Pelswick

Pelswick creator John Callahan talks about life as a cartoonist

When did you first decide you wanted to be an cartoonist?

When I was 10 years old. I went to a Catholic school and I started drawing cartoons of the nuns. They didn't like it at all but all the other kids loved it! I got a lot of attention for it so I carried on.

What was the first story you came up with?

My first ever cartoon strip was about the terrible fate of all my pets. My goldfish jumped out of the water and died on the floor (he was called Toast!). My dog was run over by the mailman. And our ferret ran up the landlady's leg and bit her so he had to be put to sleep. I've got a dog and a cat now though and they're still ok…

How did you draw your cartoons?

With ink pen. That's still how I draw now, although then I did everything just in black and white with the odd bit of red pen for blood!

What do you love most about being a cartoonist?

All the people who I meet on the street who come up and say how much they love my cartoons — or hate them!

How did you get the idea for Pelswick?

So many children were asking me questions about being in a wheelchair — like 'Is your dog in a wheelchair too?' and 'Do you sleep in your wheelchair?' — that I thought it was time someone did something to show what it's like.

What did you most want to achieve with Pelswick?

I wanted to show Pelswick being a normal kid, not to have him being treated specially.

Has being in a wheelchair ever helped or hindered your work?

I think it helps me. The hardest thing about being a cartoonist is making yourself sit down to do it. I'm already sitting down…

What advice would you give to young people wanting to work as a cartoonist?

If you believe in yourself keep at it. Get yourself thousands of pens and pencils and start filling up the world with your cartoons. I always believed I was funny but looking back on my old work I wasn't as funny as I thought I was. I was pretty cocky. So delude yourself!

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