Thanks for a great opening!

Posted by neal

Thanks to everyone who came out last night for the opening of Put That In Your Pipeline and Smoke It. The turnout was great and I got to meet a lot of new people and see some old faces. If you weren’t able to make it, or if you did make it and you want to come back, the cartoons will be up throughout November. And if you do go, please be sure to thank The Sydney for hosting!

Some specific highlights:

  • Finally met some of the Bold Nebraska crew. I had met Jane Kleeb in Hastings at Kool-Aid Days in 2010, but that was it — now I have some more faces to go with names.
  • Got to see Mark Cramer — the guy who gave me my first newspaper job — for the first time in a long time. Mark used to run the newspaper in Auburn, and one day in the summer of 1994 I showed up and asked him if he wanted to run a comic strip about regenerating worm-based superheroes. He said yes.
  • Finally met David Koesters, the creator of the amazing Bagel Soup. He gave me a copy of his book, Stirring the Pot, which is funny enough that I was concerned it was going to steal the show. So I put it in my car. I started an interview with David a couple years ago that we never finished, so I hope to have that done soon and up here at the site.
  • My wonderful nieces, bless their hearts, picked out their favorite cartoon — and it was the one with the punchline about prostitution (it had the big bright Lil’ Red in it, so I can see why). Can’t wait to discuss it with them in 15 years or so.
  • I gave an overly elaborate explanation of my process — a description that probably took at least 20 minutes — in response to a very simple question about how long it takes me to draw a cartoon. I remember getting really up close to one particular cartoon, which I used to explain how color theory ties into the craft of humor-timing in a static piece. I had been drinking since 6pm. I give myself credit for remembering to tie the speech back to the question and close with a pithy “So probably like anywhere from 20 minutes to four hours.”

    • KeystoneXL Cartoon Art show Thursday!

    Posted by neal

    pipelineI’m having an art show this Thursday at The Sydney at 60th & Maple in Omaha. It’s all editorial cartoons about the KeystoneXL pipeline — some Lincoln Journal Star cartoons, some BoldNebraska cartoons, and some rejects brought to life!

    The event is from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. this Thursday, November 10th. The Sydney is a bar, but they’re allowing people of all ages to attend from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

    Now that the Journal Star has freed me from their ethical restrictions, I’m sharing half the proceeds with Save Our Sandhills, a coalition of various groups that have united to protect Nebraska’s natural resources from the pipeline.

    So come on down! And if you could be so kind as to RSVP on the Facebook event page I’d appreciate it, as I need to know how much snacks I should prepare.