NEWS ABOUT LOOSE PARTS & DAVE
(August 2025) While Dave was nominated, but didn't win, this year's Cartoonist of the Year Award at the National Cartoonist's Society's gala awards night in Boston,, he didn't walk away empty-handed. Blazek did win the coveted Silver Reuben Award for America's Best Newspaper Panel. This was the fourth time Dave garnered this honor ... all the more exciting because it's voted on by hundreds of the best cartoonists in the world. "This never gets old," said Blazek. "And it never fails to make you double your efforts to prove that you deserved it."
Blazek Wins Reuben Award For Best Newspaper Panel for 4th Time!
Dave Guest Stars on Comic Lab Podcast!
Comic Lab is the cartooning industry's pre-eminent podcast about the business of making comics, and making a living from making comics. Hosts Brad Guigar and Dave Kellett invited Dave on to talk about the craft of making Loose Parts and how he approaches both writing the jokes and art aspects of the job. It's a master class on creating humor in cartoons. Clink the link below and search for Blazek in the episode field.
Holy @#*%!!! Blazek Nominated For Cartoonist Of The Year!
It's perhaps the very top award you can get in the cartooning world. It's been presented to Charles Schulz, Gary Larson, Mort Drucker, Gary Trudeau, Ann Telnaes, Mort Walker and many other members of cartooning royalty. It's the National Cartoonists Society Reuben Award for Cartoonist Of The Year, and this year, Dave Blazek is one of the six nominees for this historic honor. "I'm not sure how my name got mixed in just with this year's nominees, much less given the chance to have my work remembered with giants of the craft," said Blazek. "Maybe I'll be able to process it all when I wake up from this dream." The award will be announced in August at a gala awards function in Boston.
Blazek Interviewed on Penn State Almuni Podcast
(2025) Dave's a proud graduate of Penn State University where he received an actual degree in Journalism. Yes, a real one. He has the paperwork and everything. Decades later, Penn State came calling to interview Blazek as an outstanding alumnus in this hour-long podcast. You can hear how Dave started his cartooning career. (Hint: it was working in a factory that made cardboard boxes.) And you can learn what cartooning means to him and how, even now, he's working to get better. Clink the link below to hear the full audio.
(SEPT. 2023) Wow! Loose Parts has been awarded the National Cartoonists Society's coveted Reuben Award for Best Newspaper Panel. The award was given in early September in New York. This is the third time Loose Parts has won one of the most prestigious awards in the profession. The Reubens – often referred to as the 'Oscars' of cartooning – are voted on by hundreds of the best professional cartoonists, illustrators and animators working today. "It's both humbling and enthralling to be recognized by the cartooning world. And it's challenging in that I had to put on pants to go get the award," said Blazek. "Y'know, you spend all year just lobbing these ideas over the horizon, never being quite sure if you're hitting anything. It's good to know people actually enjoy catching them."
Dave & Loose Parts Win Reuben Award For 3rd Time!
Loose Parts Wins
NCS Reubens Award
2 years in a row!
(SEPTEMBER 2020) Loose Parts and Dave Blazek was awarded the 2020 Silver Reuben Award for Newspaper Panels at the National Cartoonists Society virtual award show.
The National Cartoonists Society is the world's oldest and largest association of cartooning professionals. The award is voted on by hundreds of the best cartoonists, illustrators, animators and industry pros working today.
Loose Parts also won the award in the same category in 2019.
To see the entire Reuben Award Day, go to NCSFest.com. If you'd like to see Dave's acceptance speech, look right on this page.
"I'm not sure words, or pictures, can adequately express how simultaneously gratifying and humbling this award is," said Blazek. "As someone who only began cartooning in middle age, I'm in awe by the giants and other pros who wander around the NCS. To be recognized by them leaves me flabbergasted. Really, I had my doctor check. My flabbergast levels are off the charts."
Dave Blazek's Silver Reuben Award Acceptance Vid
CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT DAVE AND THE SILVER REUBEN IN THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER.
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See Dave on TV.
Dave recently was a guest on the PBS interview show Counter Culture with Grover Silcox. Blazek is interviewed in his studio. See the episode (Dave appears about 11 minutes in) at the link below.
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