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A nice wrap-up to Christmas from Tom the D Bug...
Tim Rickard, creator of Brewster Rockit, is the featured guest on the latest Comics Coast to Coast show. Covered topics include Hee Haw, Star Trek, Lost in Space, Indiana Jones, MENSA, Dodge Coronets and more! Click here to listen.
The above image is an original by Maintaining creator Nate Creekmore that he used for his holiday cards this year. Nate gave us permission to share the image and the sentiment with all of you. As a bonus, here's a sneak preview of an upcoming Maintaining daily that features even more snowman destruction.
- LW
One of the processes that Universal insists on with newly syndicated cartoonists is submitting roughs. They can be pencils or even just the scripts depending on the circumstances. Roughs are important for many reasons: making sure the gag is clear, checking for libel, optimal syntax, humor upgrade suggestions, poor taste, etc.
Now I won't mention by name the cartoonist who did the above rough, because I think your opinion of him might go down a few notches ... but this is the work of someone who (on this particular day) was so out of touch with acceptable behavior that you may think he was some sort of degenerate and/or maybe worked at a slaughterhouse. But I can assure, Scott Hilburn is usually not like this. He's a great guy who just lost his head. Luckily we were there to save him from hisself.
So for all of you out there saying comics editors don't do anything (this means you: IRS, wife, Lee Salem) here's an example where our shrewd editing probably saved this guy's career.
-JG
Pooch Cafe creator Paul Gilligan answers all of the tough questions on the Universal Press Syndicate Editors Blog today:
Q: What is the best part of being a cartoonist? Worst?
Gilligan: The best part about being a cartoonist is getting to work in your underwear. Only we and Victoria’s Secret models get to do that, but we get to eat a lot more pudding. The worst part is the company Christmas parties. They’re not very entertaining when there’s only one employee. And of course someone always ends up drunk and doing something illicit in the closet, and then it’s just awkward on Monday.
Click here to read more.
Q: Hello, Paul. You’re looking well.
Gilligan: That’s
because I just won a bet with a friend and I’m gloating. Unlike most people, gloating actually makes
me more attractive.
Q: You’re widely known in the industry as having
a deep-rooted hatred of all other cartoonists. Can you elaborate?
Q:. Pooch Café started with (RIP)
Copley Syndicate … did you hear anything from the other syndicates on your
initial submission?
Gilligan: Copley
died? I didn’t…. I never heard about that. I can account for my whereabouts,
though. I did hear from a few other
syndicates, Jay Kennedy thought the idea of dogs and humans communicating would
confuse readers. I listed about 60
examples of animals and humans communicating in comics but he said none of them
were financially successful. I also
heard from the L.A. Times, they said they liked Pooch but wanted to see it with
“more action.” Universal Press, the
greatest syndicate in the world, remained suspiciously quiet during this time.
Q. How did you come to Universal?
Gilligan: FINALLY
after 3 years of working with the now dead Copley (I didn’t do it), astute and
dapper Universal editor John Glynn saw the galleys of the first Pooch Café book
collection and, as legend has it, the
walls shook with the booming of his mighty laughter. Of course legends tend to get blown out of
proportion. Perhaps he merely wet his
pants.
Q. How do you deal with the fame?
Gilligan: How
do you really know if you’ve reached the level of “fame”? I ask myself that often, so every few weeks I
go to a porno theater with dark glasses on to see if I get
arrested. Nothing yet.
(editor’s note: we did have to edit
Paul’s answer for a family audience)
Q:. You have a blog that’s actually
well-done. How does that work?
Gilligan: I
do things well.
Q. You’re known for your impromptu
rapping? Can you riff a bit for us?
Gilligan: I
could teach you, but I’d have to chee-arrrrrge.
I hate police.
Q. Name five comic strips you loathe:
Gilligan: You know what’s delicious on corn-on-the-cob instead of butter? Lime juice and chili powder. Especially in summer. Try it!
Q. So you have a movie deal at
Sony? What’s the latest? Live action or animated?
Gilligan: As
far as I know it’s always been under consideration as an animated movie. And thank heaven, I wouldn’t want to be
responsible for any more live action animals with computer animated mouths in
this world.
The latest is
that the Sony execs like the treatment I wrote, and we should be moving to the
script stage in the new year. We are
coming up on the third year anniversary of the day they first approached us,
just to give you an idea of the glaciality of the process (I know it’s not a
word, John, just let me have this one).
Q: What is the best part of being a
cartoonist? Worst?
Gilligan: The best part about being a cartoonist is getting to work in your underwear. Only we and Victoria’s Secret models get to do that, but we get to eat a lot more pudding. The worst part is the company Christmas parties. They’re not very entertaining when there’s only one employee. And of course someone always ends up drunk and doing something illicit in the closet, and then it’s just awkward on Monday.
Q: If you could be the
richest and most powerful person in the world, but in exchange you could never
talk to me again … would you do it?
Gilligan: All
the money in the world? Geez, I’d never
talk to you again for a nice, crisp twenty.
But I’ll take all the money in the world, if that offer is still on the
table. (Then we could communicate
through robotic monkeys, which I would pay scientists to invent for us).
Q: If you could give some advice
to burgeoning cartoonists, what would it be?
Gilligan: Do
more dog comic strips. There aren’t
enough comic strips with dogs. Oh, and
the second lesson is don’t use sarcasm in written form, it often doesn’t
translate.
-JG
