Good grief for sure.

In my other life as an illustrator, the hidden life that I don't talk about at this blog (the life that pays the bills), I spent a number of years pursuing a syndicated comic strip. I thought it was the perfect marriage of my two loves: writing and drawing. The contract never came, though I felt I was getting close at times with personal rejections and invitation to resubmit from King Features in New York and reaching the final stages of a contest with the Washington Post.

The interesting thing that happened in the almost 10 years I did this was I realized how much I loved to write. I have wrote about the difficult challenge of writing a strip – and I have seen up close how this is a daily hill/mountain to be climbed by those who do score the contract (like my friend Mark Heath). I still follow what's happening in the comic world, but admittedly less than I use to. Maybe it's why I identify so much with John Updike, a writer that also has cartooning in his background and speaks so highly of the art and craft.

A recent book review by one of the greats about one of the greats reminded me how much I do admire this art form. The depth of Schulz's work on the page may never be reached again – perhaps because we live in a different, less patient time. I plan on picking up this book, not for its gossipy behind the scenes look at Schulz's life, but for its reminder on the quality of work that comes from truly putting yourself, pain, warts and all, on the page.

Good grief for sure.

Watterson on new Schulz Biography