Ol’ George #18: Poet of the Pint

 

Ol’ George #17: He’s No Clown

Notes on #17;

1. I came up with this idea months ago, but I had to do it now for this reason: it was 25 years ago, on February 12, 2000, that Charles Monroe Schulz left this world. 

I found out the next morning. I woke up early that Sunday morning, drew a bath, and got the paper, got in the tub, and read Schulz’ last strip. It was the same goodbye letter as his final daily, published in December 1999, but with a collage of classic scenes surrounding it. Oddly enough, almost immediately after, the announcer on the jazz station playing in the background gave the news. As I say in the tub holding the funnies and started to cry. I’d been following Charlie Brown and Snoopy since I was four years old. 

2. My original idea for this one ended with panel two, but I had a change of heart. I didn’t want to end with a bitter Charlie or with someone being mean to him. I had to give him some happiness.

In the end, Schulz also gave Charlie some happiness. He never flew the kite, kicked the football, won a baseball game or sat down to lunch with the little red haired girl. That wouldn’t be funny, after all. But he did enjoy a relationship with a girl who liked the way he danced, and his dog was always by his side. 

3. So I’m sentimental, so sue me.

Ol’ George16: Drunk, Drunk, Drunk

 

 Notes on #16:

1. All of the previous 15 cartoons were done with pencil sketches first and embellished with felt tip pens and markers. For this one, I used no pencils, only a Pilot G2 .07 gel pen. It’s not my favorite pen, but the one I had on hand. My favorite is the Pilot V5 ( or 7) extra fine rolling ball. However, right now I only have one of those, in red, and George is a blue cat, not red. 

2. This change in style is a tribute to one of my cartooning heroes Jules Feiffer, who passed last month at age 95 (almost made it to 96!) I have no idea what his process was, what pens he used, whether he pencilled, etc., but his work has always been loose and spontaneous. 

3. The title is a nod to the original name for his later self-titled strip, Sick, Sick, Sick, which began initially in the Village Voice in 1956 and went into syndication until 1997. Meanwhile, he produced plays, screenplays, novels and children's books. I became a fan from the I discovered a paperback collection at a used bookstore in the 80’s, scouring shelves on each visit. For years, I could only find a few, but now I have them all. Thanks, eBay!

Ol’ George # 15: Post No Bills

 

 Ol’ George #15: Post No Bills 

Notes on #15:

1. I’d been obsessed with comics and cartoons for as long as I could could remember, but the comics page was getting boring as I got into my teenage years. Mad Magazine alone couldn’t fill my needs.Bloom County by Berkeley Breathed arrived in our local paper just in time, in 1981, when I was twelve or thirteen. It was the right dose of satire and subversion. I still recall the thrill I felt when the first book collection came out. 

When they introduced that lovable Bill the Cat in ‘82, I was infatuated. I got the first t-shirt immediately, but that was all the merchandise for a bit. That would ruin the joke, after all, for Bill was originally a spoof of the ubiquitous selling of Garfield. 

I drew Bill all the time. In the backgrounds of my high school newspaper comic “Lenny”, signs appeared saying Post No Bills with a picture of Bill. A friend and I did an animation of Bill hocking up a hairball for an art class. When I decorated the window of my favorite used book store for Halloween (an annual tradition in Anoka, Halloween Capitol of the World) with a depiction of ghosts floating through a graveyard, Bill’s tombstone was in the scene.

After Breathed stopped the strip and started up Outland, my enthusiasm waned. When Bill merch appeared, I was up on my high horse, all righteously indignant.

All these years later, I own a Bill doll, bought directly from the cartoonist (along with a signed copy of a two volume complete edition of the strip with an Opus sketch, and a signed/Opused print of a favorite strip). And I again own a Bill t-shirt, but one in a size more appropriate for my contemporary build. 

2. The funniest and cruelest joke about Cathy is courtesy of Bill Griffith, creator of Zippy the Pinhead. “Someone draws that? I thought they dropped string on the ground and photocopied it.”

