March 8, 2013

So maybe there were drones in 2013, when this A&J comic first appeared, but there weren’t so many. I might as well go ahead and cop to it, because it always generates discussion despite the fact many of you know already. The cartoons running this week in newspapers and on the GoComics site are reruns. I did take a few days off. I’ll be honest with you: the ability to substitute a week of old material now and then is one of the best things to happen to my profession since I began, back when Hector was a pup. When Hector was a pup, a cartoonist, if he (or she) dared, would drag his chains up slimy dungeon steps and knock on the heavy oak door. He would hear a bar being lifted on the other side, and the door would creak open. Backlit by the blinding light of the outside world, a Syndicate Big Wig would demand, “What do you want?!” If the cartoonist dared stammer, “A day or two off, please,” he would be kicked in the face to tumble back down the stairs. followed by the SBW’s booming voice, “Get back to work! There are no days off in this business!!” I never received a lot of sympathy about these conditions from my friends. They’d say, “Yeah, but you could work six weeks ahead and have six weeks off!” Well, in theory, yes. Some friends! Anyway, times have changed. Thanks much to the creator-oriented culture of Andrews McMeel Syndication, cartoonists are no longer chained in the dungeon. We now wear ankle bracelets and work on the sunny fifth floor, and we do get time off. When I do take time, I could tell my editors, “Pick something to rerun! I’m outta here!” I could, but I don’t trust them. I do take time to choose and refresh material I think you will enjoy. I hope I’m right.