t wait! Ready go!

The post Want To Be In The Comic Strip? appeared first on Raccoon Toons.

Happy 2012! It’s time once again for our “Who Wants to Be in a Comic Strip?” contest!! Are YOU ready to be internet-famous?!?!

All month long Raccoon Toons will be updated FIVE days a week!! Let me reiterate that again for literary emphasis. All month long Raccoon Toons will be updated FIVE DAYS A WEEK! That is a ridiculous amount of comic strips for YOU, all my favorite people! This is how much I love you. How sweet is that?!?

During this month-long span of comicky goodness, you have the opportunity to enter our “Who Wants to Be In a Comic Strip?” contest!! The winner will be featured in a future Raccoon Toons comic strip thus becoming the envy of all their friends!! To enter the contest, follow the super easy steps below:

1. You must subscribe to or follow Raccoon Toons in some capacity. You can do so by “liking” us on facebook, by following us on Twitter, or (for people who aren’t social) by subscribing to the website through RSS feeds or email. Pick one or all. I’ve made it really easy for you. The Facebook and Twitter buttons are to the right of this post, and the RSS/email button is right under the comic strip with the words “subscribe.” Do it. Do it now.

2. Now comes the fun part. You must share your FAVORITE post with the world. It can be your favorite comic strip, or a favorite blog post, or even one of the animated cartoons or movies. Doesn’t matter. But it needs to be your favorite. So dig through the archives and find something that means more to you than all of the other internet cartoons combined, and share your undying love and devotion for that particular post with the world. Ok, that sounds a little creepy now that I re-read that. Just pick your favorite, and share it, tweet it, email it, etc. You can share more than one. It’s ok. Honest. Go crazy.

3. Once you have shared your favorite you need to LET ME KNOW. This step is critical. Leave a comment somewhere on the site or in Facebook-land telling me what you shared. Send me an email. Send me a postcard. Whatever. Just tell me. I cannot enter your name in the contest if you don’t tell me what you shared and how.

4. You can alternatively enter the contest by instead making a donation to the website. I totally accept money. Yup. Go for it.

5. Eat a cookie. I thought about changing this rule from last year and swapping out the cookie for something else, but cookies are just really awesome, and there are so many different varieties! So go eat a cookie. Seriously. You deserve it.

That’s it! So easy! The winner will be chosen at random and will be drawn into a future comic strip! To sweeten the pot this year, the winner will also receive a signed print of their favorite comic strip! YES!! So choose wisely!!

So get started!! You have until Feb. 1st!! Good luck to all of you!!

The post Comic Strip Contest 2012 appeared first on Raccoon Toons.

Ok, I broke the 4th wall. I’m sorry. But I had good reason.

When I was a kid I read possibly every book there is to read about Walt Disney. Once in jr. high school, I even chose Walt Disney for my autobiography book report. The book, was in fact, not an autobiography, and I didn’t actually read it because I forgot about the assignment and the in-class essay until the night before. I ended up just writing the essay using only the knowledge I’d acquired about Walt Disney over the years without ever actually having read this particular autobiography…which again, wasn’t really an autobiography at all. Where I was required to use quotations I quoted or paraphrased actual quotes that I had previously committed to memory.

When all was said and done, I earned a “B+” on this paper on a book that was not only invalid for the assignment, but also one that I had never actually read. It was ironically, the highest grade I ever received from that particular English teacher, who for some inexplicable reason, just really hated my guts.

But I digress. My point is, I have always really loved and admired Walt Disney. In the 4th grade I did a report on him and dressed up in a suit and fake mustache. My report included posters with drawings of Mickey Mouse that I had made to illustrate the difference between how he looked in the first Mickey Mouse cartoon in 1928 (which by the way was Plane Crazy, and NOT Steamboat Willie thank you very much).

I think I let the fake mustache get to me, because it wasn’t long afterwards that I decided I really wanted to BE Walt Disney. That was my dream. I had great ambitions as a 4th grader. It was shortly after this that I created my very own cartoon characters. You know them here, as Michael and Wendy Raccoon.

It was my plan to do as Walt did, and create animated cartoons that surely the world would embrace as they did Mickey. Shortly thereafter, I would branch my newfound and lucrative stardom into my own animation studio just as Disney did. Then I would continue to build until my work was all over the movies and TV stations on Saturday mornings (because back then all the good cartoons were on Saturday mornings). Then, to complete my raging success, I would build my own theme park somewhere in California. There my raccoon characters would greet all of their adoring fans that would come from all over the world just to see them.

