Tomversation by Tom Falco

Getting readers is a tricky business

I’m not getting the readership I want. I want millions of followers and readers. To be fair, some of my cartoons do get millions of eyes on them. Most of course, don’t.

I read one time when the comics were revered, I guess in the 1940s and 1950s, Al Capp would get 80 million readers a day for Li’l Abner. If he got that size readership, I’m sure most of the big name strips at the time, did, also – Blondie, Moon Mullins, Dick Tracy, Little Orphan Annie, etc.

While many cartoonists get many views, many don’t. If you look at sites like GoComics.com, those big cartoonists who you would think have a lot of followers, don’t.

I am resigned to the fact that I have fans that get me. I like to think my cartoons are more cerebral. Not on purpose, it’s just how I think. I’ve noticed when I have a silly cartoon, something that plays to the lowest common denominator, well, that’s when I get all these eyes on my work.

A lot of my cartoons are “stolen.” What I mean is that they are picked up and used in anthologies without permission. These jerks at one publication one time picked up 60 cartoons and published them without permission, then other sites similar to their site (clickbait sites) picked up the cartoons and published them and so on and so on.

When I complained about the 60 cartoons being picked up and rerun, they reduced it down to 30. Guess they don’t know the word plagiarism.

Recently, a friend sent me a site where one of my cartoons was published, it was there along with some others which were illegally picked up and reused. My name and copyright were removed from the cartoon, but I was impressed that my friend recognized my work. He knew my style.

When I complained to the site editor, they said, “We did link back to you!” I had to tell them that they linked back to another site that illegally swiped my cartoon. I guess this is journalism today – anyone can publish anything without anyone editing or checking them. Sort of like I do here on my blog.

But it’s nice to know people think the work is worthy of stealing, or maybe it’s just that they need clickbait and anything will do.

I like to create my cartoons thinking of cartoonist Jason Chatfield’s quote: “Don’t curate your art to what gets likes. Curate it to what you like.” So I’ll keep on doing it that way.

By the way, if you are not subscribing, you can subscribe free via email to my cartoons here – five (that week’s worth) will arrive each Friday plus two short blog posts are published during the week.

Till next time . . .

From Santa to Anubis this week

This week’s Tomversation cartoons.

Read my blog: Tomversation.com
Subscribe via email to my cartoons here – they will arrive each Friday plus 2 short blog posts during the week.

Read my blog: Tomversation.com
Subscribe via email to my cartoons here – they will arrive each Friday plus 2 short blog posts during the week.

A sock and a sock; a shoe and a shoe

I found out about Rob Reiner’s death on Twitter, which seems to be how I find out about many famous people’s deaths. It’s the first thing I look at when I wake up in the morning.

The first thing I saw about it was the “Sock and a sock, a shoe and a shoe” routine, which I remember seeing so many years ago. I remember the first time seeing it on All in the Family with my mother. She loved it and for years after she would always bring up, “a sock and a sock and a shoe and a shoe.”

If you cannot see the video above, it’s at YouTube here.

I hadn’t seen it in all these years and there it was on Twitter. Rob and Carroll O’Connor were so good together, a comedy team, which you don’t usually think of them as being.

Rob once said, “When you make something, it’s for everybody else, but the making of it is what you have for yourself.” He also said, “I hope I didn’t take up space [in this life].

So many obits start off by giving Rob credit of the movies he was involved in, but so many of us remember him as “Meathead” on All in the Family, which was the number one tv show for so many years in the 1970s; it was a big part of the culture at the time. Archie Bunker, Edith Bunker, Gloria Bunker Stivic and Meathead (Michael Stivic).

My mother used to cut my hair at one point in time, I don’t know why, I think I just didn’t want to go to the barber. So she would cut my hair, and we would do an Archie Bunker routine then.

She would ask how I wanted my hair cut, and I would say, “Without blood, ma, without blood.” Which is what Archie said to Edith one time when she was cutting his hair.

Then I would tell mom to “go around the back, come back to the top and trim and for gawd sake, when you come to an ear, stop!” I would pronounce God like “gawd,” the way Archie said it.

When I would drone on and on with my long stories, my mother would cut me off by doing another Archie routine – she would pantomime loading a gun and shooting herself in the head or she would pantomime making a noose and hanging herself – just like Archie did when Edith told long, boring stories . Archie would also pantomime overdosing on pills and slitting his wrists.

Here are a few of the pantomimes above.

If you cannot see the video above, it’s here on Youtube.

My mom had a terrific sense of humor. So did my dad. So did Rob Reiner.

Till next time . . .

