I was recently interviewed by David Paccia for his Cartoonist Survey on his blog, David Wasting Paper. Over the past several months, David has interviewed more than 100 cartoonists, asking each one the same set of questions (about the favorite drawing tools, work environment, art background, etc.). You can read my answers to his questions here. Thanks David. I’m flattered to be a part of the survey.

If you’re into the nuts and bolts of cartooning, check out the archives on David’s site. Fun read.
 
 
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This week Tom Racine of Tall Tale Radio interviews Scott Hilburn of The Argyle Sweater, one of my favorite single panel features. Mike Witmer (cartoonist of the hilarious Pinkerton) and I are also on this show. Scott talks about his journey to syndication and answers all the questions he gets about his comic’s similarity to “The Far Side.”  
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We all discuss how we work and cartooning in general. Tom, Scott, Mike and I all had comics on Comics Sherpa around the same time, so we talk about our experiences with that as well.  Good times. Listen to the show here.
 
 
This past Tuesday, Sarah mentioned Metzger Cartoons Christmas cards on the Sarah and Vinnie Morning Show (Alice 97.3 FM). Kudos to Sarah for having such excellent taste. Thanks for the plug.

You can listen to it here – she starts talking about it at the 2-minute mark.
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My friend and cartoonist/writer/designer Stephanie Orma wrote an article in the SF Examiner about people who have creative side gigs that their bosses and coworkers don’t know about.
From the article:

"Closet Creatives" - they’re hiding everywhere: the endocrinologist who makes exquisite crafts when she’s not diagnosing patients; the banker who plays foot-stomping, spirit-lifting trombone music when he’s not handling mergers and acquisitions; the pharmacist who writes lyrically, beautiful poetry when she’s not dispensing pills.

I’m mentioned in the article because I’m one of these people. For years, I didn’t tell anyone at my work that I’m a cartoonist. I had a pretty good reason for this. When I was working for another company several years ago, my boss told me, “Your cartooning career makes me question your devotion to this job.” Even though I was reliable and got good reviews, my boss looked at me with suspicion. I think he thought I was going to bolt at any second because of my side gig. Our working relationship wasn't that great.

When I got my current job, I decided to keep the cartooning on the down low. I just didn’t want to be accused of not being serious about my work. Eventually cover was blown. The article explains how. So now a lot of people at my work know I draw cartoons for greeting cards and magazines.

But I haven’t yet told them I also draw cartoon penises and syphilis sores for an anti-syphilis campaign in San Francisco. Baby steps.

 
 

The cartoonist collective I belong to, Tall Tale Features,  is growing! We recently added two members to our group: Irma Eriksson (creator of “Imy”) and Norm Feuti (creator of “Gill.”) If the name Norm Feuti sounds familiar, you might know his syndicated strip, “Retail.”) We are very happy to have these two talented people in our group. Check out their strips!

Other news: a few weeks ago, I finally joined Facebook. A friend of mine, Joe Salama, created a group for MetzgerCartoons. So if you are a fan, join MetzgerCartoons on Facebook.

 
 

I was the guest on last week's Comics Coast to Coast (Episode 59). Comics Coast to Coast is a very entertaining podcast hosted by cartoonists Brian Dunaway and Justin Thompson. 

We first discussed my decision to end my comic strip, "Stewart "— and how I learned that basing a strip in San Francisco was a BAD idea. (I can admit that now.) We also talked about my former strip, “Tree,” which was about a slightly dim pine tree.

I also shared my experience as the cartoonist for a public health campaign which ran from 2002-2006. It was a highly unconventional campaign. If you want to know the details, listen to the show. You will be either amused or disturbed. Or maybe both!