The only reason I slight this flick to the tune of 1 star is because it doesn't make even a passing reference to that other significant outlet for cartooning talent; the ol' comics publishers, their stapled-and-folded comic books, and the neighborhood comic shop. Bill Griffith is interviewed, but that _he_ cut _his_ teeth publishing full-length Zippy(tm) stories (and other fine stuff) goes unaddressed. Bill long, long ago backslid into the (relatively) claustrophobic newspaper comics section format, and so he makes the cut in STRIPPED.
I'm supposing the production/direction decision to cut this comics culture out of the narrative was made in the interests of addressing the plight of the post-newsprint Joe Six-Pak consumer of "the funnies". But it's still a fun fact that a lot of great, great comic talents worked in the stapled-and-folded comic book format and distribution milieu. It even went through palpable "waves" of succeeding generational practitioners.
Had dinner with Scott McCloud in France one time, and watched him face off a paper comics publisher from London. So there was a bit of a squeeze on "comic books" at the time; but obviously not of the same nature as that faced by the syndicated strips, described so colorfully and wonderfully in STRIPPED.
BUT: That glaring omission aside, what this flick otherwise covers, it does incredibly well; the paradigm shift from syndicated strips to a digital future. There's even lovely homage paid to the ancient, seminal strips (e.g., Krazy Kat), so I find it in my heart to let the filmmakers cut the old comic books out of their mix.
With the proviso mentioned above, I highly, highly recommend this flick to anyone who's been pondering the future of comic strips. The production values are superb from bottom to top: The kickstarter backers certainly got their money's worth.
Watch and learn.
