Tomversation comics

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 . . .

It’s all about Luigi

S0 this cartoon got a lot of play – lots of likes, shares, etc. It’s the month of Luigi. Luigi Mangione. I don’t know why I am linking to him, unless you live under a rock, you know who he is.

The idea for this cartoon was a natural. It just wrote itself.

While watching and reading the news, it was all about Luigi and I thought to myself, “Are they going to start naming newborns after Luigi now?” And the cartoon was born.

Some comments I received were that I’m idolizing a murderer. I think I’m just commenting on what’s going on in the country today. It’s the top story. While I don’t do political cartoons, I thought this was interesting to comment on. People are infatuated with Luigi.

It was posted on Reddit with the headline, “Even the girls?” And most of the comments there were about girls names for Luigi, like “Luigia” or “Luigina” or “Luigette” And many were concerned about Mario’s feeling (from the Nintendo game) Luigi’s brother, since the name Luigi is getting all the attention. Unfortunately, most Redditors didn’t really mention the victim in the shooting.

I don’t even like the name Luigi, I would never name one of my kids that. I don’t really like my own name, Thomas. I like Tom and Tommy, but when someone calls me Thomas, I cringe. Usually it’s people I don’t know like someone at the doctor’s office or at a hotel check-in or things like that.

Luigi is such an ethnic name. I think of Nintendo and Mario Brothers when I hear that name. I don’t think I know a Luigi in real life. But Luigi Mangione now stole that name and it’s his now every time you hear it.

He’s a hero to many because he struck out against our screwed up healthcare system, but what I don’t get is that Luigi’s family had lots of money, why didn’t they have good health insurance?

Over the years I’ve paid a lot for health insurance and when I need it, it came through. I wasn’t happy with the premiums I paid monthly, but I was happy when I had two hernia operations in 15 years and didn’t pay much or anything.

After the first one in 2009, I got one bill. For $58.00.

After the recent one I did not receive a bill. It was all paid for. I had CT scans, MRI’s and so many other check-ups over the year before the operation, and through all that, I didn’t pay a dime. And after the operation, I didn’t pay a dime. All those people called me “Thomas” by the way.

So while Luigi and his family may have had good health insurance, is he paying the price now for trying to help the little guy?

That part I don’t get. We do need a new healthcare system in our country. It’s odd that the healthcare is for profit. The most important aspect of our lives, our health, is controlled by huge for profit corporations. not doctors or medical personnel.

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Outside the box

If you swipe back and forth on this recent cartoon, you can see the difference. No, it’s not the cat or the box, it’s the text at the top.

I wanted to publish it with the script type which says, “Thinking outside the box,” but at the last minute I changed it to the usual block letters because I wasn’t sure if everyone would be able to read it.

As you know, script/cursive was not taught in schools for about 14 years. I’m not sure why. I know things are mostly typed, spoken and digital these days, but don’t people need to sign their names? And no one writes a note to the milkman anymore. Oh, wait, I guess no one knows what a milkman is either.

The good news is that cursive is making a comeback in public schools.

I really like the look of the script text in the cartoon, but in the interest of all my readers – young and foreign, who maybe read English as a second language, I went with the block letters.

Oh, and a funny fact – this cartoon ran on National Cats Day. A reader mentioned it. I didn’t know – it just happened. Right place at the right time.

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Burger in a bag

I got the idea for this cartoon from a guy talking on tv. He was the CEO or some bigshot with a restaurant chain like Applebee’s or TGI Fridays, one of those type places. They were talking about the $5.00 burger and chicken meals that all of a sudden popped up all over the place at the fast food places. Where were they all this time? Out of the blue these businesses are able to manage a decent price for food.

Anyway, this guy said, “We’re a sit down restaurant, we’re not one of these burger in a bag places.” And that stuck in my head, it made me laugh. That might be a term used in the restaurant world, but I thought it would be funny to have a fast food place named, “Burger in a a Bag.”

Some years back, not too long ago, there was a place in Hell’s Kitchen in NYC called Burgers and Cupcakes. It’s closed now, but I stopped in once as I was walking by, just to see what it was all about. It was all about burgers and cupcakes. It sort sort of fits in with the Burger in a bag theme, don’t you think?

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Do you prefer printed or digital books?

If you slide back and forth on today’s cartoon, you can see the difference in the two.

