Comics: Meet the Artist

Join Washington Post Comics page editor Suzanne Tobin online once each month to discuss the comics pages. From artists to writers to editors, Tobin is joined by a different guest for each show. This week, Tobin was joined by " Prickly City " cartoonist Scott Stantis .

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Suzanne Tobin: Greetings, comics fans and welcome to another edition of "Comics: Meet the Artist." Today, our guest is Scott Stantis, creator of "Prickly City," and the editorial cartoonist for the Birmingham News in Alabama. Welcome, Scott, and thanks for joining us Live Online.

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Scott Stantis: I am so happy to be here in the lions den of liberalism. When I started Prickly City The Washington Post was on my short list of papers I HAD to be in. God bless our sales staff and God bless the Post for running Prickly City. (For our leftist friends that is a totally non-denominational, secular kind of God).

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UpMo, MD: Just wanted to say that one of your earliest strips in the Post, concerning the little girl doing a report on a famous woman, made my bulletin board. Oddly, both your strip and Boondocks are must reads each day, just to see how many fingers you and MacGruder can stick into people's eyes; you happen to be a bit more gentle about it. Keep up the great work!

Scott Stantis: Thank you so much!I do try and be a little more gentle. God knows there are enough conservative talking heads screaming at you that perhaps I can deliver my message a little more subversively. I like to think of Prickly City as a chocolate covered cactus.

Scott Stantis: I am so happy to be here in the lions den of liberalism. When I started Prickly City The Washington Post was on my short list of papers I HAD to be in. God bless our sales staff and God bless the Post for running Prickly City. (For our leftist friends that is a totally non-denominational, secular kind of God).

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Washington, DC: Hi Scott,

Whether or not I always agree with your point of view, I became a fan of your editorial cartoons when I was an intern at the Grand Rapids Press in 1992, and you did a cartoon from one of my stories. Do you see Prickly City as a natural outgrowth of your editorial cartooning, and do you think you're filling a specific political dearth on the comics pages?

Scott Stantis: Yes. I saw Prickly City as a chance to reach a braoder audience. And, if the volume of email is any indication, I did it. The number of responses to the strip are so much more than to my editorial cartoons. Please write to me at PricklyCity@gmail.com so we can catch up. Seems like I was at the Grand Rapids Press for, like, twenty-six seconds.

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South Bend, Indiana: Hi Scott.

If you were a 20-something year old cartoonist just starting

your career, would you still pursue newspapers as your main

outlet of work?

On a follow-up question, are flash animations and internet-

publishing the future of editorial cartooning?

Thanks.

Scott Stantis: Great question.

I have no earthly idea. I think in the short run color works so much better on the web.

Animation is still so labor intensive I don't see it as a practical day-to-day salution.

I do think podcasting and vloging is next. I do a weekly podcast posted at both Itunes and www.PricklyCity.com which has been growing in listeners steadily.

The web IS a great place to start. Back when I was your age you had to find a small paper editor who would be willing to run your work. Often for nothing. Now, you can skip the middle person and go straight to a mass audience. The only problem I see with this is there is no editor to tell you when a cartoon sucks. Or makes no sense. Things you don't want to hear but really need to hear if you're going to improve.

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Washington, DC: Shortly after Hurricane Katrina hit, you were among those who blamed the residents of New Orleans for not leaving the city of their own accord. In fact, you even went so far as to mock them.

My question, therefore, is this: Are you human?

Scott Stantis: Depends on who you ask.

I took in a house full of refugees who stayed with us for many months. I did not blame them the ones who stayed as much as scold them for staying. If you will recall, the following days strip offered them sympathy and directed the blame where it belonged. At the dunderheaded mayor.

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Alexandria, Virginia: I'm outraged! How dare you! Don't you know that no comic strip to allowed to express a conservative politicial point of view?

Well, of course there was Little Orphan Annie, Dick Tracy, Steven Canyon, Lil Abner (in the later years, anyway,) etc., but that was in the olden days. Now any comic strip that expresses an opinion on the issues of the day has to go to Doonesbury first and follow the party line.

Ooh, you make me so mad! I can hardly pull myself together so I can go to the Daily Kos website and get my marching orders for what to send in to these chats on Monday!

Scott Stantis: LOL!