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Everybody wants to rule the world

I saw a recent version of Tears for Fears performing “Everybody Want to Rule the World.” And it’s amazing to see them then (1985) and now. Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal – 40 years apart.

They sound the same and every time I hear them and the guitar riff in the center of the song, it transports me back to 1985.

I listen to this, and all Tears for Fears songs from the “Songs from the Big Chair” album, in my car almost daily. Sometimes I go out of my way while driving, to pass a business I used to work at in 1985 and while listening to Tears for Fears, I feel as if I am back in time – you know, time travel.

Then the traffic light changes and I drive back into reality.

Here is today’s version. Excellent.

Now I have this in my head all day. But that’s ok. I’ll spend the day in 1985.

I know, some countries like Canada, don’t allow these videos to be shown here, so here are the YouTube links:
https://youtu.be/znDgBy2mHbc?si=1-aA3frydhVlgLp5 – 1985

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pkgd3tER1yI&list=RDPkgd3tER1yI&start_radio=1 – today

Till next time . . .

Subscribe to this Tomversation blog by clicking here – it’s free! Receive my five cartoons each Friday and 2 blog posts during the week!

It’s Christmas time

Welcome! I’m glad you’re here. If you aren’t subscribed, consider keeping in touch. I’ll send you 5 cartoons every Friday and two short blog posts during the week. You can subscribe right here.

Read my blog: Tomversation.com
Subscribe via email to my cartoons here – they will arrive each Friday plus 2 short blog posts during the week.

A perfect holiday gift. And a way to support me. 🙂

Making a list

I came up with this idea for today’s cartoon while making my own list.

I have a large family and I was writing down the names so I remember everyone when buying holiday gifts, and I said to myself. “I hate this. Not buying the gifts – writing down the list!” And therein was a cartoon.

I hate making the list because I feel like I might forget someone. I should just save the list. I have a travel list. It’s quite old. I have made a couple of changes over the years, but every time I am packing for a trip, I pull the list out and use it.

And yes, I check it twice, and three times or more. I don’t want to forget anything.

Everyday life turns in to a cartoon. I just have to pay attention to what I’m seeing and thinking and hearing.

I bought a bunch of large things this year, which I thought I would not do again after doing it for a few years. Last year I got these Save the Whale bracelets which were easy to transport. In years past I bought air fryers, soda machines and ice cream makers. And they were hard to lug around.

During the pandemic, we didn’t do Christmas Eve or Day, so I lugged the air fryers from house to house. The bunch of them barely all fit in my car, but I got it done.

This year will be a chore lugging the large gifts. They are heavy. The Amazon guy arrived with them yesterday and he was struggling to carry the large boxes, so I helped him, it was quite a workout. I’ll have to repeat it getting them down to the car on Christmas.

First world problems.

Till next time . . .

Subscribe to this Tomversation blog by clicking here – it’s free! Receive my five cartoons each Friday and 2 blog posts during the week!

The man without a face

I was in NYC for a bit for my uncle’s funeral. I’m home now.

The wake and funeral were beautiful, if those are the right words. So many people showed up, he really touched so many lives. I knew many of the people from being there so much over the years, so it was nice to see some old faces. But there was one old face that “I knew,” but didn’t know.

This guy, let’s call hm Ricky, was at the wake and the funeral and he was sitting at our table at a restaurant after the funeral. There were many people present at the restaurant, and I didn’t know them all, but since he was sitting with the immediate family, I wondered who he was.

I asked one of my cousins and he said, “Oh, that’s my mother’s old boss.”

His mother, my aunt, passed away a few years back, but for so many years she worked for Ricky. I heard his name 1000 times, she always talked about him. He was much younger than my aunt who was the office manager, so she treated him like a son, she was a mother figure to him. I remember hearing about his exploits and non-exploits from when Ricky was a young guy.

I yelled out to my cousin, “That’s Ricky?” I was excited. I finally saw the man who was talked about so much. It was like a tv show where there is a character mentioned all the time, but you never see them, like Vera, Norms’ wife on “Cheers,” or Niles wife Maris, on “Frasier,” or Ugly Naked Guy on “Friends.”

I ran over to him and another cousin asked if I wanted to be introduced, which of course I did. I told Ricky how I had heard so much about him over the years, all good. I told him how much my aunt loved him and always felt he was one of the family and I went on and on. It was like meeting a favorite rock star or movie star. It was so nice to put a face to a name.

Not surprisingly he was very quiet, and mild-mannered, but he enjoyed our conversation and was very friendly.

I noticed over the long luncheon, that a couple of others did the same thing when they heard that that was Ricky. We all gushed over him! A little gray haired man sitting in the corner.

