Robb Armstrong

32 Pages·2015·4.9 MB·English

R L E S S
A
F E
A Car toonis tʻs
G uide to Life
Robb Armstrong
Creator of the Syndicated
Comic Strip, Jump Start

FEARLESS
A Cartoonistʻs Guide to Life
Robb Armstrong
The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc.
New York, NY / Montreal
CONTENTS
Introduction 0
Chapter 1: If Robbin Lives, He Will Be Mentally Handicapped 0
Chapter 2: Saved by Fred Flintstone 00
Chapter 3: A Violent Era, and a Loving, Safe Home 00
Chapter 4: Death Comes Knocking 00
Chapter 5: Wynnefield and a New Life 00
Chapter 6: The Shipley School for Girls and a Few Boys 00
Chapter 7:: Life for Me Ain’t Been No Crystal Stair 00
Chapter 8: Hector Helps Me. Christ Fulfills Me 000
Chapter 9: Hector evolves, Hello Advertising Business 000
Chapter 10: The Long, Slow Painful Road to JumpStart 000
Chapter 11: Inside the Cobb Family and Friends 000
Chapter 12: My Friends Go to Prison 000
Chapter 13: Tess is Born with a Deadly Prognosis 000
Chapter 14: Blinded by the Limelight 000
Chapter 15: Married at Twenty-Four 000
.
Chapter 16: Rebirth and an Angel, My Very Own Crystal Stair 000
Chapter 17: LA Bound 000
Chapter 18: I meet My Father, and Learn the Hollywood Game 000
Chapter 19: California Knows How to Party 000
Chapter 20: Dr. Armstrong, Paging Dr. Armstrong 000
Chapter 21: Life Goes On 000
INTRODUCTION
I’m a cartoonist. I fell in love with drawing when I was three, and I’ve been
penning JumpStart, an award-winning comic strip about everyday family
life, for more than two decades. It’s been a long journey, full of exhilarating
moments and depressing events. Sometimes I feel that I succeeded despite
myself, despite my fears of the many, many unknowns I faced. If I did have
the fortitude to overcome the odds, it was instilled in me by my mother, my
siblings, my friends, my teachers, and my wife Crystal.
My strip is nationally syndicated in The Philadelphia Inquirer, The New
York Daily News, The Boston Globe, The Los Angeles Times, and more than
four hundred other publications reaching upwards of eighty million readers
across the globe.
I’m one of a handful of African-American comic-strip artists to reach an
audience of this size. I make people laugh. I point out hilarious truisms. As
far as I’m concerned, I’ve got the best job in the world.
Which means my life is pretty good too. While I have daily deadlines, I
get to work flexible hours, allowing me to spend more time with my two chil-
dren and wife. I travel around the country, speaking to young people in high
schools and colleges, teaching drawing and art and sharing stories about my
life and my journey. I’ve even met my share of famous people, including my
idol, Charles Schulz, whose Peanuts comic strip so inspired me as a kid, and
who became a good friend in his final years. And I’ve enjoyed the financial
and professional accolades that come with success.
iv
INTRODUCTION v
I succeeded despite my fears. I’m one of the lucky ones.
I didn’t always feel that way. In fact, there were many times I felt decidedly
unlucky. West Philadelphia (yup, the same West Philadelphia that gave us Will
Smith), where I was born and raised, was rough—and my mother was raising
five children on her own. My father abandoned all of us when I was born. We
lived in a cramped apartment where the electric bill didn’t always get paid.
With Judi, my mom, and Snoopy
in 1969.
Here I am 22 years later (on the far right) sitting next to my idol Charles Schulz. Also having
dinner with us are the late Mark Cohen (far left) and Dilbert creator Scott Adams (middle left).
vi FEARLESS
It almost sounds like a cliché, and it would be only a cliché if nothing
was learned from it, and if my hardships had turned me into a statistic. But
that is not what happened. What happened was miraculous!
With the support of some wonderful people, a lot of hard work and cour-
age, and even more mistakes and laughter, I fought through the hard times
and made quite a happy life for myself. But there is more to life than personal
happiness. As it turns out, my story has a greater purpose. It can be re-pur-
posed to help anyone who reads about it, and has the courage to apply some
lessons to their own life’s journey.
Yes, you can succeed, no matter what is happening in your life right now,
no matter how afraid you may be of the unknown, if you accept help from those
around you and celestial help from above, and have the grit to see the sunrise at
the end of the darkness. I certainly did. And I did it by drawing funnies.
Life is not so different from the comics, you know—the challenges, trag-
edies, and triumphs. Comics poke fun at our everyday routines and our uni-
versal motivations. They show us a lot about ourselves and offer little windows
into the people and lessons we don’t understand yet.
In my own comic strips I show the joys of falling in love and the no-holds-
barred battles of the heart. I capture loss and memories. I draw the thrill of
becoming a parent and the pain of failing my kids. Drawing affects me and I
believe I, in turn affect the drawings. Drawing helps me to see things differ-
ently. It gives me a deeper perspective on life. The artist is not the person who
draws, the artist is the person who sees what other humans cannot. So, as a
cartoonist, I have drawn a few lessons from life to share with you.
The hardest part about my job is meeting relentless deadlines because
my strip is published every day without repeats. I took a week off, in Las Ve-
gas, in 2015 to celebrate my birthday with my wife and some friends. My only
vacation came after a 26-year run! A career this long is in no small part due
to my secret weapon:
Problems!—trouble, complications, tragedy, adversity—call it whatever
you want. In my case, mo’ problems means mo’ inspiration, mo’ drawing,
and mo’ money.
Everyone has problems, and every good cartoon starts with a problem.
INTRODUCTION vii
First I come up with an is-
sue— layoffs, squabbles, con-
flict—and then I make fun of
the characters going through
the problem, or the problem it-
self. I do not need to resolve the
conflict. I just need to expose
the irony of it.
The formula works like a
charm, in art and in life.
Drawing can help you
overcome your problems, too.
(No, you don’t have to have any artistic skills. I promise.)
One thing I’ve learned: art, love, and wisdom are worth nothing unless
you give them away. Never hold back your best stuff for later. You might not
have a later. Give it all away, every bit of it, to your readers, your audience,
your partner, and your kids. Give the world your all, and the world will re-
ward you, often in the most unexpected ways.
Fearless is based on my journey as an artist, father, husband, son and
friend. Fearless is not a book about conquering phobias; it’s about achieving
your life’s purpose despite scary circumstances and formidable opposition.
I start each chapter with a simple drawing lesson. The only requirement
is that you come with an open mind, an open heart, a desire to learn more
about yourself and a willingness to get more out of life--more inspiration,
more satisfaction, more happiness.
10 FEARLESS
Then I weave in personal experiences and stories, from art, childhood,
manhood and fatherhood.
Last, I add a personal note of inspiration to each chapter. Usually, but not
always, these life lessons are related to the contents of that chapter.
The book is illustrated with some of my favorite JumpStart strips as well
as original cartoons created specifi cally for this book.
Because—hey—I’m a cartoonist. And sometimes a picture is worth a
thousand words.
IF ROBBIN LIVES,
HE WILL BE MENTALLY
Marcy’s Working Late (acrylic on wood, 2007) HANDICAPPED