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Bethesda, MD.: Seeing you are not an Alabama native, how did you wind up in Alabama?

Scott Stantis: I came to Alabama to become the editorial cartoonist for The Birmingham News. Seeing as there are only about 80 jobs in the US you go where the work is. I do like it here a lot. Birmingham is a surprisingly cosmopolitan city. The rest of Alabama is, well, Alabama.

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Alexandria, VA: Your strip addresses political issues almost 80% of the time. Why should your strip be on the Comics page? Isn't the Op-Ed page a more appropriate forum?

Second question: how old is Carmen intended to be?

Scott Stantis: Good question.

I think it does have a place on the comics page. Years ago the rule of proper manners was one did not speak at a party of religion or politics. Now, you don't hear anything else. The succes of Leno, Letterman and especially the Daily Show tells us that political and social humor or mainstream. And if folks don't like it, there's always Marmaduke.

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New York, N.Y.: If you think a pro-corporate, pro-big government entity like the Post is a liberal entity, what do you think of the "we'll lie for the President" New York Times? Which, by the way, you may answer freely as they have no comics, which right away makes them suspicious.

Scott Stantis: I totally agree that any publication that has no comics is suspect to the extreme.

You make a great point. The perceived chasim between liberal and conservative in the United States is much smaller than it's made out to be. I would love a much broader debate with reasoned discussion from a wider range of people and views. I guess that is what the internet does so well.

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Arlington, VA.: Your cartoons often have political or policy slants. Do you feel happy knowing that you have a loyal following of people who disagree with you, or do you tend to direct your appreciation towards those who mostly agree with your sentiments?

Scott Stantis: I seem to have a large number of readers from the left. I think this speaks well of Prickly City but even more about readers like you. I never claim to have a corner on the truth. I have my views and you have yours. The joy and the passion is in the debate. I often say of my liberal friends, "we may not have the same politics but we share the same values". By this I mean we all want a better world for our children. We want every American to have the oportunity to succed. We don't want to see any one go hungry. How we cure these ills is where the debate begins. I want to engage the whole political spectrum. I take off on Republicans, too, ya know.

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Ahack, UR: Scott,

Hi!

I am 12 and my name is Robbie.

I like your cartoon the most in my paper.

My dad really loves it, but my mom doesn't, but they

always argue about it, but in a fun way.

Is that the way u want it to b?

My favorite character is the fox.

How did you get that idea.

Thx for ansering!

U R the coolest!

Scott Stantis: Thank you. I am trying to figure out where UR is?

Yes, I want people to discuss. To question their own ideas and discuss them. If your ideas are never challenged then they may be febble or nonesense. I am challenged everyday on my opinions. I do not come to them lightly. I research and make a decision. And you know what? Sometimes I am wrong.

As for Winslow, actually, he is a coyote. I lived in Arizona for many years before moving here to Birmingham, Alabama. I fell in love with the desert. It's such a cool, foreighn environment I thought it would be perfect for a strip. Everything in the desert is designed to prick you, hurt you, kill you or eat you. I think that is a great metaphore for our current political landscape.

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Davis, California: Hi Scott,

Back in January you had a strip where one of your characters claimed that "at least 80 Democrats took money from Mr. Abramoff." Can you name one or two of those Democrats for us and give us some evidence to back up your claim?

From everything I've read elsewhere, Jack Abramoff is (like you) a diehard Republican who has never given a cent to a Democrat in his life. In fact, even Abramoff's lobbying clients, who originally gave money to Democrats, gave LESS money to those same Democrats after they hired him. So Abramoff never gave any money himself and he was indirectly responsible for steering money away from the Democrats.

Unless you can back up your claim, I think you owe your readers an apology and a correction.

Scott Stantis: Indeed, they did give far less to Democrats. But the fact of the matter is, they DID give money to democrats per Abramoff's instructions. Harry Reid took a bunch and has since refused to return it. And you know what? He has a point. Sadly, there may have been no laws broken here. Money in politics is a cancer. If someone can show me a good, workable model for campaign finance reform that passes constitutional mustard sign me up!

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Potomac: Many people find your comic absolutely childish, juvenile and just plain offensive. On some days, your points are so broad, so scattershot and so childish, it's as if the strip was "written" by an 8-year-old. And the drawing of the girl--what is wrong with her lips, and why is she always running and jumping off of cliffs? The strip is not funny, not enjoyable, and, really, offensive.

