It's 1988 again

R.F.D.

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Barney Google & Snuffy Smith

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UP on the HiLL

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The Beach

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Book cover illustration for NH writer Wayne King

Etsy t-shirt design

Time for one of my infrequent updates...

I compare myself to an octopus these days - I need eight arms to keep up with all the different elements of my work. I used to only need three or four, but due to the loss of the editorial cartoon work I've been forced to scramble and hustle like it's 1988 again, the year I began freelancing. No single cartooning gig has ever paid enough to make a living so I've always had to stitch a bunch of them together to make it work. For years this consisted of two comic strips, editorial cartooning and freelance illustration work. 

I continue my work for King features with the comic strips R.F.D. and Snuffy Smith, and I still get an occasional illustration job, but am now trying other things as well.
I have two editorial webcomics, UP on the HiLL and The Beach, that are barely surviving on crowd funding, I'm selling artwork on eBay (I've always sold comic strip art there but am ramping it up with other artwork now as well) and I have reopened my Etsy store selling prints and have just added t-shirts. I've begun the process of selling 30 years worth of editorial cartoon art here on my website also.

Add in today's necessity of maintaining a social media presence and I spend less and less time doing any actual drawing and more time "maintaining" things. Still, I enjoy the hell out of cartooning and wouldn't want and don't plan to do anything else. This is just the reality of cartooning in the post-newspaper glory days.

Looks like any dreams of retiring to Maui will have to wait awhile. :)

​-MM