LIFESTYLE |
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Combs says a cartoon like " Love It or Leave It " makes an impact within 10 seconds . And it is meant to evoke emotion . |
“ If I ' ve done my job correctly , you get that reaction pretty quickly . You don ’ t need to spend a lot of time contemplating .”
Combs loves it when he gets feedback that appreciates his angle but also suggests an alternate thought process .
“ What I like are people who say , ‘ However … have you
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thought about this ?’ I love that . The whole point of an editorial cartoon is to elicit conversation . All I ’ m doing is trying to get people to talk about the topic at a kitchen table . I ’ m not smart enough to solve the problems – I ’ m just trying to get people to talk about them .”
Despite the years , his motivations haven ’ t changed . Before Combs got into creating firefighter cartoons full time , he remembers a firefighter from a local station who insisted that Combs must be a firefighter himself
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because the details in his cartoons were things only a firefighter would know .
“ I started going up to their firehouse two to three times a week after work , sitting and having coffee with the crew .
I UNDERSTOOD THAT I HAD TAPPED INTO SOMETHING IN MYSELF THAT I NEEDED ,” SAYS COMBS .
“ I kind of stumbled into the fire service by accident . I ’ d been an artist ever since I could hold a pencil – that was never a question of what I wanted to do and I was a professional artist when I found the fire service .
“ It ’ s a long story , but the short version is I met someone who convinced me to walk into our local firehouse to apply . I didn ’ t wake up that morning thinking about the fire service , but by the time I went to bed that evening , I could think of nothing else . That ’ s how fast it transpired .
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My wife and I have taken this journey together every step of the way . We ’ ve been married for 32 years now and she ’ s been supportive of it all . She ’ s hated it and she ’ s loved it – all the things a fire spouse has to deal with .
“ I like to think I ’ m making a difference , but I hope I never know because that ’ s a humility shield that I like to stay behind . And it ’ s where I keep that pool of creativity and I feed off that insecurity . I think a lot of times I need that . I never want to get to the point where I think something is going to be good just because I ’ ve done it and put it out there . I want the insecurity – I want the knowledge that I could be wrong .
“ When I ’ m sitting in a class and one of my cartoons pops up in the instructor ’ s PowerPoint , I ’ m still like ‘ Oh ! Wow – that ’ s kinda cool !’ I ’ ll never be one of those who believes they ’ ve arrived – I hope I never get there . That would probably be when I draw my last cartoon .”
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Despite the impressive collection he ’ s created to date and his refusal to choose a favorite cartoon , Combs does open up about one that continues to have an impact on many levels . |
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“ I think the one that best represents how I feel is a one called ' Training Day '. I drew it in 2009 or 2010 and it shows two firefighters flying a big Maltese Cross . And one firefighter is telling the other that this symbol owes you nothing but will give you absolutely everything if you dedicate yourself to it . To me that represents everything that I ’ ve done . |
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40 | CRACKYL MAGAZINE |