Ask A Cartoonist: Summer Fun!
It’s Memorial Day Weekend! And while it’s been a cold, rainy Spring in New York and it still feels more like early April than late May, it means Summer is nearly upon us!
I asked our cartoonists what they’re looking forward to this summer– in their comics, or for themselves.
David Reddick, Intelligent Life:
The boys in Intelligent Life are gonna get their summer on – blow-up pool and all!
Alex Hallatt, Arctic Circle:
It’s our second summer in Spain and I plan to spend the time I’m not drawing/writing at the beach!
We are on a road trip right now and this beach is my favourite so far. Asturias has a beautiful coast.
Bill Holbrook, Kevin & Kell, On the Fastrack, and Safe Havens:
In Safe Havens, Samantha and Dave have an action-packed summer ahead of them. Beginning in Florence, Italy, they travel to the island of Mauritius (the original home of the dodo), then to Las Vegas where Dave practices with Team USA, and finally to Rio for the Olympics…all the while keeping up their training for the 2018 mission to Mars.
Ron Ferdinand, Dennis the Menace:
As we can see in this Ketcham Klassic, Dennis’ summer plans usually include his dad…whether Henry Mitchell likes it or not.
Bill Griffith, Zippy the Pinhead:
Summers are really no different than any other season when you do a daily comic strip. Summer vacations don’t seem to be part of the deal for daily cartoonists. You get used to it, after 30 years.
On the other hand, I DO have a summer vacation from teaching comics at the School of Visual Arts, so that’s fun. Basically , in my spare time (weekends) I’ll be working on my graphic bio of Schlitzie the Pinhead, the real world inspiration for Zippy.
Oh—and my niece is having twins in a month or so and Diane and I are helping on site in Montpelier VT. Montpelier is the smallest capital city in the U.S.—very little of the modern world has inserted itself into town, with the exception of vegans and numerous Bernie t-shirt-wearers strolling State and Main.
Zippy’s always on vacation, so when summer comes along, he gets existential.
John Rose, Barney Google & Snuffy Smith:
Summer will be an exciting time for the Barney Google and Snuffy Smith comic strip! In late June Barney Google and his best pal Spark Plug will be visiting for a week! It’s going to be a really fun week! For me, as a cartoonist with a new Snuffy Smith book collection out, I am looking forward to several book signing events over the summer in Covington, VA, Bath County, VA and Charlotte, NC (at HeroesCon)! It is always so much fun to meet and talk with Snuffy Smith fans. They are some of the most bodacious fans in the world! For our family, we are planning to relax at one of our favorite vacation spots, Myrtle Beach, for about 10 days in July.
Jim Borgman, Zits:
Each of the past 33 summers my family has escaped to Chautauqua, NY for a week. It’s a unique place — an idyllic vacation spot on a lake, but with guest lecturers every morning and concerts every night in the open-sided amphitheater. It’s a great mixture of relaxation and stimulation, providing some food for thought as we picnic by the lake. And because cars are snubbed inside the town, we walk and bike all week. Lovely.
Stephanie Piro, Six Chix:
We wait all year for summer so we can get out to the garden and enjoy being outside. This cartoon from a few years ago gives a hint of that anticipation of warm weather!
Rina Piccolo, Tina’s Groove and Six Chix:
I love Summer! My plan is to make comics, ride my bike, write stories, draw outdoors, and get together to jam comics with fellow cartoonists. Oh, yeah, and burn my winter boots. And coat… and scarf…you get the idea.
