In Memoriam

My uncle passed away over Christmas after a mercifully short fight with cancer. He was a good man, a genuinely lovely old bloke, and one I'm ashamed to say I didn't know him better. A family death isn't something I'd normally talk about on the public space of a blog, but it was Uncle Bob that I modelled the look of Grandpa T-Rex on, and even took the inspiration for a couple of his cartoons from, especially his fondness for betting on horse racing (and being very very good at it).

I always thought of him when I drew a Grandpa T-Rex cartoon. I still will.

A Christmas Post

Grandpa T-Rex...

...wishes you a very Merry Christmas!

Grandpa T-Rex will return to wish you a Happy New Year. Until then, I wish you the very merriest of Christmases!

Grandpa T-Rex...

...gets exactly what he wants for Christmas.

And I hope that you do too!

For fellow Dilbert fans...

Grandpa T-Rex...

...is reunited with an old work colleague.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...finds a new reading light.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...rarely gets a peaceful night's sleep at Christmas.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...shares your frustration.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...has to watch out for herbivores at Christmas.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...planned on bringing Myrrh, but was beaten to it.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...loves his special advent calendar.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...goes shopping for a new hip.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...enjoys certain aspects of evolution.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...helps out in Santa's Grotto.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...doesn't need a side-kick.

If you watched 'The Flintstones' you're probably familiar with The Great Gazoo, the Martian who caused a never-ending supply of trouble for Fred and Barney. I have to say, I never really got him or liked him, and he had no business being there. Clearly his introduction was to inject new life into stories, but The Flintstones was always at its best when it was more a traditional sitcom dealing with more 'normal' things in a prehistoric setting, like Barney and Betty adopting a baby or Wilma maxing out Fred's credit card. Gazoo was incongruous and annoying and having him in the show was the equivalent of Friends featuring a wise-cracking ghost, or Frasier being friends with a cognac-sipping otter. So it was nice to just tell that smug green alien to 'Shaddap!'. I've been wanting to do it since I was five.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...makes his Christmas list.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...has talented grandchildren.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...has a go at preserving himself in Carbonite.

(With a little help from the Landosaur)

Grandpa T-Rex...

...should not be allowed to use a debit card.

This actually happened to me not so long back, when I took my Grandma out for Sunday lunch and she insisted on paying. However, she said she wanted me to put her PIN number in for her as she had trouble pushing the buttons on the little card machine restaurants use. No matter how much I protested and said I would pay instead she wouldn't listen and ended up telling me her PIN. However, when the waiter came and I put the PIN in for her, it was wrong. "Why don't you just put it in Gran?" I said, handing her the card reader. "Oh no," she said VERY loudly, "you must have put it in wrong, it's 3466." (Just a side-note to any thieves, that's obviously not her PIN. I chose the number 3466 for this cartoon because on a phone keypad it spells out 'DINO'. Clever, no?). She then repeated the number, so loudly that the waiter and all the surrounding tables heard. Everyone was extremely embarrassed - except for Granny - and as I held my head in my hands I wished I'd had more wine with lunch.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...explains where babies come from.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...is feeling peckish.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...wins a fish at the fairground.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...is still the master of disguise.

Grandpa T-Rex...

...really should wear his glasses.

The Return of Grandpa T-Rex!

Back after suffering a slight case of death in his sleep...

Grandpa T-Rex...

...has some explaining to do.