I can’t complain too much about minimalist cartooning. Much of the blame can be delivered to Charles M. Schulz, and I do not hide my admiration for his art. 

3. Remember, folks: this is not a strip about beer. It’s about a cat who drinks beer at a bar and people, animals, things he meets there. And I hope you find it entertaining. 

Ol’ George #14: Lynch Mob

  Ol’ George #14: Lynch Mob

Notes on #14:

1. Obviously, this is a reference to a scene in David Lynch’s classic 1986 film Blue Velvet. It’s the most natural choice for a Lynch tribute in a strip about a beer drinking cat. We are paying homage to the first 10-15 years of the filmmaker’s career here. I haven’t seen anything after Wild at Heart. I’ll catch up eventually.

2. This is the second time George has had no lines. I thought of giving Frank Booth’s line to George, but that didn’t seem right. This time, he’s merely a spectator to the madness at Kelly’s, rather than the instigator. 

3. Also, it’s the first three tier strip, and the most characters. All the others have had 2-4 characters, while this one has a whopping eight!

4. I haven’t done much brand-naming in the past, but will only do so on the service of the story. Unless someone feels like driving a truckload of cash up to my driveway…I could be bought.

Ol’ George #13: Poe One Out

 Ol’ George #13: Poe One Out.

Notes on #13: from Americanliterature.com,

1. Poe may have written this poem at Washington Tavern in Lowell, Massachusetts in 1848 to pay his drinking tab. The original copy hung on the wall of the tavern until about 1920. What a shame, the tavern's been replaced by a Dunkin' Donuts.

2. I’m never 100 % sure if my jokes are original. In my efforts to find out, I discovered that you can find plenty of graphic images of Poe with a beer and variations on the phrase “Poe Me Another.” I’ll bet someone out there has it as a tattoo. 

3. I can’t tell you what’s in George’s bottle, ( well, I could…) but there is at least one Poe-themed brewery in existence. His own home town’s Baltimore-Washington Beer Works in Maryland has ales and lagers named for his poems and stories, with the poet’s face on every label. 

Ol’ George #12: Sober-ish

 

 Ol’ George #12: Sober-ish.

Notes on #12:

1. I hate “Dry January”. It’s a stupid trend, and I hate those. I don’t hate drinking in moderation and I certainly don’t hate not drinking or quitting drinking. This thing of taking the first 31 days of the year off, then resuming is non-sensical. Are you doing it just to prove you can? Then do a full week every other week. Do every other day. Do Dry February. March. Even, if you can imagine it, August. But, January? Are you kidding?

January is the worst month for bars, brewery taprooms, restaurants for many reasons. The cold, the dark, seasonal depression, tight budgets after holiday spending, …so many things make January a hard month for bar industry staff. And you want to add another reason for making things slow at your favorite bar/brewery/restaurant? That’s unnecessarily cruel. 

If you return to see your favorite bartender or server on February 1, and say “sorry, we were doing Dry January”, that doesn’t help them pay their bills. Maybe you did visit them, but chose NA options. Well, that’s cool. You ate and tipped? All good. 

2. These two do not enter the club of George’s drinking buddies. They’re not drinking. Tom Waits and Snoopy did enter the club. You don’t have to be drinking alcohol to be a George drinking buddy. I really don’t know what they were doing. Slurping from the water cooler? I’m not giving them names, they’re terrible people. 

Ol’ George #11: Mind your P’s

 

1. Chester is back, after his first appearance in the first strip from way back in October/November. I’d forgotten that he always wore a button bedecked vest. I hope that every time he appears, I get a little better at drawing him. Of course, that’s my general, every day wish about everything.

2. Ditto Irma the bartender, in her 4th appearance.

3. I thought the “peanut butter pickle” was weird enough to gag George, but sure enough there are several of those out there, but none is a Porter.

Barn Town Brewing in W. Des Moines canned PB Pickle Tickle Blonde Ale, which poured a bright green and seemed to be liked. 74 check-ins on Untapped, 3.25 average.

Lagunitas made a PBP pils for a Strange Beer Frstival. Several people reported getting neither flavor. 12 check ins. 2.17 average.

