In this weekly series, editor Lucas Wetzel spotlights new and unusual comic features from the GoComics A-Z listing.

Feature: Randolph Itch, 2 a.m.
Creator: Tom Toles
Format: single-panel
Frequency: daily
Recommended if you like: Kliban, The Far Side, Reality Check, Off The Mark, Tom Toles' editorial cartoons

One night shortly after my first child was born, I decided to take advantage of my loopy, sleep-deprived state to write a bunch of punchlines that I thought would be excellent material for a batch of one-panel cartoons. I got on quite a roll and came up with about two dozen, but almost all of them turned out to be totally worthless when examined in the light of day. The insomnia-driven musings in "Randolph Itch, 2 a.m.", however, are nuggets of single-panel cartoon gold. Written and illustrated by Pulitzer Prize winning editorial cartoonist Tom Toles, "Randolph Itch, 2 a.m." was in syndication from the late '90s until 2002, when Toles took a job with the Washington Post. It began running on GoComics a decade later, offering fans of Toles' editorial work a window into the parts of his imagination not concerned with politics. The back-and-white art is every bit as sharp and detailed as his editorial cartoons, with Sunday strips in full color. Much like Pat Oliphant's Punk or Dave Whamond's Squirrel, the little cartoonist in the corner gets the first word/riff on that day's joke, adding an extra layer of punniness and observational humor. Having read Toles' op-ed cartoons for a decade, I gained a whole new appreciation of his talent and inventiveness through reading "Randolph." Here's a few more samples"...

Read more Randolph Itch, 2 a.m. comics right here at GoComics!