AdExchanger Comics Through The Years, Featuring Nate Neal

“I’ve always wanted to meet Nate Neal! I mean, he just gets me.”

That’s what the woman seated next to me at a recent conference said when she found out I work for AdExchanger.

As the artist of AdExchanger’s weekly comic for more than 13 years, Nate’s playful style, creativity, humor – and hilariously on-point Easter eggs – were perfectly suited to our droll, sometimes mischievous (but always incisive) approach to covering the news.

Fun fact: Nate started freelancing for AdExchanger in 2010 after making a connection with our founder, John Ebbert, on Craigslist, back when John was running AdExchanger out of a small apartment on the Lower East Side.

Now Nate, the creator of AdExchanger Man and AdExchanger Woman, has hung up his cape to focus on his own projects and other work. He’ll be sorely missed, but worry not: Our weekly comic will continue.

We’ve been auditioning a small group of very talented artists to find The One. For the next five weeks, we’ll be publishing a comic created by one of our finalists every Friday. Here’s the first one. Let us know what you think!

In the meantime, I asked our editorial team and AdExchanger veterans to share their favorite Nate Neal creations from over the years. Please enjoy.

Data Leakage (Aug. 26, 2010)

Solve The Puzzle (Sept. 23, 2010)

The Great Online Privacy Battle (Dec. 9, 2010)

Under The RTB Tree (Dec. 16, 2010)

Adtechophobia (April 15, 2011)

A Publisher’s Nightmare (June 10, 2011)

John Ebbert, founder, AdExchanger: “This was a funny one. It was Doug Weaver’s phrase … we gave him credit (see the initials over the door).”

Fraud Today (May 9, 2014)

Search Your Feelings… (Dec. 18, 2015)

Summer Fridays (July 21, 2017)

Zach Rodgers, former executive editor, AdExchanger: “Feels as apropos today as it did when Nate drew it five years ago.”

This one features our own executive editor, Sarah Sluis, and her son Arthur.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Dave” (March 12, 2021)

Zach Rodgers: “Some of my favorite Nate Neal comics reinterpret iconic movie moments and other pop culture touchstones. This one is both funny and chilling!”