Permanent Tour 3

Here I am at Jim Rugg's house. Most readers of my column know that I consider Jim the hardest working man in comics. A fence jumper if there ever was one - Jim is equally beloved by art, indy, alt and mainstream comics fans. He's got a big solo art show coming up in Los Angeles. He's working on new comics, character designs, spot illustration work, animation - and as if he wasn't doing enough - he is also doing podcasts now. Sheesh.

One of my riffs these days is that cartoonists don't know how to compose in color. Usually the cartoonist only understands the coloring book approach. Heavy black outlines that contain the color. Color is an afterthought. Composing directly in color in cartooning is uncommon. That's how I see it anyways. A generalization for sure but so what. A truism in my book.

So seeing Jim Rugg the cartoonist blossom into Jim Rugg the draw-er has been really exciting for this Jim Rugg fan. He is composing directly in color these days, almost exclusively, and the marks he is making in color are far more embroidered than any brushed black outline. He is filling the space in such an interesting way. I can't wait until this approach seeps into his comics. Go Jimmy Go!

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Jim's art show in L.A.