MUTTS is a comic strip written and drawn by Patrick McDonnell. Put in that way, it’s pretty easy, but creating a comic strip is everything but simple. Every year, only two new cartoonists out of five thousand are selected by the syndicates. And once they got the job, they will have to be funny, engaging or at least make you smile every single day. No matter what, if he feels ill, depressed or just a little sad. There are those who resist a lifetime, others quit before.
Patrick McDonnell have done it for a while and, for now, he seems okay with it. Along with his pet project MUTTS, the strip starring Earl, a happy-go-lucky Jack Russell and his pal, Mooch the cat, that combines comic books, spiritualism and an animal-friendly philosophy, in just three panels. And today MUTTS is turning twenty years old.
MUTTS is now not only a comic strip but it also spawns children books, tv ads, a musical and a forthcoming motion picture. Always under the constant supervision of its author; still, Patrick McDonnell managed to sit down with Fumettologica and talk about the origin of the strip, his friendship with Charles Schulz and his future projects.
20 years of Mutts: congratulations on your achievement. The strip has for sure changed your life. Looking back, what do you see? Are there any things you would do differently?
I always knew that drawing a comic strip was what I was meant to do. It has been a wonderful experience. I am grateful for the people I’ve met and all the opportunities.
They say that life must be lived forward but can only be understood backwards. The same is true with comic strips. And when I look back I see how my empathy for animals has increased by doing a strip based on them. Would I do anything differently? Taking a vacation now and again perhaps. And becoming vegan sooner.
How did you feel when the first strip of Mutts appeared on the newspapers?
It was overwhelming, a dream come true. Charles Schulz actually sent me a copy of the first MUTTS strip in his hometown newspaper. Across it he wrote “Good start.”
Several sources report that your middle name is Luigi. Is that true? If so, do you have Italian origins?
Yes, my mother’s family is from the Naples area. I feel a real kinship for the Italian people. Although my father was born in Ireland, I look (and cook) like my mother’s side of the family.
Your hometown is Edison, New Jersey. The town’s motto is “Let There Be Light”. It seems like a prediction about the effects of your work, spiritualism infused into everyday life. Edison is a type of city that has inspired you in some ways?
That’s a very interesting and sweet question. Although I’ve never said it, MUTTS does take place in the idealized New Jersey, USA, of my youth. I don’t feel that the town itself inspired me, but my friends who lived there certainly did.
It was probably my art that made my life contemplative. I spend most of my waking hours just drawing. Quiet time thinking about and drawing Earl and Mooch.
You have also a long experience in illustrations for magazines (Sports Illustrated, Forbes, New York Times, and others). Was it a job you liked? What was the sparkle that made you go on creating a strip?
After I graduated from art school I found it easy to get magazine illustration work. But for as long as I can remember, I had wanted to be a cartoonist. So I guess I procrastinated for quite a while before I buckled down and spent the necessary time to create a strip. The comic strip syndicates required 6 weeks of sample comic strips which at that time seemed enormous. But being a cartoonist was in my blood – even my illustration work looked more like comics than traditional illustrations.
Among your sources of inspiration you often cite Krazy Kat and Peanuts (at the extent that when you were 7 years old you even wrote to Schulz suggesting that he should have had a cat in the strip). What did fascinate you about those works and what made them so universal for you?
Besides being beautifully drawn and creatively written, what shines through both Krazy Kat and Peanuts is love. Like all great art they give you a connection to the spirit and can fill you with joy.
Recently, you’ve introduced a new character, Edison. What’s the process behind the creation of a new character, story-wise and design-wise?
Edison is a real-life piglet who was rescued by a small farm sanctuary in my town. He had been purchased for a school’s ‘pig-kissing’ contest. But afterwards the pig couldn’t be returned and thus had no home. After the Edison Wetlands Association rescued him, we held a poll to name him on our MuttsComic.com Facebook page. After counting the votes, the name Edison won. I love drawing him. The real Edison is so smart and fun to be with. Anyone who knows a pig could never eat bacon or ham. He is really a friend, not food.
In 2005 you wrote your first children’s book, The Gift of Nothing, which was followed by other works, including Me… Jane, which was awarded with the Caldecott Medal. In fact, they are books that are appreciated by all ages readers. What made you decide to tackle bigger projects like that? In this genre, what are your influences?
Children’s book are so much fun for me to create. They are fully conceived ideas with a beginning, middle, and end. I get to play with different mediums. And I have a much longer deadline.
A comic strip has no real end; it just evolves over time. So it is very satisfying to create something that is a concrete thing and meant to be read over and over again.
Some of my inspirations: A.A. Milne, L. Frank Baum, Dr. Seuss, Ludwig Bemelmans
It’s right, with a strip you’re in for the long call. Have you ever thought about life after MUTTS? Do you think you will be more like Schulz, on the board until the end, or Watterson?
That’s a question I ask myself often. The MUTTS comic strip is still a huge part of my life. I really can’t see myself drawing it forever, but then again, it’s hard to even think about ending it. I’m sure that Earl and Mooch will always have a home in some medium for as long as I live.
In your commencement speech to the 2007 graduating class at Center For Cartoon Studies you said that we live in a totally visual society. The comic book is a hybrid medium between image and word. So, I guess you are saying that images have a bigger role in the medium, is that right?
For me, yes. Some cartoonists are more cerebral, but I try to pare down the words and let the images speak for themselves.
Usually one is afraid to meet his idols because they might not live up to his expectations. You’ve had the good fortune to become a friend of Schulz, what kind of relationship did you have?
Charles Schulz was my hero for as far back as I can remember. When he told me he liked my strips I felt as if I could end MUTTS right there. There was nothing better for me to accomplish. Sparky was royalty of course, and he was also funny, encouraging, generous – everything you could want the creator of Peanuts to be.
According to your words, Schulz was able to have time for everything. You, on the other hand, are busy on Mutts, children’s books, a Mutts’ movie, a Mutts’ musical and your work with the Humane Society of the United States. How do you maintain a high level of creativity with all of these projects at the same time?
I am more than a little overbooked! But I try to focus on the project at hand and to not stress out about the other things that are pending. I am really lucky to be able to have these amazing opportunities. So I spend my time doing them, and not doing much else.
Just like Peanuts, Mutts is going to become a movie, which is going to written and produce by you. The first draft of the script was delivered a year ago, any developments since then? Are you involved in the development of the look? Can you give us some hints to what kind of movie is going to be?
Right now I am finishing up the final draft of the screenplay – it’s due next week. Hopefully the next steps will come soon. If all goes well, I will be working on the art for the movie this fall. It will be a big comedy / adventure film but will still have simplicity and the MUTTS philosophy. Most of the MUTTS gang will be included. The people at Fox have been wonderful to work with and I am very grateful that they have chosen to animate MUTTS.
Recently, Stripped, a documentary that saw you among the main protagonists, has analyzed the phenomenon of comic strips. What is the state of art of the industry and how do you see the future of the medium?
Comic strips are in a state of flux due to the changing landscape of the newspaper industry and the internet. I am very optimistic that they will continue for a very long time, however. They are a unique combination of words and pictures and people are drawn to both creating them and reading them.
