Imagine trying to cram a big part of 20 years of your life into 119 pages.
But what’s so great about Drawing the Line (my new 20th Anniversary cartoon collection), it’s really not about me. It’s about this complex, frustrating and wonderful state we live in and how I’ve seen it through the years.
I’m flipping through it now, looking at my work. Here are a few thoughts:
1. I’ve noticed my drawing style change. It was more detailed back in the day. In the past six years? Not so much. I can tell I’ve been more rushed. But it still works.
2. I’m pretty happy with the cartoons in the book. In hindsight, I could have dropped a couple to add a couple others. There are a few politicians who didn’t make the cut. Space and access to the cartoons made many of my choices for me. If you didn’t make the book, it’s not personal. If you did, it’s not personal.
3. The cartoons about 9/11 and Katrina bring back the emotions from those tough days.
4. There are more than a few obituary cartoons in the book. I wanted to give people an idea of the calibre of people we’ve lost in the past two decades. I included the cartoon about Walker Wilbanks, too. While Walker wasn’t a Governor or a famous person, his death impacted this community in ways I’ve never seen. It reminded parents who and what in life are really important.
5. I’m thankful I added the story of each cartoon with it. It gives context and allows people to read the book in a couple of different ways.
6. I’m so grateful former Governor William Winter wrote the foreword to the book. And I’ll have what he wrote read at my funeral!
7. Doing it in coffee-table form was a good call. It’s more than a cartoon book. It’s a history book, too.
8. We’ve had some pretty colorful Governors since I’ve been here.
9. It’s amazing I can look at each one and remember drawing them. I have been blessed to work with so many talented journalists throughout the years. I’m thankful for the publishers and executive editors who believed in me. And I’m thankful for the ones who made me work harder to reinvent myself. I’ve had good people editing me. David Hampton is one of the finest men I know. Brian Tolley took the reigns when David retired and did a fine job. Sam Hall is a pleasure to work with, too.
10. As I got to the 172nd cartoon, I thought how lucky I have been to be permitted to come into your homes in cartoon form for so many years. You allowed me in and made my family feel at home.
Thank you.