In the comic strip Bilge, two bald eagles are having a conversation while perching on the cross atop St. Michael’s Cathedral.
“Bilge is kind of a stupid name for a comic strip,” says one.
“What do you suggest?” says the other.
“How about Peanuts?”
“How about Just Sue Me Now?”
A kingfisher sitting just below comments: “Peanuts. That’s about what he’s going to make with this comic strip.”That was the first of hundreds of Bilge strips Tina Johnson would write for the Sentinel.
The last is appearing today.
Tina is a writer…She has used comic-style drawings in her journaling, but this is her first comic strip effort. The first Bilge comic appeared in the Sentinel on Feb. 1, 2017.
Tina Johnson and family is moving 1200 miles away and doesn’t feel she can continue doing a local Sitka comic strip from that distance.
BILGE
by Tina Johnson
February 1, 2017 – November 30, 2018
weekday
Daily Sitka (Alaska) Sentinel
Tina said she’s enjoyed writing Bilge.
“It has been really fun, actually,” she said. “It’s been a good brain exercise. It’s been good for me to do something new. Also, having to do something funny in a couple of panels has been a fun challenge.”
She’s not sure what the plans will be once settled in Boise, although she will continue writing.
“I might like to do cartooning,” she said. “I’m not sure what form that’s going to take.”
In some of the cartoons, Tina pokes fun at her own basic drawing ability, and she says there’s room for improvement. “I need to take drawing lessons,” she laughed.
The Daily Sitka Sentinel article with more about Tina and Bilge can be read here.