As he was leaving later on, I went up to him and shook his hand and told him it was a pleasure meeting him. I said I hoped we would meet again soon. He said, “Hopefully, under better circumstances.” I agreed.

It was a real pleasure meeting him after hearing about him and his life for so many years, putting a face to the name.

Till next time . . .

Subscribe to this Tomversation blog by clicking here – it’s free! Receive my five cartoons each Friday and 2 blog posts during the week!

This calendar makes a great gift, and it supports me, too!

Shopping, fresh eyes and witches

Read my blog: Tomversation.com
Subscribe via email to my cartoons here – they will arrive each Friday plus 2 short blog posts during the week.

A perfect holiday gift. And a way to support me. 🙂

Turkey in a Tesla

I was in Miami for Thanksgiving, I never made it to New York, which is usually the norm. But I am in NY now for my uncle’s funeral.

I literally made it in one day after finding out the details. I booked the flight and 12 hours later I’m here.

As for Thanksgiving, I had a great time with my family, not everyone was there, some were out of town, which bothered me and I know I have some nerve to feel that way since I am usually the only one who is out of town for Thanksgiving.

But we did have a great time – lots of food and fun. Even though we all live here in Miami, we don’t always see each other often, although every Sunday one of my brothers has Football Sunday, but I never seem to go. There’s a lot of football and food. I need to get there next week.

I’ll see a lot of them during the holidays, but then it sort of drifts off, we are all busy and don’t hang out. At one point, one of my brothers, who lives here in Miami, I would only see in New York! He would happen to be there when I was there and we would hang out there, which was a running joke for awhile.

Not long ago, I had written about one of my snobby neighbors, who was looking for her “Stanley,” and I made a cartoon out of that. She texted the whole building, “Hi everyone. Left my pink Stanley on the table (in the lobby) and went back to look for it but it was gone, maybe someone took it by mistake.”

She couldn’t say, she lost her tumbler, she had to let everyone know she had a Stanley. But again, I did get a great cartoon idea out of it.

Well on Thanksgiving day it rained in Miami for a spell. It was quite a strong rain and caused flooding in some areas. My neighborhood flooded, and on a neighborhood text (not the condo text, this text involves the whole cul-de-sac), which has about 50 people, or so, someone texted that any car parked in the street (rather than on our property or in a driveway) should be moved due to flooding.

Well, the Stanley lady’s husband was the only one to reply out of 50 people receiving the text, and he said, I quote: “Thanks, we moved the Tesla before it floated away!”

Not, “Thanks, I moved my car!” Nope, he had to tell 50 people he had a Tesla.

I saw a neighbor in the building next door have a Rolls Royce delivered last week. He didn’t feel the need to tell anyone about his Rolls. But this name dropping couple had to mention their Stanley and Tesla.

A couple of neighbors texted me or called me to ask if I had seen that. We laughed over it. Insecurity at its best.

Stanley in a Tesla. There’s another cartoon in there somewhere.

Till next time . . .

Subscribe to this Tomversation blog by clicking here – it’s free! Receive my five cartoons each Friday and 2 blog posts during the week!

This calendar makes a great gift, and it supports me, too!

An officer and a gentleman

My uncle passed away yesterday. The last of all my uncles is gone. All my aunts are gone and my parents, too; and of course, all my grandparents are gone.

That whole generation and the ones before it are all gone. Gone.

I was probably the closest to him out of all my uncles. I was in NY often and I saw him often. When I was young I would stay at their house for long periods. He was a second father to me.

I saw him last month. I have a photo I took of him at a family BBQ. I didn’t know it would be the last photo I have of him, he looks so great and healthy in the photo.

He left us on my aunt’s birthday, which I guess was a birthday present to her. Now they are together forever.

When he was in the hospital these past few weeks, I was remembering a story he always told. He and my aunt shared an apartment with my parents when they were all young married couples – an apartment in Brooklyn.

My uncle would tell the story of a tilted floor they had in the apartment; he joked that it was like walking up a hill. He would tell of holding me when I was an infant, and walking “up that hill” in the apartment, back and forth to put me to sleep. He would mimic walking sideways, trudging up a hill, as he told the story.

It always made us laugh, no matter how many times he told the story.

He was a New York City Police officer, and I always pictured him in his uniform when he told that story. He was quiet, polite, honest and a gentleman, the type you want every police officer (well, everyone) to be.

Now I picture them all together, on the other side. Back together again, like it was so many years ago – the fearsome foursome.

Till next time . . . .

Subscribe to this Tomversation blog by clicking here – it’s free! Receive my five cartoons each Friday and 2 blog posts during the week.