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Comics: Meet the Artist
With Bob Staake
Artist, Style Invitational
Hosted by Suzanne Tobin
Washington Post Comics Editor
Friday, May 2, 2003; 1 p.m. ET
Welcome to the Washington Post Style section comics discussion, hosted by Comics page editor Suzanne Tobin. This week, Tobin is joined by Bob Staake, who draws the cartoons that accompany the Style Invitational.
Join Tobin and Staake online Friday, May 2 at 1 p.m. ET to discuss the art of cartooning.
Submit questions either before or during the discussion.
Staake's humorous illustrations and cartoons appear in everything from magazines to books, animation to greeting cards, advertising to newspapers, cereal boxes to CD-ROM games. He has authored and/or illustrated over 30 books, including "Headlines" (written by Jay Leno, illustrated by Staake), "The Complete Book Of Caricature" and "The Complete Book Of Humorous Art." The recipient of numerous awards, Staake recently won the National Cartoonist Society's coveted Reuben Award as Best Cartoonist in the Division of Newspaper Illustration. He is also the founder of PlanetCartoonist.com.
Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control
over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
Annapolis, MD:
You are way younger and much cuter than I imagined. It's going to throw me for a loop everytime I look at your work now.
Bob Staake: I'm actually 68 -- I just appear 45. And just to throw you further into your tailspin of a "loop", I'm a freelance cartoonist -- and work completely ALONE. Even as you read this, I'm sitting here wearing nothing but a black camisole -- and smoking a pipe (it's 'Hefner Friday' here in the studio)
Frederick, Md.:
I see you've now got four books now in your series, "My Little ABC Book," "My Little Color Book," "My Little 123 Book," and "My Little Opposites Book." How did you come up with the idea for the series? Do you have children of your own?
Bob Staake: It's VERY hard work. I sit there and start with this phrase in my head: "My Little" -- and then I add an appropriate word to the end. My Little ABC Book, My Little Color Book, My Little Butter Knife In A Light Socket Book. Actually, Simon & Schuster isn't too hip on the light socket book, but I'm working on them.
Suzanne Tobin:
Well, I see Bob got started without me! A little eager there, big guy? Well, we always give points for enthusiasm.
Let me back up here.
Greetings, comics fans and welcome to another edition of “Comics: Meet the Artist.” Today our guest is Bob Staake, the cartoonist for
The Style Invitational, and Web designer, children’s book author and general artiste extraordinaire.
Bob is joining us from his studio in St. Louis, Mo. Welcome, Bob, and let’s just clear one thing up right off the bat. How do you pronounce your last name?
Bob Staake: "Stack" -- like yak -- or heart "attack". I think in the old country they used to spell "Staake" with a a few dots over the a's. I hate my last name, but I'm getting used to it.
Bowie, Md.:
I saw in an interview you did on artbeatstreet.com where you said that "mistakes make room for art." What do you mean by that?
Bob Staake: If your goal was to make me look REALLY stupid by reminding me of that quote, you just succeeded, kimo sabe. By the way, I LOVED "China Girl". Ooops -- sorry. Wrong "Bowie"
Boston, MA:
Freelancing is a very hard, do you ever just
want to throw in the towel and get a 9 to 5
job, Bo
Bob Staake: Freelancing rarely involves a towel -- unless you're really, really lucky. Look, I go into my little studio and get paid to draw stupid pictures. That's insane. I'd do this stuff for free (but please don't tell the Washington Post)
Washington:
In its tenth anniversary page, the Style Invitational said that your work resembles that of a blind man. My question is, are you, in fact, blind, and does that explain the condition of your art?
Bob Staake: The best self caricature I ever drew of myself was when I broke my right hand playing basketball. Go figure. I am not blind -- yet.
Cabin John, Md.:
Your Web site is enormous! Did you design it yourself? Also, when I put your name into my search engine, I got like 30 pages, most of them references to sites that won your award for Web page design. Do you give it to all your friends? Or is there really some sort of judging process?
Bob Staake: No judging. Just a P.O.Box for bribes. Need the address?
Rosslyn::
So will you ever be visiting the Washington area for a book signing? Your pic is kinda blurry...are you married?
Bob Staake: I'm just as blurry in real life. If you PROMISE to buy a book, I'll come to your fine city. I'm certain the restraining order has lapsed by now.
Washington:
What is the Czar like? Is he easy to work with? Have you ever slept with him?
