Auchtoon!

Originally published in the Ann Abor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News
June 17, 2012

This scene from Casablanca is something of an old-school editorial cartooning standard (to the point of cliché), and I really, really try to avoid cliché. I also try to avoid old-school because 30 years ago knowledge of Casablanca was regarded as common knowledge — nowadays, I’m sure I absolutely confused a large chunk of readers. (Here’s a clip of what I was vamping on.)

But it was so perfect — from the bald-faced hypocrisy of the opposition to new bridge to Canada to the fact that Governor Snyder’s first name is Rick. But where this all started was me seeing a picture of Ambassador Bridge owner Matty Moroun and thinking he looks a lot like Peter Lorre. (Peter. Peter Lorre. Creepy little guy in all those old movies. Don’t tell me you don’t remember him!…)

Originally published in the Ann Abor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News
June 10, 2012

In Michigan, we are generally blessed with a distinct lack of natural disasters. Paraphrasing Garrison Keillor talking about his native Minnesota, other than January and February doing their level best to kill us, we don’t have a lot of worries about Mother Nature. (We know what to expect from January and February….) So it’s a bit extraordinary to have an enormous fire burning in the Upper Peninsula for the past couple of weeks. And because it’s happening in the UP, I’m sure most Michiganders are completely unaware. That’s the subtle social commentary I was going for, anyway. Too subtle? Yeah, probably….

Originally published in the Ann Abor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News
June 3, 2012

 Even though I am very much an advocate for keeping an open mind, I will admit to having certain prejudices. For instance, music by punk bands should never be played on “Classic Rock” radio stations — Foghat; Emerson, Lake & Palmer; then The Clash? That’s just wrong.
 
Also, breakfast cereals should never be mixed. Chemical engineers in the manufactured food industry have taken a great deal of time and effort in formulating just the right combinations of food-like materials to create a single cereal. To take the last bits of nearly empty boxes, combine them in a single bowl, and then activate the highly volatile mix with milk — you’re just inviting trouble.
 
And Newt Gingrich should never be elected to be the President of the United States of America. Some people were seriously considering this only a few months ago! I’m not kidding — look it up!

But one maybe slightly unreasonable prejudice that I can’t seem to shake is that I believe professional ice hockey teams from the southern United Sates should not be successful. They have sun and pleasant winters and no Canadian coins mixed in with their loose change. How could they possibly have the proper appreciation for a good hockey team? They can’t! They don’t! And that’s why it’s unsettling to see the Los Angeles Kings in the Stanley Cup finals. But I know this is my problem that I just have to work through it. Maybe next year it will be something like Detroit vs. Montreal and the world will make sense again….

Originally published in the Ann Abor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News
May 26, 2012

All three of my kids had Jan Burlowski for their second grade teacher at East Elementary in Grandville. What a wonderful teacher! A kind, caring, and giving person with an obvious natural rapport with children and a dedicated work ethic for teaching them. (Editor Note: The drawing here looks nothing like Mrs. Burlowski — I was going for a more stereotypical “school marm” look.) In fact, my kids have had a lot of wonderful teachers in their public school education. For my family, it has been an overwhelmingly positive experience and — if you want to talk strictly financial terms — a huge return on investment.

So it is somewhat counterintuitive for me to see teacher pay and benefits chipped away under the guise of “their failure.” Yes, I know that some public schools are not run nearly as well as Grandville’s and difficult decisions need to be made, but that does not mean the entire system is broken. And it does not make it right to demonize all teachers so it’s easier to break promises to meet budget goals.

Originally published in the Ann Abor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News
May 20, 2012

And then sometimes the target of my editorial cartoon — the individual I set in my sights to flay, to eviscerate, to impale upon my razor pen is …me. (I buy a lot of stuff online….)

Originally published in the Ann Abor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News
May 13, 2012

For the record, I don’t blame George W Bush for the horrible year Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander had in 2008. But I can’t give Mitt Romney credit for the impressive recovery he has had since then. Does that even need to be said?! Well, maybe not now, but the closer we get to November, the more outrageous the claims are going to get. Just trying to be a little proactive….

Originally published in the Ann Abor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News
May 6, 2012

It is easy to despair over “how things are in America these days” — how government is dysfunctional, change is slow, issues are muddled. It makes us feel like something has gone fundamentally wrong with the system. But while there is certainly room for improvement, I think our system is pretty much working the way it is designed to work, which is annoying and uncomfortable but no reason to despair.

And here’s something you can do — it’s an Election Day, go out and vote!

Originally published in the Ann Abor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News
April 29, 2012

Matty Maroun and his Dad are like 19th century robber barons. Looking forward to many more comics if their ballot initiative succeeds…. 

Originally published in the Ann Abor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News
April 22, 2012

Ten years ago I was fortunate enough to have an art show in Grand Rapids with my very own cartoons adorning the walls of a gallery for a whole month. It was the coolest, most unnerving thing ever. Cool because there were so many people from the all the corners of my life (as well as folks I never met before) who came to check it out. I was interviewed for TV and newspapers. I drew a mural on a wall. There was a reception, which was a big party, and I gave a talk, and people felt obligated to listen so they were very nice, and Wally Pleasant gave a concert (more on that in minute), and there was dancing and a great big box of York Peppermint Paties.

Unnerving because cartooning (at least the kind I do) is a very solitary experience. I draw alone, I send the artwork off to be published, I post on a website, and people seem to enjoy it because I am asked to make more. That’s how it’s done. Seldom do I see and hear reactions. Never are there 50 of my favorite pieces hanging on walls. Thank God for the Pirin tablets! (Inside joke; ask me about it if you’re really curious.)

How did this happen? Well, as I recall, I answered this very question in my talk. Here’s the procedure: “Step 1, know somebody with a gallery. …and that’s it!” Of course it helped quite a bit that Jean and Mert were (and still are) incredibly generous and indulgent friends. It was also critical to have a generous and indulgent spouse whose name is Jane. (Names other than Jane may work, too, but I’m exclusively a Jane supporter.) In retrospect, it was infinitely cooler than unnerving.

So what does this have to do with…? Ah, here’s the connection: Last week I was recalling the art show and decided to search for the music of Michigan native Wally Pleasant on iTunes, which had not previously been available. But lo and behold, there he was! There was only one Wally CD that I didn’t have, so I bought it. And the first song is one of my favorites. It’s called, “The Day Ted Nugent Killed All the Animals.” I was literally (and I do mean literally literally) humming that to myself when I walked by our TV Wedneday morning and there was a story about Ted Nugent going off at some NRA event. I saw the video and, yep, he did go off. Way off. Embarrassingly off. And so the comic came to me in a serendipitous swirl.

Originally published in the Ann Abor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News
April 15, 2012

Two inspirations for this cartoon:

1. There has already been one failed effort at a petition drive to recall Michigan governor Rick Snyder, and now there is another. It’s not an inspiring story of overcoming great odds through dedication and positive thinking. At best, it’s a misguided attempt to demonstrate disagreement with Snyder’s policies. (There are better, more effective ways to do this.) At worst, it’s a cynical attempt to game the system for any sort of a political advantage.
2. It’s fun to draw trains.