Somewhere along the lines I grew up a little, and realized that no one would ever repeat the talent, the entrepreneurship, and the lucky timing with technology to equal Walt Disney. So naturally I decided that I would just have to get Disney to distribute my cartoons, so that my characters could greet their adoring fans at Disneyland. It all seemed like a good plan.

And so here today, I have this little comic strip. The dream of a 10 year old boy. Forgive me if indulge him ever so slightly. The truth is, the older I get, the more I think I had it right in the 4th grade.

The post Can I Have Your Autograph? appeared first on Raccoon Toons.

Yes! YOU have a chance to be featured in an actual Raccoon Toons comic strip! I’m totally serious! One of you will be drawn into and featured in a comic strip! How cool is that?! Just follow these handy dandy instructions and you’ll be well on your way to bragging rights and internet stardom!

1. If you’re on facebook, be a REAL fan and “like” us on facebook. You can go to the fan page by clicking this link or by hitting the “facebook” button to the right of this post. Don’t be misled by the title of our fan page. It’s still using the old name of the website (www.mattandmichael.com) because facebook is lame and won’t let me change it. Believe me. I’ve tried. It annoys me to no end. And I’ve let them know about it. Repeatedly.

Not a facebook user? There’s also a Twitter button and a YouTube button to the right of this post as well. We like to cover our bases.

2. This is the important part. You need to share your favorite comic strip post with your friends. Doesn’t matter how. You can broadcast it into facebook land, do some tweetage, email it to a friend, or sit your grandmother down in front of the “kuhm-pyoo-ter” and show it to her yourself. But it HAS to be your favorite. I don’t want you to just choose the latest comic strip on the page. Look through the archives. Go way back if you have to. Find your favorite. Something that speaks to your soul. Share it with people you really care about. Boom. That’s it. Easy.

3. Once you have shared your favorite (or favorites) with your friends (I assume you have more than one friend because my readers are all smart, fun, good-looking, and delightful people), let me know how you shared it. Leave a comment on the website, or on the facebook fan page, or send me an email. I don’t care how you let me know, but I can’t enter your name into the drawing if you don’t let me know. So let me know.

4. For those of you who have some strange internet form of Social Anxiety Disorder and can’t fathom the idea of sharing something with some of your friends, you can also be entered into this promotion by making a donation to the website.

5. Eat a cookie. This part is non-negotiable. Seriously. Eat a cookie. You deserve it.

That’s it! That’s all there is to it! You have until the end of January. After that, I will choose a name at random and this person WILL be drawn and featured in an upcoming Raccoon Toons comic strip. What! Good luck to you all. We’re all counting on you.

The post Want To Be In A Comic Strip? appeared first on Raccoon Toons.

Not long ago, I was visiting Los Angeles. While there we went to an art showing at a relative’s. I really wanted to fit into this Hollywood scene as best I could, so I put on my most expensive jeans, one of my classiest wide collared shirts, and tried to furrow my brow a lot. While I was there I tried to sound artsy and Hollywood-ish by saying things like, ”the values are so subtle, yet penetrating,” and “the artist really speaks to my emotions. He’s really making a statement.” In truth, I had no idea what I was supposed to be “feeling” or whatever, but I enjoyed it well enough.

What really amused me however was the water boy outside the gallery. There he stood behind his little table, surveying the scene like some kind of entrenched WWII soldier. Only instead of awesome 40′s battle attire, he was dressed in a tie and a snazzy vest. He seemed intensely eager. All you had to do was look in his general direction and he would instantly offer to get you a drink of your choosing. He was like one of those little yapping dogs that has a toy and is just dying to play with you.

As I stood there drinking my water, I watched as the water boy schmoozed me, and everyone else at the showing within earshot. He laughed, he joked, and he offered you refills. And then on the table, he subtly placed a few of his business cards. Only, the business cards didn’t say “Water Boy/Drink-Refill Guy Extraordinaire.” They simply had his name, and then emblazoned underneath in bold letters; “Actor.”

I smiled to myself. Because after all, no one in LA is really a water boy, or a waitress, or a taxi driver. Oh no. They’re actors. Entertainers. Thespians of the film reel. Future stars and tabloid covers in the making.

I may never know what will become of the Art Gallery water boy. For all I know, he’s already landing the role of a lifetime in some horrid Michael Bay movie. I don’t really care. Just as long as he gets me my water.

The post So Hollywood appeared first on Raccoon Toons.