Scott Stantis: Then don't read it.

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Arlington, Va.: I couldn't help but notice that the Post felt it necessary to schedule a chat with Noam Chomsky the same day as the chat with you. Is there any chance that you and Noam might collaborate on a strip?

Suzanne Tobin: Seeing as I choose the date and the guest for my chats, I'm afraid you are mistaken about this. The only reason Scott wasn't on next week, which is when I originally asked him to join me, is that I decided to take next Friday off.

Scott Stantis: Now THAT would be a challenging comic strip.

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Medford, MA: I like the part when you make fun of liberals. Liberals are silly and you do a great job of exposing the silliness of liberals. We need more people like you to illustrate how silly liberals are. Ha ha ha ha. Even right now I'm laughing at how silly liberals are. I didn't even know how silly liberals were until you exposed how silly liberals are. Ha ha ha ha. Funny. Scott Stantis is funny. But not as funny as silly liberals.

Scott Stantis: LOL

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Chicago, IL: It seems like your comic strip bears a striking resemblence to Calvin and Hobbes (only with a more political slant) is this an homage or , if you'll forgive my frankness, a rip-off?

Scott Stantis: I will admit to homage. Just as Watterson based his strip on earlier comic strips. Comic art is just that, art. And every artist owes a huge debt to those who came before them. You will also notice on Prickly City the influence of Peanuts, Pogo, Krazy Kat, Skippy, Doonesbury, (yes, Doonesbury, still the gold standard as far as I am concerned), and Bloom County.

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Washington, DC: Do you ever read Francesco Marciuliano's "Medium Large? I was just wondering if you happened to catch the strip from this Wednesday, which happened to reference your own work.

http://www.drinkatwork.com/2006/03/comic-for-wednesday-march-22-2006.html

Scott Stantis: I'll have to check that out. I am sure it is not complimentary as that web sight has been pretty upfront about disliking my work.

Scott Stantis: Site, that should read.

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Cynic, AL: Mr Stantis-

I read your strip and appreciate that you do take shots at both sides, but how can the decision to make Carmen a minority be seen as anything but cynical on your part?

Scott Stantis: I mentioned earlier in the discussion, Carmen is a girl of color because I wanted a representative figure for a typical American. And some say that by 2020 the United States will not have a majority race. I wanted to reflect that.

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Washington, DC: Why do you think FOX News has yet to pick up on your strategy of softening the impact of ultra-conservative views by putting them in the mouth of a black girl? Don't you think they should replace Hannity with someone less old, white, and male in order to get this same effect? Are you perhaps in negotiations with them to help develop this show?

Scott Stantis: I never said Carmen was black. Or Latino. Or native American. She is a girl of color because, as early as the year 2020 the United States will not have a majority race. She is, in my view, the very image of an American.

I can't speak for Fox but I do agree with you. As more and more African-Americans and Latinos build businesses they will find that paying large amounts of taxes and dealing with often oppresive regulations kinda sucks. And will become somewhat more conservative. Seems short sighted NOT to add darker faces on the Fox News broadcasts.

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Washington, DC: "There may have been no laws broken here"?

Jack Abramoff pled guilty to "conspiracy to bribe public officials" as well as two other charges. How can you possibly say that no laws were broken?

Scott Stantis: I was addressing the money directed to Democrats. Sorry for not being more specific. Aren't all campaign contributions bribes?

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Clifton, VA: Scott - big fan here, and thanks for chatting today. I think a lot of cartoonists feel pressure to be funny or amusing in their strips, and while Prickly City gets more than its share of laughs from me, it's pretty obvious that sometimes you just want to make a political or social point. How do you balance the tension between being a cartoonist -- on the _comics_ page -- and being a sociopolitical commenter?

Scott Stantis: Again, wonderful question.

Short answer is; I don't worry about it. I write what's on my mind that week. Sometimes serious. Sometimes perfectly silly. It's all in my mood and what is in the news. I know it is a risk but there seem to be a growing number of people who 'get it'. It just seemed to me when I started Prickly City that if I smash the readers in the mouth every day with my politics and social views it would get tiresome. Even for me. As a creator and artist I love the ebb and flow of the format I have choosen. And I really appreciate people like you who see what I am doing for what it is. A sort of free form post card to a few million of my closest friends.

