If you don't know already, I had taken on a gig with a regional newspaper to do editorial cartoons. Editorial cartoons are an entirely different animal than graphic novels, gags or humor strips. I've always been an editorial cartoonist to one degree or another, going back to my college days and my submissions to "The Signal" and the underground zine, "Surplus Value" out of Trenton NJ. Both were unpaid, and as I look back on my submissions, I should be ashamed if I accepted money for the crap I gave them.
Last summer a Facebook friend tossed me a lead about the Loudon Tribune in Sterling VA needed a cartoonist. I met with the editorial board and publisher, gave them a low price per cartoon, and went home to await the editorial stories.
I did a few, but I have to tell you that a newspaper's opinion it's not always something you can get excited about... highway work, school board uproar, new mayor's trip abroad... feel enthused???
However there are some gems; like Heroin being trucked through our region, Big Data Farms popping up on what was historically farmland, etc. I feel stories like these are something I can get behind and really put my voice to the issues. As an illustrator, I take sides all the time. Here I am able to chime in, and hopefully give the reader added perspective on the problems they face.
Feel free to wander over to the
Loudoun Tribune and check them out.
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