Martin House Brewing of Fy. Worth, TX made one as a Gose. One commenter said it didn’t work as a sour. 4 check ins.

Craft Life of Hudson, FL did a PB Dill Cream ale. Also 4 check ins.

I can’t come up with a weird beer without discovering it already exists. Maybe someone will take a pickle beer (my store has two in stock, by Oliphant and by Destihl) and a PBP and combine them, tell me how it tastes. Too bad that I finished a Destihl PBP a few days ago, could’ve kept it “in the family”, so to speak. 

Ol’ George #10: Time and a Bottle

Original notes from 12/31/24.

 1. This is the sixth week in a row that I have started a strip on a Sunday, finished it on a Monday, and showed it to the world on Tuesday. It’s a project conceived in September, begun in October and proceeded with in earnest in November. The year ends on a nice round number. Ten down, who knows how many to go. I am happy about that.

2. Father Time ends the streak of George’s hatted drinking buddies. Will Baby New Year begin a new one? 

3. George’s beer of choice tonight is Robinson’s Old Tom, an English Old Ale that I once had the pleasure of putting on tap at the Blue Nile years ago. Unfortunately, it is no longer available in this market, or this country for all I now. It was named for the brewery’s cat, who has appeared on every label. 

Happy New Year, everyone!

Ol’ George #9: He Said Ho, Ho, Ho

 

Originally, way back in December, 2024, I had no notes for this one. It’s a pretty straightforward gag. Santa likes his Christmas Ale.

When I posted this one to Instagram, I was presented with the option of choosing a song to accompany the post. I went with Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer by Elmo & Patsy. Am I saying that Old St. Nick was drunk sleigh riding when he committed grandmacide with his murderous reindeer? Yeah, I am. Someone has to hold that fat, jolly killer elf accountable. 

Ok’ George #8: He Said No, No, No…

 

 

Ol’ George#8: He Said No, No, No…

Notes on #8: 

1. George does not believe in a higher power. As long as he can reach the barstool, he’s fine.

2. George is not a fool, nor an ignoramus. He’s strictly a smart aleck. Not everyone gets the joke, though, especially when part of the punchline never leaves his brain. 

3. This strip has nothing to do with my disdain for hazy IPAs. I just needed a funny IPA name. Did you know that there isn’t a Golden Fluff beer out there anywhere?Doesn't seem right. 

4. Poor Irma. To have a regular like George can really try your patience. By the way, she is supposed to be an emu, but I don’t think I have nailed that visually just yet, so let’s just say that she’s a sub-tropical flightless avian, with the patience of a saint. 

Ol’ George #7: It’s Tom, Tom, Tom…

 

Original notes from December 2024: 

1. I was thinking of another idea for #7, but when I realized that Thomas Alan Waits (born Dec. 7, 1949, Pomona, California) had just celebrated his 75th birthday, I bumped this one up.

2. In this seventh installment, Tom is George’s 5th drinking buddy, the second based on a real human being and the second one drinking root beer and not real beer. I don’t know if Tom actually drinks that beverage, but if his wife Kathleen hadn’t made him quit the sauce all those years ago, he probably wouldn’t have made it to the present anniversary and we’d be without so many great songs. 

3. Tom’s quote is not of his own invention, but he speaks the line to Martin Mull and Fred Willard in a 1977 episode of “Fernwood Tonight” after singing “The Piano Has Been Drinking.” Look it up on YouTube, it’s hilarious. Some say it was first spoken by Tommy Smothers on “The Smothers Brothers” TV show, others say Dorothy Parker originated it, but I can’t nail down the truth. 

4. The punchline is just an excuse for George to make reference to a certain film about a man for his times that I’ve seen probably a hundred times. The cowboy on the label is another clue (hint: it’s not Wilford Brimley.) And if you still don’t get it…obviously, you’re not a golfer. 

