holidays – Andertoons Cartoon Blog

Superhero Valentines

February 9, 2016January 10, 2017 andertoons

I love comics and I love Valentine’s Day, so over the years I’ve collected a lot of different superhero valentines. Here are just a few of my very favorites:

1966 Batman Valentines

Love that 1966 Batmobile! (And that hand lettering!)

I dunno what it is exactly that Batman has against a giant red heart, but I trust that he know what he’s doing. He is Batman after all.

Check out the rest of these Batman valentines here.

1979 Marvel Valentines

Too late, Spidey, my Stalker-Sense is tingling.

Nothing says I Love You like the threat of impending violence. This one makes Spidey look downright well adjusted. Sheesh!

Check out the rest of these Marvel valentines here.

1980 DC Superhero Valentines

OK, these are actually kind of amazing. The idea was to punch out the various parts, put them together, and make 3D action valentines. I tried a few out and they’re challenging, but so rewarding. Here’s some more…

That PlasticMan one is disturbing. Just saying.

Batwoman?! That’s clearly Batgirl.

Check out the rest of these terrific valentines here.

More 1966 Batman Valentines

People simply could not get enough Batman back in the 60’s. Even if they’re weird and pretty poorly drawn. And have the answers upside-down on the bottom.

Robin, you’re making me… uncomfortable. Also, that’s a rope, not a trapeze.

OK, you’ve got me on this one. Batman stabbing a dragon/snake with a heart to demonstrate his feelings?! Bad. But that “THUNK!” sound is just awful!

I dare you not look at the rest of these.

1978 Wonder Woman Valentines

OK, technically these are more general romance cards than true Valentine’s Day cards, but I couldn’t resist sharing these.

Environmentalist Wonder Woman, you had me at ‘energy crisis.’

That is pretty lame, but I’m not proud. Yes. Yes, Wonder Woman, I would.

See the rest of these unbelievably awesome cards here.

So, if you’re in a lurch for superhero valentines, feel free to print these out! And have a super Valentine’s Day!

Christmas Cartoons – 2013

December 2, 2013January 10, 2017 andertoons

Christmas is coming up quick, so I thought I’d share this year’s batch of Christmas cartoons. Grab some cocoa and enjoy:

I don’t know a lot about Hanukkah or Kwanzaa, so I’m a little uncomfortable writing cartoons for them. For that matter I also avoid the religious aspects of Christmas, preferring to stick mostly to Santa, etc… But every year I do try to offer at least one winter-themed cartoon to round things out a bit more, and I’m really happy with this one.

I worried that it might be a bit subtle, so I gave the Dad snowman four buttons instead of three to drive the point home. Seriously, this is something I think about.

This is one of those Christmas cartoons that needed a little help. The joke was always there, but when I was shading I noticed that I’d drawn the leg the boy is sitting one much smaller than the other. Honestly, Santa looked like a pirate or maybe something out of an old Twilight Zone episode. (The boy gets his wish but is then horribly and ironically disfigured!) Anyway, it was Photoshop to the rescue and Christmas was saved!

This one took the most most effort of this year’s batch of Christmas cartoons. Firstly, it’s a really long caption that I had a lot of trouble nailing down. So the number of words written, then rewritten, then revised, then thrown out completely and restarted was absurd. Secondly, drawing all those little Christmas tree branches and needles and lights… Ugh! And it didn’t come out right until about the third ink. Then it was on to shading which meant testing all kinds of brushes and patterns and opacities to get the tree just right. Finally I showed it all to my wife and she didn’t get it. Did! Not! Get! It! But after a few more rewrites I think it ended up pretty good. Mostly I’m just glad it’s done. (Bah! Humbug!)

When I get stuck for a caption I like to take the subject I’m working on and put it in a banal business setting to see what happens. So you put some overworked elves, that burning empty carafe smell, substitute cocoa for coffee and you’ve got yourself a cartoon!

There are a lot of more straightforward ways to write this caption:

“But is he on the naughty list?!”
“Are you aware the defendant is on your naughty list?”
“Nice or naughty?! Answer the question!”

And normally I advocate for trimming captions as much as possible, but for whatever reason this cartoon felt like it needed a longer caption.

OK, the aforementioned tree cartoon probably took the longest of this year’s Christmas cartoons to draw, but this cartoon took the most time to conceive visually. It’s a very specific caption as far as the ornament goes, so you can’t really fudge the art. I spent quite a bit of time in Google images researching DIY yarn decorations, mouse shaped ornaments, and how yarn looks close up. All in all I think it turned out well and I think it rings true.

So that’s it for this year’s batch. Looking for more? Head on over to the main site and check out the rest of my Christmas cartoons!

And here’s some other Christmas blogs you might like:

Snowman Cartoons
LEGO Santa Mech & Futurama’s Robot Santa
1951 Christmas Cartoon Greeting Cards
How to draw a cartoon elf or a polar bear

Happy Holidays!

Christmas Cartoons – Collection

December 3, 2012January 10, 2017 andertoons

‘Tis the season, so to get you in the mood, here’s some new Christmas cartoons!

Every year I watch A Charlie Brown Christmas and every year I think “just watching those kids dance makes my back and neck hurt.” So I finally addressed it.

