To send you all off, here is a caption contest using my holiday card for this year. Put your best caption in the comments.

Click the image to see the original cartoon and caption.

Best,
Alan

Hope you’re Thanksgiving weekend was great. I’ll be back tomorrow.

UPDATE: Looks like I have a few minutes before I head out of town, so I’ve thrown a couple of stories up.

I’m taking the weekend off. I’ll see you all back here on Monday unless something big breaks.

The drive is a bit of an emotional roller coaster for me. It’s akin to begging and I dislike that aspect of it. On the flip side, when I see the list of individuals who donate – a wide spectrum of people ranging from the college cartoonist who’s just starting out to A-List cartoonists, I’m humbled that the blog is valued by so many people and it deeps my resolve to continue the endeavor.

Another part of the roller coaster was the observation of the donation amounts. There were a few more of the higher end ($50+) donations but considerably much more of the $10 donations than in years past. The economy has affected us all and I know artists can be especially hit hard. Many noted with their donation that they wish they could contribute more. The fact that they did contribute means more than the actual monetary value of their donation.

With the money, I’ve mentally budgeted out that I can attend and cover a couple of events this year. I’ve also decided to reserve approximately 25% of the funds to donate back to worthy cartooning projects I’ve wanted to support in the past but couldn’t due to limited funds.

I thank you all that donated. Please be sure to check the homepage for the list of individuals that donated. If you donated and your name is NOT on the list and I haven’t contacted you for permission (and you want it to be listed), please email me. If you’d still like to donate you can still do so.

P.S. The list of donors is long and I hope you’ll click through and check out their websites. One donor in particular had me link off to a quirky little site not associated with their work. Think of it as an Easter egg. Enjoy.

• Tyson Cole, creator of the college cartoon The Deep End
• Scott Nickel, MAD cartoonist and creator of EEK!
• Jerry Scott, co-creator of Zits and Baby Blues
• Howard Tayler, creator of Schlock Mercenary
• Tom Heintjes, Editor of Hogan Magazine
• Kelly Ferguson, creator of Basket Case Comix
• Patrick Scullin, illustrator and creator of Super Siblings
• Jenny Robb, Director of Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum
• Mike Cope, Canadian cartoonist & humorous illustrator
• Joe Heller, editorial cartoonist for the Green Bay Press Gazette
• Rich Diesslin, creator of Out to Lunch, KNOTS and Cartoon Gospel cartoons
• Steve Skelton, creator of 2 Cows and a Chicken
• Seitu Hayden, illustrator, cartoonist and designer
• John Glynn, VP, Rights & Acquisitions at Universal Press Syndicate
• Terri Libenson, creator of The Pajama Diaries
• Michael Jantze, animator and creator of The Norm
• Jeff Parker, editorial cartoonist for Florida Today and co-creator of Dustin
• Keith Poletiek, creator of Dude and Dude
• Gary Goldstein, creator of The Myth Fits fantasy novels for teens
• Rick Tuma, illustrator and “infrequent” cartoonist
• Hamilton Blues Lovers, REAL musicians, playing REAL instruments, playing REAL music in Hamilton Ontario
• Drew Litton, sports cartoonist
• Kelly McNutt, Animation Director at Jantze Studios
• Tom Falco, creator of Tomversation

The donation equivalent at this point stands at $3.33/hr

Here are the generous people who supported yesterday:

• Anne Morse-Hambrock, colorist for The Brilliant Mind of Edison Lee and creator of Spot the Cartoonist
• John Hambrock, creator of The Brilliant Mind of Edison Lee
• Jeff Knurek, artist behind the Jumble Puzzle
• Susan Camilleri Konar, cartoonist, illustrator and painter
• Rodd “the bod” Perry, co-creator of Brevity
• Joseph B. Groshek, Humorous Illustrator and editorial cartoonist
• Brian Crane, creator of the comic strip Pickles
• Brad Diller, creator of Funday Morning
• Tom Richmond, NCS President and MAD Magazine cartoonist
• Stu Rees, cartoonist and entertainment lawyer
• Bill LaRocque, editorial cartoonist, caricaturist
• Jonathan Mahood, creator of Bleeker the Rechargeable Dog
• Dave Brousseau, creator of A Couple of Guys
• Jonathan Lemon, creator of Rabbits Against Magic
• Bearman Cartoons, editorial cartoons by “Bearman”
• The Chester Gould-Dick Tracy Museum
• Samuli Lintula, creator of Dark Side of the Horse
• Jim Borgman, co-creator of Zits
• Rachel Keslensky, creator of Last Res0rt
• Ryan Pagelow, creator of Buni

With their permission, here are some of yesterday’s donors. I appreciate their support, both the donation and their words of encouragement.

Please visit their websites.

• Scott Hilburn, creator of The Argyle Sweater
• Jeff Burney, creator of Attica
• Ron Ferdinand, cartoonist on The Dennis the Menace
• Brian Powers, creator of LilToon
• Bill Kellogg, Marketing genius for Tundra and founder of Ink Bottle Syndicate.
• Joe Vissichelli, caricature artist
• Kevin Kallaugher, editorial cartoonist for The Economist
• Tony Piro, creator of Calamities of Nature
• Liz Walsh, creator of Tao of Geek
• Anton Emdin, illustrator, caricaturist, character designer, artist and creator of Shrinks Comics
• Bruce Quast, creator of Faron Square.
• Alex Hallatt, creator of Arctic Circle
• Pete McDonnell, illustrator, character designer, story boarder and caricaturist
• Tom Racine, host of the great Tall Tale Radio and Geek Papas podcasts.
• Tom Gammill, creator of The Doozies
• Donna Lewis, creator of Reply All
• Terry LaBan, creator of Hard Boiled Shaman and Edge City
• Norm Feuti, creator of Retail and Gil
• Charles Goll, illustrator, greeting card creator and animator
• Clay Bennett, editorial cartoonist for the Times Free Press

UPDATE: I’ve added more of the first day donors as they’ve responded to my request to list them.

I’m sure you all have your own reasons why you visit regularly. It’s a news source, a community or the industry water cooler. For whatever reason you make this a regular read, I thank you for including the blog in your day.

If the blog is of any value to you, I’d appreciate it if you’d make a donation to help keep it going.

As in previous donation drives, I’ll list the names of those donors* on the home page along with a link to their website, book, or project. It’s a small token of appreciation.

Thank you all again.

Alan

* Donations by default are private. After donating you should arrive on a Thank You page where you can specify if you’d like me to mention your name. Once permission is granted, I’ll add your name and link to the homepage.

I will be conducting a fundraiser this year. I didn’t last year because I was in a constant state of asking “should I keep it going for another year?” With that question answered, I’m comfortable asking for donations. The blog will never rival my 9-5 job salary so I have no aspirations of making it a full-time gig, but I do want to raise enough money through it that it continues to be worth my while. More information on the fundraiser soon.

For those of you who have been loyal readers I want to thank you for time and support. The blog has been my connection to the art form and the creators. I hope in a small way, it’s been yours as well.

Alan

I should note that any comments left after 9:45 pm (MST) on this older server will not be updated on the new.

I’m looking forward to the better service. See you all on the flip side.

UPDATE: It was a difficult transition (sorry, all), but it’s now on the new server and appears to be running well. Email me if you see anything funny.

Alan