5. Tom carries on another tradition of George’s drinking buddies. They all wear hats. (In Snoopy’s case, a flight helmet.) Will they all remain hatted? Who can say

Ol’ George #6: He Drinks His Spinach

 

Original notes from December 2024:

Notes on #6:

1. Popeye the Sailor Man entered the scene on January 17, 1929, (almost 96 years ago!)in a episode of Thimble Theater by Elzie Crisler Segar, hired by his future sweetie’s brother, Castor Oyl, to sail a ship carrying he, his stowaway sister, and her then-boyfriend Ham Gravy away from the men trying to capture his African Whiffle hen with lucky powers. That’s why  you come here, for comics trivia, right?

2. I thought “spinach saison” was a good joke, but it surely exists. A brewery in Derbyshire, England called Popeye’s made one called I Eats My Spinach. Although, if you scan the pics on Untappd, it’s an IPA called I Eats Me Spinach. Sometimes the beer appears to be green.

The whole spinach thing was not a part of Segar’s work. It was made up for the animated cartoons. Segar wrote Popeye’s laugh as Arf, Arf, Aff, though the voice actor rendered it as Ack, Ack, Ack! 

Edit: Having just read a 1932 Sunday where Popeye proclaims his love of spinach, I must admit I have it wrong up there. But it definitely exaggerated in the animated films. 

More comics trivia! You’re welcome!

3. The bird, by the way, was a gift to Castor from he and Olive’s uncle, Lubry Kent Oyl. Elzie Segar, cartoon genius!

Ol’ George #5: Bowl Him Over In The Clover

 

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Notes on #5: 

1. I drew this one last night. Now, we’re all caught up. My plan is to do at least one a week. 

2.  Introducing Riblet, beloved pup of my friend Vern, who serves up beers at Arbeiter Brewing. (She does, not he.)He will return, just you wait. 

3. This one refers obliquely to a practice at Back Chanel Brewing (which I have yet to visit) of offering some of their IPAs in bowls. There’s nothing on their website about this unique style of service, I could only glean its origins from an article about this phenomenon in Minnesota Monthly. Therefore, Riblet’s dialogue is my own invention. 

P.S. I finally made it out there in December…

Ol’ George #4: 11/11

 

Notes on #4: 

1. I drew this last Monday, Veteran’s Day, but forgot to post it here. Ooops. (It was posted to the Bitter Nib on 11/21.)

2. Snoopy usually goes to Bill Mauldin’s to quaff root beers on Veteran’s Day, but I liked this idea better. The two Snoopy panels are based on two separate 1967 strips. The first was turned into an Air Force patch in 1969. That makes three wars the beagle has been in. That I know of. (Further reading has shown that he was also in the Revolutionary War, under General Washington.)

3. Irma’s comment at the end is an inside joke between me, myself and I. My first cartoon was drawn at age seven, second grade, if memory serves. A caveman sees another stumbling around drunk and says something to the effect of “joke’s on him, they haven’t invented beer yet.” Even then, I was destined to write and draw about beer.

Ol’ George #3: Galactic Principles

 

Original notes from November, 2024: 

Notes on #3:

 Did you know that there’s another Kelly’s bar a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away?

Ol’ George at both the Tatooine  and Earth locations. Wuher runs the bar. He doesn’t serve droids and he doesn’t like MAGA.

Notes today: This one, and the one before, was done hurriedly, in order to post the first three on Tuesday, 11/4 (remember that date?), and then beginning a weekly schedule, which I’ve kept up ever since. 

I really believed that there were enough voters who saw Trump for who he is and wouldn’t vote against their own interests. I really thought the Harris/Walz ticket would win.

Alas.

I cannot guarantee that Ol’ George won’t be political in the future, but nothings in the works. This is my way of sharing joy and getting some fun out of life. 

Ol’ George #2: Gourd of the Dance

 

Original notes from November, 2024:

 Notes on #2: this one is a little late. I should have drawn it weeks ago. No self-respecting bar would tap a pumpkin beer in November. November is when you wonder “when am I going to get rid of this shit?” No one wants a pumpkin beer after Halloween. So, let’s pretend this takes place in late September, a perfectly reasonable time to pour a pumpkin ale or lager or cider or whatever. Why so late? The first one took too long, because I was fussing over the depiction of Chester, I wanted to get a good likeness out of respect for the man—-

Hey. Hi. I have a question.

