What "Peanuts" Creator Charles Schulz Taught Me Regarding The Philosophy Of Cartooning

Thursday, June 18, 2009

What "Peanuts" Creator Charles Schulz Taught Me Regarding The Philosophy Of Cartooning

I entered the business of cartooning in March of 1997 having no idea what was to come. Before I embarked upon this "mysterious venture", I decided it would be to my advantage to consult with top cartoonists around the country. I was surprised how many of them were "open and available" to speak with me were. Fortunately, I was both too young and naive to know NOT to bother "the masters". So when Charles Schulz picked up his phone, I started asking the five journalistic W's (Who, what, when, why, and where). His (and others) advice turned out to be just what the doctor ordered. I was starting to "develop a philosophy" of cartooning even though I had not even yet begun my amazing adventure into online cartoon merchandising.

Why did Schulz become a cartoonist? Like me, he'd tried just about everything else and didn't do it very well. I asked him if there was any money to be made in such a venture. I could almost "see" his smile on the other side of the line. He assured me there was plenty, but not to expect it in newspapers. He told me that even if you do get syndicated, the money is still just pennies per newspaper and that the smart way to approach it, that is, to look at it as a career, is licensed merchandise, such as tees, caps, mugs, etc. He told me he made millions more in licensing than in publishing.

I told him I did not draw very well (which is true) and, that I wanted to try something very new and different. It was to be a color cartoon in which the artwork, for the most part was more "fine art" than cartoon art, and that I wanted a "different look and feel to each cartoon, but a theme, focused on wordplay and picture-play in which, at times, the viewer might have to take a second or two to "get it".

Schulz assured me that nearly 20% of all cartoons we see in the newspapers are "team efforts" that is, an artist and writer, and that if I did not feel my own artwork was "up to snuff", to recruit an artist to draw my concepts. He also encouraged me to read as much as I could about Walt Disney because what I was about to attempt was actually a "Disney model without animation"; he actually called it "Disney meets Gary Larson", which was a bit flattering to say the least.

I also spoke with several other cartoonists, most of whom created in the same genre as Gary Larson's Far Side, such as Leigh Rubin (Rubes), Dave Coverly (Speed Bump), and Jon McPherson (Close To Home). I was amazed, again, at how open and available they made themselves. In fact Leigh and I became good friends and talked regularly on the phone. He was already one of the world's leading cartoonists, and I was just starting. That didn't matter to him. I will never forget that kind of generosity and his willingness to lead me in a direction that made it work for me. And of course the same is true for Charles "Sparky" Schulz (Sparky by the way was what he liked to be called. That was the name of his favorite dog, a Schnauzer; and I knew I liked him right away. I have a tendency to "hang with" fellow animal lovers, and Schulz also had an uncanny biting wit, often held back in "Peanuts", even though it was always funny, was meant for family audiences, his target. In real life, he displayed a sense humor that reminded me a great deal of some of my British favorites such as John Cleese of Monty Python.

There seemed to be a common thread regarding "the philosophy of cartooning, amongst all of the masters. That is, "Sure, you must make a living in this world, but keep the day job. Cartooning is a labor of love, and, only 1% or so actually end up doing it for a living. One must approach it with a very open mind and a love for making people laugh, and to be flexible, as the Internet at the time, was changing the whole nature of the "cartoon business".

All of this advice turned out to be pragmatic. The Internet changed everything. Licensed merchandise became even more of "the key" to making it work than Sparky Schulz had felt; and he had seen it coming. Today, though my cartoons appear in publications worldwide; mostly trade magazines, college textbooks and on websites, the majority of my take is from the sales of funny gifts and collectibles. When I look back over the past twelve years it has all becomes a blur. I have had the opportunity to work with some of the finest illustrators in the world, who could comprehend and render my concepts and writings, Thinking back to the words of the cartoon masters it is still a labor of love.

Although I am one of the few lucky ones who has been able to eek out a living via cartoons, even if I didn't I would probably still be doing it, or something creative, merely because I don't care for water fountain gossip and power-ties that choke my neck while doing work I despise (or simply can't do very well). In the end, if someone is entertained, or feels better because of something I have created, or a job or jobs are created because I thought of a cartoon and it was created, I go to bed thinking, "No, I didn't save the world (as I felt surely I would in the '60's), but I hopefully, when I leave it, it will be a little bit nicer place to live.

Rick London is a writer, cartoonist and designer. He is the founder of Google's #1 ranked offbeat cartoon Londons Times www.londonstimes.us, founder of the www.ShoesThatAmuse.com, the world's only woman's shoes featuring famous philosophers and their love quotes, and is designer of Mariel Hemingway Licensed Gifts www.MarielHemingwayHealthyGifts.com & Co-Founder of SEO firm PenAndInkInc. www.PenAndInkInc.com.
Posted by Londons Times Cartoons at 9:43 AM 0 comments

Londons Times Creates World's Only Offbeat Cartoon Shoes With Keds

Londons Times Cartoons Becomes First Single-Panel Offbeat Cartoon On Shoes

Cartoonist/writer Rick London announced today that Keds has given the green light to at least 15 of his offbeat cartoons that now appear on a line of U.S. Keds for women on both slip-ons and lace-ups.

This development comes on the 11th year anniversary of Londons Times Cartoons. Rick London founded the cartoon in an abandoned Mississippi metal warehouse on a used pc in very bad shape, a few dollars, and a phone line.

