That’s All, Folks!

What a time it’s been. On February 17, 2016, the Dot and Line published its very first story. Back then, we were just a blip of a blog on Medium Dot Com, run out of two apartments in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, by two foolish fools who loved cartoons as much as they loved journalism and wanted to combine the two. Since then, we’ve published more than 500 more pieces of all shapes and sizes (also out of Bed-Stuy apartments), brought on three more teammates and more than 100 contributing writers, moved to a WordPress Dot Org system, and somehow fixed more than a million and a half eyeballs, a million of which were unique eyeballs (maybe they were violet?), on our content without earning a damn cent. Were you not entertained!?

But every windmill tilt must come to an end, no matter how noble it is. After a four-year run, it’s the end of the Line (and his little Dot, too). Your favorite scrappy cartoon journalism website has reached its finale. But we wanted to send it off in style. So we ran a whole bunch of farewell stories as part of our final editorial package, That’s All, Folks! We hope you enjoyed it.

One last note: we’ve launched a GoFundMe benefitting our contributors, all of whom are volunteers. We wanted to give our readers an opportunity to support and thank them as we all navigate the coronavirus pandemic together. We hope you’ll consider donating. It would mean the world to us—and, more importantly, to them.

Now, without any further ado, and for one last time…let’s start the show.

The Untold Saga of the Gross D+L Logos We Rejected and the One We Finally Picked

Sometimes our designs are bad. Laughably bad. Editor Eric Vilas-Boas reflects on what it was like to be the site’s maladroit art director.

Why My Parents Banned the Ed, Edd n Eddy Catchphrase ‘Buttered Toast’ From Being Uttered in Our Home

“Because I never! stopped! saying it!” Editor John Maher interviews his parents about this embarrassing (and developmentally important) tic from his childhood.

To All the Toons I Loved Before

Dot and Line special projects director Marley Crusch pens her last love letters to the cartoons of her heart.

Let Us Now Pour One Out for Fry’s Dog in ‘Futurama’

What you see here is the manifestation of two universes.

What Queer People Want the Future of Cartoons to Look Like

Queerness in cartoons has been subtextual for a long time, and a new generation of cartoons has brought it to the forefront. But there’s a lot more to be done.

If Warner Bros. Won’t Put Us Up at the Cartoon Network Hotel or Pay Us Sweet, Sweet Cash, It Should at Least Let Us Live in Its Water Tower

Look, this is pretty self-explanatory. What do you want, a road map?

Rankings We Never Wrote, Ranked

One final and very important ranking.

Words That We Didn’t Write

We wrote a lot of words on the Dot and Line. But it could have been so much worse. We could have written these.

Some Cartoons We Barely, If Ever, Covered That You Goons Have to Now That We’re Gone

The media needs to cover cartoons better. Here’s a place it can start.

The Very Best of The Dot and Line

Twenty-five of the finest pieces this site has ever published. Probably.

Ask Scratchy: JHM + EVB

The founders of the Dot and Line, John Maher and Eric Vilas-Boas, need some advice as their beloved project comes to an end, and our house head shrinker, Dr. Scratchansniff, is here to help.

Watching ‘The Dot and the Line’ Together, One Last Time

“I just housed a whole sleeve of Peeps while this was happening.” The editors reflect, and also relax, over the original ‘The Dot and the Line’ short.

The Poem We’d Like You to Remember Us By

Eric Vilas-Boas pens his final words on, and for, The Dot and Line.

Tears for Toons, 2016-2020 (and a Long Time Before)

John Maher pens his final words on, and for, The Dot and Line.

Drop Us a Line—Or Even Just a Dot—Now and Then, Will You?

How to keep in touch with The Dot and Line’s alumni from now on.

The Dot and Line, Which Took on Tales of Toons, Dies at 4

The website grew over the course of four years from scrappy, puckish up-and-comer to perhaps the best cartoon journalism publication on the internet. (Fight us!)

Thanks for reading The Dot and Line, where we’ve written about animation of all kinds for more than four years. We’ll miss you!