NCS Planning Sunday Comic Event to Honor Crisis Workers

Rick Kirkman (Baby Blues) and NCS President, Ginger Meggs’ cartoonist and Covid-19 sufferer Jason Chatfield are proposing to the NCS membership and all cartoonists to include symbols within their comics as a tip of the hat/thank you for everyone working to help control the Covid-19 pandemic.

Here’s Jason’s entire letter:

Calling all cartoonists, including editorial cartoonists! 
  
We hope you’re all staying safe and healthy. 
  
I had a call from Rick Kirkman today who has a great idea that I’d love to share with all NCS members, and have you share with all of your cartooning colleagues outside of the NCS on all media. 
  
A number of cartoonists  (Rick Kirkman, Jerry Scott, Stephan Pastis, Jeff Keane, Hilary B Price, Dave Coverly and Bill Hinds to name a few) have been working out a creative way to say thank you to all the generous volunteers and workers who are helping everyone during this crisis, and they’re asking for as many cartoonists as possible  to hide 6 key symbols in their cartoons on Sunday, 7th June. 
  
The icons are: 
  
1. Mask (for medical workers, caregivers, and first responders) 
2. Steering wheel (for people who move our deliveries, trash, mail and us.)
3. Shopping cart (for grocery workers) 
4. Apple (for teachers) 
5. Fork (for restaurants and essential businesses that have stayed open) 
6. Microscope (for medical researchers) 
  
Each of these drawings is a symbol of gratitude for these dedicated people who have risked and sacrificed during this crisis. Including the symbols in your drawings can be done obviously,  deviously hidden, part of your gags, or integrated naturally—totally up to you.  
  
You can copy and paste the key to the symbols above into your text when you post your drawing in Instagram, Facebook or other social media feeds.  
  
We would like this to be kind of a fun mashup between the I Spy and Hidden Picture puzzles as well, to get kids and adults to search out the symbols that Sunday.  
  
We’ll get in touch with media to let them know about the event along with the key to the symbols. 
  
We’re also asking for cartoonists to  Please add a website of their personal favorite charity they’d like to their social media accompanying the art if they wish. 
  
These people are still helping us through this crisis, so please spread the word to all colleagues, NCS members and otherwise, comic strip cartoonists, political cartoonists, illustrators, web cartoonists, anyone who does cartoons of any kind— and share this initiative with any media contacts you know locally, nationally and internationally, who can publicize it for maximum participation.  
  
We realize the deadline for  Sunday, June 7th is creeping up quickly for comic strip cartoonists, so we wanted to get the word out as soon as possible. We’re working with syndicates for them to accommodate any date swaps or replacement files needed. There’s still time.   
  
If you have any queries, please direct them to Rick Kirkman—message on Instagram to richard_kirkman or thru Facebook to Richard Kirkman.

 FAQ:

I don’t know if I can fit those symbols in the context of my strip. It’s in the wrong time period to fit these objects. 

The symbols don’t have to be a part of the scene, but can be hidden a la Hidden Pictures.

I don’t have a Sunday version of my feature, or my online comic doesn’t come out on Sunday.

If the cartoonist has only dailies, and not Sundays—either tease on Saturday in the strip or panel, and/or in their social media feeds, to alert readers to look for different version of the feature on social media on Sunday. 

Or, repurpose an older gag with the hidden images to use on Sunday in their social media feeds.

Do I put the charity link in the art of my comic? 

The suggestion to link to a favorite charity/non-profit is for the social media posts, not to actually put the link in the cartoon art. No one needs to struggle with finding more room for that. 

Thanks in advance, and please stay safe.

Jason Chatfield

President, NCS