Humor in the Bumpy Lane

Enigmatic Cartoons

Funny Ha-Ha or Funny Strange?

cartoon by L. J. Kopf

As I mentioned in my previous MuddyUm post “Into Every Life a Little EDGE Must Fall,” very early in my cartooning career (or whatever it is) I gave myself permission to do cartoons that were not funny jokes. I thought I should try to visualize what I believed were profound thoughts (or half-baked concepts). After a lot of cartooning (and zero therapy), I modified that attitude and abandoned the delusion that I was going to create cartoons that blended Big Ideas with artful presentation. I saw the value in making funny jokes, but sometimes it’s easier for me to be complex and obscure. That desire to conceptualize just keeps surfacing (like something full of gas).

cartoon by L. J. Kopf

The news and arts weekly paper that gave me a regular space for my (non-editorial) cartoons folded after twelve years of publishing and I found myself in the position of many cartoonists: hunched over a drawing table. No, I’m not referring to that. I mean, producing cartoons, but needing/wanting a place for them to be seen (and get paid for my work).

cartoon by L. J. Kopf

In pre-internet days, submitting cartoons for publication involved plenty of envelopes and postage. Eventually, the internet provided the opportunity for me to create the email-based Edge Distribution Service for people who wanted to get sporadic cartoons sent to them (without any money changing hands — and my hands didn’t change). That group email slowly grew beyond family and immediate friends. I wasn’t marketing myself (not one of my strengths), but at least the cartoons were being seen.

cartoon by L. J. Kopf

cartoon by L. J. Kopf

Way down the pike, I discovered MuddyUm and here I am. I still sometimes can’t resist taking enigmatic and convoluted ideas and twisting them into cartoon-like drawings. This post collects a few in that vein.

cartoon by L. J. Kopf

cartoon by L. J. Kopf

cartoon by L. J. Kopf

I’m drawn (ha) to Art and writing that questions perception, consciousness, ways of communicating, attitudes, and other such tomfoolery (What a great word — derived from the 14th century court jester named Thome Fole). Art and cartooning has been combined by creators with far more talent and wit than I have, but I wanted to see if I could do it. Is trying to mix artistic sensibility with cartooning problematic? It certainly isn’t a direct path to funny.

cartoon by L. J. Kopf

This cartoon references Marcel Duchamp. He has never been one of my favorite artists, but there is no doubt that his work and ideas made him a significant eminence in the art world, shifting it towards Conceptualism.

It seems a lot of contemporary Art is, understandably, struggling with our horrendous political situation. Melding Art with politics often doesn’t work for me. Of course, cartooning has a long history of responding to politics, but editorial cartooning is a different animal than what I do. I could never give that much attention to the insane world of politics.

cartoon by L. J. Kopf

Roses would smell better.

Pop and rock songs can get away with not being totally understandable, with incomprehensible or intentionally cryptic lyrics. Nevertheless, they evoke feeling through a combination of music and words. Cartoons don’t work that way.

cartoon by L. J. Kopf

Suggested listening (more mystery than mondegreen):

“Mansard Roof” by Vampire Weekend — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRQ4eAy4e6A

Weather Systems by Andrew Bird — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0LCsbkP5aQ&list=PLC83611BD81CF1D65

“Solsbury Hill” by Peter Gabriel — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YwdVINq5s8

So, here’s your chance to judge. Are any of these cartoons worth the ink and time it took to make them? I obviously thought so when I did them.

drawing by L. J. Kopf

If you enjoyed this post, check out my “Passionately Ambivalent” post on MuddyUm. It contains a mysterious five-page graphic narrative entitled “On the Road with Vector.”

Click [MuddyUm humoristas](https://muddyum.net/amy-sea-to-toni-crowe-clickable-access-to-feature-pages-3088106c0c45) to find hidden feature pages.

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