Bob Staake: Who is this "czar" of whom you speak?
Georgetown:
I -LOVE- your illustrations!
Two questions: I live next to the site of one of the major manhole blasts -- although mine was actually an entire venting grate. Can you post a link to your picture of a Georgetown woman suddenly landing in Md.?
Also, what was the "ear that no one reads" or whatever that strange line was that was in the Invitational?
Bob Staake: You say "venting grate" like it's a BAD thing. When I lived in DC (Connecticut and Macomb), the red, blue or pink line didn't extend that far. Now THAT was a BAD THING.
Bes' Death:
Were you aware that Finland is not, technically, part of Scandinavia? Just checking, because cartoonists are supposed to be famously stupid and uninformed.
Bob Staake: Mom?
Alexandria, VA:
So what's a talented guy like you doing hanging out with a bum like Weigarten?
Bob Staake: Weingarten IS a bum. An insufferable, sniveling, whiney, gum-smacking BUM. He should be taken out back and pistol-whipped beyond all recognition. I've met him once. He has more hair than me. For that alone, he deserves my complete respect.
Right here. :
If someone offered you $50,000 to draw a pornographic cartoon, would you do it? Would you worry about it compromising your "art"? Basically, what is your price?
Bob Staake: Because I failed Anatomy 101, I have have to deal with this philosophical dilemma. I couldn't draw a penis in a Style Invitational drawing if they PAID me.
Arlington, VA:
Are you married? You'd be perfect for my wild red-headed sister. Any plans to relocate to the Bay Area (California)?
Bob Staake: Define "married".
Sterling, Va.:
What does your mother think about you illustrating a feature like The Style Invitational that encourages scatalogical humor?
Bob Staake: Story has it that mom used to change my diapers back in the 1960s before the advent of burgeoning landfills of doodoo. Moms are predisposed to be nonchalant about all things scatological
Rockville, Md:
From what I can see on your Web site, you have your fingers in many different pies...newspapers, children's books, instructional books for artists? Do you ever sleep?
Bob Staake: I usually get two hours a night. Three hours if the neighbors dogs aren't barking.
Chatham, MA:
Is your wife as beautiful, brilliant and
mysterious as we've heard?
Bob Staake: She is fabulous, terrific, intelligent, hot -- and a real sweetheart for putting up with my (scatological reference deleted).
Yo:
Who are your heroes?
Bob Staake: Dorothy Parker, Abe Vigoda and the maid from 'The Jeffersons'. My tastes are very ecclectic
Providence, RI:
Did you go to art school? Was it worth it?
Bob Staake: If I said I went to the Rhode Island Scool of Design, can I have my tuition back? Actually, I went to USC -- Journalism and International relations. Go figure.
Chicago:
So who would you say influenced your style? Has it changed much over the years that you've been doing illustrating?
Bob Staake: As a kid I drew like MAD magazine, then I grew out of that influence. Years later, I get HIRED by MAD magazine. Just goes to show that you can't teach an old dog cartoonist new tricks.
Santa Fe, NM:
Hi, Bob! I saw in an interview you did online with Amazon.com that you're a big Dr. Seuss fan. Me too! What's your favorite of all his books?
Bob Staake: The Sneetches is THE most perfect children's story ever written, but then I'm a sucker for yellow, freakish animal/humanoids with stars upon thars
Washington :
Is it true your wife speaks no English and worships some sort of animal God?
Bob Staake: When I wear the hollowed-out boar's head, she definitely worships me
Somewhere, USA:
Do you think it is okay to enjoy "rabbiting," an ancient sport where two rabbits are encouraged to tear each other apart in a fight, and people bet on it? What if the money went to charity?
Bob Staake: Now that's a GOOD idea. Let's start with children's book on the whole "rabbiting" angle, and take it from there. If it flies, we option the story to FOX (When GOOD Rabbits Go BAD)
La-La Land:
Do you have any animation projects in the works? I think some of your characters in the Style Invitational would be great on TV or the big screen.
Bob Staake: Disney just bought Rocketship Bedroom -- created by the fabulous duo of Nicholls and Vickers. It'll be a great show. Only requires that I do 4,763,382 drawings
Tysons Corner:
How much time do you spend on your Web site, on average? My wife is threatening to divorce me if I don't start touching her as much as I touch my computer. I just want her to see I'm not the only one who spends HOURS at his machine. At least she knows where I am, right?
