May 9th, 2018

Ask A Cartoonist: Mother’s Day!

by Tea

Happy Mother’s Day!

This Sunday, we’ll be celebrating moms everywhere– and here’s a very special celebration from our cartoonists.

Alex Hallatt, Arctic Circle:

My siblings and I tried to persuade Mum to use Facebook so that we could keep in touch easier. She wasn’t having any of it and now I don’t blame her!

 

Bill Griffith, Zippy the Pinhead:

What do you do on Mother’s Day when your mother is no longer alive? You remember her. This strip about my Levittown (Long Island) childhood contains one such nice memory—the time in 1955 when Mom won a local beauty contest.

I went to the award ceremony in a nearby baseball field. Here I am in the pages of the Levittown Tribune, with my sister, beaming with pride at our “celebrity” mother. And did I mention she was also a published sci-fi writer?

Ron Ferdinand, Dennis the Menace:

I think that the relationship between Mother and Son has always been at the heart of DENNIS THE MENACE.

John Rose, Barney Google and Snuffy Smith:

Wishing all the moms in our readership a Happy Mother’s Day from everyone in Hootin’ Holler! We hope you have a bodacious day!

Bill Holbrook, Kevin & Kell, On the Fastrack, & Safe Havens:

In Fastrack, Dethany and Guy had a unique way of starting a Mother’s Day tradition with their moms.

Isabella Bannerman, Six Chix:

Sending out lots of love to my own wonderful mom, and to all the moms out there.
There are lots of jokes about motherhood and guilt, so one year when my “Six Chix” happened to fall on Mother’s Day, I drew this one.

I also like this line from the comedian George Carlin:

“Don’t take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, to the next county, to the next country, but NOT to where the guilt is.”

Jeff Parker, Dustin:

My Mom was, and still is, quite creative, and has always supported her 4th son in his crazy jones for drawing cartoons.

One great memory of Mom making art was when my brothers and I were very small. If we had to wait for a doctor appointment, or just to settle us down when we got restless in the car, she’d pull out a little pad of note paper and start doodling. Soon filling the page with little thumbnail drawings of everyday objects, animals, articles of clothing, and all sorts of stuff. Then we’d have to name what each doodle was– it might be a hand saw, or a turtle, or Dad’s fedora. Her little plate of eggs and bacon was a favorite. You could say she invented Pictionary. Watching her draw was fascinating and sparked something in me.

 

I wish we had thought to save all those little, masterpieces of a Mother’s unbounded love and patience.

Jim Borgman, Zits:

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms of teenagers!

 

Jim Keefe, Sally Forth and Flash Gordon:

Here’s a couple cameos done by my Mom over the years in the funny papers…

This next strip is from June 1, 1997, when I was writing and drawing Flash Gordon.

My Mom passed away just last year, but I’m very happy that I had the opportunity to honor her in this small way with these strips.

She was my biggest supporter as far as this weird career path I took.

Ending with a glamour pic. This is my Mom on her honeymoon on a cruise ship from Bermuda bound for New York where she and my Dad would see Yul Brynner in “The King and I” on Broadway. What’s classic about this picture is how much boats made her seasick.

 

“Love you and miss you, Mom. You were one of a kind!”