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Question: How did your father come to create The Born Loser? Was the original character of Thornapple based on anyone he knew?
Chip Sansom: Dad created Brutus to be a kind of Everyman. When the strip began, there were no central characters-the basis for each daily gag was some character being presented in a losing situation. The setting could be a desert island or a historic battlefield or a present day household. One character kept cropping up in different situations and fan mail began to come in asking for more of him. Dad gradually used him more and more until finally deciding to focus the strip on him. That character was, of course, Brutus P. Thornapple. He was not based on any real person (no one could possibly be that misfortunate), but Dad wanted to make him real enough that most readers could identify with one of his traits or some facet of his life. I think the fact that he succeeded so well is the secret of why The Born Loser is still going strong after 38 years. Dad liked to say that losing situations were the basis for all humor. He believed people like to be able to laugh at someone else's misfortune, especially when it could just as easily have happened to them. He felt by naming the strip The Born Loser, readers would know this was what was in store for them, even if they were unfamiliar with the strip.
Q: Many people find it difficult inheriting a talent or a business from a parent, and choose a different path altogether. You not only followed the same path, you are one of the rare successes at this. To what do you credit that?
CS: Although I did not initially intend to follow my father's path, I always had a great appreciation of his work and took special interest in it. Growing up watching Dad produce The Born Loser from its inception afforded me an insider's view of the creative process on each and every strip. Because of this, when I began working on the strip, nobody knew The Born Loser as well as I did, except my father. I think this intimate knowledge of the characters and style of humor is one of the two reasons I was able to successfully follow in my father's footsteps. The other reason is that Dad was a master craftsman and he taught me well. In effect, I apprenticed under him to take over the family business.
Q: Were you apprehensive at all when you first took over for you father? Was there a moment when you realized you'd succeeded at it?
CS: Even though I had worked with Dad for 15 years, I was apprehensive when I first assumed complete responsibility for producing the strip after he passed away. I had hoped my father would live to a ripe old age, long enough to prepare to retire when he was ready and gradually turn the reins over to me. The Born Loser was Dad's baby and he took great pride in his work and genuinely loved every minute he spent at it. He taught me every facet of how he produced the comic strip, but he remained very much involved in all ends of the production until the week he died. So I had never done anything completely on my own up to that time. There was never a moment when I felt I had succeeded at taking over for Dad-it will always be an ongoing process in my mind. However, I find it most gratifying when a fan will pay a compliment to Dad and I on a strip I have produced, not knowing he passed away 12 years ago. This tells me I am capturing the essence of what Dad created. Of course, when I produce a strip, I still feel Dad is very much a part of it-The Born Loser is his creation and he taught me everything I know about producing it. This is why I will always sign both of our names to all of my work, in tribute to him.
Q: You've modernized it in subtle ways-strips about Thornapple's interactions with computers, for instance. Do you feel the need to modernize it in other ways?
CS: There is a fine line to walk, between keeping the strip current for new readers without losing touch with the past and betraying old fans. I don't want to ever lose the essence of the strip--the style of humor, the characters' personalities and how they relate with each other. However, I never want The Born Loser to be thought of as an old-fashioned comic strip. So I keep the strip current by modernizing the peripherals-Brutus today will be seen drinking a latte instead of smoking a cigarette, Wilberforce will have a backpack for a prop instead of a hula hoop, and so on. I use my own interests as the source for these changes. I may not be cutting edge, but I try to stay in touch with the times. This year, I may build a gag around an SUV's poor gas mileage or refer to the latest Harry Potter book, but the type of humor and the way the characters interact remain constant.
Q: Can you take us through a typical creative day? Do you write and draw these one day at a time? How far in advance? Do you have more fertile periods than others?
CS: I work week-to-week, rather than day-to-day. That is, I don't do one strip, start to finish, in one day and move on to the next strip the next day. Rather, I divide the different aspects of turning out a whole week's strips over the course of seven days. Some days I will work on writing gags, some days penciling roughs of the artwork, some days inking the strips, etc. I work seven days a week, 365 days a year. The hours I put in each day will vary depending on how close I am to a deadline. I will sometimes work 18 to 20 hours straight when I am up against a deadline, but when the deadline passes I may only work a few hours the next day, in order to keep my sanity. My studio is in my home and I really enjoy the interaction with my family this arrangement affords. However, it also means my most productive time to work is late at night, when there are no distractions. I catch up on the latest news and sports watching the middle of the night reruns while I am at the drawing board. Working under deadlines for so many years, I have learned not only to live with them, but to love them-I seem to be at my most creative when I am under the pressure of a pending deadline.
Tired of drinking hot, scalding coffee with your bare hands or out of an old shoe? Sick of trying to read your drinking mug but finding only your old college logo there, over and over, every single morning? Well now you can get any Dilbert strip published in the past 90 days printed on a mug, solving all of the above problems in one fell swoop, (though if you're drinking out of a shoe, we think you may have some other issues to be concerned about). Get your mug at:
Stephan Pastis, the creator of Pearls Before Swine, does two things to know when a strip is funny and when it's not:
"For that, I do two things: First, I imagine I'm in a bar with my friends (I really don't have any friends, so this takes a lot of imagining) and I read them the strip. I try to think whether or not they would really laugh. If I can see them looking at me like I'm a moron or a geek, I know it's probably not funny. Second, I call my mom. If I read her the strip, and she laughs hard enough that she starts coughing, I know it's good. On the other hand, if she says, "Ahh, that's nice, honey... do you have any others?", I know it's bad. So, I guess the short answer to this question is, "Call my mother.""
Juliette, Edda, Gran and Solange the cat mark 10 years in the comics on July 12 with the anniversary of 9 Chickweed Lane, the comic strip by Brooke McEldowney about a single mom, her adolescent daughter and gritty grandma. McEldowney created 9 Chickweed Lane in the summer of 1993, and the strip’s beautiful illustration and fully realized characters quickly developed a strong following. The first 9 Chickweed Lane book, Hallmarks of Felinity, starring Solange the cat, was published by Andrews McMeel in 2002. "What’s remarkable about 9 Chickweed Lane is that even after 10 years, McEldowney continues to surprise his readers," Jake Morrissey, managing editor of comics at United Media, said. "His unending curiosity in his characters’ lives makes the strip as lively and intelligent today as it was when it debuted." Brooke McEldowney also creates Pibgorn for comics.com.
Both Working Daze and Off the Mark have joined the list of comic strips available on products the day they're published, (you can also choose from selected older strips). Browse and shop these newly open-for-business online stores now.
