Alright. Let’s get this over with.
The watermark is right on top of the punchline. Figures. The baby is wearing a mask that says “2021.”
I wrote my college thesis on generations. The farthest back I researched was The Awakening Generation, which was born in the late 1700s. The farthest forward projection was for a generation yet to be born to be called "Crisis of 2020."
That was in 2006.
For 14 years, I wondered what the forecasted crisis would be. Apparently it would be crises.
There has been enough introspective and outward analysis of 2020 online, on Zoom, in media, in homes, in our minds to last a lifetime. When we finally wake up from this dream/nightmare, I suspect we’ll continue to process this year for the rest of our lives. If you’re reading this, I hope you’re safe and in good health and spirits and have found moments of relief along the way in this difficult year.
As I always have in times of difficulty, I’ve channeled my stress and anxiety into creativity. Here were some of the projects on my drawing board in 2020.
On January 2nd, our request to join CartoonStock was accepted. This enables our Frega DiPerri cartoons to be licensed by companies, organizations, publications, and individuals worldwide. A few months later, our cartoons were also made available on CartoonStock’s parent company site, Cartoon Collections, which is owned by legendary New Yorker cartoon editor Bob Mankoff. Mr. Mankoff is the current editor of the new Airmail magazine, which we were given permission to begin submitting cartoon ideas to in July.
We sold a few cartoons this year but they won’t be published until 2021. The first up will be a cartoon in the Winter 2021 issue of 2 Million Blossoms magazine.
Throughout the year, I was fortunate to be able to correspond with people in the industry who have been generous with their support and time. Their guidance and advice has been extremely helpful as Julie and I navigate this new-to-us industry.
In February, I completed the web design and spot illustrations for The Sharpener. If you or anyone you know needs a virtual SAT tutor or college essay editor, she’s the best in the business. https://wwwSatSharpener.com
Then March happened. The first project I tackled when we went into quarantine was finally completing the trailer for My Guardian Grandpa Volume IV: In Their Day, which I began animating in 2018. In the context of going into quarantine during a pandemic, the unsettling quality of the trailer and the entirety of the fourth book took on new meaning for me. You can find your copy of My Guardian Grandpa Volume IV: In Their Day in the My Guardian Grandpa tab here on this site.
Also in the early quarantine weeks, I completed another long gestating project. I began writing a children’s book in late 2017 and finally achieved a final draft in March. In July, I finished a dummy book and sample illustration and am in the process of shopping the book around to literary agents. I’m keeping this close to the vest but if the book is ever published, some of those reading will recognize the characters. Though not my intention, when the sample paintings were done, I realized this book serves as prequel/origin story for an unpublished play I wrote. Here’s a close up teaser image of one of the illustrations. Hopefully I’ll be able to share the book with you someday.
In August, I was contracted to produce 37 ink illustrations for a memoir collection of short stories, which will be published next year. The stories are beautifully crafted and immensely entertaining. The author has lead a truly exciting and cultured life! Looking forward to sharing more with you soon. For now, here is a drawing that didn’t make the cut.
In the summer, a friend invited me to co-host a podcast with him. Maybe “co-host” isn’t so accurate. I’m really a sidekick. He’s Batman. We recorded five episodes and I had great fun though I’m not sure if the podcast will be released. I’ll let you know if it is.
In its second year of sales, our Coffee Lovers’ Christmas greeting card line sold better than expected! Hopefully next year we’ll be able to get them into in-person shops. Here is a commercial for my favorite of the new products we introduced this year.
Finally, Julie, a group of other artists, historians, and writers, and I might have invented something. We’ll know better by 2030 if it’s anything. In the meantime, we’ll keep working on it…
I usually end here with stating the best movie I saw this year. Far better than any movie though, the best piece of story, character, performance, cinematography, writing, directing, set, and costuming was not a movie but a mini series. The Queen’s Gambit is a stunning achievement of quality craftsmanship of story and character. If you haven’t already seen The Queen’s Gambit, it is available on Netflix.
These are the songs that defined my year:
Everything I Wanted performed by Billie Eilish
Strangest Thing performed by The War on Drugs
C’Mon Everybody performed by Elvis
Epiphany performed by Taylor Swift
and
When Will My Life Begin (Reprise) performed by Mandy Moore
—
Stay safe. See you in the funny papers.
Nathan