There aren’t a great deal of people that I truly loathe. Life is too short to carry interpersonal grudges, especially with people whom I will never meet. But I really, honestly and truly, cannot stand hacks.

And that’s what people who draw these political “cartoons” are. Hacks.

They know it’s not funny. They know it’s not insightful. They know it’s not original. They are consciously doing bad work for a goddamned paycheck and that makes them hacks. The Crooked Gremlins’ official position on hacks? Stab them in the mama-jammin’ eyeball with a pen.

It’s a pleasure to have the opportunity to abuse some interns again. I hope everyone notices that this one has a pretty high number. Their digital assignments include the dearly departed interns, of whom there are many.

Our workflow is very different than I imagine most webcomickers’ is. You see, Paul and I live in different states (making our mischief of Federal concern), requiring us to coordinate our humorous efforts via phone, Internet and carrier pigeon. 

While we both write the strip, he’s the one responsible for actually drawing it. I merely trace (ahem, ink) and color the panels after he sends them to me.

I mention this because after we finally settle on the idea for a strip, I will flippantly say something like, “Draw Nicholas exploding” or “Make it look like a political cartoon” or “Add in Shia LaBeouf.”

I ask these things of Paul, and then don’t really think about them until they arrive in my Apple Mail inbox, looking exactly how I imagined them.

I don’t know how he does it, and I’m not willing to rule out dark sorcery. Yet.