Friday, August 22, 2008

Some Food Cartoons by Mike Lynch


Above: even when dying of thirst, some will opt for only the most conspicuous, trendy remedy.

I was recently asked for some cartoons about food, and I honestly could only think of maybe one or two that I had that were appropriate. When I began to look at my thousands of cartoons in my inventory, I found a lot more than I thought.


Above: you need to click on this one. I like the practical joke and it's almost feasible if you were able to starch up some of the alphabet in the alphabet soup. Tired mom is as amused as she can get. The little bit of kitchen detail top right helps give us a sense of place.


This really happened a couple years ago. I was in a grocery store with Stephanie Piro and we were looking at desserts in the bakery section. No nutritional labels were found!


Sometimes I get a nice wash effect.

The nice thing about drawing cartoons for a while is that soon you have a whole bunch and you find you have cartoons on a lot of topics. The above is not only about food, but it's about relationships too.



Food stores are getting categorized with non-food names. There are names on aisles like wellness section, personal growth section. Food is being labeled like drugs; this food will boost your metabolism, this food will decrease your bad carbs or whatever.






Above: 2 whales having breakfast on their apt. balcony. This one never sold -- maybe because eating children is considered too horrifying. I think the idea of 2 whales on a balcony is structurally scary. If I lived in that building, I would never park my car under their balcony.


There are already disclaimers in the parking lot (RESTAURANT NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR VEHICLE OR ANYTHING INSIDE); soon, they'll be inside as well.


Above: maybe it isn't food, but it's gardening. A silent cartoon with a gardener clown. One thing I forgot that I had added: the woman's daisies have fallen down, but the novelty squirty flower water has the juice that makes the clown's daisies grow tall.


This cartoon wrote itself. These are some of the least cute slugs ever. It does beg the question of how a slug could actually pass some salt across the table ....


Above: a catholic joke. I've heard that Ritz crackers are sometimes used instead of official Host wafers. The cartoon has never been sold or held by anyone, but I think it's funny.



Above: a multi-panel silent cartoon from I think maybe my first year of full-time cartooning. Part of a batch that was sold to BBC Music.


One of my few swear word cartoons.


Above: eating is considered passe on the Upper East Side.


Above: the level of political involvement for some. I don't know why, but my choice of colors seems particularly garish.


There you have it -- some cartoons about food! Now, to go have a mid-morning bit of peanut butter toast and a glass of novelty squirty flower water.

7 comments:

Robert Gidley said...

Um, those aren't slugs, Mike. Those are snails--slugs don't have shells. (Which makes this a double-food cartoon--look at the S-car go!) Living in Seattle, you learn what slugs look like. They look way worse than snails.

Mike Lynch said...

Oh, gee whiz, Robert. You're right. They are snails, not slugs.

Thank God I'm not a professional cook.

Gabriel said...

Thanks for the laughs, Mike. Good choice you have put "the suicidal slug" before the catholic joke cartoon, maybe I'd have put "eat-shit dog" after this one. Association of ideas, you know--

Royston Robertson said...

The other day my six-year-old son asked the kind of lateral question that only kids ask: "What happens when you put *pepper* on slugs?"

I had no answer.

I love the swear word cartoon ;-)

Mike Lynch said...

Thanks Gabriel & Royston for the kind words and interesting stories. Royston: look out, I think your son is funnier than you.

And thanks to all of those who write me emails in lieu of posting via blogger and its nefarious word verification ordeal.

Royston Robertson said...

I'm onto it, Mike ... I'm going to put him to work as my gag writer ;-)

Mike Lynch said...

I'd sign the tyke up now, before the majors want him!