January 2008
A grand total of five Charlotte-area cartoonists showed up at Heroes Aren't Hard to Find for the January meeting/pow wow/luncheon/beerfest. (Sorry. That last one was just wishful thinking!)
In attendance were Marvelous Marcus Hamilton, Brainy Brian Leonard, Steamin' Steve Smith, (You Don't Know) Jack Chapman and Grizzly Greg Russell.
They waltzed across the street to Showmars for lunch, then pogoed over to their table for an hour of stimulating conversation.
They discussed the Body Worlds exhibit which had just left town (fascinating but still just wrong.) and the Rockwell's America exhibit which had just opened at Discovery Place and featured the art of Norman Rockwell (fun and terribly under-publicized).
Marcus Hamilton showed everyone his original Hank Ketchum drawing of Dennis the Menace. He also talked about how he began drawing by tracing pictures on his grandmother's window. He was delighted when he got a light table and realized he could do that every day.
Hamilton also related the story of how the market for his illustration work dried up in the '90s and he wound up working at Wal-Mart with a mortgage to pay and a son in college.
Times were hard when he saw Ketchum on television talking about the live action Dennis the Menace movie that had just been released. The interviewer asked him about his plans for the future, and Ketchum said he would like to retire if he could find someone to draw Dennis.
Hamilton immediately began making calls to find out how he could get in touch with Ketchum. It turned out that he was the only artist to ask for the job, and after a long training period, he got the job.
It just goes to show: Nothing happens if you don't get off your arse and take a chance!
Steve Smith also told the group about the ups and downs of the cartooning business and showed an issue of "Captain Samsonite" that he was in progress of illustrating.
Jack Chapman, a transplant from Memphis, told the group about his career as an editorial cartoonist at the Desoto Times Today. He also handed out a comic produced by the Mid-South Cartoonists Association.
Brian Leonard moved to the Midwest last year and after a blistering cold winter moved back to Charlotte this year. He handed out copies of his "Monster Tales" booklet.
Greg Russell was in the middle of designing and paginating a book titled "Connections." And he brought a group caricature he had done for a company Christmas card.
Dave McDonald was unable to attend because he had to rush down to Florida to see his mother who was seriously ill. He had been very productive recently too. His "Hamster Sam" comic had been printed, and PBS was airing his documentary on Snap Crackle and Pop creator Vernon Grant.
You can watch his 10-minute documentary on WTVI's Web site here.
After a productive and entertaining lunch, the troupe cha-chaed back to Heroes where Jason Wheatley took the photo you see below. From left to right are Brian Leonard, Jack Chapman, Steve Smith, Greg Russell and Marcus Hamilton.
