Some local cartoon classics (from Rocky Mountain News years)

[Hawkeye-X]

May I introduce to y'all to Drew Litton? He's been our sports cartoonist for many years while Rocky Mountain News was our paper.

Since it folded, he still does cartoons for our local news and has expanded to Chicago Tribune and ESPN.com.

His website: www.drewlitton.com

Some of his classics:



Background of the cartoon as explained:
Easily my most requested and remembered cartoon, I owe my entire career, I think, to this cartoon. It followed then Broncos kicker Rich Karlis kicking the ball into the uprights in the waning seconds of key Broncos games two Sundays in a row. Both Field goals were no good.
The cute bank teller that I had a crush on at the time wouldn’t talk to me the day it published but everyone else seemed to love it. Even Karlis himself who once told me “you captured exactly what was on my mind”.



Background of the cartoon as explained:

This is one of the few cartoons ever written long before I used it. It came out a conversation several of us were having in the Rocky newsroom during the Avs first run to the Stanley Cup. My good buddy, Steve Haigh, designer and copy editor extraordinaire, said the magic words “I wonder how Elway must feel about all of this?” Ding, ding, ding. The Lombardi trophy had thus far eluded Elway. This image popped in my mind almost immediately, pretty much as you see it. I was like a little kid going to the candy store, the only problem being we were about 10 days away from it opening. The Avs still needed a few more games to win it all. It was a long 10 days.

I didn’t draw it until the moment arrived doing everything I could to keep my hand steady and the image solid. The color was done in watercolor and Dr. Martins dyes because I hadn’t made the leap to Adobe’s Photoshop yet. It was one of those cartoons that struck a chord with the community, for which I’m very thankful. I love cartoons that resonate like this with people, even 14 years after the fact. Hope ya like it. I’m crossing my fingers that I will be back on a normal schedule come Monday, but if not please keep those cartoon requests coming. It’s fun to hear which ones you remember, which I’m always amazed at. I can’t recall what I drew yesterday.

(Fortunately, Elway had only to wait two years before he got two SB championships of his own, plus MVP.)

Finally, to finish this:




Thanks to, Larry Strutton, former publisher of the Rocky Mountain News who wandered down to my drawing board in the newsroom the Tuesday after I returned from the Broncos victory in Super Bowl XXXII and suggested Elway-Sakic need a reprise. Larry never made suggestions for cartoons. It’s always best to just let the cartoonist be the cartoonist and he understood that. But he had a good point on this one. So I did it. So, Larry, if you’re out there, this one’s for you. Those were the days, weren’t they.

(Dan Reeves was our ex coach of the Super Bowl, Elway faced his former coach in his final appearance as a pro in Super Bowl XXXIII - Denver vs Atlanta)

Hope you enjoy the cartoon. You'll see more of his stuff in ESPN and Chicago Tribune. And Santa Rosa, NM (once a week)

[fishwax]

1. I remember seeing his work in the RMN

I had no idea what he was up to now. Thanks for posting--I don't remember these cartoons specifically (living in northern Wyoming I didn't always read the RMN, but some Sundays we'd get it), but the events they depict bring back memories :)