Over the years I have received numerous complaints from "the other side" that my comic strip is stupid and absurd because it features a talking, thinking baby in the womb. My initial reaction was "DUH!" Don't these people read comics? The whole idea of comics is absurdity, the suspension of disbelief so that dogs and cats and, yes, even babies can talk and think and do anything our imaginations permit. I'll be willing to bet these people never wrote to Charles Schulz to complain about his talking beagle, or to Jim Davis regarding his lasagna-eating talking cat, or to Walt Disney concerning a certain talking mouse. And I'M the absurd one?
Umbert represents the unborn child who CAN'T speak for himself and for whom many refuse to speak because they refuse to recognize that he is a REAL human being. Giving a voice to the voiceless is what Umbert is all about and, if that is absurd, then I am a dyed-in-the-wool, Camusian absurdist and proud of it. God bless cartoons and cartoonists, in all their absurd glory. Sometimes, they're the only ones who make sense out of an absurd world.
Well,it's very clear that I am NOT from "the other side" because I think your creation of Umbert the Unborn is absolutely brilliant! God blessed you with a passion for cartoons and then continued his blessing by giving you the ability to become an actual cartoonist!
ReplyDeleteYour humility and passion to teach entire generations that "unborn" children are real human beings and deserve to be loved just as much as any "born" child is loved, is simply incredible! Thank you for Umbert and for Gary Cangemi!!!
I'm looking forward to reading more of Umbert's comic strips and als his Blogs!
God Bless You!
~Sherri
~Peckville, PA
Thanks, Sheri, that was very kind of you to say. I have always felt blessed to be able to communicate the things I feel passionate about in such an entertaining medium as the comic strip, although I have never been able to steer clear of controversy in my work. I don't know why, I just feel that God doesn't want us to always play it safe, that we are expected to use our gifts to their fullest potential. Doing so has kept me out of the so-called mainstream, but, thanks to the internet, the definition of mainstream is rapidly changing. Someday I hope to see Umbert sandwiched between Garfield and Blondie.
ReplyDeleteYour Friend for "Life,"
Gary