Category: Chad About Town

The annual Reuben Awards weekend this year was not content to lay back and be relaxed on the Sunday after the actual awards ceremony as it has been in years past. Usually after the big night when shiny things had been handed out, the next day has a leisurely brunch, and then a dinner at night.

This year marked the first time that three days of seminars were held during a Reubens. Yes, count ’em up – 1, 2, and 3 days of seminars. I, for one, was excited about it. Each year the convention is held in a different city, but as far as I’m concerned, where it is held is inconsequential because rarely do I leave the hotel until  the conclusion of the convention. Every seminar had a bit of gold in it as my colleages had many great things to share on different aspects of our very cool business.

Sunday, May 30

My personal experience this fine sunny morning was to attend a breakfast business meeting with the NCS Foundation, of which I am a board member. The Foundation serves to give financial support to worthy causes in relation to our profession, as well as helping cartooning colleagues who have need of financial assistance due to dire circumstances. Earlier this year we ran a fundraiser called “Help the Hodges” to help a cartoonists family in need. In addition, each year we bestow the Jay Kennedy Memorial Scholarship Award to a worthy college junior or senior who displays a knack for possibly joining our profession upon graduation. (The award is substantial, and includes a trip to The Reubens.)

The first activity for all the convention attendees came by way of a panel discussion led by MAD Magazine‘s Tom Richmond discussing a trip many of our members took with the USO to draw for our troops at war. Joined by Pearls Before Swine‘s Stephan Pastis, Baby Blues‘ Rick Kirkman, and Family Circus‘ Jeff Keane, Tom shared many photos of their ten-day trip to Germany, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

The second seminar of the afternoon celebrated the tenth anniversary year of the comic strip Six Chix. If you aren’t aware of this strip, it’s a daily humor strip written and drawn by six terrific female cartoonists – each taking different days to do their thing. Four of the Chix (Rina Piccolo, Anne Gibbons, Isabella Bannerman, and Stephanie Piro) were on the panel to talk about their work.

Speaking of comic strips, many folks who draw them happen to be members of the National Cartoonists Society, and many comic strip artists were in attendance at this year’s convention. In a cruel, yet darkly humorous twist of fate, the local Jersey newspaper, The Newark Star-Ledger, delivered their supply of Sunday papers to the Hyatt that morning FORGETTING to include the comics section.

The last seminar of the convention was conducted by my friend and extremely talented character designer Stephen Silver. Stephen teaches character design for the online school called Schoolism.com. Lately he has taken it upon himself to film great cartoonists in their studios talking about their work, and even doing full-blown drawing demos all for some documentaries viewable only on Schoolism.com. The first documentary about Mort Drucker is completed, and Stephen is currently editing ones on Archie Comics’ Stan Goldberg and The Lockhorns‘ John Reiner. After showing a teaser on all three documentaries, John Reiner, Stan Goldberg, Lockhorns writer Bunny Hoest, and former MAD Magazine editor Nick Meglin (representing Mort Drucker who could not attend) all joined Stephen on stage to discuss these documentaries.

After the last seminar of the day, it was time to have one last night of fun together. The NCS gathered in the main ballroom of the hotel for some dinner and a show. The show was a fun time led by The New Yorker Magazine cartoonist Matt Diffee. Matt had several cartoonists on stage (David Sipress, Emily Flake, Mike Lynch, Drew Dernavich, Jeff Stahler, and Michael Kupperman) for a bit of improv comedy cartoonists style.

As is common with improv comedy, folks from the audience shouted out various nouns and adjectives, and Matt had the six guest cartoonists draw a cartoon based on those suggestions in a battle to the  death. Well, not death exactly, but it was a mildly cutthroat battle of wits, except minus the cutthroat part. What it was, was FUNNY.

To keep the audience entertained while the cartoonists drew their instant cartoons, Matt Diffee had invited the comedy duo of  Stuckey & Murray. Together with an accordian player, Stuckey & Murray delivered their comedy by way of humorous songs they wrote. A few too many of us cartoonists in the audience could relate to one they sang about a grown man who can’t stop wearing his Looney Tunes shirt. At any rate, these fellas will be appearing on Last Comic Standing on NBC this season, so perhaps all will get to know the names of Stuckey & Murray very soon.

