RG. Biggest change—-I grew up! I’m a grandfather now and have a lifetime of experiences to write and draw about. And of course, the business is changing rapidly as we shift from print to electronic publishing. 20 years ago, a typical customer would be a magazine like Good Housekeeping paying $300 for a single cartoon. And now, a typical customer is more apt to be a small business buying 10 cartoons @ $35 each for a newsletter or blog. There are many more opportunities now, but the customer base is much different.

RG. I draw different characters every day for my freelance work. I have recurring characters in “The Better Half”. Which character is the most memorable…..I forget.

RG.  When I got started Broom Hilda and Hagar were both new strips and I was influenced by them, mainly the art. New Yorker cartoonist Henry Martin was a big influence on my gag writing. Best advice I ever got was from Gahan Wilson who told me, “Do something no one else does…” and that also influenced my style, inspiring me to not follow the crowd and try to draw like someone else.

RG. Eleven cartoons per week are used for “The Better Half” daily and Sunday, 1 is for “Thin Lines”, 7 go on my website and the rest are submitted to various publications that use my work (Reader’s Digest, Playboy, Medical Economics, etc.)

RG. Gummo and Zeppo, named after the forgotten Marx Brothers.

RG.  I enjoy freelancing and earn more working for myself than I could make working for someone else. Of course, there have been lean times and good times and things fluctuate from year to year.

RG. If someone wants to animate my work, that would be terrific. I’m always open to new opportunities. I licensed some of my cartoons for a corporate animation project not long ago, but I haven’t seen the finished product yet.