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Chicago: What do you think of the state of the newspaper industry? You;ve done some pretty scathing strips on the topic.

Also what do you think of your conservative counterpart who does Mallard fillmore?

Scott Stantis: I am not impressed by most editors response to the challenges facing the newspaper industry. It is more panic. I see the future of newspapers as brighter than ever. We are facing a decade of change and I find that invigorating.

As for any other comic strip I have to say I respect any one who can crank one of these out day-to-day. It's a lot harder to do then it looks.

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Denver City TX: So don't you think it's a little, shall we say, disingenuous for you to use a young black girl -- one with lips that are a Sambo-like racial parody, to boot! -- as the mouthpiece for your middle-aged white guy beliefs?

Scott Stantis: As I said, I never say what race Carmen is. Angelina Jolie has thick lips.

You're the one throwing around racial stereotypes. "Sambo"? Shame on you.

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Washington, DC: After Rosa Parks passed away, you had a strip in which Carmen thanked the late civil rights leader for making it possible for Carmen to sit wherever she wanted.

To say that you never stated your character's race may be true, but to say you never strongly implied it would be extremely dishonest.

Scott Stantis: The heroes of the civil rights movement were very clear. They blazed a trail for ALL of us. I have never said what Carmen's racial makeup is. In fact, I have joked about that fact in Prickly City a numbr of times. And I never will reveal it. In my mind she is all things in this country that are good. Diversity. Independence. Freedom of thought. The perverbial melting pot all wrapped up in one little girl.

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Portland, Oregon: Regarding your earlier claim that "at least 80 Democrats took money from Mr. Abramoff."

Are you now admitting that not a single Democrat ever took money directly from Jack Abramoff?

And if money from an Abramoff client is somehow tainted, doesn't that mean the president is directly stained by the $100,000 that Abramoff raised as a "Bush Pioneer"? If money "steered" toward a campaign is a problem, no Democrat can come close to what Bush has raked in. (But Bush hasn't offered to give that $100,000 back.)

Scott Stantis: Let me clear here:

There is no doubt this is a Republican scandal. But no one in congress gets off clean. Once the holler goes out that there is money to be had the hogs come charging, regardless of politiccal stripe.

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Yesb, UT: Yes, but the typical American with Carmen's philosophy would be a white male. The choice to make her of color strikes many as a cynical one to insulate her/you from certain political counterpoints...

Scott Stantis: The intention was to challenge you and other readers to think outside the dominant paradigmn. The fact that you are questioning it would imply that it is working.

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Fairfax, VA: Are there plans for more characters or to introduce different locations?

Scott Stantis: I have taken Carmen and Winslow to Washington, DC are a couple of occasions. I have had few characters come and go but so far I like writing for just the two of them. But I do agree that the strip needs to expand and I have a handful of new chracters I hope to introduce soon.

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Denver City TX: I love it. Shame on ME for noting that YOUR mouthpiece character is a racial parody. That, my friend, is hilarious.

Scott Stantis: Yes, shame on you. Because an ethnic figure does not act or talk the way you think they should? Yes, that, my friend, is stereotyping. The fact that you achknowledge that she has wandered off of your idealogical plantation proves my point.

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DC: Mr. Stantis,

Given the political bent of your strip, what do you expect to accomplish with Prickly City? It seems a lot more about blaming and shrill insults at the "other side" rather than presenting an arguement for your point of view - i.e. more Rush Limbaugh than George Will...

Scott Stantis: Or Doonesbury or Boondocks. I use the tools I have. I am an editorialist by trade. I want to challenge your notions.

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Arlington, Va.: To Ms. Tobin re: Chomsky. I was just teasing. I'm sorry; didn't mean to rub you the wrong way....

Suzanne Tobin: No harm, no foul.

Listen, if you could read some of the rude statements that are being sent in to Scott, you would understand why I didn't realize you were teasing. My mother used to say, "It doesn't cost you a dime to be polite, and it can earn you millions in good will." The one thing I am continually disillusioned by in doing these discussions is that because of the anonymity (I'm guessing), posters feel free to be rude to my guests. I consider myself a host in the social sense of the word, as well, and while I don't agree with many of Scott's political views, I would fight to the death for his right to express them.

