Nothing but the Tooth

You know the drill.

I’m always amazed at where the FurBabies characters take me. Lynn Johnston told me that they will ‘tell you’ what they will and will not do, and if you hear them advising you in your head, it means you are doing the strip right.

It’s sort of like being a Method actor, except they are getting into me rather than the other way around.

Elzie Segar drew a famous Popeye strip describing cartoonists as crazy in the head. It’s a good crazy.

And I still really don’t know what I am doing. Other cartoonists tell me that they don’t know either! Cartooning is something that grabs you and takes you somewhere even if you haven’t packed your bags or booked any tickets. I’m glad that the FurBabies characters are pleasant to be with (except for Poppy). They have problems in an alternate universe where there is no politics and the only conflicts are with other schoolchildren, incompetent AI, or mischievous puppies.

And, of course, teeth. This illustration appears as part of an upcoming strip. It’s a surprise. I had fun with it.

Teeth are only amusing in cartoons. Grandma’s Dentures started the trend. The Valentines Day candy strips led me to the theme of tooth problems, since Chocolate is bad for dogs and cats.

This is the original illustration of Kate at the store counter. I renamed the candy store SUGARBEEST because it had never been used before and I thought it was funny. Kate got pumpkin ‘filling’ here in October for Canadian Thanksgiving, had her birthday in the attached restaurant on the 29th, and the candy store appeared again on February 15. All of the business names in the strip are fictional, except, ironically, NATURE THRILLS. But that is so generic I don’t think that it matters.

Some of you may notice that DEWEY DO TEETH may be owned by the parents of Lewis H. Dewey. In fact, it is. And I’m noticing it for you. The name popped into my head when I was looking for a cute name for a dentist’s office.

I have a question about this blog. I am extremely gratified to have doubled the number of free subscribers. Thank you all. There are actually more of you than there are ‘followers’ of the FurBabies comic on GoComics. I have a question for you. I am considering offering a paid subscription. There would be benefits, including original artwork, and I would post more often. Would this interest any of you?

Thank you all, and I wish you a pleasant and healthy weekend.