Gary Brookins Retires – This Time F’Sure

Today’s Shoe saw Ben Lansing take over the Sunday cartooning chores.

Gary Brookins turned the daily Shoe over to Ben Lansing (and Pluggers over to Rick McKee) in September 2020, but held on to the Sunday Shoe – up to last week.

Gary announced his retirement last month on his Facebook page:

In January, 1979, my cartooning career began when I went to work as editorial cartoonist for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. In addition to 30 years of cartooning there, I worked on several other syndicated features, including Jeff MacNelly’s “SHOE”; “PLUGGERS”; “COBWEBS” and “MUDDLE AMERICA” (both with my good friend, Bob Gorrell). I also drew the illustrations for Dave Barry’s weekly humor column (and Year in Review) for several years, as well as doing the drawings for “FRANK & ERNEST” daily cartoons for a couple of years. Throw in a bunch of other ‘toons and projects, and I estimate that my total output was right around 25,000 cartoons! Yesterday’s “SHOE” is officially my last … I’m retiring from cartooning, and plan to devote what time the Good Lord has left for me doing some other things…

As Gary recounted in his Facebook message he’s been cartooning for quite a while.

Richmond Times-Dispatch editorial cartoonist from 1979 to 2009, and then continuing that practice with King Features and self-syndicated for a bit longer. With Bob Gorrell he syndicated the Cobwebs (1986 – 1987) comic strip and the Muddle America (1996 – 1998) comic panel. In 1997 he picked up the Pluggers panel and drew that until 2020. During a time in the 2000s he drew the Frank and Ernest comic strip. He also found time to illustrate for Dave Barry and Boomer magazine.

His share of Shoe, daily and Sunday, began in the year 2000 and lasted until 2020 on the dailies and until January 15, 2023 on the Sunday page.

As Gary retires from cartooning to painting and old pickup trucks and other projects we wish him all the best and thanks him for decades of making our lives brighter.