"Cartoon Ruckus" was my first attempt at an editorial cartoon, and ran in the pages of The Delta Collegiate from 1996 to 1997.  At the time, it was pretty obvious that I hadn't a mind for politics and that I really didn't know what I was doing.  The featured character in the strip was a mute little clown with no name other than occasionally being referred to as "Our Hero".  He was a lot of fun to draw, and helped to break up the monotony of trying to be editorial.  Unfortunately, drawing "Our Hero" wasn't enough of a perk to keep the weak-kneed comic afloat, so I retired it after a year and replaced it with "Chicken Strips," which was ultimately more successful and more fun for me to draw.  However, I often think about "Our Hero" fondly, and how I might bring the little guy back to the drawing board one day.

TRIVIA: "Cartoon Ruckus" was my first published comic strip, though "High School: Part II" was created first.  The name Cartoon Ruckus came from a comic I created (but never developed) called East Side Ruckus, which was inspired by the work of animator Ralph Bakshi and named after the rough side of my home town.

"Our Hero's" design was inspired by the early work of cartoonist Harvey Kurtzman in his pre-Mad Magazine days.

"Our Hero" originally appeared in one of my sketchbooks as a drawing of a guy shooting pool.  The only differences from his later design were the addition of black hair and a chubby cigar.

"Our Hero" was briefly considered as a supporting character for my "Hodge-Podge" comic strip, and was given the name "Stoutheart" (he also wore a cowboy hat).  I soon found that I liked the name, but that it didn't fit the character.  Ultimately, "Our Hero" was pulled from the strip and the name "Stoutheart" was given to another character.