I cut this out of the LA Times Magazine in 2006, as you can see. I was going to call Macy’s Department Store to compliment them on their guts and creativity, but instead I’ll write it here. I could not believe the ad agency was cool enough to be so uncool!!! Yay, Macy’s!

Canaries are such an old-fashioned bird – I think of them as Victorian, although they’ve been in cages for hundreds of years. (I thought it was about 300 or 400 years, but Animal World says it’s since 1478!) The first canary I remember loving was Pip, Amy’s bird in Little Women. I always wanted a canary since I was little, so I got one for Christmas when I was 7. My grandmother told me they always had a canary in her own family growing up…and, no, they weren’t coal miners. Read more »

“Tonight’s show is a rerun, but then, so is tonight.”

The Illustration Friday topic: ROUTINE.

Of course, I’m afraid this will be my life. Or is my life. Is there anything more comforting than your favorite show on?

She’s all alone, though.  I pretend there’s someone with me, when I watch TV.

I like the old TV. But what will she do when everyone goes digital? Which reminds me…where’s my coupon?

I talked in the post below about re-using cartoons. It’s like a kiss, really. You don’t call a second kiss, “re-using it”, do you? A good kiss is just as sweet the second time around.

But a magazine editor today doesn’t think that way, I guess. He bought it, I redrew it, and submitted an invoice last week. Today he called to say no, they weren’t going to buy it for the magazine now. He said he was doing some housecleaning this weekend, and found the cartoon in my book that I had sent him a year ago, and now he’s not interested.

He’s bought other cartoons from me that were previously published – well, one, that he specifically wanted – so what’s the diff? The only place last week’s cartoon had been used was in my chocolate book, “What Do Women REALLY Want? Chocolate!”

I think the book publisher made about 4000 copies of this book, and only part of that number sold. (Even though it was book of the month in Family Circle, with a circulation of 4 million! THAT’s how hard it is to sell a book!)

Even if we say 4000 people had seen this cartoon before – 4 years ago – If this magazine editor had bought and used it as he had promised, many millions of people would have seen it. But his rule – except for the other previously published cartoon, of course – is only to use NEW NEW NEW work. (Of course, the other cartoonists he uses have cartoons that I’ve seen or done myself, ie, not so original! But he doesn’t know that.) I feel terrible.

This is the cover of my book, not the cartoon he bought – or didn’t buy, now.

Bar cartoon copyrighted 2008.

The Idea

This is from my self-syndicated series, Daily Special. It ran in the LA Times for almost 5 years, and I slowly expanded it to reach a dozen other major newspapers (like the award-winning Minneapolis Taste section!) and alternates, like Nashville Scene. Daily Special is all about restaurants. Don’cha love them? I still think it’s so special when I get to go out and be served a carefully considered menu with a smile. I subtly stroke the lovely tablecloth, or get out markers to draw on the placemats, whichever seems more appropriate. Hopefully they’ll give us bread that doesn’t taste like it’s from the supermarket, as we start drooling when we read the menus.

(Tip: ask for the dessert menu before you order. When you know you’re going to get dessert, is the entree that important? And if they don’t have any dessert you like, pout, and leave a small tip.)

The Drawing

I was so nervous – almost paralyzed! – by the idea that hundreds of thousands of people would read me every week in the Times – including people I knew, some of whom were critical (Marty Murphy) some who were better! (Marty Murphy)- that I gave myself a break every month. Out of the 4 or 5 cartoons I did a month, one would just be a funny sign – without any people in the drawing. (Even though a person or stray dog adds some perspective to the size of a building or window.) Read more »