Monday, February 20, 2017

Saturday, February 18, 2017

Hat Issue

 Under normal circumstances I really don't want to be addressing Trumps policies directly.  This issue doesn't use the device of "Clownsville" to talk about  policies and issues.  It just uses Trump's infamous campaign hat.


"Make America Hat"



"Make SNL" hat.


"Americans Vote Again" het.

What and Where of Clownsville


The idea for Clownsville started from a simple comment of one my favorite interviewers, Sam Harris.   He had been railing against the thought of a figure like Trump gaining real political power for the entire length of the campaign, and when Trump won the electoral college, he made a comment to the effect "we've just made Trump the most powerful clown in the world".  The original name of the comic was to be "The Most Powerful Clown".

Early "powerful clown" ideas


At first I was pretty sure that I didn't need to make a clown that looked like any of the clowns in office, but as I thought about it, it became clear that this had to be a direct comment about someone that I saw as grossly incompetent to have the job.

"Donald the Clown" ideas.


As my clowns began to become a little more focused, I realized two things.  One, although I have a little natural talent at sketching, I really had no idea how to make the economic, recognizable figures that a running comic strip demanded.  Two, the things that I wanted to address would probably extend way beyond the White House, and touch on American culture as a whole.

As for my drawing talent, well, I don't know what to do but to try; we'll see if I succeed.

For the second issue I decide to place the "most powerful clown" in an ecosystem, and use that ecosystem as a way to address other issues, and "Clownsville" was born.

Of course, at that point Trump hadn't taken office yet, and I just didn't have any idea of the flood of shit coming down the hill.  As of the last day of January I'm wandering how I'm going to document the all that I wanted to about his rise to power and the reaction to it.

Forward

There are several issues of "Clownsville" that were mapped out and wholly or partially drawn, but with the seeming unending drama of the Trump presidency it seems necessary to address "Trump Emergencies" as they arise. So for now, I'll do a little bouncing back and forth between old and new topics.  We live in interesting times.