billabbottcartoons » funny cartoons

Gratitude

billabbottcartoons — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 17:30:18 +0000

Ever wake up after a refreshing night’s sleep, stay in bed a little longer than usual, and think about how lucky we are to do what we do? That was this morning for me. My eyes opened and the first thing I saw was a brilliant sun seeping through the edges of the curtains. Then rolling on my side, I glanced at the night-stand next to the bed and noticed the little yellow sticky notes I use to thumbnail sketch the ideas that come to me. And I thought about that. What other vocations would compel someone to do that? And it’s not about money either. It’s about pursuing a passion. When you attend a gathering of friends and talk about your lives, how many light up and become (no pun intended) animated when they describe their work? How many get out of bed some mornings with creative ideas that so excite them, they literally run to get a pen and paper to record them? How fortunate are we to fall into that tiny group of people?

I’m fortunate to have lived a life of varied and, to some, unusual experiences. I was a stockbroker, a Special Warfare operator, a Special Agent with the railroad police and a cartoonist. Throughout those experiences, I’ve had the exceptional good fortune to meet a wide variety of people in an equally wide variety of contexts. I’ve socialized with carpenters, roofers, doctors, lawyers, all ranks of military people, CEOs of corporations, bankers – even a politician or two (after which I thoroughly washed my hands). And not one of them, at least to my observation, had anything resembling the excitement of a cartoonist or illustrator when the moment of inspiration comes.

Here’s an experiment worth trying, if you have an interest in putting our good fortune into its proper perspective. At the next party, social event, or anyplace where there’s a sizable gathering of friends from other backgrounds, pose the quesion: when was the last time you got out of bed and raced past the bathroom, coffee-maker, and tail-wagging dog to jot down an idea for your work that had you so excited you had utter disregard for your own physiological state? Unless there is another cartoonist or artist in the room, I suspect there will be few to none whom, after considerable contemplation, can answer in the affirmative.

Forget (for a moment, anyway) money, forget poularity, forget fame if that’s what you’re pursuing. The greatest reward, to me, in this area of art is to have mornings like this one. There are no drugs that can reproduce this elevating sense, no beverage, and certainly no other vocation I’m aware of. Compensation in the form of immense gratitude, and the clarity which comes from knowing that what I get to do is a gift unto itself, is a treasure so few even know exists. But we do. Now shut up before they find out.

Cartooning Update

billabbottcartoons — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 14:42:51 +0000

It’s been a challenging start to the New Year, with a series of events, both in and outside of cartooning, that have kept me insanely busy. While some opportunities fizzled out into nothingness, others have appeared seemingly from nowhere, and I guess that’s the nature of this business.

I’m elated with the results of the “Success In Comics” seminar I attended in Annapolis, Maryland, where I not only met with some fantastically talented cartoonists and industry icons, but I was presented with a couple potential opportunities – something I hadn’t considered prior to attending. If you are a cartoonist, I can’t recommend the seminar enough, given by comic marketing genius Bill Kellogg and exceptionally talented and successful Chad Carpenter, the warped mind behind “Tundra”.

While I sway back and forth between gag cartooning for business magazines and licensing, my recent push has been solely on licensing. As a matter of fact, there are two very exciting prospects that I’m very much looking forward to, should they come to fruition. I may be taking a trip to Manhattan very soon to meet with executives from a company who have taken to my “Spectickles” cartoon characters and want to see more. Additionally, I had the extraordinary good fortune to meet with one of the major syndicate art directors, and we may be meeting in the late spring or early summer to discuss putting “Spectickles” in daily newspaper syndication. Nothing is ever definite till the ink is dry on the contracts and you’re slurping back champagne paid for with that first royalty check, but it’s a very solid start.

Hallmark UK introduced the “Spectickles” line of greeting cards at the Spring Fair in Birmingham, England this past February, which is a major milestone for my characters. The market will determine whether or not they become a successful line, but you’ll never know unless you step into the arena. Like my grandmother used to say, ‘throw spaghetti against the wall and see what sticks’.

There are a number of other discussions that are ongoing with some excellent licensing partners and we’ll see how far they go, including a potential book deal with a popular book publishing company, a new line of greeting cards in the US and Canada, among several others. As is the case with all business, all of these things could happen, or none of them. But as long as we keep charging forward, immeasurable potential exists.

New Life to an Old Cartoon

billabbottcartoons — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 13:36:21 +0000

When I first started into cartooning as a serious pursuit, I’d written a large body of work I call “Pandemonium”. It turns out it’s gaining in popularity once again and may be available as a separate line with UK licensing agency MGL. You’ll notice that the characters are very different from my current “Spectickles” characters – they have more of a New Yorker feel to them. But since they’ll be re-entering the marketplace, I thought I’d provide a few samples here – hope you enjoy!