Keizertimes., March 19, 2021, Page 28, Image 28

PAGE B4, KEIZERTIMES, MARCH 19, 2021
Meet Speed Bump
creator Dave Coverly
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
A teacher informed Dave Coverly’s
parents that he was going to be a car-
toonist one day, he was in fifth grade at
the time.
“What every kid who wants to chase
a dream needs more than anything is
encouragement and support, not just
from parents – mine were amazing – but
from teachers. I was lucky enough to
have them, from Mrs. Lam in fifth grade
to Mr. Zelnis in high school, who taught
journalism and brought me copies of
The New Yorker to study.”
Coverly is the creator of Speed Bump,
a daily cartoon that will be featured in
the Keizertimes beginning this week.
Speed Bump is a daily, single-panel
comic (think Far Side), but Keizertimes
will publish one per week.
Coverly said he got his start tracing,
and then copying, the work he discov-
ered in Peanuts, BC, Hagar the Horrible,
Wizard of Id, and what he now calls
the “loose, clever and organic” style of
Frank & Ernest.
“I wanted to draw — and, more impor-
tantly, write — like those cartoonists,”
Coverly said.
As he was about to buckle in to a dif-
ferent career, as solely a writer, comic
strips that re-inspired his first love
began arriving in his life.
“They weren’t just silly, they were
about something,” he said. “They
were so observational and smart, and
because I wasn’t old enough to under-
stand their context I couldn’t emulate
them, but they made me realize how
much I loved conceptualizing ideas. I
also fell in love with the absurd humor
of Herman by Jim Unger around that
time, and so those two influences pretty
much became the stock of my creative
soup.”
He prefers the single-panel style to
the multi-panel creations he drew his
first inspiration from.
“I love people who can do (multi-
panel work) but I like being surprised
at what comes out of my pencil, and I
like figuring out what sort of character
would best tell the joke,” Coverly said.
When he’s wanted to tackle longer
forms, he’s either illustrated or writ-
ten and illustrated children’s books.
Subscribers to BarkBox might also
recognize his style from their monthly
shipments. The latter was a dream
opportunity for the dog lover. The chil-
dren’s books become passion projects
over time.
“They’re very difficult from a practical
standpoint, given syndicated cartoon-
ing comes with strict weekly deadlines,
but there’s beauty in getting lost in the
process and feeling the momentum of
those ideas laying a foundation to build
more ideas upon,” Coverly said.
When it comes to Speed Bump, his
goal is to encourage younger readers
to discover new depths of humor while
providing LOLs for adults on a regular
basis.
“Garfield is a great example. It can
be enjoyed by all age groups. I don’t
have to tell you how tricky it is, though,
with all the tech options competing for
attention. In Speed Bump, specifically,
I’m not aiming at a particular age
group, and someone who doesn’t like
Monday’s cartoon might like Tuesday’s,
or vice versa,” Coverly said.
His advice to those who want to fol-
low in his footsteps is to draw cartoons
for the sake of drawing cartoons and not
with a specific goal in mind.
“Don’t be afraid to have influences,
but also don’t be afraid to set those
aside and find out what kind of artist
you are. What you have to say is more
important than how you say it, so give
yourself room and time to just think.
Daydreaming isn’t being lazy, it’s cru-
cial to the art,” Coverly said.
Speed Bump By DAVE COVERLY