May 28 2009
California was nice but it's great to be back! I'll ease into the blog again with another installment of my look back at some favorite cartoons from the past 25 years. For starters, how 'bout dem PENS?!!! They made it to the final round again! Here is a cartoon I drew back in 1991 after they won the Stanley Cup. For a brief moment, Pittsburgh wasn't obsessing over football. Suddenly, everyone wanted hockey tickets. I included the mayor, Sophie Masloff, in line to buy tickets.
Despite lingering human rights violations, President Bill Clinton proposed renewing most-favored-nation (MFN) trade status for China. Ever since the 1989 crackdown of
protestors in Tiananmen Square, I have drawn cartoons in favor of tougher restrictions for China. Free trade is blind, I suppose. China has been granted the MFN waiver
every year since 1980. It continues to amaze me that we can trade freely with China, but can't let go of the Cold War mentality when it comes to Cuba. It would be nice to see the embargo lifted so Cuba can finally get hitched.
Speaking of Cuba, a report in Newsweek alleged desecration of the Quran at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The original story, which Newsweek later denied, said American interrogators abused copies of the Quran, including flushing one down a toilet to get information out of detainees. The controversial report was blamed for
anti-American riots in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the Muslim world.
How do you feel about the Penguins success? How do you feel about Gitmo or our relations with Cuba? To comment, all you need to do is register here one time and then sign in here anytime you want to
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May 17 2009
I won't be blogging for the next ten days due to a mandatory furlough. When I think of a furlough, I think of people in the armed forces given leave to see their families. According to Webster's, a furlough is a "leave of absence from duty granted especially to a soldier." It means the soldier gets to go home and see his family so it's a good thing. When it comes to furloughs of the budgetary kind, it isn't so heart-warming. Many newspapers across the country have resorted to cost-cutting measures that have included giving one-week unpaid furloughs to their employees. This saves the company a week of salary and that can add up for a company with many employees. My newspaper has required me to take such a furlough. I don't blame them. I am thankful to still have a job in a struggling industry. But it does make me feel a little like my favorite comic soldier, Sad Sack.
No, I won't have to do KP duty, eat K-Rations or dig a foxhole, but it is still a little humbling to be told NOT to report for duty. As part of my furlough, I am prohibitied from doing any work during my week off, including my blog. So, I apologize for my absence over the next week, but it is unavoidable. On the bright side, I am using the time off to go to the NCS convention in Hollywood. I should have a lot of fun stuff to report when I get back.
May 17 2009
Mark your calendars for June 5th, 2009. That's when KA-BLAM!, a party to benefit the ToonSeum, is happening and you won't want to miss it! Join us Friday, June 5th, from 7pm-11pm, at Verno Studios
on the Southside to support the ToonSeum, Pittsburgh's Museum of
Cartoon Art. The fundraiser will feature live music by the Whips, DJ
Raw-Z, Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School, live cartooning, the opportunity
to bid on one of a kind cartoon art and unique experiences, free comics
and much more!
Tickets are just 35 dollars online at
brownpapertickets.com
May 17 2009
Due to circumstances beyond my control (a mandatory one week furlough), I am extending the deadline for the second Armchair Cartoonist Contest to June 1st. That will give all of you who have been sitting in your armchairs without drawing anything yet the chance to start sketching! The theme for contest #2 is the Swine Flu. Come on, people ... who doesn't enjoy drawing pigs? Catch the Swine Flu Cartoon Fever!
These two cartoons were drawn by my cousin Katie's daughter, Delia Craig, with a little help from her brother Austin. Since cousins are considered blood relations in this state, she won't be allowed to win, but I can at least show off what she drew. The first one is slightly hard to read, so I will add the subtitles here. Panel One: the Dr. is saying, "He has the Swine Flu." Panel Two: "What does Joe have?" "The Dr. said he was walking in the woods and got the Pine Flu." Panel Three: "What does Joe have?" "He lost his legs in WWII from the Mine Flu." Panel Four: The woman imagines an explosion in a mine shaft.
The second one Delia drew shows a couple with pig snouts and pig tails standing outside a plastic surgery clinic waiting to go in. Another couple, with pretty human noses and no tails, are coming out of the clinic. A bystander comments, "Wow! Business has been up ever since the H1N1 outbreak!"
Armchair Cartoonists, start your pencils!
May 17 2009
As part of my 25th anniversary as an editorial cartoonist, every week I
will be highlighting cartoons I drew on the same day and month in
another year.
On this day in 1990, I published a cartoon about the art world. Vincent van Gogh's Portrait of Dr. Gachet was sold for a record price of $82.5 million. Van Gogh, who struggled financially and never sold a painting while he was alive, must have rolled over in his grave. I imagined him having to ask someone to repeat the price, not because he cut off his ear and couldn't hear, but because he couldn't believe the outrageous amount of money being spent.
Speaking of money being spent on art, we are in the midst of a severe crisis in Pennsylvania. Recent proposals by the State Senate and Governor Rendell would vastly cut spending on the arts in Pennsylvania. This could mean the demise of many programs and institutions that enrich our lives. If you don't want to see the arts disappear in our city, region and state, go to the Citizens for the Arts in Pennsylvania web site and register your protest.
