In looking back on 25 years of MUTTS, I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed with gratitude. Gratitude for the newspapers who run MUTTS; my syndicate King Features (and Jay Kennedy, my friend and the editor who gave me my first MUTTS contract); my longtime www.the-mutts.com website partner Chintan Parikh; Andrews McMeel, who publishes the MUTTS collections; and Little, Brown, publisher for my MUTTS children’s books. And, of course, Abrams, who published my first monograph MUTTS: The Comic Art of Patrick McDonnell and will release The Art of Nothing: 25 Years of MUTTS and the Art of Patrick McDonnell on October 15.
A special note: Through the end of 2019, I will be signing and doing a small sketch in each copy of The Art of Nothing book ordered or pre-ordered through www.the-mutts.com.
Directly through MUTTS, I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with Eckhart Tolle (Guardians of Being), Daniel Ladinsky (Darling, I Love You), Jane Goodall (Me…Jane) and the Kennedy Center which, through playwright Aaron Posner, produced on a play based on my MUTTS children’s book The Gift of Nothing.
I would be remiss not to mention the dogs and cats I’ve lived with who’ve inspired MUTTS: Earl, MeeMow, Not Ootie, Amelie, and Lebowski. And all the many great people at the animal welfare organizations that I’ve worked with over the years.
None of this would be possible if not for you. I’m glad we’ve shared this journey. It’s due to your support that MUTTS has lasted all these years.
MUTTS has been good to me in so many ways.
It was on September 5, 1994 that Ozzie, with Earl in the passenger seat, parked his car on the newspaper page and exclaimed, “We’re home!” And we were home. And still are.
There are a lot of other exciting projects on the horizon and this year will be one of many celebrations.
I always wanted to be a cartoonist. See you in the funny pages!
Patrick
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