The By George! group is a loose association of illustrators and cartoonists who meet approximately once a month to share notes, learn from one another and enjoy each other's company in honor of the late Charlotte Observer cartoonist and National Cartoonist Society president George Breisacher.
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January 2010Well, 2010 is off to a roaring start for the By George group ... well, it is for at least the three members who were able to show up in January. The "Three Amigos," Steve Smith, Tom Haines and Dave McDonald, gathered up steam and headed across the street to our old standby, Showmars, for pitas, burgers and a pop quiz. "What's that?" you say? You heard correctly; yes -- a quiz! McDonald had the crafty idea to test the amount of "By George-ness" that the attendees had acquired over the years by serving up a quiz to test their knowledge of local group members. See? You¹d better pay attention at these lunch meetings! 
There was even a prize at stake ... no, not a steak for a prize, but a prize nonetheless. Out of 10 questions plus the bonus, Smith and Haines tied with four correct answers each. Hey, do you know the name of the comic strip character that Haines named his former Greenville, NC nightclub after? I didn't think so! How about the name of Andy Smith's radio show? Hmmm, not paying attention I see. Perhaps you can't recall the exact year that Marcus Hamilton took home the Reuben for Best Newspaper Panel Cartoon. Yeah. Settle down, hot shot! You'll have to start coming to the meetings in order to be privy to such choice information. After a dusty scuffle in the parking lot, and a trip to the principal's office, Smith conceded to Haines, who took home a Marvel Superheroes Calendar as his prize! Though moments later, Smith insisted that the calendar be returned to him in six months, so that he may enjoy his half of the winnings! This By George group is just like a real family I'm here to tell you. During our show & tell, Haines shared a stack of "The Funnies Paper" editions he must have found lying around in his attic. They were produced in the early '80s in Ft. Myers, Florida and were billed as a "comic strip fanzine." Published in 8.5" x 11" Xerox format and at the time distributed by pony express, er, rather snail mail, they were a fun trip down memory lane. Thanks, Tom! Dave merely announced that his 16-page educational comic had been completed and was being sent off to be printed by a publisher in Greenville, SC. It features his little explorer characters Louise & Clark. In the photos above, you can see the "Jeff Dunham Board Game" that Smith produced as a gift to his long time comedian/ventriloquist friend. Just amazing ... someone quick: get Milton Bradley on the phone! Awesome job, Steve ... I can say I knew you when! 
Steve also offered up his wry wit to go along with this photo of a guy in a costume advertising a sandwich shop: ... What a lousy job. Of course, I'm sure he sees the cup as half full. ... He was struck by a line drive from a nearby ball field. Luckily, he was wearing a cup. Unable to see, he wandered out into oncoming traffic. ... His cup runneth over (by a pickup truck!) ... No, no, no. When I said I wanted a cup of "Joe," I meant ... DRINKS ARE ON ME! So now you know what you missed, and can thank your lucky stars you weren't a part of it! We'll convene again next month on Monday, February 22 for another edition of the By George Lunch Bunch, and seriously ... you should try to be there! |
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