Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Just What the Doctor Ordered

Posting on this Blog is finally paying off. I am finally getting the international recognition I so richly deserve!

This morning I got an email from a professor at a university in Manchester, UK. They are doing research into a medical disorder known as Congenital Hyperinsulinism, or CHI, for short. This insidious little condition is at the opposite end of the spectrum to diabetes, which is my own little roe to hoe. Kids with CHI produce too much insulin. This is genetic, you are born with this disease, which is very difficult to manage. Many children have their pancreas removed within months of birth.

The university was looking for some illustrations to use in their literature, and somehow they came upon this drawing from a post where I whined about my "condition" They thought the cartoon "perfectly captured" the disease, and asked if they could use it. Of course I said yes.

This got me to thinking: Maybe there is an untapped market for cartoons that depict various ailments with a humorous slant! There could be gold in them thar hills! This could become a speciality of mine. I could become, "The Disease Cartoonist"! I would become world famous for  my depictions of sickness. "Oh, did you see Bill White's cartoon on Anal Fissures? What a riot!", people would say. 

To get started, here is my first cartoon in this series, "A Heart Attack". This drawing shows a heart punching, that is, attacking its host. That is not actually what happens in a real heart attack of course, that's what makes it funny! Get it? Man, this depicting-diseases-and-illness-in-a-humorous-way is a piece of cake! This could be my big break!

On second thought, maybe not. Maybe I'll  stick to selling painted turtles on the Boardwalk.

Still, it was nice to get some positive feedback. From England (my favorite non-US country!) to boot.

By the way, this CHI is a very serious condition, I hope I don't appear  to be making light of other peoples' suffering. Far from it. God Bless the people doing research to combat these nasty things, and are spending their time doing something more important than drawing silly little cartoons.

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3 Comments:

Blogger P.L. Frederick said...

These cartoons are a wonderful idea. Aside from being amazing drawings and hilariously gross, it'd give people with the particular health issue a little distance from their condition. No one thinks it funnier than someone suffering from it — it's that morbid side of us. I see the Disease Cartoonist's work in medical journals and disease books and magazines 'round the globe, spreading like a virus.

P.L. Frederick (Small & Big)

June 16, 2010 at 7:10 PM  
Blogger SNeelyArt said...

Of course there's a market. I spent last year creating cartoons of the Swine Flu and the Flu Bug and created a calendar with monthly cartoons of the characters. Never posted them yet on my blog though since I'm trying to organize the pile of work but it was total freedom given to me from a pharmacuetical company. I filed a visual copyright for the characters so that I own them and I'll probably make t-shirts of them. Just have to wait for flu season again and hope the swine flu comes back hard! Ha!

There is a market for spot illustrations and such for all kinds of businesses. That includes medical issues as well. Especially for a kids brochure about dieabtes or asthma.

June 16, 2010 at 10:59 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

you have no idea how how glad i am that you chose "heart attack" instead of "brain fart".

ScottN01 is correct. you could indeed develop a career doing spot illustrations such as this. also, with so many medical magazines being published you could find work creating one panel gags taylored to the medical topic of said magazines.

and please spare those poor little turtles. one of could grow up to be touche turtle. why not stick to painting bikini girls onto neck ties?

eeteed

June 17, 2010 at 12:15 PM  

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