My Dad is a genius.
“Say what?! Did she just say that?! OH no she di-int!” (That’s what you’re thinking as you snap your press-on nails across your chest in a “z” like motion)
I can say this with certainty since apparently there’s no universally recognized, scientifically precise definition of the word. When I googled “genius”, this is what came up:
gen·ius/ˈjēnyəs/Noun
1. Exceptional intellectual or creative power or other natural ability.
2. A person who is exceptionally intelligent or creative, either generally or in some particular respect: "musical genius".
Again, I call my Dad a genius with certainty. I know what you’re thinking again: ‘I am his doting, loving daughter. Every girl thinks her “Daddy” is a hero and the greatest’. I concede that. BUT you should also consider the possibility that I could think my Dad is a genius as well as in fact, him ACTUALLY being a genius. It’s possible according to the rules of logic.
A lot of people wouldn’t know how to recognize genius if it was a bowling ball stuck in their ass. I mean, you hear stories of people like Van Gogh, who lived without any major recognition, couldn’t sell a painting while living, lived poor and destitute until he killed himself. And now, well, dang… it’s Van Gogh… you’d give your ear to own a piece his work. ( Har, har Gina.) My point being, I think it’s a lot easier for people of a later or different generation to recognize genius.
I feel like my dad is Van Gogh for comics. I have every belief that I am the progeny of a living breathing creative genius, quite possibly the greatest and most original in this microcosm of a field of single- panel cartooning. I also recognize a lot of people will not see him as that, as unfortunate as it is.
And here, I am going to try to convince you of the possibility that I may be right …and Big Bob is a genius.
Here are my 3 points
1. Because I am a sane (ok-debatable, somewhat), level headed and disgustingly honest advocate. AKA a trusted messenger.
2. I know my Dad’s stuff makes people laugh. Everyone? All the time? No, but more people, more consistently. He’s just that good.
3. Sheer numbers. My dad has come up so many cartoons I’ve decided to print a different one on toilet paper squares. Guess how many rolls it will take before I run out?
3. Consider the numbers:
FYI, Bob’s made roughly 16,000 original cartoons that he has alone conceived, and counting. It could very well be more than 16,000 if you consider the number of yellow legal pads, receipts, and napkins that my he has written cartoons on as well. But lets go with 16,000 for now.
Well, if we published a different cartoon daily (like newspapers do), well that’s 43.8 years worth of content with out ever repeating ourselves. Published weekly its 307.7 years worth. This is YEARS people. How old are you? Could you out-live SickWit?
I don’t think I could do 16,000 unique anythings? 16,000 unique squiggle drawings? Nope. Confirmed. I couldn’t. So imagine the herculean task of coming up with 16,000 unique and funny scenarios for a cartoon. It blows my mind.
The holy grail of cartoons, for us will always be “The Far Side” by Gary Larson. It’s arguably the most famous comic, certainly for the single panel genre like we are, it’s the one cited the most frequently as the funniest. As brilliant as Gary Larson is, in his 14-year career creating the Far Side he published some 4,000 cartoons. Well, quick math tells you SickWit is 4 times the amount of cartoons. For every one of his that you think is funny, SickWit gets 4 tries to try to make you laugh harder. SickWit can do it, but more importantly I think SickWit can go toe-toe.
Alright so my ‘Bob is Brilliant’ propaganda is over, for now.
I’m not sure if I have convinced you of my Dad’s genius here. Perhaps I have convinced you how it’s possible for me, a 27 year-old woman, to be freely giving up any hope of ever having a “normal” job again in lieu of campaigning for my Dad’s ‘art’. I have no intention of letting my Dad’s success be something that’s acquired posthumously. I’m pretty sure if Van Gogh had a daughter, she would have done the same.
Love Always,
Gina
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