Grandpa T-Rex...

...gets his 'Meals on Wheels' delivery.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...gets into an argument at the pub quiz.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...takes his daily pills.

A New Daily Cartoon: 'Drew'.

Grandpa T-Rex is on hiatus until Christmas (oho, don't worry, he'll be back and in spectacular style!), just to give him a rest, give me some time to think up plenty of jokes for him, and overall make sure the quality of his cartoons doesn't dip. I'm not going to leave you without a daily cartoon though. Oh no. There's something new. You see, the other day I was thinking about different cartoon styles and people's differing levels of ability at drawing, and how, if all cartoons existed in one cartoon world (ala 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit') then the stick man would be the underclass of the cartoon hierarchy. You never see them in comic books or cartoons, yet we all know they exist. So what do all the stick men (and stick women and stick children) do all day? How do they feel about being poorly drawn in a world of well-defined characters? And that's how I came up with 'Drew':

In the Drawn World, the stick man is the lowest of the low. Downtrodden, discriminated against, and looked down upon by the better drawn characters, they're left to do all the menial jobs that keep them out of the spotlight and the eyes of the readers and watchers. They're not even allowed colour (when have you ever seen a stick man that wasn't black and white?). A lucky few have managed to get good work, but most make a living in the drawing rooms of InkCapable Plc., creating the scenery and items you'll find in the backgrounds of frames and panels. And that's where Drew (centre) works, designing the mundane objects that cartoon characters take for granted. Everything from bolts to bedside tables to batarangs. He's joined by pencil-drawn Casey, and his full colour boss Mr. Jaw, as well as a vast cavalcade of cartoons. And that's what it's all about: essentially a cartoon all about cartoons. It'll play with colours and drawing styles and the whole thing will have a much different feel to Grandpa T-Rex. It'll be a bit more bittersweet, a lot more satirical and allegorical, and there'll be the occasional cartoon cameo.

'Drew' begins on Monday 4th October and will go on for as long as I can think of good ideas for it. It's something I'm excited about and I hope you enjoy it.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...gives blood.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...and Old Mister Spinosaur make a verbal contract.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...has a near miss.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...wants his full Jurassic Park pension.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...makes mischief at the museum.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...sells the first mode of transport he ever owned.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...spends a quiet afternoon with the grandkids.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...is a master of disguise.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...has a bone to pick with The Pope.

Grandpa T-Rex: One Year Old Today

One year ago today I created Grandpa T-Rex and his first ever cartoon. This is it...

Grandpa T-Rex...

...hates going to the Optician.

Basically this one year anniversary is an excuse to bring GT-R #1 out of the cupboard. After nearly 150 it's still my favourite, although a few have run awfully close. As you can see, he looks a bit different and a bit rougher round the edges to what he does now, but I don't mind that; it shows I've got better at drawing him. The fact is all cartoons undergo an evolution over a period; just look at early Dilbert or The Simpsons (not that I'm comparing to them in any way apart from to say that the more often a person draws something, the more they'll improve). The style of Grandpa T-Rex cartoons has always been deliberately crude - the idea I first had when drawing them was that they should look a bit like a caveman had drawn them - but over the hundred and odd cartoons he has become more refined, more expressive, and more 'T-Rexy'. He may be a year older, but Grandpa T-Rex is definitely looking better with age.

Skeleton Bob

The Skeleton that had 'no body to go with' finds a solution to his problems...

A cartoon by my brother...

The short-lived songwriting duo of Rodgers & Hammer...

I promise this will be my second and last Rodgers & Hammerstein joke (there's a dynamite cartoon involving a skeleton for you tomorrow), but my brother saw the 'Rodgers & Hammerhead' joke as I was drawing it the other day and said, 'You should do a Rodgers & Hammer Time' cartoon. I liked that joke, so I did it. Think how different 'The Sound of Music' would've been if MC Hammer had written the music... In fact, dear Mr. Hammer, please write your own version of 'The Sound of Music'. I'd watch it.

And on the theme of Hammer, did anyone see his cartoon in the 9os, Hammerman? I remember watching it as a kid. Makes 'Ben 10' look like Shakespeare...

Grandpa T-Rex...

...meets his new grandson.

Green Giant

I could have filled this one in with digital colour, but I didn't because sometimes it's just nice to sit down with a box of pencils and do some colouring in. It's a lot more satisfying than shading using a mouse or graphics tablet, and while the result isn't as polished, it still has a certain charm, as though it's something you could have scribbled in the back of your notebook during a boring maths lesson at school. Well, that's the kind of thing I used to do, and probably explains why I'm so bad at maths.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...finds he's been the victim of a practical joke while napping.

Hammerheads live in the South Pacific, maybe that's where they got the title from...

The famous songwriting duo Rodgers & Hammerhead, at work...

It was March when I last did a 'Too Close For Comfort' cartoon, the reason being I've been hard at work on Grandpa T-Rex. But as well as daily Grandpa T-Rex cartoons there'll be more 'Too Close For Comfort' cartoons from now on too. It is the name of the blog after all, and more cartoons can't be a bad thing.

As for this one, it came from the BBC Proms 'Rodgers & Hammerstein' concert to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Oscar Hammerstein. Though I'm not much of a Rodgers & Hammerstein fan, it was a pretty good show. I don't usually work in pencils, but I was away from my computer and I needed the practice with my Crayolas.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...is always careful in the Sun.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...meets his new daughter-in-law.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...loves to give fashion advice.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...hates those giant Pterosaurs.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...would've got away with it too if it wasn't for those pesky kids.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...isn't great at speed dating.

Earlier this year, before I got snapped up, I went speed-dating with a friend. It was horrific. And one day would make for an excellent stand-up routine.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...isn't great at birthday party surprises.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...buys his 'old man sweets' in bulk.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...finally realises the Dentist has made a mistake.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...has no imagination.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...likes to have a bet on the Gallimimus.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...does us all a favour.

If you don't live in the UK and are fortunate enough not to know who the 'Go Compare' Man is, then you can see him in action in one of his many adverts here. And may God have mercy on your neo-cortex...

Grandpa T-Rex...

...is sick of everyone wanting to visit the Dinosaurs.

Extra geek points to you if you can recognise all the Time Machines in this pic (badly drawn as some of them are). And a million points if you know the round one at the back.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...performs the famous 'Dead Archaeopteryx' sketch.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...gets fought over by Palaeontologists all the time.