This cartoon and others appearing the same week in October of 2002 were, for reasons I do not recall, drawn with a felt-tip pen instead of the usual India ink and pen points. I might not recall why they were drawn this way, but I immediately can tell by the comic strip’s appearance. This caught my attention, because someone asked last week how my current experiment with felt-tip pens is coming along, an experiment made necessary by the dwindling availability of the old-style pen nibs upon which I have relied for over 25 years. It’s coming along all right, and I take it as a good sign that someone has to ask. I have settled on pens made by Japanese companies Micron and Copic. The felt-tip pens give the drawings a looser, more sketchy quality, which is a good thing, but it is difficult to achieve that flowing, more interesting line made by the old dip pens. When I’ve grown more accustomed to the transition, I think I’m going to be OK with it. Younger cartoonists have been doing it for years.
Brawn over brains
By Jimmy Johnson
Recent Posts
Ghost of Christmas Past
This holiday Arlo & Janis comic strip from 2022 is similar in concept to the new strip that ran yesterday. I thought the latter ...
Spearhead
I have produced a number of comic strips related to Veteran’s Day. Especially in latter years, I have tried to emphasize the universal experience ...
Dark Passage
Remember: it’s that weekend. The return to standard time can be a bit of a shock in the late afternoon, but I rather enjoy ...
What’s old is old, again
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to build a web site, but there are similarities. Everything needs to be just right, or ...
Back to the ol’ drawing board
I don’t have a lot of time this morning. I wasn’t going to post anything, but I’m tired of looking at that old photograph ...
Thursday’s Child
On Sunday, I teased you with the suggestion there are more changes coming here. There are. They will appear soon, and I think you’ll ...
58 responses to “Brawn over brains”