December 14, 2016
The Art and Craft of Cartoon Illustration
Patrick McDonnell
Author and Illustrator of the Comic Strip “Mutts” and Many Books
Landon Jones and Patrick McDonnell
Minutes of the 13th Meeting of the 75th Year
Vice President Julia Coale called the meeting to order at 10:15 a.m. in the Friend Center of Princeton University. In total, 113 members and guests attended. The vice president recognized six members and their seven guests:
Gregory Dobbs brought Mary Dobbs
James Ferry brought George and Jeanine McLaughlin
Rich Hespos brought Jill Hespos
John Kelsey brought Pam Kelsey
Scott McVay brought Hella McVay
Stephen Schreiber brought Andrew Prindle
Charles Clark led the invocation, and Henry Von Kohorn read the minutes of the December 7 meeting.
Landon Jones introduced the speaker, Patrick McDonnell, creator of the beloved comic strip “Mutts,” which appears in over 700 newspapers (including The Times of Trenton) in 22 countries, with an estimated readership of 80 million, making Mr. McDonnell the most widely read writer in our community. “Mutts” has received numerous awards internationally, for comics of excellence and for its theme of animal protection. Mr. McDonnell received the National Cartoonists Society’s highest honor, the Reuben Award.
Charles Schulz, the creator of “Peanuts,” described “Mutts” as “One of the best comic strips of all time.” “Mutts” has appeared in 25 compilation books, and Mr. McDonnell has written and illustrated many best-selling children’s books, including “Me…Jane,” a 2012 Caldecott Honor Book about the young Jane Goodall. To be published in January 2017 is “Darling, I Love You: Poems From the Hearts of Our Glorious ‘Mutts’ and All Our Animal Friends,” a collection of verse by Daniel Ladinsky and illustrations by Patrick McDonnell.
The “Mutts” characters also appear on the Animal Friendly license plates in New Jersey and in animated public service announcements for the Shelter Pet Project. Patrick McDonnell is on the boards of directors of the Humane Society of the United States, the Fund for Animals and the Charles M. Schulz Museum.
Patrick McDonnell is a Jersey guy, who was born in Elizabeth and grew up in Edison; he and his wife, Karen, now reside in Princeton with their rescue Jack Russell terrier, Amelie, and numerous feral cats.
Mr. McDonnell delivered a joyous, animated and humorous talk, with apt slide illustrations, relating the influences behind his illustrious career. Some of his earliest memories include being mesmerized by the simple black and white drawings in his mother’s edition of Walt Kelly’s “Pogo” book and by the way two black dots for eyes could connote emotion. Another childhood favorite was “Sick, Sick, Sick: A Guide to Non-Confident Living” by Jules Feiffer, with whom he has since become friends. Now 87 years old, Feiffer has recently begun writing graphic novels. Mr. McDonnell, noting the longevity of cartoonists, said, “I think, actually, deadlines keep you alive!”
Mr. McDonnell also recalled looking through his parents’ large volume of works by Leonardo da Vinci and said that while Leonardo was good, he was no Walt Kelly or Jules Feiffer!
Since he was a young child, Mr. McDonnell wanted to be a cartoonist. As he grew, the greatest influence on him -- the strip that taught him to read -- was Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts.” He said that giving back some of the joy and comfort that he found in comics is what he’s supposed to do. He certainly imparted some of that joy to us at the Old Guard!
While Mr. McDonnell was studying illustration at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, he was bold enough to present his portfolio to the art director of The Village Voice, who offered him a job drawing a series of illutrations of “the angry critic,” one of which shows an art critic who looks at a Picasso painting and says, “I assume a work of art is guilty until proven innocent.” The illustration appeared on the cover of The Voice. Mr. McDonnell modestly described being given the commission as “the kindness of strangers.”
Upon graduating from college, the cartoonist presented his portfolio to a variety of what he described as “cheesy” magazines, only to receive rejections. Thinking that he ought to up the ante and try for a high-class rejection, he took his work to The New York Times Magazine. Lo and behold! He was asked to illustrate Russell Baker’s “Sunday Observer” column.
With this success, he secured other jobs: for Time magazine (a story about UFO sightings in Russia) and for Forbes magazine. Having an illustration on the cover of Forbes helped convince his future father-in-law of his talent and worth. Mr. McDonnell’s comic strip “Bad Baby” appeared monthly in Parents magazine for 10 years.
In 1994, he began to create “Mutts.” The first strip shows a man and a dog riding in a car. The man stops the car, opens the car door, and says, “OK, we’re home!” And the cartoonist said he really felt like he was home, that doing the “Mutts” strip was really what he was meant to do. But he never thought about the reality: “It’s a comic every day, there’s no vacation; it’s like a term paper that never ends.”
