Cool Jerk and newspapers— together again!

I teased about it on the Cool Jerk Facebook page, but now that it’s in print, I suppose I can show you what I’ve been secretly working on the past several days.

Last month I was hired by U-T San Diego business editor Diana McCabe to produce a full-page comic detailing Cool Jerk and its relationship with San Diego Comic-Con’s Small Press (Cool Jerk’s vacation home for the past 11 years).

This is my first full-page San Diego Comic-Con comic in the U-T since 2005 (you can find previous ones here, here, here and here). But what makes this one different is that it’s autobio. Armpit, Puppy, Manhattan, Yuri and the Spittle Beach gang are in there… but so is Darlene. I managed to squeeze in a sasquatch, another Amish Ninja running gag, official Cool Jerk thong underwear, a pie chart, José Cabrera (Crying Macho Man) and several Cool Jerk t-shirts.


You can find it in today’s U-T (cover to Sunday Business). It looks just like this.

UPDATE Here it is, in its entirety.

Thanks to all who helped out with this, including Diana, Greg Schmidt, Nirmala Bhat and Kate Nelson at the U-T. Also Daniel & Dawna Davis (Steam Crow) and Audra Ann Furuichi and Scott Yoshinaga (nemu*nemu) for the candid conversations.


  1. ZJSimon says:

    I haven’t wanted to buy a UT in a long time. Maybe I won’t use this one for its absorbency.

  2. CHELSEA33 says:

    I not only read this, but I sent my copy to a friend in L.A. who’s starting up his own comic. Very insightful and entertaining.

  3. Jacob Perfecto says:

    Cool!!

  4. Battle Betts says:

    This was the best thing I’ve seen in the UT since I can remember. Cool Jerk FTW! (Thanks for signing my copy for me at Comic Con!)

  5. Bruce O. says:

    Hi Paul — it was good to meet you at SD Comic-Con and talk a bit about this comic strip you did for the UT. Do you think you’ll do more projects for them?

  6. Allen Morgan says:

    Twenty years ago it was important for comic book artists. Now it is the equivalent of Cannes or Sundance or the Oscars. On any given day you can walk from one end of the convention center to the other and see scads of big-time celebrities, from comics and the art world to TV and Hollywood. It is as important to the pop culture industry as any film or music festival. Reputations and fortunes can be made or broken there.

  7. Julie Skinner says:

    Thanks for uploading the large version. That’s really insightful. My sister does trade shows and I bet she has the same worries about table fees and stuff.

  8. Silver Price says:

    Sign in with your Google Account (YouTube, Google, Gmail, Orkut, Picasa or Chrome) to dislike the UT TV’s video.

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