Thanx And A Tip O' The Hat to Jimmy Hatlo

  Cartoonist Jimmy Hatlo’s prolific output spanned over four decades. He is known mostly for “There Oughta Be A Law,” a single panel syndicated strip which ran from 1929 until his death in 1963. His densely drawn imagery and highly nuanced writing thrived at the generous scale at which newspaper comics were then printed. Reading Hatlo is also a fascinating study to the forgotten American social conventions, fads and fashions. 

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  His subject matter covered a breadth of topics unparalleled in the field (okay, maybe Ripley ran a close second but he wasn’t funny) because he solicited ideas from his millions of readers. It now seems quaint that the names and actual addresses of contributors were printed with each strip. That was before the era of financial institutions and/or sociopaths benefiting from knowledge of one’s personal information. Readers from every walk of life shared their unique insights about the foibles of humanity via the concrete details of those trades and disciplines in which they were steeped. He must have had quite a “morgue”. Before easy Internet fingertip access to any image, most professional cartoonists had filing cabinets full of photos and illustrations that could be summoned whenever the need arose. Any foreign object vital to conveying a gag idea would become uniquely Hatlo-ized, as if he effortlessly conjured it up with a few deft strokes. His pristine and often bold ink lines bring his subject matter to life with a directness and clarity.

   As anyone who has attempted to draw a crowd scene in which specific details and objects need to be crystal-clear, can attest, this is not so easy to do! While the laws of perspective are generally obeyed, Hatlo is just as engaged in the two-dimensional arrangement of people and objects situated in specific landscapes or interiors. There is so much visual information to be conveyed—along with tightly packed word balloons—the overall composition is a  daunting juggling act. But Hatlo always magically manages to pull this off. Background characters are not given short shrift as most cartoonists, even good ones, do. His drawing is so great we don’t think about it.

  The masterfully lettered dialog balloons range in content from pithy to  hilarious. They are mostly corollaries of the main punchline, though sometimes they’re superior. This lush verbiage could hold its own with cinematic script writing. But Hatlo had no pretensions to making higher art. He was a champion of the common man’s art form. Hatlo was an advocate for the underdog, always sympathizing with workers over their bosses and wives over husbands (with the occasional exception) and those who suffered at the expense of others’ pretensions or just plain bad luck. I have no doubt that you could score one of his old volumes for a song on Amazon. Any serious cartoonist needs to have a little Hatlo on his or her shelf. I was amazed to discover he also had a running script called "The Hatlo Inferno." Google the title and you'll find a modern version available. You may also remember the character Little Iodine. Once part of his stable of stock characters, she jumped out to her own showcase. No Shirley Temple, she, but smart as a whip.

  There was an imitation of Hatlo’s “There Oughta Be A Law,” which ran in the Chicago Tribune called, “They’ll Do It Every Time,” by Al Fagaly and Harry Shorten. I am delighted that they attributed a cartoon to Yours Truly when I was 13, though it was not the one I sent in. Over “Thanks to Justin Green of Highland Park, Ill.” was a strip about a guy who never took the newspaper that was on top of the pile (“Thaddeus Bop wouldn’t dream of taking the one that’s on top!) May father was finally delighted by something that I had supposedly done, and mimeographed copies were sent to all the relatives and business contacts. It seems fitting that my cartooning career began with a lie. For almost 40 years, the common perception of me which I can’t seem to shake is that I'm "The Underground Cartoonist Justin Green who produced ‘Binky Brown Meets The Holy Virgin Mary.’” The work I’m doing now is my best work and Catholic Guilt is just one jar on my spice rack. It is such an irony that anything signed by me from the early ‘70s fetches roughly ten times the amount that my far more accomplished work does today. Only Hatlo could do justice to this inequity. “Justin Green turns the color of his name when he sees stuff he did as a kid fetching big bucks, while in his Golden Years he has to paint signs to stay afloat.” Yeah, that would make a great Hatlo panel.

Please Visit My Other Cartoon Site

Earlier this year I launched a new site with my fellow penman Brian Hagen. You could beam us up at http://www.pengrenades com
This is the current post. If you click on my archives button there, you'll see my latest work.

Early '90s Politics

This piece appeared in a Sacramento newspaper back when restaurants were dealing with the newly discovered health issue of toxic tobacco air by cordoning off Smoking Areas just a few yards away from where normal human beings dined. The cartoon may seem obvious by today’s standards, but back then it was a shot fired across the bow at pro-tobacco advocates who wanted a more civil discourse about their habit.

 This cartoon is also time-warped for the use of Zip-A-Tone. Transparent sheets of dots in various weights created tones of gray. The #11 Xacto blade was wielded on the flimsy and finicky material to cut the elaborate shapes that were required. Though once the staple of most professional illustrators and cartoonists, this product (along with rub-down letters) became suddenly obsolete as the computer set the new standards of reproduction.

