I got a note from my buddy Rick Kirkman (Baby Blues) who told me I have a new nickname, then sent me a link to another cartoonist’s strip. Her name is Hilary Price and her cartoon is Rhymes with Orange (always a difficult cartoon for me because nothing actually does rhyme with orange, plus it is also impossible to spell “rhymes” without a dictionary). Here is the cartoon:
Well that was just one of the coolest things I had seen in a long time. I sent her a note and told her that regardless of whether she actually intended to use my name or not, I was going to claim she did, and thanks. Her response was non-committal, but cordial.
Todd Clark of Lola fame actually sent me the original of the following cartoon, featuring Jeff, the commando elf.
(Now hanging on my wall)
Cartoonists often drop names of friends and families into their strips, because it is fun (they are not deep thinkers and are easily amused).
Even in Broadside. In this panel, you can see Stephan Pastis’ Rat from Pearls Before Swine the in the calendar.
But this is junior varsity. Pastis and Jeff Keane of The Family Circus famously take it to the next level and parody each other’s cartoons. Here is one.
(To see a collection of The Family Circus versus Pearls Before Swine, click on “I may be contacting a lawyer.”)
Sticking another cartoonist’s name in there is great, but what I like more is to include military buddies in cartoons. Here is one featuring one of my classmates from the University of New Mexico:
Here is another one, featuring a friend from Surface Warfare Officers School.
It’s a fun way to say hello. It is like social media, kind of, but with deadlines.
I guess what I’m saying is that if you see a name in a cartoon, look again because there is a pretty good chance it is there for a reason.
And if you know of a word that rhymes with orange, drop me a line.
