John,

Do you have a favorite cartoonist that you idolized growing up?  If so, did that inspire you to create your own comics?

I liked the crazy artist guy (Bob Ross) on PBS with the afro. He was cool. A little too happy, but cool.

Bill Watterson definitely led the pack for me.  There was no such thing as the "internet" when I was growing up, so, if it wasn't in my local paper, I never saw it.  Luckily, Calvin and Hobbes was in just about every newspaper anywhere I lived.

I also enjoyed Garfield, and I actually got to meet Jim Davis once.  It was right up there near the top of my list until I realized that the same jokes just seemed to be rehashed over and over and over again.  I think I was ten.

Strictly on the humor side of things, Gary Larson had to be my favorite.  The fact that a single panel of his can still make me laugh out loud is pretty amazing.

Strictly on the art side of things, Berkeley Breathed would have been up there near the top, had either Opus or Bloom County been in any of my newspapers.  Nowadays, I enjoy the humor, too.  But the feelings he can evoke from simple linework is still way beyond my capabilities.  And, when he gets more detailed (check out his book "Flawed Dogs"), fuggetaboutit.



Oh, yeah... Bob Ross, too.  

Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster.

Nothing beats the original Superman.

Quote :

sabercat wrote : I liked the crazy artist guy (Bob Ross) on PBS with the afro. He was cool. A little too happy, but cool.

Happy trees  

Calvin and Hobbes was hugely popular around here.  In fact, the readers poll of about 5000 people actually voted Calvin and Hobbes #1 in the 90s.  Such a great comic, marred by Watterson's battles with syndication.  

Of course, having an anthro "imaginary" tiger friend was appealing for some reason too

Nbowa is also a "Happy" Lion!