Originally, I had the one guy reading a book, which I liked lot, but I thought that maybe I should make it an ipad, which seems more in touch with today. I have to admit, I read books on my kindle, actually on my iphone.

I have a kindle and a tablet, but I prefer to use my phone. It’s more convenient. The fonts adjust to the size of the phone, so they aren’t tiny, and it’s easy to read.

I’ve tried getting into audiobooks, but I don’t like the voices or the speed of the voices as they read the content. As for printed or digital books, I prefer printed if it is a graphic novel or a book on comics or comic strips.

My cousin loves books, she almost opened an independent bookstore. There is one in Madison Connecticut where we always plan on visiting, but we never seem to make it there. On Sunday, I saw a story on CBS Sunday Morning, about a small town in upstate New York, where they have many independent bookstores. I sent my cousin the story and she was already planning out visit.

We were once in Barnes and Noble and as she was perusing the books, I was taking a few pictures of books. She asked me why I was taking pictures. I told her it was so I could remember them so I could order them on Amazon later. She was not amused.

One time she handed me a book, it was Roz Chast’s book, “Going into Town.” She asked me if I ever heard of Roz. Of course I had. I told her I went to see the Roz Chast exhibit in The Museum of the City of New York recently. I had never been to that museum before and I located it to see Roz’s exhibit. I’ve been back to the museum many times after that. I love that area of the city and the museum.

I have many books I’ve “borrowed” from my cousin and her husband over the years. I don’t think I ever returned any of them. I guess I should.

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Ready for the Fall

This recent cartoon received a lot of talk lately. It seems another cartoonist did the same thing, a few weeks after mine was published and it might be a meme, too.

Over the years, so many cartoons have appeared that were the same or similar and it bothered me, but I’ve learned to get over it. There’s no way of knowing where the ideas come from, although this one particular cartoonist seems to have quite a few of my ideas pop up a week or two after mine are published. Coincidences, I guess?

I got this idea from a friend who actually asked me, “Are you ready for the fall?” And I laughed and said, “Of what, civilization?” And we both laughed. When he first said, “ready for the fall,” I thought of my favorite Madonna song, “Live to Tell.” In it she sings, “I was not ready for the fall.” I never saw the movie it’s from, “At Close Range,” but I’m assuming she isn’t singing about October.

The fall is special to me – Autumn, that is. In October and November, I’m in New York and there is a lot to do this time of year. I attend New York Comic Con in October and also in October, my cousins and I take our usual trip from NYC upstate to pumpkin and apple pick and to see the leaves changing.

In October, we sometimes go to the San Gennaro Feast in the Hamptons and also there’s an Oyster Festival, out east, too. This year, I see San Gennaro is in September. And of course, October is capped off with Halloween!

In November, we do Thanksgiving, and then the Saturday after Thanksgiving is the Southampton Christmas Parade, where all the small Hamptons towns get together for a light parade at dusk, then there is a tree lighting and fireworks afterwards. One of the best events of the year.

So yes – I am ready for the Fall – September, October and November.

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The red beanie

If you swipe back and forth on this image, you can see the two options for today’s cartoon.

The stovepipe hat won out in the end. Not just for Abraham Lincoln, but for the cartoon. At the last minute, I changed from the “caught dead” cartoon to the “more formal” one.

I saw a picture of Lincoln the other day and thought, I would love to draw Lincoln. It was the stovepipe hat which drew my attention, and in the end, the hat, which is the star, never made it to the drawing board. At first I thought of funny ideas for the stovepipe hat but the red beanie won out.

I thought it would look funny to put a red woolen hat on him and the cartoons emerged from there. The “over my dead body,” was dark and I’m glad I changed the final cartoon to the fashion-based one.

I’m not sure why I keep calling it a stovepipe hat, rather than a top hat, but I guess in Lincoln’s era it was called a stovepipe hat. In the 1920s, it was called a top hat.

What’s even stranger about the hat is Lincoln here, in 1862, wearing the stovepipe hat on the battle field. It doesn’t seem like the type of thing to wear in a battlefield.

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Morning Joe, and Mika

I came up with this cartoon years ago. I redrew it for publication today. It just made me laugh when I blurted out “Morning Joe it alls” one morning a few years back while watching the show. I do watch it almost every morning – not the whole thing, but maybe an hour, from 6 am to 7 am, first thing in the morning.

