Mike Lynch Cartoon in Chronicle of Higher Education

"For the last time Billy, I assure you it's soft money."

The Chronicle of Higher Education, the industry publication for the college faculty and administration, publishes a couple of cartoons an issue. I have the above one in this week's issue.

OK, the guy looks a little like Cheney, but that was unintentional. Originally drawn in 2002, this cartoon went out in its little submission envelope 23 times. Each time, the little cartoon was full of hope; each time it was routinely rejected.

The Chronicle picked it up recently when I mailed the editor a copy (probably yellow with age by now). I always liked the gag, and I liked the look of hesitancy in Billy's face. The fact that we're gearing up for a new election cycle obviously helped the gag's timeliness. I was happily surprised they bought it.

I hadn't bothered to pause and look at the drawing in almost five years! I see that I drew a big desk and leather chair, like my Dad used to have. There's also a stand with a dictionary, another item that my Dad still has in his home. I wanted to get the feeling that this was this fellow's study, so I must've been thinking about what my Dad has around his office when I was a kid. He did not have a small dog, though. He currently has two gorgeous big dogs. But I digress!

This was drawn in my loopy, sketchy period in late 2002 with some kind of roller ball permanent ink pen on heavy typing paper. It's not as tight as I draw now, but I do remember drawing it without penciling. I like doing that and try to draw directly on the paper with no pencils most of the time. For some reason, inking in a pre-drawn pencil sketch gives me a thudding, boring, dead inky line that looks like I traced the art. Besides, then I have to erase. Didn't I tell you? I hate erasing. Complain, complain, complain!

This bald, white-collar boss-dad has been in a number of cartoons.


Above: here he is from a few months ago, from Forbes magazine, dispensing a nugget of corporate wisdom. I like that Corporate Dad's laid-back look is accomplished by taking off his jacket -- the tie and vest remain on. And no rolled up sleeves.

The original was bought by an oil drilling company in Canada. Perhaps they put it up on the wall next to those corporate posters. That's a nice thought. Maybe, somewhere in the Great White North, there is a line of framed workplace inspirational posters that say SOAR and ACHIEVE and DELEGATE.