May 14 2009
Forget Swine Fever! Let's talk Penguins Fever! Back in May of 1992 the Pens were on their way to winning their second straight Stanley Cup. This cartoon was published on May 14th, 1992 ... but it could easily run again today!
With graduation ceremonies happening all over the country (see last week's GRADUATION cartoon), I thought it was appropriate to revisit this cartoon from May 14th, 2002, that addresses the state of U.S. education. If you don't get the cartoon ... you must have gone to public school!
Those who chose the military instead of higher education in recent years have most likely seen some action in Iraq or Afghanistan. The Bush administration vastly underestimated the need for boots on the ground. This put undue pressure on the recruiters, who relaxed requirements and used slick sales incentives. They had the unenviable job of selling the war to young men and women who were seeing the death toll rise every day.
May 10 2009
As part of my 25th anniversary as an editorial cartoonist, every week I
will be highlighting cartoons I drew on the same day and month in
another year.
I graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with Masters in Fine Arts (painting) in 1984. Naturally, I had student loans to pay off. Every year another story about the increasing cost of higher education makes the papers. On this day in 1985 I published a cartoon on tuition increases with a personal touch. The kid in the cartoon is wearing a CMU sweatshirt.
On this day in 1994 I published a cartoon about Bill Clinton's alleged affairs. Around that same time, a live action movie version of the Flinstones was being released starring John Goodman.
1998 was the year Viagra hit the streets. I had a lot of fun inventing mock ads for the erectile dysfunction drug (like a rock).
In 2007 the Queen of England visited the White House. On May 10th of that year I published this cartoon showing one dynasty meeting another.
What cartoon is hanging on your refrigerator right now? It can be a comic strip, a New Yorker cartoon, an editorial cartoon or your child's drawing. Share your fridge art in the comments below along with why it is your favorite. To participate, all you need to do is register here one time and then sign in here anytime you want to
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May 08 2009
This cartoon was published two years and one week after George W. Bush landed on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln and declared an end to major combat operations in Iraq. Behind him hung the now infamous "Mission Accomplished" banner. By 2005 it had become clear that the reasons for going into Iraq in the first place were suspect and that certain intelligence was ignored to advance the invasion.
May 08 2009
The first Armchair Cartoonist Contest winner is .... (drumroll, please) Chris Bushman,
36, from Springdale, PA. Chris' cartoon may be a little hard to read (make the text
bigger next time Chris :-) but it is worth a squint. The theme was Bo Obama, the new first puppy. Chris' cartoon shows
Obama saying, "give him lots of exercise, but keep his public
appearances to a minimum." Joe Biden says, "No problem, Mr. President."
Obama replies, "Actually, Joe, I was talking to the dog ..." (I had to crop so it would be easier to read online ... original has a newspaper on the floor with the headline, "more Biden flubs ...") Chris will receive two free passes ($70 value) to the ToonSeum's fundraiser, KA-BLAM! on June 5th, 2009. Congratulations, Chris!
Honorable mentions (no prize, but a tip of the pen) go to Alfonso
Machado, 51, of Miami Florida (Bo urinating on the poster); Jeff
Fodiak, 25, formerly of the North Hills of Pittsburgh, now living in
the UK (celebrity dog club); Todd Hagerich, 38, of Pittsburgh's North
Side (Good Grief ... Obama and Bo as Charlie Brown and Snoopy); and
Laura Kocher, 23, of Pittsburgh (cleaning up after Bo).
The winner of the kids category is Ashley Kier, age 9, of the
Greenfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Her cartoon shows Bo as Treasury
Secretary manning the phones and dreaming of more bones. Honorable
mention goes to Kaitlyn Howard, age 12, also of Greenfield.
Congratulations to all the winners! This was a great first contest. Now it's time to do it again! Contest #2 is already under way. The theme is the Swine Flu and the deadline is May 15th. For more details go to the Armchair Cartoonist page. Good luck and good drawing!
May 06 2009
This week's "Brewed On Grant," my local comic strip, deals with the mayoral primary fight between City Councilman Patrick Dowd and Mayor Luke Ravehstahl. The mayor approved spending $250,000 on 250 new trash cans. Dowd cried foul. The larger point of this battle is whether or not the city is engaged in wasteful spending or true reform. In the meantime, the trash cans, a symbol of waste, have taken center stage. I have dubbed this skirmish the "Trash-Canistan War."
I thought you might like a look into the step-by-step process of creating one of these comic strips.
STEP ONE: I rough out the text in my sketchbook. Since this is a dialogue-driven cartoon, I spend a lot of time refining the text so it is tight and as funny or as biting as possible. Notice there are a lot of scratched-out first attempts before I get to what I want. Somewhere on the page I usually do one small sketch that serves as a starting point for the strip (Luke in the trash can.)
STEP TWO: I pencil the entire comic, including the dialogue and the images.
STEP THREE: I ink over the pencil, refining the drawing as I go. I always ink the lettering first, in case I run out of room and need to make adjustments in the drawing. Notice how the lower center panel (figures in silhouette) has changed slightly. I had to move Rosie over to fit the text.
STEP FOUR: I color the cartoon using markers and then scan it in to the computer.
Click HERE to see larger version. Feel free to comment below on my process, Brewed On Grant, the mayor's race or the Trash-Canistan War.
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