Comics Portfolio 6
Early Samples of a Budding Cartoonist (1966-1970): Apart from a copious output of product, I do not see much in my earliest comic efforts beyond enthusiasm. However, skipping ahead several decades before returning to this art form did not deprive me of whatever was learned from the experience.
In the purge of 2021, nearly all of these childhood comics were destroyed, save some of the earliest ones. A few representative pieces from the next decade were also spared. Two non-cartoon drawings from my teenage years may be seen on the first page of my Sketchbook.
By 1970, I was making comics as fast as I could draw them, and with little self reflection. I was, nevertheless, a sponge for the popular culture of the late 60s, and turned this appropriation into something uniquely my own.
Tom, Dick, and Harry: The first examples shown below are from a series of comics I made in early grade school called Tom, Dick, and Harry. I was fonder of creating lists of characters than actually writing stories.
The Big Nose Drawings: Two examples from a series of cartoon characters based on hippies, birds, and political caricatures. This work was completed around 1970. Influences included Mad Magazine and Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s hot rod bubble gum card monsters.
Other Comics: The comic panels below are from a small book of comics called The Bishop’s Elbow, which included comic strips made throughout my teens. A clear influence of The New Yorker is seen. This was me trying to think like a syndicated cartoonist.
Consistent with my challenges in writing and spelling at this time, the word “ideal” was improperly used in the next example.
This last comic was part of a syndicate batch that I never mailed. It predates Blender Kitty, but not by much.
Closing Remarks: Younger artists nowadays have higher levels of self-awareness when it comes starting out with comic art, so they make fewer mistakes. This advantage is due to having a wealth of material in the popular culture from which to draw, which was not previously available—at least to me! More than this, the quality of work within this received Canon is intimidating. Hence, today’s artist labors under a burden of needing to level up their skill from the outset. Consequently, there is less incentive (or ability) to think imaginatively because of the overbearing influence of these “best practices.”
I describe this dilemma (somehwere on my YouTube channel) as it applies to fine arts and art school. If one has skill to render things faithfully within a pre-existing style, then that is where one remains.
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