DRAWING from EXPERIENCE

Originally published in jar, June 2001

Written by Michelle Kinsey

Tom Cherry considers himself an Idiot at heart. And that's not a bad thing.

Cherry has been letting us peek in on the lives of his zany friends for two years now in the form of Those Funky Idiots.

It all started with a cable access show.

The public access show, filmed in a Muncie garage, started around 1995 and featured Cherry in the lead role. A story about the show in jar a few years back brought out the cartoonist in Cherry when we asked him to draw up some strips featuring the show's characters. He's been drawing for us ever since.

"I've wanted to be a professional cartoonist since I was a itty bitty fat cartoonist," he said.

Before Idiots, Cherry dabbled with other strips such as Othello, about a man and his dog. But Idiots, he said, is second nature. But how do you describe it? "It's about a man who is raising his niece in a garage apartment," he said. "Kind of like Family Affair on acid"

The central character is the portly guy in the hat and frog sunglasses, Arlo Wazzo. "He's at the heart of the strip," Cherry explained. "He's a dreamer, open to any idea. Of course, he thinks he can be a famous TV star, that's why he has a cable access show."

 There's a slight resemblance to the strip's creator. "Yeah, Arlo is a lot like me," Cherry admitted. "He's a lot braver than I am though. He's willing to be a fool in front of large groups of people: I am hesitant to do that. I admire him a lot for that and the fact that he is raising his niece on very little money."

(In case you haven't noticed, Cherry speaks of his characters as if they live and breathe. They are very real to him.)

Arlo, a big fan of TV, is also working on a musical based on the Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Next up is Amanda, Arlo's niece. She's the realist. "Her parents embezzled millions and fled the country, so she moved in with Arlo," Cherry said. " She loves Arlo and growing up she probably believed his dreams more than she does now." She might get into Eastern philosophy in future strips, he said.

Vinnie, the neighbor, rounds out this odd family. "Vinnie is the most fun," Cherry said. "He says and does whatever he wants. He's said some things I'm not too happy with, but overall he's fun to write."

Other characters  you'll run into include the Rummage Sale Lady or, as Cherry will tell you, the "ultimate adult." "She is the scary, snoopy neighbor that you don't want to run into," he said.

Poppy Sinclair is Vinnie's best friend. Jeffy is Arlo's supervisor at his place of employment, Corndog Haven. New character Eric Whetsel (based on someone Cherry works with at Lifetouch Prestige Portraits) works with Arlo at the dog joint.

His favorite strip so far?

"It was one of the first strips  where Amanda is sitting in a chair reading Moody Teen," Cherry said. "Arlo passes her  and we get two close ups of Amanda and we hear Arlo screaming in the background. In the final panel, Amanda says 'I used your razor to shave my legs.' That's one of my favorites."

He laughed.

Cherry said he cannot picture himself doing anything other than drawing comic strips. "I feel miserable if I am not drawing a strip," he said. "It's exploring my imagination. I love the characters. The storylines and situations are endless. I've got enough material to last forever."

Cherry says it takes about three hours to complete a strip. "The ideas come pretty easy, " he said. "The hard part is plotting it all out on paper."

Cherry said he will be taking another swing at syndication (this will be his third attempt) this summer. Until that happens, he keeps busy with his online strips at www.thosefunkyidiots.com.

We told Cherry that he has many fans (we get emails and calls all the time.) "Whoever you are I love you...I'll buy you dinner...a cheap dinner," he said with a laugh.

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