“That Tail is So Damn Fluffy!”
“Generally speaking, women seem to respond favorably to my drawings of their gender, as long as they believe it is a drawing of someone else and not of them. The one time I proudly presented someone with a nude figure drawing I’d done of her, the response was . . . Why do you hate me?!”—Mark Addison Kershaw
Addison
By Mark Addison Kershaw
Editor’s Note: These Addisonian cartoons first appeared in Hubris in March of 2020. Mark Addison Kershaw appeared in my life quite a bit earlier, and has been gracing (and disgracing) these virtual pages with his presence (presents) since 2018.
ATLANTA Georgia—(Hubris)—1 April 2023—Editor’s Introductory Note: In preparation for this month’s themed issue on Woman/Women, I interviewed our resident cartoonist, asking him some pointed, if indeed pointless, questions about his (and our) subject matter. Elizabeth Boleman-Herring: How you feel about women in general? Kershaw: I chanced upon a live woman once . . . in reality, not just online, and I remember walking away from that encounter thinking it was quite a pleasant experience. I hope someday to have another parley with one of these fascinating creatures, as it is my understanding they are becoming more frequently seen in the streets and countryside and seated in positions of prominence. EB-H: How have women responded to your drawings of them? Kershaw: Generally speaking, women seem to respond favorably to my drawings of their gender, as long as they believe it is a drawing of someone else and not of them. The one time I proudly presented someone a nude figure drawing I’d done her, the response was “Why do you hate me?!” EB-H: It is obvious to this recipient of your work that you have a big old soft spot for people in general. And dogs. Is your overall mission to shed light and love on us, via pen and ink, because it sure looks that way to me?” Kershaw: When I first got into cartooning, I’m embarrassed to admit my goal was to become rich and famous, and to own a 1963 silver Jaguar E Type roadster and an ostentatious beach house in South Omaha. As the years passed, I matured and my mission changed to become the first cartoonist in space, but that desire suddenly ended when I discovered I was afraid of heights and disliked the taste of Tang. Now my mission is to promote world peace . . . and to get rid of that soft spot surrounding my belly button region.
Mark Addison Kershaw
Mark Addison Kershaw says his influences include James Thurber, Jean-Jacques Sempé, Charles Schultz, Berke Breathed, and several cartoonists from “The New Yorker.” Kershaw was born and brought up in Nebraska, spent college dabbling in philosophy and a few decades during/after in Minnesota, and now makes his home in Atlanta, Georgia, where he may be spotted walking his dog around the lake behind his home, taking photographs, and thinking cartoonish thoughts. (Author Head Shot Augment: René Laanen.)