So after the funeral for Howie on Friday, I headed for the airport, hooked up with my friend Carolyn and we flew to Phoenix. In Phoenix, I rented a Ford Escape and drove us to Scottsdale, Arizona and to the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess resort, therein. Whyfore I do this? For the Reuben Awards weekend, which is an annual conclave of the National Cartoonists Society. That's right: The place was full of cartoonists. They were everywhere. Sunday afternoon, Carolyn was wandering the grounds and she noticed a man sitting outside a Tapas Bar, inking a comic strip. She recognized the strip as one of her favorites, Strange Brew, which meant that the man had to be John Deering. She told him how much she liked his work and he chatted with her as he kept on inking, even though the strip had to get to FedEx, and he had to get to the airport in under two hours. She admired his competence and confidence about making these deadlines, as well as the beauty of his brushwork. It was a whole weekend of encounters of that sort. I kept saluting every time I passed Mort Walker.
Scottsdale is a lovely city…a little hot but you can see why people want to live here. I wish we'd had time to see more of the place.
Among the folks I enjoyed chatting with this weekend were Roger Armstrong, Tom Batiuk, Craig Boldman, Chris Browne, Daryl Cagle, Lucy Shelton Caswell, Jack Davis, Jose Delbo, Greg Evans, Chad Frye, Mort Gerberg, Stephanie Gladden, John M. Miller, Stan Goldberg, Steve Greenberg, R.C. "Bob" Harvey, Bunny Hoest, Bill Janocha, Bucky Jones, Mell Lazarus, Steve McGarry, Michael McParlane, Nick Meglin, Frank Pauer, Dan Piraro, Tom Richmond, Jerry Robinson, Arnold Roth, Jean Schulz, Frank Springer, Jerry Van Amerongen, Sam Viviano, Mort Walker, Greg Walker, Brian Walker, Bob Weber, Bill Wilson, Gahan Wilson and Irwin Hasen. And I left out a lot of names.
Saturday evening, they had the big Reuben Awards Dinner, which is kind of like the cartoonist equivalent of the Oscars. For this, I had to rent a tuxedo even though I already own two. Alas, one is too big and one is too small and it didn't work to mix 'n' match the pants and coat. In case you ever need to rent a tux to wear in another city, I can now tell you how to do it in two words: Men's Wearhouse. The chain rents formal wear in most (not all) of its outlets and if you go into one that does, they can measure you and let you try one on for fit, and pick a style and color from their catalog…and then you can pick up the tux at some other Men's Wearhouse in some other town. It worked very well, although if you ever do it, I would advise not making the one mistake I made, which was needing to rent a tux during prom season. The store where I went for my fitting was full of teenage boys asking if they had any with pants that cut off at mid-calf length, and cufflinks you can wear in your nose. Apart from that, it was fine.
In case you're interested in who won what at the awards, Tom Spurgeon has the list. Dan Piraro, who draws Bizarro, was the Master of Ceremonies and he did a fine job of it.
Sunday evening, I conducted a demonstration of Quick Draw!, the cartoon improv game we play at conventions. The competitors were Sergio Aragonés, Scott Shaw! and Dan Piraro…and at one point, at Sergio's suggestion, I got Jack Davis up to knock out an instant drawing. I don't know that there's a more loved and admired man in the whole field of cartooning than Jack.
This was followed by the Sergio Roast, a tribute to the man who is called by many (I think me and two other guys) "the fastest cartoonist alive." The tone for the proceedings was set by the superb caricature seen above, executed by MAD Magazine artist Tom Richmond. It ain't easy drawing likenesses in The House of Drucker but Tom does a superb job.
Sergio was quite moved by the insults, most of which rapidly segued into outpourings of affection and respect from his colleagues, including Mell Lazarus (creator of Miss Peach and Momma) and MAD's former editor, Nick Meglin.
And that's pretty much my report. I'm still a little weary from my travels. I'll try to write more in the next few days.