|
Flynntoons: The Unreal Reality |
| Imagine if you will, the local butcher who is happy he's on Prozac,
as he grips his cleaver. Or the distraught man who hangs
himself after suicide hotline puts him on hold. Worse yet, the
comedian who is shot in the head for offending a member of the
audience. This is the unreal reality of Flynntoons. "I was the class clown," Flynn admits. "Rather than pay attention to the teacher, I was in the back of the class drawing cartoons, or cracking jokes." Over the years Flynn has explored all the facets of self-expression. It was a natural choice to focus on cartooning. A way to combine his offbeat sense of humor and exceptional drawing ability. "Being an artist is a lifetime pursuit. One full of rejection mostly. There are some great cartoonists out here you'll never know about because everyone wants to 'make it,'" Flynn laments. "My first real taste of 'making it' didn't happen until I was 41, when I received national exposure and an actual check. When one of my toons was printed in ADAM magazine, now defunct." Flynn says with a smile, "Even then, you realize, OK what's next." What is next for Mike Flynn? "I'll be doing this for the rest of my life, Lord willing." I want to thank you for visiting my website. I've been asked many times where I get ideas from, what's my inspiration, and the funniest question, "Why do I do it?" Obviously, my ideas are the result of personal experience, especially when I depict job interviews (I've had many). As much as I've tried to fit into the 9-5 world, I always end up back to the drawing board (no pun intended). A lot of my cartoons reflect my own life which in itself is like a cartoon. I intentionally avoid topical humor which is way too easy, and becomes old. There's an irony in life that is tragic, yet humorous to me, and that is we're all trying succeed in some way, and not everyone succeeds. Yet in our minds we believe we are. To me, a successful person is one who realizes success is a state of mind. A homeless person who can find food each day is as successful in their mind as someone who ignores them on their way to a high-paying job (there's a cartoon). My inspiration comes from the un-funny cartoons I see everyday in the paper, but that's not real inspiration, it's motivation. Of course, to me, the greatest artist who truly inspired me was Robert Crumb. Check out his work and you'll know why. For sheer simplistic brilliance, the great Charles Schultz. Peanuts will forever be a part of our culture, and a connection to my youth, when life was all about going out to play. Lastly, why why why do I do it? Because I can, and it's my passion. I want to take this opportunity to thank those who have encouraged me along the way. I hope my cartoons have made you laugh or at least crack a smile. Then I've done my job. My father would always say, "Whatever you do, even if it's sweeping the street, be the best at it." Sometimes the best cartoonist just might be the one sweeping the street. |