It’s August 1982 and the boys find out that the owner of the sawmill is selling and moving to Florida. Life for Louie and Bruce is changing. Oh my! But this strip never made it to publication. None of the large format strips that I drew in 1982 did. I turned to 3- and 4-panelContinue reading John Sells the Mill [comic strip]
Rude Awakening [comic strip]
I spent January away from WordPress while I worked on some art and writing projects. Since retirement from my 9-to-5 job, I’ve been busy planning to republish my books at Amazon and setting up a workspace so I can paint again. Last week, I found more Louie and Bruce comic strips. Two were heavily damagedContinue reading Rude Awakening [comic strip]
A Louie and Bruce Christmas Surprise [comic strip]
While going through more boxes in storage, I found this Louie & Bruce comic strip among my papers from teaching cartooning to kids years ago … I think it was 1988. I know … I thought I had finished writing about my old strip, but chance and fate had other plans. With Christmas five daysContinue reading A Louie and Bruce Christmas Surprise [comic strip]
Teaching Art Is FUN
Not long after I stopped drawing my Louie and Bruce comic strip, I began teaching art courses to adults and children. One of the youth courses was Drawing Cartoons, so I used my strips as teaching aids during the 6-class course. About halfway through the course, we discussed anthropomorphism—giving human characteristics to animals or inanimateContinue reading Teaching Art Is FUN
Louie and Bruce Singles, 1982, Part 2 [comic strips]
Old jokes and gags were common in Louie and Bruce’s world. I sometimes stole gags from TV, tweaked them, and used them in my strips. The snowball gag above is probably older than my dad, and he’s in his eighties. But it was a perfect gag for Leroy. Mark Twain said that because of humor,Continue reading Louie and Bruce Singles, 1982, Part 2 [comic strips]
Louie and Bruce Singles, 1982, Part 1 [comic strips]
Leroy is Louie’s brother. Louie has a pointed head and Leroy’s is flat. I referred to him as a carrot top—not because his hair was red (which it wasn’t), but because the three hairs that grow from the center of his head reminded me of three stems of a carrot after the leaves have beenContinue reading Louie and Bruce Singles, 1982, Part 1 [comic strips]
Louie’s Cat Acts Up [comic strip]
In January of 1982, I drew an anthropomorphic character for the Louie and Bruce comic strip: Louie’s cat. I didn’t have a name for the stray alley cat Louie took in, so he was called “Louie’s cat.” Names that I kicked around were Barfield (a play on Garfield), Rowdy Dangerfield (because he thought he wasContinue reading Louie’s Cat Acts Up [comic strip]
Debarking Up the Wrong Tree [comic strip]
It’s December 1981 and the sawmill I work at is shutting down for the winter. Life for Louie and Bruce and the gang goes on, though this is the last full-feature strip of them at the mill until 1983. No one does a better pratfall than Louie. But falling into a debarking machine isn’t myContinue reading Debarking Up the Wrong Tree [comic strip]
Frank’s Lunch Break [comic strip]
Welcome to another Louie and Bruce comic strip feature from 1981, never published at this website until now. The top 3 throwaway panels (see my last post about that) introduce and set up the problem, which carries through the strip to the end: Frank forgot his lunch. I was influenced by cartoonist Garry Trudeau’s earlyContinue reading Frank’s Lunch Break [comic strip]
Louie’s Problems [comic strip]
I’m going to feature “old” artwork—mostly comics and other drawings from the 1980s and 90s—during November and December to close out the year. This is another Louie and Bruce comic page from 1981 that I’ve never featured here before. Like the one in my last post, I found this comic while I was going throughContinue reading Louie’s Problems [comic strip]
A Louie and Bruce Treasure Hunt [comic strip]
This Louie and Bruce comic page is from September 1981. I was 24 and married for ten months. I had big dreams back then and a bigger future in front of me. I found this comic and others like it while I went through old boxes during a search for decorations of Christmases past. TheContinue reading A Louie and Bruce Treasure Hunt [comic strip]
Conroy’s Corner from the Archives [comic strip]
I began drawing comic strips when I was in high school. I mentioned The Klutz in my last post. I featured it in my notebooks, notes to friends, and on chalkboards when teachers weren’t around. The Burgess Bros. came next and became a common feature on many unattended chalkboards at my school. Fifi was aContinue reading Conroy’s Corner from the Archives [comic strip]
