In Contempt Archives: 2001

2001: Wot a goddawful year it was. Nothing like the Arthur C. Clarke novel (which isn't necessarily a bad thing unto itself); all year long, before and after September 11th, you could hear people whistfully whine, "Where's my jet pack? Where's my flying car?"

Personally, however, the year 2001 began on a positive note: The Skanner's editor Lloyd Woods asked me to contribute cartoons on a weekly basis. I immediately jumped at the offer. Too much stuff was going on then (and now) to let a week go by without doodling some invective about it; and any chance I get to increase my artistic discipline is greatly welcome. It was also nice to get an extra $15 a week just for being a disgruntled cartoonist. All that winter and spring I happily cranked out my crankery, improving my skills and developing my style.

Then (cue soap opera organ) tragedy struck: Lloyd got fed up with the paper and retired; the new editor Chris liked my stuff and kept me on, but we soon learned that the publisher was none too keen on my somewhat, uh, unorthodox take on politics. Lloyd had been rather adept at deflecting the publisher's volcanic fury, but Chris was too new to have enough clout to stick up for some wingnut like me. Ah well, such are the breaks.

So I took a break in May and June, allowing me to settle into my new apartment with my lovely wife. But after only a few weeks, I got the cartoonin' jones. Too many absurd things were happening in the world -- and I missed out on the Jim Jeffords story! Holy Cow! It was too much for my political conscience to take (not to mention my ego), so I decided that if nothing else, I should at least maintain my cartooning discipline by posting to my website. With the encouragement of Chris Baldwin, I returned to my weekly schedule, and soon started contributing to Z Magazine's website, which was an added incentive (people would actually see my work there - wow!). In the process, I gave the strip its current title and moved the site from my ISP's free server to the professional site you now enjoy (or so I presume.)

Oh, and September 11th? While the strip was on its way towards a more defined caustic tone, the terrorist attacks and the aftermath accelerated the progression. Strips became angrier, more openly critical of the Bush administration, US foreign policy and the widespread culture of panic that Ashcroft et al. were only too happy to comply with. The war in Afghanistan was a particularly difficult issue to grapple: the Taliban sucked and bombing al-Qaeda training camps was a logical response. But innocent people were caught in the middle; the BushAdmin's promises of social reform for Afghanis, especially for women, rang hollow; and our collective thirst for revenge was too bloody-minded to trust. History still has not sufficiently answered the question of whether or not Afghanis are better off.