Humor comes in many forms and today, with the advent of the internet, the expression of humor has been transformed into snappy one-liners on Twitter and memes. Back in the day, the Far Side by Gary Larson was a groundbreaking single-panel cartoon that expressed a similar type of cynicism and tongue-in-cheek view of society, the animal kingdom and the world at large. I met an artist at a con once whose humor harkens back to the work of Gary Larsen but goes even farther pushing the envelope of the bizarre.
If you’re a frequenter of cons, you might have come across this artist named Lonnie Millsap. He publishes volumes of single-panel cartoons that embrace this same type of postmodernist view of the world, often looking at life from the point of view of an animal or insect but with a human angle. It’s the kind of humor that makes you think, which is really the best kind.
Lonnie agreed to an interview with Nerdsociety and this is what he had to say….
NS – Thanks a lot for speaking with us today. Can you talk a little bit about the format for your comic strips?
LM – I’m a cartoonist who draws single panel cartoons. All of them are one shot gag cartoons. The format is square and hope they’re funny. I try to make them funnier than anyone else’s.
NS – Who has inspired you in your work?
LM – As a kid I was inspired by the humor in animated cartoons like Bugs Bunny, Road Runner and anything by Tex Avery. Peanuts was probably the first print cartoon that I liked as a kid and I remember drawing Snoopy over and over again. Sergio Aragones from Mad Magazine was in there too. Later on my inspirations from cartoonists like John Callahan, Gary Panter, and especially a strip titled Mr. Boffo by Joe Martin.
NS – How did you first get into drawing?
LM – I think I’ve always drawn. I used to get into trouble with my friend James Halbert when I was in second or third grade for drawing during class. That carried on over the years. I started drawing a bunch of snoopy cartoons in fifth grade when I got my first Charlie Brown book. Other than that I just drew around the borders of all my notes in school. I drew my first official cartoon in 11th grade.
NS – Who are your favorite artists?
LM – There’s lots of them. I’d say my favorite artists now are Gary Panter, Sergio Aragones, Jim Benton and Marla Frazee. I love their work!
NS – Do you create in any other medium?
LM – I paint a little. Large acrylic canvases of things similar to what I draw.
NS – I’ve seen you at a few comic book conventions. Which ones do you typically frequent?
LM – It seems like I participate in lots of conventions now. I exhibit at Comic-Con, Wondercon, Alternative Press Expo, Comikaze and various other conventions and book festivals.
NS – How else can someone get a hold of a book?
LM – People can order my books through my website www.lonniemillsap.com, amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com. If it comes from my site you get a signed copy.
NS – Talk a little bit about the evolution of your art.
LM – I think art consistently evolves. Is happened to my work without even trying. You just get better at composing things and knowing what to do and how to do it better and better over time. There’s a huge difference between my first book and my fifth book.
NS – Where do you hope to go in the future?
LM – In the future I hope to find a publisher that’s right for me. I have a new distribution agreement with a company in France that I hope will generate publisher interest in Europe. I love writing books and that would be my preference but ultimately I’d love to be in newspapers, magazines or wherever my cartoons can be seen.
NS – Thank you so much for speaking with us today Lonnie.You can check out Lonnie Millsap’s Facebook Page or go to www.lonniemillsap.com for more funny stuff!
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