Far out — 'Argyle Sweater' joins comic lineup
Welcome to the world of "The Argyle Sweater," a new comic by Scott Hilburn that will be featured in the Deseret Morning News beginning Monday. It's reminiscent of "The Far Side," with articulate and witty single-panel scenes, but the comic is described as a little edgier than Gary Larson's popular drawings.
Hilburn, who has just over one year of experience as a professional cartoonist, said he is hopeful his comic will become a success. It replaces "Herman" by Jim Unger, a long-standing feature that has been in reruns for years since the cartoonist's retirement.
"I still can't believe I get to do this," Hilburn, 36, said in a recent telephone interview. "I hope to make this a really long career."
It's been his dream to become a cartoonist since the second grade when a teacher saw one of his drawings and recommended the job. Hilburn said he didn't pursue anything until he divorced 3 1/2 years ago and had a lot of spare time.
He launched "The Argyle Sweater" on a Web site for amateurs, then was asked to join a site for professionals in late 2006. At the same time, he also applied to syndicates for publication and was selected this January by Universal Press Syndicate for a national distribution.
"I just got lucky," Hilburn said. "I was at the right place at the right time, and the people who saw it thought it was funny."
There are a few common themes in his work, including the use of nursery-rhyme characters, animals and various puns and cliches. The first comic he drew was of two monkeys and Tarzan, who announced to the primates he was a "homosapien." Another panel shows the designer of the Rubik's Cube sitting in a cubicle filled with multicolored cubes, while another piece is about a buffalo on a cell phone telling his companion to get a plan without roaming charges.
"I mean, we're buffalo — that's what we do," the buffalo says.
Hilburn said each week he will come up with various concepts for his comic, and then he will sit for two or three hours each day and draw an image. He gave no particular inspiration for his panels, but said it's a busy schedule, especially with a full-time job as a flash designer for a telecommunications company.
His goal is that people will view his comic as a window into another world.
"I want someone who is looking at my panel to see it as a window, and they're looking in this window at the precise moment something silly is going on in another world," Hilburn said.
To view Hilburn's blog and for more background, log on to www.theargylesweater.com
E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com
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