Following the show, the socializing continued into the night in the hotel’s lobby. Here are a few bonus shots from that part of the evening:

The following morning many departed for their homes across the globe. One last parting shot of New York City might be in order….

You know, many artists work at home by themselves in a fairly isolated environment. Connected only by the phone and the internet, we create our art, send it out, and many of you get to see the results. These annual treks to the Reuben Awards are such a welcome opportunity to break away from the seclusion to greet friends and colleagues for several days. We’re just people enjoying the company of each other, swapping back slaps and stories.

Arriving back in Los Angeles, I had one final reminder of the amazing impact our isolation can have. Not two days before I was chatting as colleagues with Steve Brodner, a pretty cool guy who does pretty cool art. As I was going down an escalator in the LAX airport on my way to the baggage claim area, I glided under this giant signage illustrated by Steve. The world of cartooning sure is fun!

In my previous post about the 2010 Reuben Awards convention hosted by the National Cartoonists Society in Jersey City, New Jersey, I reported on the seminars that took place on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. After Joe Kubert’s great talk, cartoonist conversations continued in every nook and cranny of the hotel, while others started brushing off their top hat, white ties and tails. Well, maybe it wasn’t THAT fancy, but the cartoonists really cleaned up nicely for the black tie Reuben Awards banquet.

Saturday, May 29

On Reuben night, the evening started with a social hour where all the cartoonists were able to strut around in their tuxedos oohing and aahing over each other while taking lots of pictures. It’s a good thing we had our name badges because some of us cleaned up so well we were unrecognizable. Before long, though, we were called in to the banquet room where we found our assigned tables and the meat eaters among us enjoyed some chicken. There was one vegetarian meal at my table that looked as though it was half capers. Cartoonists love a good caper, but not THAT many of the edible kind.

Throughout the meal, we attempted to converse with our dinner companions while a band played music with the seeming intent on sending us away with hoarse voices at the conclusion of the night. The few cartoonists that enjoy dancing didn’t seem to mind it in between courses. As dinner was wrapping up, the program began with a filmed Godfather spoof starring President Jeff Keane (Family Circus) in the title role, and many other cartoonists doing their best Jersey goomba impersonations in the other parts.

Tom Gammill, writer of The Simpsons and creator of his own comic strip called The Doozies, was Master of Ceremonies. After his own short film intro, he came out on stage with a song and dance number similar to what Billy Crystal used to do on the Oscars. He was amazing! And all from one of our newest members having just joined the NCS last year. (Wait’ll you see what initiation ritual we put new members through NEXT year!)

The awards kicked off with the Gold Key Award (the NCS’ Hall of Fame award) which was bestowed upon Bill Gallo who started his career at the New York Daily News in 1941 and has remained with them ever since. Known for his amazing sports cartoons/illustrations for the paper, Bill well deserves this award considering he holds the record for being a journalist the longest for one newspaper.

Following the Gold Key Award was Arnold Roth who spoke about The New Yorker Magazine’s great George Booth, and the incomparable comic book legend Joe Kubert who both received the Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award. While you may see the photo below of George receiving his plaque, I was unable to get a clean shot of Joe due to his brief acceptance speech of “Thanks.”

Following the first few special awards and opening remarks, there was a short break for leg stretching, more band playing, and settling down with some coffee. And then, let the awards begin!!!

After the Division Awards were bestowed upon their worthy recipients (for a complete list of winners, please visit the NCS’ official website), living legend Mort Walker walked to the microphone to award the famed Reuben Award statue originally designed by Rube Goldberg at the inception of the NCS 64 years ago. This award is for Cartoonist of the Year no matter what field of cartooning they are proficient in. It can only be won by an individual once in their lifetime, so to be honored by your peers in this way is quite an honor. Three worthy cartoonists were nominated this year: Stephan Pastis (Pearls Before Swine), Dan Piraro (Bizarro) and Richard Thompson (Cul de Sac).

