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Judging Willamette Week’s first-ever comic strip contest, the Big Strip-Off, was no easy task. Working with the theme "Legends of Portland"—an often loosely interpreted theme—local cartoonists turned in more than 60 entries. It was up to the judges to find the most creative (of course, the fact that over half the entries were disqualified for not meeting certain guidelines meant the judges only had to view about 30 entries each).
Each judge selected eight strips that he or she felt were the most creative, with one of those strips being the top pick. But at the end of the day there was no clear winner, as none of the judges agreed on the same top pick. There were, however, six entries that had been selected by at least two of the judges. These six entries were the winning strips.
On this website, you will find the other selections made by the judges. These
are the strips that were selected by various judges, but didn’t
make the top pick list. There are also a few strips that were very
good, but ultimately were disqualified from competition. These strips
were disqualified all for the same reason—they were the wrong size.
—David Walker
NAME: Brent Baldwin
AGE: 33
OCCUPATION: Shoe salesman
PORTLANDER SINCE: 2001
IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING: Brent hails from Montana.
He moved to Portland from Missoula and was the staff cartoonist
for several years at the University of Montana newspaper.
Brent got into cartooning because, he says, "Someone told
me it was a good way to meet women." It turns out that person
was lying. |
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 NAME:
Tim Hanlon
AGE: 34
OCCUPATION: Foster-care case manager
PORTLANDER SINCE: 1997
IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING: Tim grew up in Coos Bay,
where he often dreamed of life in the big city. "Portland
was always the place I wanted to live," says Tim, a lifelong
music fan. He began driving to Portland on a regular basis
for concerts when he was 16, but he didn't get to see the
Replacements show. |
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NAME: Sean Bellows
AGE: 28
OCCUPATION: Animator and cartoonist
PORTLANDER SINCE: 1998
IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING: Sean has worked as a cartoonist for five
years, including doing work for Nickelodeon and Will Vinton Studios. Sean originally
hails from Flint, Mich., the town made famous by the film Roger & Me,
and he once owned a speaker set that previously belonged to Grand Funk Railroad.
Sean no longer works at Powell's. |
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 NAME: Anne Timmons
AGE: 48
OCCUPATION: Comic-book artist
PORTLANDER SINCE: 1993 (although technically she lives in Vancouver)
IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING: Anne is the artist for Go Girl, a
comic-book series that was recently collected into trade paperback by local
publisher Dark Horse Comics. Before breaking into the industry in 1995, she
had a career as a "struggling artist," which included window displays and computer
sales. Anne also painted the mural that graces the Ondine dormitory at Portland
State University.
NAME: K.C. Cowan
AGE: 46
OCCUPATION: Television personality
PORTLANDER SINCE: As far back as she can remember
IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING: K.C. is a lifelong resident of Portland,
except for the one year, eight months and two days she lived in Montana. She
is a producer for the OPB television series Oregon Art Beat. K.C. and
Anne Timmons met at Oregon State University, where they were sisters in the
Sigma Kappa sorority. |
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NAME: Sean Sterling
AGE: 33
OCCUPATION: Undisclosed
PORTLANDER SINCE: Forever
IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING: Sean is a grown man who openly admits to
reading comic books, which makes him a very brave soul. His artistic influences
are comics legend Will Eisner (creator of The Spirit), Ralph Steadman,
David Sedaris and Public Enemy. He is not a "professional" cartoonist, but his
work has been published in the zine Unc'a Conk. In his spare time, Sean
enjoys shopping at the Zupan's on Southeast Belmont. |
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NAME: Matthew Meskel
AGE: 42
OCCUPATION: Bartender/freelance artist
PORTLANDER SINCE: Forever
IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING: Matthew is a graduate of Lincoln High School,
alma mater of Mel Blanc, the voice of, among others, Bugs Bunny. (Blanc used
to return to Lincoln for presentations...but that was before Matthew went there.)
Drawing inspiration from classic Warner Bros. Looney Tunes, Matthew is just
getting back into cartooning and illustration after a 15-year hiatus. He has
two children, ages 6 and 9. |
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Runners up:
(in no particular order)
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