#57: Mothers and Clowns
Hello givers,
It’s Thursday, right? It really is. Which means that no matter where you are and whatever you’re doing, it’s time for some cartoon goodness.
This week, we have a some of cartoons all about mothers, and one about a certain kind of circus.
Getting maternal,
Chris
Like what you see? Follow me on Instagram (@chrisshorten), or talk a friend into following me on Instagram. Or, buy some prints from my website.
Caption: Jocks on Mother’s Day
Mothers. They deserve to be celebrated.
Back in high school, I knew a guy who, no matter what you said, simply responded with ‘Ya Mum’ (or ‘Ya Mom’)? I could never tell if this person was attempting to be some sort of comedic genius, or they just weren’t very bright.
Whatever it is, it felt worthy of a tattoo.
A little artist’s note: This was originally a pitch for the New Yorker. It didn’t get through, but I’ve held onto it in the hopes that it might find an audience on a mother-friendly day like, you know, Mother’s Day.
It’s a relatively simple look, but it’s gone through quite a few iterations to get here. The biggest challenge was making sure that, even you didn’t see anything else, you saw the words ‘YA MOM’. And, before you ask, yep, I know it’s a very American spelling, but, well, you go where your audience is.
Caption: “Still not talking? Send in the mother.”
I’m pretty sure this would break me.
Sure, I could probably stand the good cop. Maybe the bad cop. Possibly even the incompetent cop. But if they send in my mother, I’ll likely spill the beans before she’s made it halfway through the door.
How long would you last?
A little artist’s note: This cartoon actually grew out of something very different. The idea was the same, but I just thought I could do it better. Here is the original:
I did this almost a year ago, and you can see a lot of experiments in there that would fuel what it now my current style. And, even after magazines rejected it, I still really liked it. So, when it came to Mother’s Day 2024, I decided that I would redraw it, only, I thought there might be a chance to turn it into something else. Something better. Something like what you can see above.
What do you think? Better? Worse? Just different?
Caption: “At least your circus leaves town.”
The circus is in town. Constantly.
No matter where you are and who is in your crosshairs, this seems to be a very regular occurrence. The question is, do we leave, or do they? At this point, I don’t think even the traveling circus would be safe.
How is your circus going?
A little artist’s note: I drew this one some time ago and, like many in this list, after failing to find a buyer, I decided it was time to let it loose onto the world.
This is genuinely one of my favourites. It’s fairly simple, except for having to draw US congress clear enough that when you see it, you know it’s there. But, as someone who can barely draw the same thing twice, this threw in it’s own set of challenges. Does it look close enough? Does it look too close?
All good questions, but you are the only one who can answer that.
Thanks for reading MiddleSquiggle!
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