Editorial cartooning

The Drew Litton exit interview

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Alan Gardner February 27, 2009 1 minute 1 comment

Drew Litton is perhaps one of the most rarest of cartoonists. His sports editorial cartoons have graced the Rocky Mountain News or 26 years. I had a chance to talk to him last night after he had drawn his last cartoon for the Rocky.
AG. How much advance notice did you have that the paper was going to close?

DL: We knew the paper was for sale and the possibility was eminent. I had taken the last week and a half off; we had told earlier that we should use our vacation days before March 1st. The sports editor and I were actually out to lunch today when we got the call.

AG: How long did you work for the Rocky?

DL: Twenty-six years. It was a great run.

AG: What did you do before you came to the News?

DL: My career started out at the bottom rung as a copy boy and then staff illustrator at the El Paso Times. I spent five and half years there when I answered an ad in Editor & Publisher for a sports artist at the Rocky Mountain News. They actually hired someone else, but two weeks before he was to start he told them he wasn’t going to move. They called me up. They were intrigued by my work; I did some sample cartoons for them and they hired me. It was nice to finish second for once.

AG: What’s next after tomorrow?

DL: I don’t know yet. I have ideas of directions I want to move. I want to do more animation. I’ve fallen head over heels with it. I’ll look at all my options. I’ve thought of doing children’s books.

AG: You’ve certainly been a unique position in cartooning – to work for a newspaper and do cartoons specific about sports.

DL: My dream has always been to try to influence editors to see the value of an opinionated sports cartoon. I still believe it remains a valuable way to attract readers. I mean I have been able to hold a piece of real estate on page two of the Rocky sports section, I think because local sports cartoons do impact a tremendous amount of readers in the community.