A seasoned venter

by R.J. williams


When it comes to being an artist, we're pretty much in the same boat––no matter if you're a writer, singer/songwriter, musician, portraiture, graphic artist,or cartoonist.

We've all come to expect rejection and have experienced criticism in some way. For many artists it comes in the form of a letter via snail mail or electronically via email. Whatever the mode of delivery the result is always the same: a crushing blow to our confidence and the hopes we hold that we'll ever succeed in our chosen artistic pursuit. And for a split second (longer for some), as much as we may love what we do, these few words wield the power to divert us from our chosen course. My advice is to immediately extinguish the unwelcome thought.

I've been readingFakes' blog for almost a year now. Fakes, as it happens, is none other than The Frustrated Cartoonist. Through his oddball writing persona, I've come to appreciate a lighter, more cheerful way of springing back on course after receiving the inevitable REJECTION LETTER. Of course, this isn't a cure-all, but laughter has always proven to be a great coping mechanism for me; especially when dealing with rejection. In the midst of it all I laugh! I then come away from the experience a little braver, more determined, and a little cockier about my purpose.

When Nate offered to submit a few of his strips to Alors, I had in mind to write a great intro for him. Something witty, that would convey the tongue-N-cheek grin I get whenever I visit his blog to read his rants, but I wouldn't do him justice. Instead, I'll let you be the judge.

Since to me, Nate Fakes more than any of us struggling artists, knows how to vent. And personally speaking, venting, (especially if you're a seasoned venter like Nate) is a bold way of shoving that rejection right back into the rejector’s face! 

The Frustrated Cartoonist:

written by, Nate Fakes

Nate Fakes has pretty much been drawing since he was born in 1979* in Northwood, Ohio. Though he can’t recall the first comic strip he did, he’s pretty sure it probably consisted of diaper wipes being smeared onto the side of his crib.

Growing up, he discovered that crayons don’t always taste that great in his mouth, and had useful purposes like coloring stuff. He then moved up to a Lite Brite and connect-the-dots, followed by chalk outlines of squashed ants on the sidewalk in his neighborhood. This is the age where he really found his style of drawing––where many coined his work ‘stop drawing on that!’

His big break came in 5th grade when his idea for the elementary school yearbook was chosen. Nate’s drawing was plastered all over those poor suckers yearbook in 89, and the school has gone downhill since.

In high school, his comics were starting to take off quicker than bras on prom night (except for the bra on the date that Nate had). Unfortunately, they only appealed to high school classmates (probably due to bad jokes like the one about prom night), and none of them offered him money for his stuff. Here’s where his crummy day job begins as he slowly starts to realize it‘s hard to make money drawing. High school was also a time of controversy for his award winning comic, The Adventures of Shane and Chris, that landed him in constant trouble with possible lawsuits and suspensions. Bootleg copies are still available in old lockers at the school.

After high school, Nate moved to Lindsborg, Kansas, and decided to take time off from the drawing board for awhile and pursue his passion for collecting Mr. T trading cards.

In 2001, Nate decided to attend Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. There, he became the graphic artist and cartoonist for the college paper. The comic strip Break of Day and his political comics graced the pages of The Guardian newspaper weekly. Although the job didn’t pay much, he still earned a little bit of bread from the gig. Hopes were high that earning a living off comics was in arm's length! However, he measured wrong and realized things were in extended arm's length and he didn’t really reach anything. The comics have put a damper on Wright State’s image since.

A surprise finally did hit during college! He received a phone call from MAD Magazine in New York City! The offered him a chance to intern at the publication, and Nate was on the way to the Big Apple. There, he was able to mingle with the top dogs of the cartooning world and help create the magazine with the editors. No where else did people appreciate his stupidity but here. However, his biggest accomplishment while interning was scoring free tickets to see a screening of Catwoman.

A year or so after interning, Nate was actually publishing articles in MAD. He continues to write for the publication, however, it’s not often that a premise gets published. Therefore, Nate continues to become more frustrated about his talent and ability of not earning money in the cartooning and gag world. He is forced to sell his Mr. T trading cards.

After trying EVERY comic strip angle in the known universe––all of them crashing down on him with piles of rejections letters––he develops the comic strip The Frustrated Cartoonist. Living up to the comic's name, Nate finds many techniques of crumbling up paper and throwing it in the trash after getting frustrated.

 

What’s the future for Nate Fakes? Well, as frustrating as it is, things may be going in the right direction! You see, it seems as though he has some potential new clients interested in his work and are anxious to get some of his material published. Therefore, Nate continues to battle the competition out there in the cartooning world with his familiar antics, repetitive comic strips and topics so lame, Ziggy seems slightly entertaining. However, what good is a frustrating comic strip without a frustrated person behind it? And he just found out that those tasty cookies in the freezer have freezer burn and taste horrible!

*In an effort to make this biography catchy, this is one of many bold words to come throughout this biography. I’m sure the effort will fail…miserably.


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