Diploma

Graduation is fast approaching, a day that will bring this cartoonist much joy and this blog many commencement-related posts. 

Follow this link if you'd like to order a print for your own Class of 2011 warrior-poet.

Track and Field

It's been seven years since I last competed in the 400 meter dash, but even today the thought of the event sends pangs of anxiety through me. Still, I miss that unique combination of euphoria and physical pain that can only be achieved by 50.7 seconds of all-out sprinting.

Why I Draw

Special thanks to sculptor Tom Otterness (a fellow Wichita, KS native), Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, and anyone who's managed to snap a photo of the elusive Bigfoot. 

Is this why you draw? You can pick up a print in my new and improved poster shop.

Twinning

Your Beard Madness Champion

The bets have been made. The games have been played. The facial hair has been displayed. And the Beard Madness champion is...Dad in the Early '80s! It was a riveting tournament, with many hairy moments. Here are some of the highlights.

Burning the Midnight Caffeine

I sketched this comic away from the comfort of my subterranean apartment, working instead at my parents' house in my youngest brother's room. This was a good excuse to draw the objects that litter the living space of a high school freshman: cheap keyboard, out-of-tune ukulele, assorted athletic gear, Skype equipment, and sweet band posters. I think the comic captures this environment of disorder - maybe at its own expense. Local shout out: the poster with the flaming orange spectacled head is by Kansas City's storied Vahalla Studios for one of my favorite bands, The Hold Steady.

Fake Irish Blessing

Beard Madness!

The selection committee has chosen the best beards from this year's highly competitive field. The last four out were Leo Tolstoy, Zach Galifianakis, Ben Bernanke, and the dude from Iron & Wine. As this blog's resident bracketologist, I forsee some intriguing second-round matchups: Jesus battles Darwin over who has more convincing bumper stickers, Shel Silverstein challenges Dumbledore to see who brings more magic to the hearts of young readers, and Abe Lincoln and Kenny Rogers duke it out for control of The South. 

To order as a poster, email gsnider11@gmail.com. More details here.

Literal Concert Flyers

Caution: do not try to attend any of these shows. The venues are real (some of the finest drinking establishments in Kansas City, MO and Lawrence, KS), but the dates are fictional. As for the bands, well... I think you may have seen many of them in concert yourself. 

Soundtrack for Living

Want to purchase this as a poster? Details here, or email gsnider11@gmail.com. I will include the actual soundtrack in CD-R form. Tracklist still to-be-determined, but it will likely include John Coltrane, Keith Sweat, The Beatles, and The Wu-Tang Clan. 

Monsters!

This Friday, I'll be drawing ferociously (alongside a formidable group of local artists, architects, and designers) for a great cause: The 2nd Annual Monster Drawing Rally, sponsored by Women in Design-Kansas City. All proceeds from the sale of drawings will benefit Synergy Services, a non-profit violence-prevention program. Here are the details, straight from the Facebook event posting:

Parade of Horrors

Have a Rockin' Presidents Day

In celebration of Presidents Day, that often-ignored semi-holiday, here are a couple of drawings from a simpler time (college) when I had faint aspirations of becoming a political cartoonist. Aside from a handful of greats, most political cartoonists have been victims of the declining newspaper industry that no longer values their contributions. This is unfortunate - I think it's still a noble and essential profession. It may just be in need of a few new ideas, a new publishing platform, and better self-promotion.  

I've drawn a few cartoons that I think put forth some well-reasoned political stances. However, I'm not going to bore you with them here. I realized early on that my strengths lied not in biting partisan commentary, but in the obscure fusion of political caricature and pop culture reference...

       

Seize the Coloring Book

My New Yorker Cartoon Phase

Just as most teenage boys go through a Led Zeppelin phase, most young cartoonists go through a New Yorker cartoon phase. This was an early attempt at drawing in that trademark style. I've mostly recovered from my Led Zeppelin phase, but I still have visions of my drawings appearing in the same hallowed pages as a Roz Chast or Charles Barsotti cartoon - ideally in the middle of some impenetrable article on Mideast foreign policy.