El Gato

Question: How can a cat reek of pooh, while having no outward evidence of fecal matter on it's person? Answer: The question is irrelevant- all that matters is that it does (reek of pooh). Note: the foreground ear is sized smaller to emphasize Topper's chubbidity.

Cat Woman Rough

Rough layout for a Cat Woman commission in which I ran out of room at the bottom of the page. Since our cat Topper is the only cat I see on a daily basis, I automatically drew the cats with saggy guts.

The Cooler King

A week and a half or so ago. Topper and I are currently at war. He has rescheduled his breakfast time for 4:30 a.m., and can't understand why the rest of us aren't on board with it. So any harassment before 6:00, earns him time in the garage. Let's hope he figures this out before we have to change his name to Steve McQueen! (heh-heh-heh that's a "Great Escape" reference for us oldsters out there) It's going to be a long winter.

The Cat, Fat

Topper next to me on the couch- an easy target.

Cat Fancy

I wasn't thinking of it at the time, but any of my ridiculous cat drawings are probably inspired by the great New Yorker cartoonist George Booth. I was working at a used book store in Chicago when I first ran across of book of his (Think good thoughts about a pussycat). I was laughing so hard I had tears running down my face. I could barely run the cash register.

The above is an exaggeration, of course, Topper is much fatter.

Gato Vato

Topper in a pensive moment with a ball point pen. I'm making amends for treating him so cruelly below. Actually, since we recently got a dog, Topper looks a lot closer to the images below than above.

On another matter, my hero Joe Kubert has recently published a 200+ page graphic account called "Dong Xoai, Vietnam 1965". This was a nice surprise since I had no prior knowledge of it. It's the true story of a Special Forces team defending a doomed village early in the war. Joe's drawn it on toned paper in pencil with white highlights. It's gorgeous and I'm reading it in 5 page bursts to make it last as long as possible. Here's a link to an interview with the master on Comic Book Resources: http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=26087

Joe Kubert's in his mid- 80's and still out-producing guys a quarter his age. I'll never forget the advice he once gave me in the halls of the Kubert School- "Watch your fingers!" ( I was using the paper cutter at the time).

Don Gato

Same night as previous, I think. I was using a ball point pen. The bottom sketch is why Topper must maintain his weight.

Cat Abuse

More heavy-handed black Prisma-color with Topper as the victim. Cats are the perfect subjects, due to their propensity for naps. In fact one of the chief problems in drawing cats is making an interesting composition out of what is, essentially, a furry loaf of bread. A little more nose on this and I'd have made Topper into a hedgehog.

Neurotica

I don't think it'll be news to our cat, Topper, who sometimes reads this, that I often re-imagine him as absurdly fat. Rivers of fur-covered flesh. Shortly after these drawings were done, Topper became allergic to his food (of all things) and lost 2 pounds in as few weeks. For the first time he was a normal size (sure he was dying, but he looked great!). Happy to report Topper is healthy and has regained those 2 pounds and then some!

He who must be obeyed

He who allows us to share a home, sometime in June. Like the universe, Topper is

expanding at a rapid and constant rate.

El Gato Gordo

Earlier this week, the cat napping. It's always an ownership thing with cats. Topper rarely sleeps on a single surface. He's happier half-draped on a book or a shoe. Lucky for him, we keep lots of things laying around the house! If my book-bag had been open, he would have been inside of it.

Still life with Cat

I grew up in a house with pets; dogs, cats, gerbils, chameleons, fish. Over the years I'd weaned myself from the habit of keeping pets. I enjoyed the mobility and lack of responsibility associated with being petless. Last year our nephew bequeathed a cat to us and Topper is now a full-fledged member of the family.

Topper was homeless and near-starved when he was rescued by our nephew. The time he spent under-nourished must have affected him deeply, as now he can't stop eating. I thought at first about seeing just how fat a cat could get, but a veterinarian reminded us that the fatter a cat gets, the less able it is to clean itself. What a buzz-kill.