The winner of the 2010 Reuben Award was Dan Piraro who was unable to attend the festivities this year. Accepting on his behalf was King Features’ editor Brendan Burford whose speech was humorously interrupted by Tom Gammill who came out sporting Dan Piraro’s signature hat and  stogey while grabbing the trophy and running off the stage. Thus ended another successful awards banquet!

While the awards concluded around midnight, the celebrating continued long into the night in the hotel’s lobby, and in the President’s room. The following are a few lobby parting shots.

One more post of 2010 Reuben Awards photos to come of the events on the NCS’ last day in New Jersey!

Welcome to my second report on the National Cartoonists Society‘s annual Reuben Awards weekend that happened just one week ago in Jersey City, New Jersey. What an amazing time spent with cartoonists of all disciplines (animation, comic strips, comic panels, editorial, illustration, etc.) – no fans, just pros with pros and their families. President Jeff Keane along with his helpers put on a terrific convention over the three day Memorial Day weekend.

So, when last we met, I ended with tales of the seminars on Friday. That leaves us with the opening night reception….

Friday, May 28

As the sun set Friday night on the Hudson River, a beautiful golden glow enhanced the view of the New York City skyline while all the cartoonists gathered in a beautiful banquet room surrounded by windows. The 2010 Reuben Weekend opening night party was underway. In one corner you could see Garry Trudeau (Doonesbury) chatting with Jerry Scott (Baby Blues & Zits), or Mell Lazarus (Momma) in conversation with Cathy Guisewite (Cathy). It was a great way to kick off the rest of the weekend properly.

After the opening night reception, the gathering herded to another room on the first floor for a little cartoonist karaoke and more socializing. For some odd layout reason, the room was located at the end of a residential hall of the hotel. All the guests staying on that hall were “treated” to the sounds of off key cartoonists. I have a feeling that those guests had little idea that many of the people who make them laugh every day in the newspaper were now making them cry as they tried to sleep through the racket that carried on until 2am. Below are a few shots from that event.

Saturday, May 29

When one attends the Reuben Awards convention, one does so knowing full well the fragility of sleep. When an organized event has ended, cartoonists always gather in the hotel lobby to continue the socializing. I often went to bed at 3:30am throughout the weekend, and was by far NOT the last one up. Mornings are a bit rough, especially Saturday morning when breakfast was served to everyone at 8am. New York was looking pretty good, though. Or maybe this was just the view through groggy half-lidded eyes:

After a morning of breakfast and the annual general membership meeting, the second wave of seminars began. Saturday afternoon promised us two of our profession’s greats who were attending to receive their Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Awards that night. The New Yorker’s George Booth and the comic book artist of legend Joe Kubert both shared their careers with us in seminars. I’ll let the pictures (and captions) do the talking.

Come back for my next post that will feature photos of cartoonists in tuxedos when I’ll discuss the actual Reuben Awards banquet!

When Memorial Day weekend rolls around each year, cartoonists from around the United States, and a few internationally, gather together to swap stories, slap each other on the back, and give each other awards. This annual ritual is called the Reuben Awards which has been hosted for the past 64 years by the National Cartoonists Society.

Each year the three-day convention is held in a different city. Conventions in the past have been held in Boca Raton, Pasadena, Kansas City, Orlando, San Antonio, Asheville, Cancun and even a few cruise ships to name a few. Last year’s event was convenient for me as it was held in Hollywood, CA just about 15 minutes from my home. Perhaps when you look at Patrick McDonnell’s (Mutts) artwork below, you can tell where the NCS met this year….

If you guessed New York City, fuhgeddaboudit. We did that eleven years ago at the World Trade Center. No, this year the Reuben Awards were held in good ol’ Jersey City, New Jersey.  We all scratched our heads over that one at first, too. My father worked several decades in Jersey City in the banking industry, and after many visits to him in the heart of the city, along with spending my own summer working in a warehouse there during college, my opinion of the area was vividly unrewarding. But in the last 10 years, Jersey City’s waterfront area has undergone a transformation leading the cartoonists to find themselves at the lovely Hyatt hotel that faced the amazing New York City skyline.

