Whippin Cartoons by Steve Sperry

Drawing cartoons makes me laugh, sometimes out loud or sometimes just a little giggle, my wish is that they effect others

similarly. I call my eclectic collection Whippin Cartoons. Whippin is a nickname I was branded with in junior high

school. Although It was not really a "strike fear in the heart of your enemy" type nickname

it was one of the more demeaning of a long list of non de plumes hurled at me on a sometimes daily basis. As a stick-thin,

perpetual "kick me" sign taped to my back, bespectacled flute playing member of the marching band I was the not so proud

recipient of a record number of unique nicknames.

Drawing and cartooning started early in life and kicked into high gear coinciding with puberty. Typical of most pre-teen

boys I needed a source of nudie pictures to feed my burgeoning curiosity. Waltzing into the corner drug store and buying

a gentleman's magazine like Playboy, Esquire, or Gent was out of the question for a number of reasons, not the least being

my Baptist church organist grandmothers. With pencil and paper I set about to reproduce the sex kittens of the day,

Bridgett Bardot, Sophia Loren, and my favorite, Bond girl Ursula Andress. My crude renderings more or less served their purpose.

One might say I learned to draw out of necessity.

Later in life I drew my little cartoons on lined paper nestled in company logo clad leather portfolios while sitting restlessly

in excruciatingly boring company meetings. This mostly undetected practice enabled me to amuse myself, and on the upside

gain the reputation as a copious note taker. On rare occasion when asked to read my notes aloud, reciting a few

meaningless sentences containing the buzz words of the month consistently sufficed.

Influences like Mad Magazine icons, Dave Berg, Don Martin, and Harvey Kurtzman, have always been a source of inspiration

and motivation, and Gary Larson's Far Side holds a special place in my psyche.

For me the act of creating little cartoon worlds full of characters of my choice has always been a rewarding experience,

and the act of drawing something on a piece of paper that makes me laugh just seems wonderfully self contained.