Toon Ketchup

I forgot I have a blog again...
As you can see from the sketch above, all of my cartooning work is done by hand. The original is drawn with a red marker (and lots of correction fluid) on graph paper. Very old school, but I'm hooked on nostalgia. I scan the finished drawing(s) and run the pieces through an older copy of Photoshop, making heavy use of the layers palette to separate and then reposition various sections. A heavily detailed drawing such as this will normally take three to five hours, plus roughly half as much time preparing a print-worthy copy and others versions for the web.

And now, a short cartoon exhibition-

Conservatives in Canada have been out of power since 1993, but they shouldn't succumb to glumness: their drought is the U.S. equivalent of only three Presidential terms-two Ronald Reagans and a Senior Bush. Mr. Harpers long and steady presence in the shadow of the Liberals and Socialists is a validation of his relevance rather than a brand of defeat. Mr. Harper political philosophy is clear and dependable. The public knows his mind, and that's to his party's favor. Patience, I say.
Canada Day used to be known as Dominion Day, and the Maple Leaf flag replaced the Union Jacked 'Red Ensign' flag about forty years ago. I should have included Vietnam on the list of conflicts in which U.S. and Canadian forces have cooperated, and may extend this list in a revised version of the same toon.
Even though John Gibson's recent comments have merit (happy un-birthday to Canada and all that) the U.S. also has many friends and supporters up North. The current dearth in relations is comparable to that funky time in American/Canadian relations when the timbits marched into Washington and burned down the White House, or when we used to night raid each other's forts at Niagara Falls and cart away big flags. We got past that stuff too. Better days lie ahead.

I'm not through with this subject; not nearly. I have only yet begun to toon. This cartoon alludes to the non-decision of the same closing session concerning the Ten Commandments. It's a subject to which I certainly owe a toon but can't quite come to a decision. Perhaps we can just go 5-4 on the Commandments as well and leave one as a toss-up.

The first version of this cartoon featured Howard Donkey giving his infamous 'White Christians' statement to a convention of Evangelical Southern Storks. If your goal is to destroy the trustworthiness of a national political party, this would be an effective way of going about the business.