Happy Thanksgiving! This year I am grateful for YOU! Thank you for visiting! Thank you for reading! And thank you for coming back! Watching my readership grow, and seeing people come back again and again has really meant a lot to me. At times it’s the thing that keeps me going. We all know that there’s little or no money in the life of a cartoonist. I wouldn’t still be doing this if I wasn’t able to see so many loyal readers come back again and again. It means a lot to me, and I am truly grateful.

So this comic strip is for YOU! Written into this strip are the *cities and locations of all of YOU the most loyal readers of Raccoon Toons! Places or locations with bold or larger text represent larger fan bases or [in some cases] extremely loyal fans. Every place listed represents fans with repeated visits to the site. So if you have visited Raccoon Toons with any kind of regularity in the past 7 years (including when the site was called Matt & Michael), then chances are you can find your city or your metropolitan area in the comic strip! (The locations may be broad, so in some cases you might be looking for a city or area near you.) It’s my way of saying that I’ve noticed your loyalty, and while I have no idea who you are, I am truly grateful for your continued readership. Thank you!

If the text is too small for some of you to read you can see a larger version by clicking here. And if you find your town or location in the comic strip and feel like bragging, you can tag yourself in the comic strip on the facebook fan page. (You need to be a facebook user and “like” the  fan page first to tag yourself in the comic strip.)

*As outlined in the site’s Privacy Policy the places and locations represented in the comic strip were collected from the site’s logs (a common practice done by most websites). ISPs, IP addresses, and other such information are not linked to any information that is personally identifiable.

The post Thank You appeared first on Raccoon Toons.

So I never really watched much wrestling as a kid. But I do have this one memory. I was probably about nine, and was invited to stay over at a friend’s house. For our enjoyment, he had rented a video (yes, that’s right, a VHS cassette tape…I am that old) of WWF wrestling Thanksgiving Smack Down (it was called WWF back then before that wild life group threw a hissy-fit). I’m not really sure if it was a “Smack Down” but I do remember that it was Thanksgiving themed, and that it was a rumble of sorts. This was my first exposure to wrestling. I had never seen it before, but my friend was way into it. He couldn’t wait to show me the “Undertaker” and the “Ultimate Warrior.” We turned it on and I fully expected that I would not be interested in it. (Alright, I admit it…I was a sensitive kid…)

But then I saw him, all dressed in yellow. He was so good! So positive! He told me to take my vitamins and say my prayers! He was a hero! He was HULK HOGAN. I watched in amazement as he came back from behind to defeat wrestler after wrestler, until finally he emerged victorious! He had come back from such a deficit! It was amazing! Now here’s a guy I could look up to! Thwarting bad guy after bad guy all in the name of good! I have to admit I really enjoyed the wrestling Smack Down (or was it a “Royal Rumble?”) I enjoyed it enough that I didn’t object when my friend suggested we watch it over again.

Since that day, I haven’t really watched any wrestling. I know that the man who brought “Hulkamania” to life has had his share of problems and poor decisions. But I still hold dear the thought of our heroic wrestler from the 80s. Maybe it’s just my nostalgia for the 80′s, or maybe it’s just my fondness for a more innocent time (it certainly isn’t the spandex), but I look back on that time and wonder if we all wouldn’t be a little better off with just a little more innocence in us…a little more good…a little more Hulkamania.

The post Hulkamania appeared first on Raccoon Toons.

I deserve a gold medal. Just because.

The post Grab The Gold appeared first on Raccoon Toons.

Gotta love that Tonya Harding.

The post Figure Skating appeared first on Raccoon Toons.

It should be.

My life would be SO much easier if making cartoons was a viable income at this point in my life. As such, it is not. It pays for gas, and dinner every now and again, but that’s about it. Add that to the cost of living in CA, and well…you get the idea.

The cartoonist profession is evolving dramatically. The failing of the newspaper industry is completely changing the landscape. Artists are forgetting all about the syndicates (who by the way, take a whopping 50% of a cartoonist’s profits), and venturing out into the world on their own. I see it as a great thing, and a not so great thing. On the one hand, the expression is more pure. The artist is his own boss. And the internet makes it possible for him to say whatever he deems fit (that can be great, and terrible all at the same time…). But then, artists and us creative people are not usually the best at promotion and marketing, and finding work, and all that jazz. We just like cartoons.

Anyway, somewhere in there is a gloriously happy medium where people like me can be creative and have a decent job. If you should happen to stumble across one of those…I’m pretty sure I put an email button on this site somewhere…oh yes…there it is…just a little ways above the “donate” button… -cough-

The post Making Comics appeared first on Raccoon Toons.