Richard Haigler - Birmingham

I have been interested in cartoons and cartooning ever since I can remember.  I grew up watching Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry on television.  This gave me a lifelong appreciation for Golden Age animation.   When I got a little older, I discovered Peanuts.  From then on, my life's ambition was to have a daily comic strip just like my hero, Charles M. Schulz. I have been drawing my own strip off and on for 24 years, since I was 12.  Needless to say, some of the earliest stuff really sucks!  But I improved gradually and learned the art of good lettering and comic timing.   My current strip is called Marty's Life and focuses on a character that has the physical disability of Cerebral Palsy, which I also have.   I walk with a walking cane or walker, as does Marty, the main character.   Other characters include Marty's friend Matthew, and his dog Muffin.   I mainly use my own life and observations as a jumping off point for the strip, and all of the characters have some of my personality in them.   I have had some cartoons published.  They have been in the Kaleidoscope (UAB newspaper) and one issue of the Birmingham Museum of Art newsletter.  So far, I still don't have a steady paying job as a cartoonist, but hopefully that will change!   Oh, I also wrote a children's book titled The Worry Wart, which I am currently trying to get published.   email Richard: rhaig32[at]yahoo.com