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Fourth-dimension cartoonist draws laughs
By TRACY DUNCAN
Of the Emerald
Now that "Sparrow” has flown the coop and
“Peanuts" has found a home in the classified
section, the Emerald’s newest comic strip,
“Mixed Nuts," is holding down the the much
contested spot on Page 2.
"The Fourth Dimension, that's where I’m
from," says Steve Latter, creator of the strip.
"I'm stuck in the Third Dimension."
Lafler, 23, moved to Eugene from Massa
chusetts in October. Lafler happened to run into
Emerald Editor Ken Sands, who remembered
Lafler’s strip "Aluminum Foil” from the University
of Massachusetts' Collegian.
Sands suggested Lafler submit a strip, and
that night Lafler created the first five installments
of "Mixed Nuts.”
Although “Mixed Nuts” replaced "Sparrow,"
which had earlier replaced "Peanuts," Lafler says
he likes both of the earlier Emerald features.
"I support people who are trying something
out,” Lafler says of Alan Baral, the local cartoon
ist who created "Sparrow ” "It’s important to
have a place to be printed "
Lafler says one of the reasons he chose the
name "Mixed Nuts" is that it might bother some
"Peanuts" fans. But he also chose it because it
describes the "crazy ambience" of the strip.
In "Mixed Nuts" so far, politics is only a
sidelight, with an occassional reference to
Reagan and multi-national corporations. “I just
try to make my little dreams come true in my comic
strip," Lafler says.
To create "Mixed Nuts," Lafler says he gets
"into a state of mind where I divest myself of any
assumptions about the nature of reality or our
society.”
A reader of "Mixed Nuts” must be prepared
for anything to happen and for the strip to
suddenly change plots. For instance, after Ernie
Electron, typical physics student, found his way
into the Fourth Dimension to have more time to
study for a test, ha met a pail-headed being
named Pailface.
Suddenly, Dr. Free took over. “Who is this Dr.
Free?” the strip asks. “Well, he travels about,
performing tasks for people like you and me
for free!”
Lafler says he switches around to jerk
people's consciousnesses out of the routine, to
make them laugh or say "Whaaaaaat?”
Lafler says he's been feeling his way through
the strip, finding which characters to develop and
which to eliminate
“I have to put them through adventures and
breathe life into them.”
Since he's paid the standard comic strip rate
of $8 a week, Lafler’s main income is from his
T-shirt business. He silkscreens shirts in his
apartment, doing large jobs for groups or selling
the shirts individually.
Lafler says he hopes to support himself by
cartooning someday. He's already published one
comic book — a collection of his strip "Aluminum
Foil,” available at Son of Koobdooga book store.
With "Mixed Nuts,” Lafler says he wants
people to know that they can form their world to
their liking.
“People work hard to form anxiety-ridden
worlds for themselves,” he says. “People need to
be creative in their lives.”
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