Q Toon: NOM and 8's Motel

Last week, the California Supreme Court put an end once and for all to antigay Proposition 8, refusing to hear an appeal by the amendment's sponsors that it had been unconstitutionally overturned.

Initially, I had developed an idea for this week's cartoon that would have been set in a cemetery; and I was all set to send the proposal to my editors when I realized that I had just drawn a cemetery-themed cartoon a month or two ago. It seemed too soon to return to that venue, so I continued in search of something else.

This idea probably came to mind because a Facebook conversation with fellow Q Syndicate cartoonist Dave Brousseau about Alfred Hitchcock just days before was lurking just behind the shower curtain of my subconscious. There are other, more obvious films I could have referenced -- but I didn't feel like depicting the California Supreme Court as munchkin coroners. I'm sure the justices will understand.

Speaking of understanding, I'm hoping that editors don't mind that I didn't provide them with a full-color version of this cartoon. That would have been sacrilegious.

Cameo guest appearance

Yours truly makes a guest appearance in Dave Brousseau's comic strip, "A Couple of Guys" this week. Dave is marking his strip's 15th anniversary by having the title couple renew their vows in a New York wedding. (Joey and Eric had earlier gotten married in Massachusetts, but are New York City residents.)

I'm in the second panel, seated next to Joan Hilty and Paula Martinac at the wedding. Chris thinks that Cartoon Me needs to look more like Chuck Todd to look like me; but Cartoon Me has more definition to his jaw line than I do, and his bald spot is safely out of view, so I'm not about to complain.