Thursday, May 27

I arrived on Thursday, May 27 meeting my fellow Californian friends Stephen & Heidi Silver at the airport in Newark. We cabbed our way to the hotel where we were first greeted by the ever smiling Nick Meglin who spent much of his career running MAD Magazine. The Hyatt is literally IN the Hudson River by the way. It was built on a pier sticking out into the water. When I arrived in my room, the following sight met my eyes through the window – not too shabby, eh?

The convention wasn’t getting underway until Friday morning, so Thursday night was mine to play with. Cartoonists were already starting to gather in the lobby exchanging hugs and “hi-how-are-yas” after a year of being apart. I grew up in that part of Jersey, so I was getting together for dinner with my good friends Andy and Stephen Woetzel – brothers I have known since being in the first grade.

After my friends went home for the evening, any cartoonist in the lobby was invited up to the President’s room where Jeff (Family Circus) & Melinda Keane entertained those brave enough to stave off sleep after a day of travel. The following are a few photos from that gathering:

Friday, May 28

Daylight came much too quickly on Friday after the early arrivers spent much of the night reacquainting themselves with one another. But the first of three days of seminars was about to start with Larry Katzman (known as “Kaz” in his panel cartoons from earlier decades) spent time reminiscing about the NCS of the past showing plenty of photos of those who have gone on before us including Rube Goldberg for whom the Reuben Awards are named. Larry was followed by Yaakov Kirschen, a Jewish cartoonist from the United States who made a name for himself drawing his Dry Bones cartoons in Israel for many years.

Later in the afternoon, the amazing Steve Brodner spoke about his unique and incredible work in illustration. I first saw his work when I was a college student many years ago and have been a fan ever since. Steve brought many samples to show with stories behind his work that kept the audience of peers captivated. And not only is Steve’s work truly inspiring, but he was also a swell guy – a great combination!

Following Steve Brodner’s seminar was Bill Plympton, a man who has made a career of creating animation independent of any other studio and often doing all the drawings by himself. He’s even earned an Academy Award nomination for his efforts in the past. Bill regaled the room of fellow cartoonists with tales of his work, and even took a break now and then to sketch for the audience and to show them some of his animated short films.

There are much more photos to come from the 2010 Reuben Awards weekend! Come back again for a deeper look into what cartoonists do together when no one is looking!

On Saturday, December 5, animation legend Art Leonardi recruited thirty cartoonists to come to the Warner Bros. Ranch property in Burbank, CA, to draw for a Ronald McDonald House holiday party. Artists from The Simpsons, from DC & Marvel comic books, from Disney, from Warner Bros., and everything in between heeded the call spending several hours during the cold, overcast Saturday afternoon putting smiles on the faces of families who have been through quite a bit.

Art Leonardi himself drew for the folks as well, who were all too happy to accept a drawing from this master, probably little realizing the legend that sat before them.  He is one of the last animators from the Warner Bros. golden age, having worked quite a bit under the direction of Friz Freleng, and on The Incredible Mr. Limpett and some of the first Pink Panthers.

The event was quite a production.  The Ronald McDonald House exists to give families a place to stay when they have to travel to deal with the physical needs of children who suffer from major health issues.  From what some of the kids were saying, the House even provides summer camps for the kids who are healthy enough to get away from it all.  Each year the local LA area Ronald McDonald House invites those families who needed their services during the year to a big holiday party  at the Warner Bros. Ranch.  The families come to the backlot where they can see The Partridge Family home, or the fountain from Friends and enjoy carnival rides, live music, hot dogs, hamburgers, cotton candy, cookies, cakes, bounce houses, toys, and so much more ALL FOR FREE.

One of the more popular attractions for them at this event is to come meet live cartoonists and walk away with a free drawing.  This is why I was there for the first time this year.  What an amazing three hours it was, indeed!  I entered the property not fully knowing what the day had in store.  Art had said something about drawing for kids with cancer, so I came with pencils and paper in hand.  It was so much more than that.

