See You in the Funny Pages

Consider this a companion piece to The Best Men, because here is another instance where Señor Squeegee and I have collaborated on project that has never come off. This time it’s a comic strip idea called Bucky and Sparkles. The premise is simply this: the strip follows the lives of two clown roommates who never stop being clowns — in other words, the make-up stays on 24/7. Their refrigerator is stocked with seltzer, custard pies and banana peels, and they drive a Cooper Mini that can hold themselves and a dozen of their friends. But what makes it interesting is that we’re talking about a rodeo clown sharing living arrangements with a circus clown — in other words, two entirely different kinds of clowns. Sort of a clown odd couple, if you will.

I basically gave the concept to John and he was supposed to run with it, with me serving as an occasional consultant. John came up with with the idea of Bucky sleeping in a barrel instead of a bed, and a few other nice little touches I can’t recall. I envisioned them living in a wacky apartment building, with tenants like the Fat Lady, an opera singer who always goes around in Viking garb.

Here is my concept of what Bucky and Sparkles could look like:





Hmm. Maybe they’re a bit too cutesy. A little edgier might work better, right?

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Speaking of unfulfilled comic strip ideas, about fifteen years ago I planned to create a cartoon strip called Doctor Time. The story is hardly original: a scientist constructs a time machine and he and his loyal assistant take a ride in it but can never get back to the present; instead, they wind up bouncing here and there among the epochs and have many adventures. Doctor Phineas Time is a goofy, well-meaning professor who blithely leads himself and his long-suffering assistant, Simpson, into many scrapes. It’s meant to be funny and possibly educational — certainly it would have caused me to do considerable research.

I actually drew up two or three strips, but a search of my basement the other day for them came up empty. I do remember how one of them went and I’ve sketched it out below. This occurs when Doctor Time and Simpson find themselves in the company of prehistoric man:




DOCTOR TIME: Simpson — do you spy that caveman over there? I shall attempt to communicate with him!

SIMPSON: I don’t know sir . . . do you think that’s wise?




DOCTOR TIME: Tush, tush, Simpson — you forget I’m a trained anthropologist! I will gain his trust by imitating a caribou, a creature well-known to him for its docility…

…When he sees I mean no harm, communication will happen naturally!











CAVEMAN: Buddy — if ya need to relieve yourself, there’s a whole woods right over there!


Two things I discovered about cartoon strips: it’s hard to think of gags and they take a long time to draw! These are just crude sketches and it took me a while to do them. It makes me appreciate the pros!