Mr. McDonnell has honored past comic strip artists, such as George Herriman (“Krazy Kat”) and E. C. Segar (“Popeye”). Before about 1994, artists didn’t own their characters; rather, the syndicate owned the copyright to comics characters. Since the company Mr. McDonnell worked for owned the “Popeye” copyright, he was able to incorprate that character and others into his own strips. He also drew his own his Rube Goldberg machine, but only once -- he claimed it was too hard!
The hardest strips to write are pantomine, jokes without words, like “The Little King” by Otto Soglow. Other influences on his work were Robert Crumb and Dale Messick (“Brenda Starr”), from which he learned “speed lines,” ways to indicate movement within a still frame. He has also paid homage to artists from other media, including painting, music, Japanese woodcut and literature. An example of a shout-out to literature shows a dog beginning to read a book, “Mr. John Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men.’” Two mice then say, “Bravo! We’ll stay for the first half.”
Mr. McDonnell began drawing a dog for his strip and later adopted his first Jack Russell terrier, Earl, who lived 19 years. His illustrations became a real dog, and then the real dog inspired more illustrations.
Here’s an example of a “Mutts” strip:
A man says: “Sit. Stay. Shake. Good boy.”
One dog says to another, “What I’d really like to learn is how to open the fridge.”
Inspired by his and his wife’s penchant for adopting feral cats, Mooch became another main character in his “Mutts” strip.
Every November and May, the cartoonist incorporates stories about animals in shelters into his strip.
Here’s an example of his “Shelter Stories” about a deaf dog:
“Sure I know I’m deaf, but I’d still make a great companion. Just do like I do. Listen to your heart.”
Mr. McDonnell sometimes incorporates messages in his strips to encourage the humane treatment of animals. Eighty-five percent of the proceeds from the sale of New Jersey Animal Friendly license plates, with his “Mutts” characters on them, go to spaying and neutering stray dogs and cats.
This cartoonist has never drawn a computer in “Mutts,” and a television, only a few times. His latest book (which he read and showed on screen in its entirety), “Tek: The Modern Cave Boy,” is a cautionary book for electronics-obsessed children.
To be charmed by “Mutts” and Patrick McDonnell, go to his website, mutts.com, where you can sign up to receive a daily “Mutts” strip in your email inbox and also read lots more about Mr. McDonnell, his art and his characters.
Respectfully submitted,
Sandra Shapiro
Gregory Dobbs brought Mary Dobbs
James Ferry brought George and Jeanine McLaughlin
Rich Hespos brought Jill Hespos
John Kelsey brought Pam Kelsey
Scott McVay brought Hella McVay
Stephen Schreiber brought Andrew Prindle
Charles Clark led the invocation, and Henry Von Kohorn read the minutes of the December 7 meeting.
Landon Jones introduced the speaker, Patrick McDonnell, creator of the beloved comic strip “Mutts,” which appears in over 700 newspapers (including The Times of Trenton) in 22 countries, with an estimated readership of 80 million, making Mr. McDonnell the most widely read writer in our community. “Mutts” has received numerous awards internationally, for comics of excellence and for its theme of animal protection. Mr. McDonnell received the National Cartoonists Society’s highest honor, the Reuben Award.
Charles Schulz, the creator of “Peanuts,” described “Mutts” as “One of the best comic strips of all time.” “Mutts” has appeared in 25 compilation books, and Mr. McDonnell has written and illustrated many best-selling children’s books, including “Me…Jane,” a 2012 Caldecott Honor Book about the young Jane Goodall. To be published in January 2017 is “Darling, I Love You: Poems From the Hearts of Our Glorious ‘Mutts’ and All Our Animal Friends,” a collection of verse by Daniel Ladinsky and illustrations by Patrick McDonnell.
The “Mutts” characters also appear on the Animal Friendly license plates in New Jersey and in animated public service announcements for the Shelter Pet Project. Patrick McDonnell is on the boards of directors of the Humane Society of the United States, the Fund for Animals and the Charles M. Schulz Museum.
Patrick McDonnell is a Jersey guy, who was born in Elizabeth and grew up in Edison; he and his wife, Karen, now reside in Princeton with their rescue Jack Russell terrier, Amelie, and numerous feral cats.
