Keegle really started as a doodle on an old beat-up locker. Considering the noise involved in attempting to scan a locker door, I have instead dug up my old sketches. It was 1988 and with the recession in full swing I couldn’t afford to draw any legs for him. By the time I was married, this weird little gargoyle had a whole life worked out and I grew a goatee. As my interest in cartoons evolved, so did Keegle’s persona. I gave him characteristics that I desperately lacked to impress girls. Considering the irreversible tide of my hairline, Keegle developed a quick wit and a subtle eloquence. He could even juggle. My influences include Bill Watterson, Gary Trudeau, Berkely Breathed, Stephen Pastis, Larry Bird, Chuck Jones and Charles Shultz. A list of talent that makes me wish my legs were longer. It’s taken a while but Keegle is ready to face the world. And like a new kindergarten student, it is a time of nervous excitement as I unveil my little comic nuggets. During the first days, the teacher is never quite sure if the student wet their pants out of fear or too much juice at lunch. As long as you get a chuckle out of it, I’m happy.
Old Drawings
The old working title for my comic strip was actually The Third Level. This was a watercolor I did to help flesh out the characters. Yes that’s Wayne Gretzky we put in nets for the ball hockey game.
An old doodle of Keegle juggling in pen and ink. Photoshop was just a song in Mr. Adobe’s heart at this point. Everything was done on illustration boards and consisted of many, many mistakes.
Old pencil roughs of Keegle’s head. Later redrawn in Photoshop. Breathed always said that the charm of the pencil sketch always gets a bit lost when transferred to ink. I tend to agree.
A few drawings of some places in Hellgate. It’s a bit of Montreal, Boston and the Maritimes all rolled into one.
Some miscellaneous doodles for possible strip concepts.
A thank-you card for my 50th birthday.