Bob Staake: I work very, very fast. Can you touch and type at the same time? Actually, that was the LAST line Ann Landers wrote before she kicked.
Fort Washington:
You seem to have lots of clients, newspapers, magazines, etc. Which one, when you finally got published in it, made you feel like you'd arrived? (And no fair, saying The Post, and sucking up to them!)
Bob Staake: I NEVER feel as if I've "arrived". It's always one day at a time -- and I have the ink-soaked fingernails to prove it
Washington:
Please ask yourself a question and answer it. We won't mind.
Bob Staake: What is this, Jeopardy?
Rabbiting person:
Margaret Wise Brown actually enjoyed rabbiting. I don't think her cartoonist, Clement Hurd did.
Bob Staake: Has anyone ever really LOOKED at the drawings to 'Goodnight Moom'? They are absolute CACA! Trust me, I know caca when I see it -- and those drawings are VERY scary. I still have nightmares over them.
High School Senior:
I'm slogging through the last few weeks of high school and it's seems like it will never end. Did you learn ANYTHING in high school that you use in your work today?
Bob Staake: I was completely pampered in high school -- only because I could draw. My teachers had me creating posters for the basketball teams and bake sales and Spanish clubs. High School taught me how to capitalize on my strengths. I also learned that Debbie Flaffenstein wan the hottest little minx within a 500 radius of Los Angeles, Santa Catalina included
washington:
Let's say your arms were amputated at the shoulder. Could you draw pretty well by putting a pencil (or pen) in your nose?
This is really a much more sophisticated question than it sounds like, with all sorts of philosophical implications, so answer it.
Bob Staake: Remember that book with the women smiling as she draws a tree with a pencil between her teeth? I think she liked me.
Ocean City, Md:
You went to college in Southern California. Why would anyone leave the West Coast to settle in the Midwest?
Did you have to find a climate that made it easier to stay indoors and work?
Or were you shown the city limits and asked to leave, like Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop?
Bob Staake: This is a very, very long story -- and involves 12 Step Programs, 800 parking tickers from the city of Hermosa Beach, and constant pestering from the LA District Attorney's office for the murder of the Black Dahlia. I should stop there.
St. Louis, MO:
Any other talented artists in the
family.....ancestors or offspring?
Bob Staake: My son, Ryan, is an amazing designer -- but he never makes his bed. His little brother, Kevin, ALWAYS makes his bed. Don't EVEN get me started.
Washington:
Why haven't you thanked Suzanne and Liz for spending their valuable time making this chat work? You take people for granted, don't you? Particularly women. You are such a typical male.
Bob Staake: Suzanne and Liz are so incredibly fabulous, but they already know that. Suzanne just called me and screamed the 'F' word -- just like Ed Asner likely did when the cameras were off on the Mary Tyler Moore Show. My sense is that Suzanne might give Ed a run for his money in the back hair department.
Note to Bob: You will NEVER have your comic strip syndicated by the Washington Post Writer's Group!
Washington:
I dare you to print this.
Bob Staake: I dare you to read it
Vienna, VA:
bob,
I remember you as cartoonist for USC Daily Trojan. Great political wit - do you have plans to go into the editorial cartooning arena again?
Fight on!
Bob Staake: Never. Politics creep into my work all the time, but I have the same prob with my underwear.
Redondo Beach:
Did you go to Mira Costa High School?
Mustang Class of '64
Bob Staake: West Torrance '75. By the way, we used to kick Mira Costa's ASS at table tennis
Tacoma, Washington:
Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior?
Bob Staake: Yeah. We have a 'spinning' class together. My "acceptance" of him isn't absolute, though. The dude has some issues.
Washington:
Have you ever had a near-death experience? If so, how did it shape your perception of the world?
Bob Staake: I drove off the Grand Canyon in a borrowed, convertible LTD -- college-related experience, of course. I learned to avoid any natural landmark where both height and gravity can come into play
Atlanta:
Have you ever wanted to do a comic strip for a daily newspaper? And which ones--past or present--are your favorites? (You DO read the newspaper, don't you?)
Bob Staake: I get the New York Times. They don't run strips. I love Mark Trail, Ziggy and The Lockhorns -- at least those are the only comic strips I can remember
Suzanne Tobin:
West Torrance High School? What was their nickname? The Tornadoes?
Bob Staake: The "Warriors". We did the whole "tomahawk chop" thing long before Ted Turner and Jane Fonda popularized it with the Atlanta Braves.