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cranking out strips, Maryland: It's hard but you'd rather do that than say, an office job, right?

Scott Stantis: YOU BET!!!! Do you know how great it is to wake up every morning knowing that you are going to be able to do what you love? And get paid for it to boot? I encourage my children to follow the road that amkes them happy. It may not make you rich but it sure makes life a lot of fun.

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Chicago, IL: I've noticed that Prickly City often has the same story lines as your editorial cartoon, only two weeks later. Do you have any plans to let the characters develop and make their own way in the world, or will they always be having delayed reactions?

Scott Stantis: Prickly City is designed to comment on current events. The fact that there is overlap is inevitable. A lot of times I will take on a story line which would be impossible to do in an editorial cartoon.

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Dallas, TX: How far is going too far with your comic? Can you say

things about religion - say about Christianity, Jesus, etc.

Is that just asking for trouble from editors? What

guidelines are there in that regard?

Scott Stantis: Today's editors are so fearfull that I think any mention of, well, anything beyond fuzzy kittens scares them. (The Washington Post exempted, of course). It's a weird time. Religion, especially after the Danish Mohammed cartoons is more taboo then ever. Which means, of course, I will kick that issue a lot.

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The Distri, CT: Hey there, Scotty. I understand the Post has you as the "conservative" balance to more liberal strips like the Boondocks, but is there any chance you could, maybe, once in a while, you know, actually be FUNNY? Maybe lighten up on the heavy-handed anti-liberalism, and make a joke or two here and there? Maybe do a strip that doesn't alternate between annoying and boring?

Let me preempt the inevitable question "why don't you just ignore it" by saying that the Washington Post has made that impossible for me. See, your strip is between two strips I actually do read and enjoy. I can't safely skim down from Non Sequitor to Candorville without passing through the daily debacle that is your 3-4 panels of conservative hackitude.

I understand you may need to collect a check from the Post, and this being America, you have the right to make a living however you choose. But, this being America, I have the right to ask you to please do me a favor and just submit blank panels every day from now until the time you are able to find more gainful employment? Pretty please with sugar on top?

Suzanne Tobin: Speaking of "Boondocks," I hope everyone knows that Aaron McGruder has chosen to take a six-month sabbatical beginning Monday, which is why it won't be published during that time. We are taking the opportunity to try out three other strips, each for 8 weeks, in the space formerly occupied by "Boondocks." We put a note to that effect in Thursday's editions, but it often seems our readers don't notice our notes. So feel free to spread the word that it's not The Post that pulled the strip, but the creator himself. And we really hope you'll take the time to familiarize yourselves with the characters and storylines, so when the tests are done, you can let us know which ones, if any, we should add to the lineup.

Scott Stantis: Lee Salem, the great editor at Universal Press Syndicate, told Gary Trudeau to "take you foot off of their throats once in a while". Good advice. In fact, this week is a very light week in terms of subject matter. AND I have taken on the White House and Republicans as well as liberals.

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B-more: Scott-

I'd argue that only maybe 1/3 of the comics are worth a damn on any given day in The Post. Do you think more cartoonists should take occasional break to recharge?

Suzanne Tobin: Universal Press Syndicate, for one, has, in recent years, allowed their cartoonists several weeks of leave, during which they run old strips. UPS distributes Prickly City and The Boondocks and Doonesbury. I've always thought that expecting someone to produce a strip 365 days a year schedule is a bit Dickensian. But, like you and me, cartoonists have bills to pay and families to feed, and I don't think many of them can afford to take full-blown sabbaticals like Garry Trudeau did several years back. Not many cartoonists have someone like Jane Pauley bringing in the big bucks while they're recharging.

Scott Stantis: I do think cartoonists get burned out. Or just rely on the same, tired gags. I hope I have not gotten to that point after only a year-and-a-half.

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Scott Stantis: Thank you to all of you for chatting things up. It's rich stew. It's good to stir things up. Thanks.

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Suzanne Tobin: We're all out of time, folks. Thanks, Scott, for taking the time to commune with our readers. Hope to see you all back here in April for another edition of "Comics: Meet the Artist."

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