What? Who is this?

Me. From last time. With the questions.

Okay….go ahead…

So, I just wondered. Did you know there’s another bird bartender in comics?

Okay, so?

Roz from Jeff McNelly’s Shoe.

I remember.

Well, don’t you think that’s unoriginal? Another female bird bartender? 

Okay, no. Roz, a barnyard fowl of undetermined species was(is?) cook, waitress, bartender, proprietor of Roz’ Roost, a treetop diner in a bird centered comic strip.

Irma, on the other hand, is a Southern Hemispheric flightless avian who is employed at Kelly’s bar, by a human, I think (we haven’t gotten there yet) in a cat-led, multi-species strip. So, there’s the difference. Also, there are other elements that I leave it to the reader to discover. Get it?

I guess. But wouldn’t a mouse be better?

No! Whose strip is this, mine or yours? And how did you even get in here?

I’ve been here all the time.

Ol’ George #1: Here Comes Good Ol’ George

I created this comic strip last fall for my blog The Bitter Nib, which was only about beer writing and reviews for the past fourteen years. This blog is where George and his friends will appear all by themselves. 

These are the original notes from the original post, back in early November, 2024.

 Who is Ol’ George and what is Kelly’s?

Hold on, there, son, One at a time.

Okay. Who is this George, anyway?

George, or Ol’ George, is a blue-furred feline who drinks beer at a bar called Kelly’s. He’s named after George Herriman, creator of Krazy Kat, who also was never without his hat. The bar is named after Walt Kelly, creator of Pogo. Those are two of my favorite comic strips and cartoonists.

Okay, then, what is Kelly’s?

I already answered that.

Oh, yeah. So, why is he blue?

Why is the sky blue? Why is grass green? Why does the Sun keep on shining? Why do these eyes of mine cry? Who wrote the book of love? I don’t know, stop asking stupid questions. 

Okay, sorry I asked. Who’s this Chester guy?

Good question, I’m glad you asked that. Chester is based on a man who was an institution on the West Bank/U of M neighborhoods of Minneapolis for many years, busking with his accordion all over town, riding his bike, drawing comics. I first met him at Acadia before I worked there and he gave me some of his comics featuring a character who looked like him and his idiot sidekick, Glimpi Dumbinski. They were silly things, often one panel per page, but it was true outsider art.  I saw him more often when I started working there in 2015, he would tip me in cartoons and doodles. Unfortunately, he died in October of that year, in his mid sixties. I wish I’d kept those comics. When I came up with Ol’ George, I thought of Chester and declared to myself “If he could do comics while living under a bridge, what’s my excuse?” I decided that the first strip must have Chester as George’s drinking buddy in tribute to him. Grain Belt, the friendly beer, was his favorite. 

Great story. Will George have other “drinking buddies”?

Naturally. There will be so many, your head will spin.

Will there be any crossovers with other comics?

There will be so many your head will spin. 

Cool. Is George based on anyone or thing?

No, he’s an entirely original creation, formed from my very own imagination. 

Are you sure?

Yes…say, what are you insinuating? George’s only antecedent is an image I created 17 years ago. It’s original purpose was a mere pipe dream and it hung on my wall in a frame all that time until I decided that I must do something with it. Hence, George was born. 

Will all of the strips be about beer?

No. 

Why not? 

Because. Any more great questions?

Why a cat?

Not a great question. Next?

Can you describe his personality in three words?

Sure. Irascible. Cantankerous. Sarcastic. Crotchety. Whoops, sorry, I thought I could do it. 

Can I get a plush Ol’ George window cling for my Mazda?

Hush, child, all in good time. Any more questions?

Will Ol’ George ever get to kick that football?

No, and he’ll never have lunch with the Little Red-Haired Girl, either. 

One more: Why now? Why not 39 years ago?

What did I say about stupid questions?!?