I am a simple cartoonist. A cartoonist with a dream. And that dream is to build an office/studio in my back yard that will double as a tiki bar. Tiki is my second favorite form of tacky cultural appropriation, after voodoo-sploitation, and I dream of surrounding myself with touching reminders of my Hawaiian honeymoon and/or that takeout place downtown that serves Spam musubi.
I don’t have that office/studio/bar yet, but I have managed to accumulate a whole bunch of tiki stuff while waiting for it. And this… is that stuff’s story.
On this blog, I will share my collection of tiki memorabilia. That is its sole purpose. If you’re looking for a blog that serves some useful function in the world, look elsewhere. This is all about tiki.
To start, here’s the first piece I acquired when this obsession began: a vinyl figure by the great animator and cartoonist Chris Sanders. I had been threatening to build the tiki office ever since my husband Andrew and I got a house, and when he gave me this as a present at last year’s Wondercon, I was touched that he took me seriously. Ha, that’s what he gets. Now we have to actually build it.
And here’s my most recent piece. Just last weekend, Andrew got the astounding Greek cartoonist Kostas Kiriakakis to draw me a hula dancer at the San Diego Comic-Con. Kostas has a story in the latest Flight anthology (preview available here) that you’ll want to check out.
I mean, seriously, how cute is this? I try to get hot guys as well as hot girls for the collection, but everybody likes drawing the girls. Visiting publishers, take note: Kostas is looking for work in the States and would also enjoy drawing Wolverine, or possibly a Teen Titan of some kind.
Anyway, my plan is to share another tiki thing every weekend. So stay tuned! If you like tiki things.
Tiki Weekend 