Alaskan cartoonist speaks at Houston High

Tundra comic strip cartoonist Chad Carpenter brought his creative mind and hilarious personality when he visited Houston High School May 2.

Carpenter talked about how he became a cartoonist, how he was inspired to make Tundra comics and how Tundra has grown over the years.

Janelle Maki, Houston’s librarian and social studies teacher, said students enjoy Carpenter’s work and she became interested in getting Carpenter to talk to Houston students. Principal Bill Johnson organized the visit.

Johnson said that seven classes arrived to watch Carpenter’s presentation. An additional 10 to 15 students received passes out of class to attend.

Carpenter grew up in Wasilla and always had a love for drawing.

“I loved to draw Garfield,” he said. “I first saw Garfield when I was 10, and I thought ‘that’s a good way to make a living.’”

After high school, Carpenter traveled to Sarasota, Calif., to work at his uncle’s art studio.

“I wanted to be a cartoonist to avoid a real job,” Carpenter said. “It has turned out to be the hardest job I’ve ever had; it’s very time consuming.”

While in Sarasota, Carpenter met Mike Peters, creator of the comic “Mother Goose and Grimm.” According to the Tundra website, Peters inspired Carpenter to make Tundra by telling Carpenter to draw what he knew. Carpenter then returned to Alaska to begin working on Tundra.

In November 1991, Carpenter presented his Tundra comic strip to the Anchorage Daily News.

“The editor just sat there emotionless then told me he’d pass it around to the staff and see what they thought,” Carpenter said. “A week later, they said they’d give it a shot.”

On Dec. 2, 1991, the first Tundra strip was published. Since then, Carpenter has turned Tundra into 22 books, and his comics have appeared in 500 newspapers, and on various greeting cards and T-shirts.

“Merchandise is an important part,” Carpenter said. “Anywhere I can make a buck, I’ll be there.”

One of the questions most often asked of Carpenter is how he thinks of the ideas for Tundra. Carpenter showed the students a picture of his art desk and jokingly said it’s just for show.

“I get most my ideas when I’m half asleep,” he said. “I’m able to think of funny ideas when I’m half asleep.”

Lately, Carpenter has been trying to take his comics to the next level.

“We are trying to get a TV show for Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network,” Carpenter said. “The only issue is that Tundra is a one-panel comic, and shows like SpongeBob are 11 minutes long per episode.”

Although Tundra has had many successful moments, there have been challenges as well. In 1997, Carpenter’s strip was thrown out of the Fairbanks, Salem and Juneau newspapers for his “State Employed Beavers” comic. The comic depicted one hard-working beaver while the other beavers laze around drinking coffee.

Throughout the presentation, students and staff laughed along with Carpenter’s unique sense of humor.

Junior Rebecca Moses said she quickly became fascinated with Carpenter’s presentation.

“I loved it, it was so amazing! I liked learning about how he started out being a cartoonist and how he came to be nationally known,” Moses said.

Houston junior Rebecca Toms said she’s always been a fan of Carpenter’s.

“I think he was really down to earth and cool,” she said. “I enjoyed seeing his point of view on a few familiar comics.”

Houston junior Allyssa Miller said the humor in the presentation helped keep her interested.

“The humor flowed very well and made it enjoyable,” she said.

Houston freshman Nicole Forto saw a deeper meaning in the presentation.

“I think he opened students’ minds to different futures for themselves,” Forto said.

At the end of the presentation, Carpenter let students ask questions and did a quick book signing.

Before leaving, Carpenter made one last joke and a promise. “If I can come up with something, I will write a comic about Houston High School.”

Holly Brett is a three-year journalism student. This is her first year writing for the School’s Page.