Into The Thick Of It
These trees look so familiar
Hello dear readers,
I am Shelby aka “awardsforgoodboys” aka “the one cartoonist in ToonStack who only draws circles.” This week, I asked my fellow cartoonists to contribute a cartoon about: THE WILD. As Randy Newman best said, it is indeed a jungle out there.
Mostly I wanted to see what my fellow indoor kids (just kidding Kendra sent me her cartoon from the mountains) had to draw about the world around us. Also I have been watching the television series “Alone,” which I do recommend. The contestants—already skilled survivalists—are dropped in remote wilderness, can bring 10 items, and are not informed when other contestants drop out - they just wait out there, lonely and filming themselves descend into chaos, hoping they are the last to remain and win the prize money. It’s surprisingly profound, and very sobering in regards to how long, say, I would last in the wilderness (an hour?). It’s also much better, in my opinion, than “Naked and Afraid” which doesn’t even show us nudity or nearly enough fear.
So onwards, into the thick of it.
Ellis Rosen
A lot has been written about how walking boosts creativity. I find this to be true especially when hiking. I get all my best cartoon ideas from hiking in the woods. I walk a mile or two, stop, close my eyes and listen to the trees. They say things like “Okay, what about something with a talking dog?” or “How about something that's, you know, relatable.” Then I look at the babbling brook and it seems to look back at me and say “Cats are pretty lazy. Do something with that.” There's magic in the woods.
Jason Chatfield
This note comes to you from the wilderness of a remote lakeside cabin in the wilds of… well, Branson, Missouri. It isn’t exactly ‘wild’ unless you count septuagenarians wearing crocs as ‘fauna’. I grew up in the Australian outback… everything there can kill and eat you. They can’t even release Jurassic Park in Australia; they’ll just think it’s the news. I was never very good in the Aussie bush, but I can relate to this fellow in the cartoon above: the result of a yarn with my friend Scott about people who spend years with gorillas to learn about them. I should really finish this drawing...
Hilary Campbell
While I am from Northern California a place that is yes, filled with vineyards and mountains and trees and too many hiking spots, my father would like to remind me and all of you that he grew up in the REAL country land of Nebraska and Minnesota. I get reminded of this in the summertime when we often make the trek to my dad’s family cabin in a very remote area of Northern Minnesota. I always get so excited to go there, with thoughts like “wow I’ll really think at the lake, I’ll get work done! I’ll become a genius from the solitude and the beautiful scenery!” And yet, every summer I sit by the dock thinking, huh, this is soooooo nice, but I would love to go shopping and also is it 5 o’clock yet?
Sofia Warren
If you ever met me in real life, I probably took great pains to tell you that I grew up in the wilderness, with, like, a wood-burning stove and the closest neighbors being a parliament of wild turkeys. I am absolutely desperate for you to understand that my soul is a stand of poplars, and to have you compliment me on how gracefully I’ve transitioned into my chic, cosmopolitan life. Thank you. Thank you.
I am just noticing now that I actually drew a tiger into this cartoon. Subtle!
Amy Kurzweil
Wow I just saw the tiger. Nice, Sofia… Hello, I am currently in nature and civilization simultaneously.
I’m at CAMP. I love camp. I think all of life should be camp. I love the structured socializing and the controlled exposure to nature. I tolerate the bug bites and the terrible food. I prefer Arts Camp to Paleo Camp, but all camp is camp to me.
This week I’m instructing a comics course for teenagers at Interlochen Center for the Arts in Northern Michigan. This is live! masked! and in person! And while I still haven’t solved the mask-glasses-fog problem, this is a lot better than the online camps of last summer. Welcome back world.
Kendra Allenby
The San Juan Mountains in Colorado are an astounding chunk of wilderness. As of last Wednesday, however, they still have steep snow chutes covering steep trail, and the thunderstorms roll in almost every afternoon. An ice axe and micro spikes are helpful for the snow chutes, but not helpful for thunderstorms. Also, a critter (marmot?) tried to steal my trekking pole from my tent vestibule two nights ago to chew on the salty strap. I grabbed the trekking pole back but it’d already grabbed my flip flop which now has little chew marks all around it’s edge. Time to eat more town food then get back to that snowy, thundery trail.
Shelby Lorman
Yeah let’s be real I’m not going anywhere…
Navied Mahdavian
Growing up in Miami, driving north meant driving “south.” In the summer between high school and college, my two closest friends and I decided to camp in central Florida. Like heroes from some German bildungsroman (or maybe that guy from Into the Wild), we blazed a trail along the Peace River (or rather, attempted “blazing” since we forgot a lighter).
Our trip promised the transformative experience that three suburban brown kids needed before college (think Joseph Conrad or Colonel Kurtz but with alligators and no can opener). On our last day (the second of a planned three day voyage), I ventured further into the woods, into the darkness, braving bear attacks and an oppressive heat, driven by something...something deep within me. A rumbling--a gurgling really--in my lower intestinal tract.
As my friends receded in the deep forest, I marveled at the solitude. I squatted. And then I heard a sound, another rumbling -- a z300 series John Deere riding lawn mower with a 54-inch high capacity deck, full mechanical suspension and armrests for maximum comfort, and the ability to turn on a dime.
The man in a sunhat atop it waved to me with a smile.
The horror, the horror.
For Your Pleasure: Cartoon Extras
Follow Kendra Allenby as she walks the Continental Divide Trail for 5 months!
Amy Kurzweil’s Patreon offers a new online cartooning class every month! Join just for the month, or stay a while!
Enjoy diary comics from Hilary Campbell on Patreon!
Be sure to check out Shelby Lorman’s newsletter, Please Clap!
The same goes for Sofia Warren’s advice newsletter, You’re Doing Great!
See more cartoons from Ellis Rosen’s weekly Junk Drawer!