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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October 2009In October, the wild and wacky Charlotte-area cartoonists decided to go all topsy-turvy and confound everyone. Instead of meeting on the last Monday of the month, they met on the first Tuesday. And instead of meeting for lunch, they met for dinner. And instead of meeting at Heroes Aren't Hard to Find, they met at the Wild Wing Cafe at the Epicentre in uptown Charlotte. Confused yet? All of this was an attempt to get more members to show up. The ones who made it were: Delirious Dave McDonald (who rode the light rail train from South Charlotte), Tempestuous Tom Haines, Savage Steve Smith, Babbling Brian Leonard and Good-for-nothing Greg Russell. Thinking it was a requirement at the Wild Wing Cafe to act wild and crazy, the crackpot cartoonists grabbed a table by the door and ordered enough wild wings to feed an army. A small army. An army of about five. That was easy because it was "buy 8 get 8 free" night. They weren't quite loony enough to buy 12 and get 12 free. McDonald showed two new characters he had designed for a series of educational booklets. He had teamed up with a former educator who provides books for students and teachers throughout South Carolina. 
Smith said he had approached the Samsonite company about his Captain Samsonite character. Although they seemed open to letting him license the name, he came up with an even BETTER name for his protagonist and his sidekick! Isn't it amazing how obstacles often turn out to be blessings in disguise? Hopefully, he'll be ready to unveil his characters by the next By George! Web site update. Meanwhile, to the right is the cover of the latest issue of Captain Samsonite. Smith also talked about palling around with George Thorogood and his band and drawing a really cool t-shirt design for them. Haines suggested that The Charlotte Observer print comic strips by local artists once a week in May. National Cartoonists Day is May 5. With two By George members who are employees of the newspaper, that may be doable. Haynes also talked about his "Endicott syndrome." It seems that almost everyone he meets is from his hometown of Endicott, NY! 
Leonard brought copies of his latest booklet "Big 'Un Visits the City." This one sported a color cover and more monster mayhem. Russell has gotten a couple of nibbles to lay out some books, so the economy must be looking up. The group was too wild and zany to take a photo. You'll have to use your imagination instead. Join the By George! group next time so you can be ludicrous, absurd, harebrained and loopy too. Unless the meeting is held at the local public library. |
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