When I first entered the property, a white-gloved bell choir was enthusiastically playing Christmas carols in their matching robes to welcome the guest families who were just arriving.  I stood there for awhile listening to the perfect renditions coming from this group that looked as though it was primarily comprised of Down’s Syndrome folks.  Soon after, the guests passed under the Red & Green (Gold was on holiday that day) Arches made of balloons to experience all that lay before them.

As I sat there trying to eat a cheeseburger before the crowds discovered us, I noticed that some families must have been there before, because they had brought chairs and blankets to sit and watch the band play Christmas songs and old classic pop tunes.  It made me realize that these families are in it for the long haul with their ill children.  My being there wasn’t going to matter tomorrow, or the next day, but that one day I could maybe help them forget just a little bit with a sketch of Mickey Mouse, or Winnie the Pooh.

When things got underway, it was non-stop.  I drew a Mickey here, a Goofy there, Eeyore, Pooh, Piglet – I even drew a Joker and an Invader Zim by request for some kids despite my protests that those weren’t characters I’ve done before.  Some guys got numerous requests for Spider-man, Batman, Tom & Jerry, Fred Flintstone, dragons, Wonder Woman, and I believe Mr. Leonardi was down at his end of the table cranking out Pink Panthers.  It was so much fun, and the guests seemed to really enjoy themselves.

While it was my intention to be there for them, one family in particular reached out to me. I had just drawn a picture for their eldest son, and then one for the little one who was clearly very ill, when their father gave me a softcover book that he had self-published.  It was a tale he had written about his sons that expressed gratitude for their situation in life, focusing on the unselfish things we should do for each other. It was very touching, and opened my eyes to the struggle that they and others must experience on a daily level.  It actually reminded me of the two verses from Scripture in Proverbs 3 that I keep tucked away in my heart at all times as I traverse the path of life: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.”

The holiday party ended at three, but while the ferris wheel was being dismantled, the balloon arch was popped, and the popcorn was being swept up, many artists were still sketching away at 3:45 for those that were lingering.  It was a tremendous day, and I hope I can do it again next year.

Things have been really busy for me since ending Monster Month here on the blog. I have been working with Tony Bancroft (supervising animator of Pumba, Kronk, and co-dircted Mulan) and Tom Bancroft (supervising animator of Mushu) on helping to put together a charity auction to raise funds for Tim Hodge’s family.

On August 22, 2009 Matthew Hodge, the 17-year-old son of former Disney story artist and Big Idea productions director Tim Hodge, was in a serious auto accident.  A train struck his car at 50mph as he was crossing the tracks.  While Matt suffered neither broken bones nor any internal organ damage, he did receive severe head trauma causing him to remain in a state of coma today.  Matt is a high school senior, a straight A student, and a drummer in his state championship marching band.

Being self-employed, Tim has short term medical insurance that will not fully cover all of his bills.  Additionally, with the care the family is giving Matt, full-time work is not possible for Tim right now.  This loving family is relying on their faith and the love of family and friends for their survival.  This is a tragic accident that will forever affect their lives as the road to recovery for Matt may be a long one.

In an effort to help the Hodge family, the National Cartoonists Society Foundation (of which I am a board member) is getting involved by hosting a fundraising auction to be held on eBay.  The NCSF is a fully licensed 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that not only helps fund educational endeavors for cartooning, but is there to help cartoonists in dire circumstances like the Hodges.

The cartooning community has really be rallying to help us out by donating artwork to Help the Hodges. I have been busy creating an online catalog of the auction items as they come in over on HelpTheHodges.com, and encourage you to go take a look. It’s truly amazing to see who has been participating.

On November 20-22, Help the Hodges had a booth at the CTN Animation Expo. A full report with photos of the many famous faces that visited our booth are on HelpTheHodges.com. Faces such as Don Bluth, Mike Mignola, J. Scott Campbell, Don Hahn, Peter DeSeve, Lou Romano, and many more.

If you are a professional artist, we would love an artwork donation from you still. If you would like to help financially, your monetary donations are completely tax-deductible. HelpTheHodges.com has a link to where you can donate via Paypal, and by credit card.