  This artwork is now offered on Ebay, until 9/4 Here’s the link (to paste in browser with rubber cement):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/250880685321?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649 

Race With Rot

  This was one of a dozen ideas that my sister Eve dictated to me off the top of her head, one morning in 1994. That notebooks is buried in my archives, but I remember a few other topic ideas by heart:

  WHY BREAKFAST COOKS TEND TO BE SPEED FREAKS

  THE KITCHEN AS HELL; THE RESTAURANT PROPER AS THEATER (and the class differences that prevail in both worlds)

  THE HUMBLE GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH AS PROOF OF A RESTAURANT’S COMPETENCE

  THE MONUMENTAL PAIN-IN-THE-ASS OF PROVIDING FRENCH FRIES

  Of course, all this and more has been since handled by Anthony Bourdaine in “Kitchen Confidential.” Not to detract from the maestro’s fame, but he writes with exactly the tone and language that Eve can muster at the drop of a hat—still—even after the chemo. I can’t help but wonder if he saw this piece, which appeared in a couple magazines prior to the publication of his book. It may seem like a small point, but it is indeed a sticking one. He, too, used that comical aside seen below, “CHEF, YOU WOULDN’T!?”

To see and download the entire piece at an enlarged scale, visit Google Docs.

 https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B2BRVzLZ17DCZmEzNWYxYzItMzI2My00MDRmLTg1NGYtZGU3MzNkNjc5ZjA1&sort=name&layout=list&num=50

   Eve also presaged David Sedaris’ languid Billie Holiday imitation (in his notorious Macy’s Christmas Elf sketch) by about 25 years. Back in the early ‘60s, she made up a little ditty which she could deliver with the saucy lilt of Lady Day:

DIS-EN-CHANT-MENT….CAN’T STAND ANYTHING.

 

Yet More Unsolicited Advice

This cartoon originally appeared in Signs Of The Times magazine. I have enhanced (i.e., tinkered around with) it using Photoshop. Until lately, I've avoided reckoning with this game-changing program. Now I think of it as the subtitle to Dr. Strangelove:

                              "How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb."

7/25/11 S. Clay Wilson Turns 70

If you are familiar with my work, you can probably spot a drawing by S. Clay Wilson from across a room. You have doubtless heard about his debilitating condition, the result of a catastrophic fall several years ago. There were hopeful signs of in the early weeks following his recovery from a coma. These days those signs are far and few in between days of constant maintenance and care by his devoted wife Lorraine Chamberlain in their S. F. apartment.
  The mercurial, provocative, hilarious Mr. W is somewhere inside of the being who resembles him. An occasional flash of the eyes and hint of a smile belie the long silences and monosyllables. He no longer draws, but  knows that he once did. It's on us to remind him of how great his work is and to affirm his presence here. Recognition of birthdays (especially his own!) is still one of his core beliefs. If you could send a card to him, Lorraine will patiently read it to him and explain the imagery. If you read this post after the all-important date, then maybe you could send a Christmas card. Or better yet, a Halloween card would touch his old demon's heart. You can also send donations at any time to:
S. CLAY WILSON S.N.T. (Special Needs Trust)
P.O. Box 14854
San Francisco, CA 94114
or through secure site:
http://www.sclaywilsontrust.com

  I recently wrote about the importance of Wilson's work in the Afterword to the McSweeney's edition of Binky Brown Meets The Holy Virgin Mary, so I don't need permission to quote:
  The very title of the work was a conscious nod to S. Clay Wilson. The word "meets" is in reference to Ruby and the Dykes Meet the Pirates. The active verb guarantees conflict, or reconciliation of opposites. The title of my book was a resolution writ large, to hasten confrontation with my yet-to-be-determined deepest fears. Though seldom lauded these days in the same sentence as Crumb, it was Wilson's feisty spirit that permeated many of the Underground titles, so devoid of the milk of human kindness.
   Soon after meeting me, he dubbed me "Guilty Green." With his strong personality and penchant for the undiluted, if uncomfortable truth, Wilson constantly challenged my artistic pretensions, yet I managed to hold on to a few of them during our heated exchanges. He was/is consistently true to his unique vision, wielding his pen with astounding versatility, creating immoral panoramas with the devotion of a monk. He is also capable of producing very tender images. While other cartoonists had published pornographic images it was Wilson's transgressive scenarios that redefined the standard of what is "beyond the pale."

An Old Piece Now Newsworthy

My "Sign Game" strip ran monthly in Signs of the Times Magazine from '86-'06. I experimented briefly with facial hair in '99 (as shown), but it only made me look disreputable. I'm thinking that this new campaign to scare smokers with vivid pack warnings might be a cash cow... if the USPO can print custom stamps, why couldn't smokers order custom warnings? Visit my store at http://www.pengrenades.com and order yours online.