Superhero figurines and a stuffed Garfield are displayed on a shelf. There are framed comic strips and repurposed art on his walls. Armed with a pen and pencil, this is where Gavin Thomson creates his Treknet and Mama Taxi cartoon strips.
Treknet celebrates its 10th anniversary next month, while Mama Taxi, a daily feature in the Daily News, turns 10 next year. Thomson says that is quite an accomplishment, given the shrinking space for cartoon strips in newspapers.
Thomson illustrates the Treknet cartoon with Dave Gomersall, while Mama Taxi is written by Deni Brown.
They are all participating in the five-day Open Book Festival, being held in Cape Town until Sunday.
Events, discussions, exhibitions, and workshops take place at various venues, with the Comic Fest at The Marketplace on Saturday and Sunday.
Thomson, 46, has done about 3 000 Treknets, 2 500 Mama Taxis and about 500 editorial cartoons in the past 10 years. Treknet was even turned into a series, aired on Kyknet last year, and, currently, is being re-run.
“In the beginning it was a struggle. We were competing with some cartoons that go back 30 to 40 years. But Dave had a crazy idea for a cartoon about two sailors travelling the world,” says Thomson.
Treknet first appeared in a Cape Town community newspaper, before being picked up by a Johannesburg publication.
One of Thomson’s highlights was seeing a cartoon on a pole poster, announcing that Mama Taxi would be starting that Monday in the Daily News.
It now appears in several newspapers and magazines. It even made its way to Norway, where it’s called Helt Ebbe.
The Mama Taxi story is serendipitous. Brown placed an advert in a newspaper looking for an illustrator.
The advert was carried but included an error, so to make amends the editor of the newspaper put Thomson in touch with Brown.
Thomson immediately fell in love with Brown’s idea and drew a few rough sketches.
The strip was first published in 2005. By the next year, it had been picked up by the Cape Argus, sister newspaper of the Daily News, and the Daily News.
Thomson grew up reading classic comic strips such as Andy Capp, Beatle Bailey, and Fred Basset, but one of the major influences in his life was the launch of the Garfield comic strip in South Africa.
Jim Davis created the lasagne eating cat in 1978.
“I remember picking up the Argus and going straight to the back. I thought, ‘Imagine doing this for a living’. And I managed to,” says Thomson.
If you look closely, there are subtle indications of what he grew up reading, whether it’s the Garfield-like eyes, or the way he draws the arms. Many artists start by drawing what they see. Drawing Garfield was Thomson’s party trick.
Then at some point he took the skill and started doing his own interpretations.
Like many artists, Thomson started drawing as a child. He studied advertising and went to work in the UK. There he did artwork for Disney and Warner Brothers products. He described it as an excellent grounding experience.
But while he was there, Madam and Eve by Stephen Francis and Rico Schacherl was launched. Thomson then realised that South Africans could create comic strips and make a living off it. He remembers being in awe of them. Years later, his work appeared on the same page as Francis’s strip.
Over the years, things have changed. Thomson has newspaper clippings from 1983, when the comics had a dedicated page. The artwork was intricate and detailed, and there was room for quite a bit more text.
These days, many newspapers have cut back on the strips, and artwork has had to give way to text.
“Cartoons are not about how well you draw. The drawing is secondary to the text,” Thomson says.
But despite the fact cartoons are having to fight for survival in print, the local comic industry is still thriving.
The industry has also forced artists to become self-reliant. Gone are the days when they were approached by big publishing houses to do books.
Many have gone the route of self-publishing.
“It’s bigger than ever. More people are getting involved with graphic novels and educational material, children’s books illustrations… As newspapers dwindle, a lot of artists are putting their work online,” says Thomson.
He adds, however, that they still have a way to go before they figure out how to make money from online publication.
“For now, it’s mostly still a labour of love,” he says.
Many younger cartoonists use tablets and draw their images digitally. But Thomson still uses paper, sketches his outlines in pencil, then goes over them in ink. He then scans the images and sends it off.
Treknet and Mama Taxi are inspired by current affairs and everyday situations, but the creators have purposely steered away from politics.
“We find something to make people smile a bit, and take the pressure off. Dave errs on the side of silly,” says Thomson.
His advice is to keep the lines simple – especially if it’s something you’re going to be drawing every day for the rest of your career.
Thomson gave up his full-time graphic design job – and steady pay cheque – 13 years ago when his wife was pregnant with their first child.
He worked from a studio on the side of his Noordhoek home, and was able to play an active role in the lives of his children – now 13 and 11.
The downside about working from home is that it’s easy to work around the clock if allowed. But his children often pile into his studio, making sure that doesn’t happen.
They’re especially taken by the stuffed animals, figurines and bright colours in the studio.
“I surround myself with things I enjoy,” he says.