Mr. McDonnell delivered a joyous, animated and humorous talk, with apt slide illustrations, relating the influences behind his illustrious career. Some of his earliest memories include being mesmerized by the simple black and white drawings in his mother’s edition of Walt Kelly’s “Pogo” book and by the way two black dots for eyes could connote emotion. Another childhood favorite was “Sick, Sick, Sick: A Guide to Non-Confident Living” by Jules Feiffer, with whom he has since become friends. Now 87 years old, Feiffer has recently begun writing graphic novels. Mr. McDonnell, noting the longevity of cartoonists, said, “I think, actually, deadlines keep you alive!”
Mr. McDonnell also recalled looking through his parents’ large volume of works by Leonardo da Vinci and said that while Leonardo was good, he was no Walt Kelly or Jules Feiffer!
Since he was a young child, Mr. McDonnell wanted to be a cartoonist. As he grew, the greatest influence on him -- the strip that taught him to read -- was Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts.” He said that giving back some of the joy and comfort that he found in comics is what he’s supposed to do. He certainly imparted some of that joy to us at the Old Guard!
While Mr. McDonnell was studying illustration at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, he was bold enough to present his portfolio to the art director of The Village Voice, who offered him a job drawing a series of illutrations of “the angry critic,” one of which shows an art critic who looks at a Picasso painting and says, “I assume a work of art is guilty until proven innocent.” The illustration appeared on the cover of The Voice. Mr. McDonnell modestly described being given the commission as “the kindness of strangers.”
Upon graduating from college, the cartoonist presented his portfolio to a variety of what he described as “cheesy” magazines, only to receive rejections. Thinking that he ought to up the ante and try for a high-class rejection, he took his work to The New York Times Magazine. Lo and behold! He was asked to illustrate Russell Baker’s “Sunday Observer” column.
With this success, he secured other jobs: for Time magazine (a story about UFO sightings in Russia) and for Forbes magazine. Having an illustration on the cover of Forbes helped convince his future father-in-law of his talent and worth. Mr. McDonnell’s comic strip “Bad Baby” appeared monthly in Parents magazine for 10 years.
In 1994, he began to create “Mutts.” The first strip shows a man and a dog riding in a car. The man stops the car, opens the car door, and says, “OK, we’re home!” And the cartoonist said he really felt like he was home, that doing the “Mutts” strip was really what he was meant to do. But he never thought about the reality: “It’s a comic every day, there’s no vacation; it’s like a term paper that never ends.”
Mr. McDonnell has honored past comic strip artists, such as George Herriman (“Krazy Kat”) and E. C. Segar (“Popeye”). Before about 1994, artists didn’t own their characters; rather, the syndicate owned the copyright to comics characters. Since the company Mr. McDonnell worked for owned the “Popeye” copyright, he was able to incorprate that character and others into his own strips. He also drew his own his Rube Goldberg machine, but only once -- he claimed it was too hard!
The hardest strips to write are pantomine, jokes without words, like “The Little King” by Otto Soglow. Other influences on his work were Robert Crumb and Dale Messick (“Brenda Starr”), from which he learned “speed lines,” ways to indicate movement within a still frame. He has also paid homage to artists from other media, including painting, music, Japanese woodcut and literature. An example of a shout-out to literature shows a dog beginning to read a book, “Mr. John Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men.’” Two mice then say, “Bravo! We’ll stay for the first half.”
Mr. McDonnell began drawing a dog for his strip and later adopted his first Jack Russell terrier, Earl, who lived 19 years. His illustrations became a real dog, and then the real dog inspired more illustrations.
Here’s an example of a “Mutts” strip:
A man says: “Sit. Stay. Shake. Good boy.”
One dog says to another, “What I’d really like to learn is how to open the fridge.”
Inspired by his and his wife’s penchant for adopting feral cats, Mooch became another main character in his “Mutts” strip.
Every November and May, the cartoonist incorporates stories about animals in shelters into his strip.
Here’s an example of his “Shelter Stories” about a deaf dog:
“Sure I know I’m deaf, but I’d still make a great companion. Just do like I do. Listen to your heart.”
Mr. McDonnell sometimes incorporates messages in his strips to encourage the humane treatment of animals. Eighty-five percent of the proceeds from the sale of New Jersey Animal Friendly license plates, with his “Mutts” characters on them, go to spaying and neutering stray dogs and cats.
This cartoonist has never drawn a computer in “Mutts,” and a television, only a few times. His latest book (which he read and showed on screen in its entirety), “Tek: The Modern Cave Boy,” is a cautionary book for electronics-obsessed children.
To be charmed by “Mutts” and Patrick McDonnell, go to his website, mutts.com, where you can sign up to receive a daily “Mutts” strip in your email inbox and also read lots more about Mr. McDonnell, his art and his characters.
Respectfully submitted,
Sandra Shapiro