Meet the Boys

The above image is taken from the comic version of my first Chuck and Benny bear cartoon "Hocus Pocus". I quickly establish the personalities of these characters, Chuck short in stature and in temper, Benny less serious and fun loving. Sadly Chuck is based on me and Benny is based on one of my cousins. (I'm not short and hairy though).

Even though my drawing style is pretty simple, I felt it was important to have a solid idea of who Chuck and Benny are in my head so that I can write and speak for them. (I do the voices as well). I find it far easier to write a scene and make it truly funny by placing myself into the mind of the character and react to the situation they way I would react - given their respective personalities . I often find myself surprised by the direction a scene will take and by the ideas that come out of writing "in the character's head".

I'm not sure if this is how anyone else writes, but it seems to work well for me. If you've seen one of my cartoons you'll see what I mean.

The one thing I've decided not to do is to use a lot of pop cultural references in my cartoons. I may not be hip, but pop culture references don't tend to age well. I'm hoping that my cartoons will be around for awhile. A reference to a current politician maybe funny today, but comedy based on personality and situation can be funny forever.

The "Honeymooners" are still funny, and that show is over 50 years old. It's funny because people can relate to the strong characters and the familiar situations. (And no I'm not comparing my writing to the writing of the "Honeymooners".)

Like I said my intention is to make timeless cartoons that although simple, will entertain people for a long time. But we'll have to see how successful I'll be.

Later