Suzanne's sister:
How dare you spread such vicious rumors about my perfect baby sister! She went to Catholic elementary and high schools, and has never uttered an obscenity in her life. Take that back!
Bob Staake: If you think for a MINUTE that I'm going to buy into the myth that good Catholic chicks never utter a single swear word, you're f'ing crazy. The BEST Catholic chicks cuss like Teamsters. WooHoooo!!!!!
Washington:
In your professional opinion as a humorist, what is the funniest ethnic group? Why?
Bob Staake: It used to be the pygmies. Now it's the French.
Washington:
1. If you weren't a cartoonist, what would you be?
2. Do you like tarragon or chervil more?
Bob Staake: 1: An astronaut -- as long as I didn't have to fly.
2: Tarragon. Chervil can't be used on corn flakes.
Terre Haute, IN:
Why an abrupt "never" to editorial
cartooning? And what do you suppose
are the psychologocial implications of it
prompting you to immediately think of
underwear?
Bob Staake: 75% of my time requires me to wear underwear. Only 1% of my time is devoted to anything remotely "editorial cartoon" in nature. Go do the math. By the way, Terre Haute is a PIT!
Cubeville, DC:
My ex-BF lives in Missori. I've been to Missouri. I hate Missouri. How, after living in SoCal, can you STAND Missouri? It's a vast cavernous wasteland.
I want to move to SoCal myself.
Bob Staake: My silence should speak volumes
Southwest D.C.:
So do you use your powers for good or evil? Seriously, do you support any charitable or political causes? If so, which ones?
Bob Staake: Good on some days, evil on others. I rarely eat red meat. Does that count for anything? I also send a yearly check to the League of Nations, but fear it does little good.
Silver Spring:
Re: animation. Are you really going to do all the drawings for Rocketship Bedroom? What are you, some kind of control freak?
Hire some help and spread the work around. That way, there would be one less starving artist out there.
Bob Staake: There's nothing wrong with being a "control freak". You wanna spread it around, fine. Next time you're in a 747 zooming through the air at 672mph, let's see how happy you are when the pilot comes back and says "okay, who wants to fly this baby?". Control freak, my ass
Phoenix:
Have you ever done a self-portrait? Is it posted on your Web site? I'd love to see you draw yourself in the style you use for the Invitational.
Bob Staake: I'm sure there's one in the hidden recesses of my web site -- or over there in the studio behind the empty styrofoam coffee cups
New York:
How would you describe your personal fashion style? Does your wife pick out all your clothes?
Bob Staake: I have no personal fashion style -- other than occassionally wearing a grass skirt with red pumps (but don't blame Paulette for that)
Georgetown:
I'm only required to wear underwear 42.8% of the time. Can you guess what I do for a living?
Bob Staake: You're a more successful cartoonist than me?
Springfield:
Which of your children's books is your favorite?
Bob Staake: Pigs Rock. I like 'My Little Picture Dictionary', too
Calif:
Next to Binghamton NY, Missouri is the left bank of Paris in 1934.
Bob Staake: You sniveling thief! That was the gagline to a Hallmark Card I illustrated!
Cubeland, DC:
This one's for Suzanne: WHEN are you going to get rid of that horrible, excrable strip, the Piranha Club? I HATE that strip. Thank you.
Bob Staake: Suzanne?
Suzanne Tobin:
That's not my decision. All I'll say is "one man's meat is another man's poison."
Sister of the California redhead:
"Married" is the legal obstacle I suppose. My sister already has two other boyfriends, so you know..., but married becomes a concern. Wife might have a problem with it.
Bob Staake: Picky, picky
St. Louis, MO:
Do you think this whole computer thing is
going to catch on?
Bob Staake: In the way 'Ms PacMan' caught on, YEAH!
Greenbelt, MD:
Did you, a cartoonist, compare yourself to a pilot flying a 747 because pilots no longer wear pants when flying?
Bob Staake: Cartoonists and pilots have SO much in common, but must have missed the memo about the new trend in flying "pant-less". I hear the airlines are cutting back across the board, though.
Palos Verdes, CA:
Did you know that tomorrow is "Hug your Cat Day"?
Bob Staake: Call me when it's "Hug Your Gerbil Day"
Suzanne Tobin:
Well, folks, we're out of time. Thanks, Bob, for all your, uh, "insightful" comments about your career. Join us again in two weeks for another edition of "Comics: Meet the Artist."
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