I do like Joe and Mika, although Joe does shout a lot and it’s very early in the morning, so I have to lower the tv quite often when he’s off on one of his tangents. There are a couple of regular guests who put me to sleep the moment they open their mouths, so I turn the channel when they are on, but I do enjoy Morning Joe.

My mother started watching years ago. I believe it premiered in 2007, so back then, she would say to me, “You don’t watch Morning Joe?” as if it was must see tv. I didn’t know what she was talking about, but I knew she was addicted to politics and she would go on and on with the goings on in Washington whenever she could.

She wanted to discuss the world events so badly and finally she finally found a comrade to discuss things with when my niece’s husband chimed in that he was addicted, too. So the two of them would rattle on about the goings on in DC, and so much of it included what Joe and Mika had to say. They agreed with each other and with Mika and Joe, so there were no shouting matches.

So while it’s still dark out most mornings, I turn the tv on in the living room at 6 am and I watch and listen to what the crew on Morning Joe has to say – the “Joe it alls.” And I agree with them most of the time, so I don’t mind Joe screaming at me in the cold, dark mornings. Like he did this morning.

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The rooster and the trench coat

A couple of cartoons this week came from real life things – although, I guess, most ideas do.

This one with the rooster of course came from our neighborhood rooster. I wrote about him a couple of times before. Well, the other day I was walking and and I heard him crowing non-stop – it was about 8 am. I kept looking for him, but couldn’t see him. I saw the female chicken and babies but no rooster.

Then I looked up and there he was – up on a fence outside a neighbor’s house. I wanted to video him crowing, but he shut up as soon as he spotted me as I took this photo, but no video of him crowing.

***The rooster up on the neighbor’s fence.***

I have a friend who says Miami is the home of Peacocks and Palm Trees, we have to add roosters to this list. The other day when I was driving out of Publix, I had to stop for a family of chickens crossing the parking lot. Literally. They stopped right in front of my car and there was no way to get around them. I got out of the car and shooed them away. When I looked up, I saw a police officer watching and laughing at me. Just another day in the life.

This Temu idea came from the fact that I bought this beautiful trench coat on Temu – for $37.00! That’s it, no shipping charges and no sales tax. The thing is, I was looking for a coat like this for the winter and I went to Macy’s and the prices were $495.00 for the coats I wanted. I was actually prepared to pay $300.00, but I couldn’t see myself paying $495.00 for the few days I’m up north in the winter.

I tried them on in the store and fell in love with them, but I just couldn’t. So I ended u buying the coat on Temu. I’m not sure how, I am not a Temu shopper and I am guessing the good old internet saved my cookie from Macy’s and sent me ads online including the Temu add.

Anyway, the coat is beautiful, but knowing it was from Temu and $37.00 bothered me. Perception.

***The Kors coat I bought from Macy’s.***

I saw an ad on tv for Macy’s one day sale, where things were up to 70% off and I ended up buying the coat from Macy’s for only $137.00 plus sales tax. I had to order it online because when I went back to the store they had all been shipped out somewhere to make way for Spring clothing.

I ended up getting a gorgeous Michael Kors Wool Cashmere Blend Overcoat. It is so nice. To be honest, I don’t know if you can tell the difference between the Temu coat, other than the colors – Temu is black, Michael Kors is Charcoal.

But I’m all set for winter now. It seems way to dressy for me, I usually wear a bomber-style jacket in winter. But I’m looking forward to walking around the city in this new overcoat. I noticed that the charcoal coat at Macy’s is now $199.00 but all the other colors are back to the original price of $495.00. When I purchased the coat, they were all $137.00. The games retailers play.

I tried giving away the Temu coat, but I always preface it by saying it’s from Temu, and that sort of lessens the value in people’s eyes, so no one wants it.

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Clamming

As you click back and forth here, you’ll see two versions of today’s clamming cartoon.

I heard someone say, “The clams are clamming,” and thought it was funny, so I used that, but then I guess my subconscious, in the middle of the night, liked the other version.

This happens often. I don’t lose sleep thinking of the gags all night, it just sort of pops into my head at some period and there I am, up at 3 am, changing it.

What I like about this is I am picturing these two guys on the beach in New England this summer. Two locals. One is walking the beach, sees the other guy clamming and asks him about it. The one guy in the flower shirt could also be a tourist asking about the clamming. I only say that because of the flowery shirt, it sort of looks like a tourist thing.

I can almost hear the seagulls in the background.

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