
Back in junior high, I wasted many hours sitting through class by drawing my popular comic strip, “Sumpy and Friends.” Sumpy was created after our ill-tempered basketball/football coach. The other main characters were classmate Davies and his step-father and substitute teacher, Bob. Why these three? Because they got the most laughs. I’d be sitting in Study Hall with a stack of scratch paper, drawing whatever came to mind. Friends became so interested with my drawings that I was forced to pass them around the room long before I was even finished. Once, I had drawn only Sumpy’s arm and was forced to show it off to the admiring crowd.
That was 12 or 13 years ago. I haven’t done too much drawing since then, so my artistic ability hasn’t improved. So, out of curiosity, I decided to whip out the crayons and see if I could still draw the old threesome. Sure enough, my drawings are still spot-on. No, neither Sumpy or Bob ever dressed that way, but they looked funnier wearing sombreros and ascots. Davies, on the other hand, usually wore his caps backwards, covering up his eyebrows and stretching his eyelids into what had to be an uncomfortable always-open position.
Yeah, you can draw. Especially if you enjoy it keep doing it and see where it takes you. There is a long line of famous artists who work in this style, R. Crumb for one. I like sumpy and Bob.
I could have seen this drawing in a back alley in Taiwan and would have known that you were the artist. You have a distinct style. Your drawings were too kind to Sumpy…he was a real BEAST!!
Oh, these bring back memories. I can clearly remember your drawings about “Starving in Somalia Sumpy”… Looks like you still have your touch!