That was in 1997. Today it is the most visible cartoon on the Internet with over 8000 images, luring over 3 million annual visitors and has ranked the #1 offbeat cartoon on Google since
2005.

The offbeat cartoon Keds can be seen at funky shoes

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Funny Gifts

Post Office Approves Led Zeppelin Stairway To Heaven Cartoon Stamp

Cartoonist Rick London, founder of Londons Times Cartoons, announced today that the U.S. Post Office has approved one of his cartoon parody stamps that features an cartoon regarding the classic rock song by Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway To Heaven”. London says for now, the stamp can be purchased from his Zazzle store and the direct link to the stamp is http://www.zazzle.com/beardiethor123/product/172037316029511489 . They come in packet of 12. The image is also showcased on matching greeting cards, postcards, T-shirts, coffee mugs, key chains and other funny gifts and collectibles at his Special Edition store at www.ricklondonfunnygifts.info. London has had 21 cartoon stamps approved since he started designing them in April, and says his goal is a thousand by…..the end of his life. London is a former philatist (stamp collector)

U.S. Post Office Even Funnier Than Before

As if the one cent jump in postage prices was not enough, the U.S. Post Office has gotten even funnier, with postage that is. For a long time printing one's own photo on a postage stamp has been part of one of their more recent programs. But until now, creator of London's Times Cartoons Rick London says, "I don't think I've seen anything out there like what we do on postage stamps. London adds that he's had more rejected than accepted but twenty have been approved thus far. London says his goal is to have a hundred by the end of the year from his massive inventory of over 8500 cartoons on his main cartoon website. The stamps are sold in a package of 12. London owns a variety of licensed product stores including Rick London Special Editions at www.ricklondonfunnygifts.info. One can view the stamps by visiting the site and clicking on "Postage" on the right hand side of the page. His stores also sell a myriad of other cartoon gifts and collectibles such as funny tees, mouse pads, aprons, caps, tote bags, posters, and more.

I Love To Laugh. Here's Why.

There are numerous reasons why we laugh and use humor in our lives. This impulse goes way
back to the prehistoric days (I have read). Since that was a few years before my time (but unfortunately not too many years before my time), I will have to take archaeologists word for this phenomena.

I remember loving to laugh as a child. My mom was the “sense of humor proprietor” of our home,
and making her laugh, was especially fun, as she was a tough audience. Especially when I was in trouble, which was a majority of the time.

Though the basic principals of laughter are the same as they once were, in a nutshell, one person's tragedy is another person's comedy, aka slipping on a banana peel, still holds true to a certain degree.
But audiences have gotten tougher, savvier, and more demanding, and rightfully they should.

We live in a different world than our ancestors. We suddenly woke up in a world that was not
quite as predictable as we were taught it would be in grade school. To say “the world has gotten
more dangerous” or “the world's gone crazy” has become the commonplace “talk of the town.

We have more anxiety, more worries, stranger happenings, our generation has experienced
everything from Woodstock to Dolly The Sheep, when I say “our”, I mean the fringe side of the
baby boomer generation. We are survivors to a certain degree. We have seen more wars than
any generation before us.

So we can laugh or cry. Or stay ambivalent. Laughing does not mean we are endorsing it.
Humor is a way humans can cope under circumstances that seem to have spun out of control, which,
frankly, today, happens in most of our lives now and again.

It is easier to cry. And it is ok and healthy to cry. But to leave humor and laughter out of one's
life can make it bleak and miserable. People go to therapy. Just because one has a sense of humor
about life, does not make them immune from psychological services. But you can be rest assured it can be a deterrent for many. After all laughter, like running or walking is therapeutic. We release endorphins when we laugh, walk or run. Imagine doing all three at the same time.

I remember years ago working in my father's real estate business. It was a thriving business, but one without much laughter. I was the youngest Realtor there, and I felt my job was to (continue) to be the class clown, as I had been in school. It was a nice, but staid bunch of folks. Basically, as in most
sales situations, though there may be some altruism involved, money, or the bottom line is the focus.
Don't get me wrong, I like money as much as the next guy. But I have keenly observed that, though there are plenty of very happy wealthy people, when people get into a business simply to make money, they end up highly disappointed. Hence I found myself surrounded by a lot of disappointed people who really needed some laughter and humor.

Finally, after many years of soul searching, I left the world of sales, and struck out on my own. I had read a biography on Walt Disney, and how he launched his Magic Kingdom. I loved cartoon humor, still do, am not a great artist, so recruited a team of excellent illustrators and launched my own cartoon. That was a decade ago. I still love doing it. Not only do I get to (occasionally) give myself a chuckle, but sometimes others as well. Doing what you love, whether its making people laugh or not, will make you happier inside, and those around you seem happier. And I am better when I am happier (and vice versa).

Rick London founded Londons Times Cartoons a decade ago. It has become the most
visited offbeat cartoon site on the Internet. He also owns several online stores including Rick London Funny Gifts at www.ricklondonfunnygifts.info

Rick London Launches Rick London Funny Gifts

Cartoonist/entrepreneur Rick London launched yet another Internet store today featuring a myriad of cartoon gifts and collectibles featuring Londons Times Cartoons which he founded in 1997. Rick London Funny Gifts www.ricklondonfunnygifts.info offers funny tees, buttons, magnets, aprons, tote bags, mouse pads, greeting cards, post cards, coffee mugs, posters and even real U.S. postage stamps (and more) A percentage of all sales benefit various animal and environmental causes.