The Daily Cartoonist

I didn’t know Arnold, but I read more than a few of his posts on ToonTalk. He came across as a really sharp guy and obviously had a lot of friends.

My condolences to those who knew him.

Arnold was a great guy. I only met him in person once–when the Reuben Awards were in San Francisco–but I corresponded with him frequently. He loved cartooning passionately and loved sharing his experiences and insights with anyone who asked him. He turned me onto many cartoonists whose worked he admired, especially gag cartoonists (a particular passion of his). I’ll really miss him, as will his many online friends.

I emailed Arnold through his daughter the day before he passed away. I hope he was aware enough to hear it.

There has been a lot of talk on the blogosphere the past couple of weeks regarding friendship and what does friendship mean in this day and age when people claim thousands of “friends” on Facebook or MySpace. Yes, most of it is very shallow, but sometimes it’s not, even if you’ve never met the person face to face.

I wrote about Arnold on my own blog. I consider him a true friend. I’ll miss him.

Sigh. I just checked his blog yesterday, crossing my fingers that he’d be feeling better and posting anew.

I corresponded with Arnold many times over the years, never met him in person, but held him in very high regard. He will be much missed by our little fraternity of cartooning fans.

So sad.

I was new on toontalk, just launched my strip and Arnold spent time critiquing my strip via personal email. He had no obligation to do this, and the advice he gave will stick to me forever. His knowledge and wisdom about cartooning was unmatched…I like to think it all turned to energy and so with every strip I remember what he told me.

He was a warrior.

I had the same experience; he gave me some good solid advice and encouragement when I first posted my comics online. I was surprised and saddened to read about his passing.

I wish I had taken the opportunity to know him better.

Alan,

It’s been wonderful to read everything, here.
We always knew he was something special, but it’s good to know how many others had the same thought.
Here’s the link to his obituary:
http://online.statesmanjournal.com/obituaries/obituary.cfm?i=35107
His website is temporarilly down, but will be back up soon.

Thank you,
Rachel

Oh, shoot. I’d love to drive down to Salem for the memorial, but I’m flying out to San Francisco Saturday morning.

I’ll definitely be there in spirit. God bless you all, Rachel.