Can I say too that trying to draw in Schulz’s style without out and out copying him is deceptively difficult? (Also, see if you can find the little Easter Egg I put in there.)

As Christmas cartoons go, this is pretty good. But it’s also not a bad idea if you’ve got low ceilings and short family members.

This is one of those cartoons where it’s better not to think too deeply about it. Where would a miniskirt go on a tree? Does it go higher up the trunk so you can see more of the stand? Do older trees cluck their tongues in disapproval?

See, too much thought.

I always try to throw in some more wintery cartoons for people that don’t observe Christmas, so I do snowmen. But Bill Watterson set the snowman cartoon bar so high that it’s always a real challenge.

Fireplace stockings is another of the standard Christmas cartoons, and another tough nut to crack. (Note to self – buy nutcracker.) But if you can come up with something new and interesting it’s really satisfying.

When you’re doing a mall Santa cartoon, that’d better be a fairly good joke, because you’re going to have to draw a lot to pull it off. People in line, trees, elves, etc…

I like the idea that this kid is suspicious of Santa. Probably watching too much TV. Or not enough.

You just know this is coming. And someone’s probably trademarking it as we speak. I think you go the other way with “Ho-ho-ho-ho!” Make people feel like they’re getting a little added value around the holidays.

Hope you enjoyed those! Feel free to check out all of my other Christmas cartoons too. And happy holidays, everyone!

Thanksgiving Cartoons – Collection

November 12, 2012January 10, 2017 andertoons2 Comments

Turkey day is coming soon, so, to get you in the mood, here’s a veritable feast of Thanksgiving cartoons!

I don’t think I’ve done any First Thanksgiving cartoons before, and once I began drawing it I knew why. You have to draw your pilgrims, your Native Americans, a table & chairs, a cabin, a forest, turkeys… Sheesh!

More thought than you’d assume went into the text for the sign in this cartoon. I’d considered, and actually had another cartoon recommend “Because, unlike your rmother, you can’t cook,” but I like the one-two punch of putting “unlike your mother” at the end.

Nothing says family holiday meal like petty squabbling, the silent treatment, and pushing family members’ buttons. Throw in some politics and you’re good to go!

When thinking Thanksgiving cartoons, a turkey with a samurai sword probably doesn’t come immediately to mind. That is unless you had just watched Kill Bill before sitting down to write. Ahem.

Every Thanksgiving I think “Hey, I’ll put on the parade for the kids! I used to love that when I was a kid!” You sit them down and watch about 10 minutes of lip-synced dancing, the Podunk High School Marching Weevils, and endless teases for balloons and then, like every Thanksgiving, I apologize and hand over the iPhone and iPad.

Turkeys disguising themselves as other birds is a staple of Thanksgiving cartoons, but for some reason the phrase “feather extensions” made me chortle to myself for about five minutes. So there it is.

Thanksgiving blackmail. You go, turkey!

This Thanksgiving cartoon took a bit of research. When is a turkey done? What’s that thing about stuffing? How do you get salmonella? All in a day’s work for your friendly neighborhood cartoonist.

Well that’s it, Feel free to check out all of my other Thanksgiving cartoons too. And happy turkey day, everyone!

Easter Cartoons

March 26, 2012January 10, 2017 andertoons2 Comments

It’s almost Easter time! And to help get you in the mood, I thought I’d share a few of my favorite Easter cartoons:

Bar cartoons are some of my favorites, and they’re even better when the patrons are anthropomorphic, so this bunny complaining to his turkey friend makes me very happy indeed.

And when you think about it, the bunny’s right. He’s gotta hide all those eggs overnight, pumpkins get all carved up, the turkey… well, we all know what happens to the turkey. But the groundhog wakes up for a few minutes, looks around, gets his picture taken, and then it’s right back to sleep. That’s the gig to have.

So when you think Easter you think eggs. And when you think eggs you think Humpty Dumpty. I’m explaining here because, although this cartoon makes me laugh, it actually makes very little sense.

What exactly would be better for Humpty at Easter? And why are there cops instead of the King’s men? And how come pictures of Humpty never show any yolk spilling out anywhere?

These and other questions are why you should never overthink a cartoon.

So this isn’t exactly about Easter, but it’s egg-themed, so I’m including it. Plus those egg parents turned out really well. (Love that tiny tie!)

I’m honestly surprised this hasn’t come to pass already. I suppose coloring the eggs is the fun part, but you just know that on Easter morning, there are going to be parents out there rushing somewhere, screaming kids in tow, that, if they were available, would pay an exorbitant price for efficiently produced pre-colored eggs.

Mark my words, this is coming.

OK, so another not-technically-Easter cartoon, but, again, egg-themed, so…

This is a take on the old “tastes like chicken” phrase which is supposedly really funny when someone eats something odd, but in reality stopped being funny in November of 1978. (Look it up.)

But when you think about it, if there was one thing that wasn’t chicken, that actually should taste like chicken, it would be eggs. But they don’t.

I’ve never really understood why exactly the Easter Bunny hides eggs. Christmas gifts? Under the tree. Halloween candy? Neighbor’s house. But Easter eggs you gotta go tramp all over the place looking for.

But now you know why. It’s rigged. Rigged I tells ya!

Well, that’s it for Easter cartoons! Happy egg coloring!