Hi everyone!
This week I’d like to share some excerpts from Small Saves’ very first storybook, The Goaltenders’ Creed…
To order your copy, please visit www.smallsaves.com and click on the “Books” section of his website.
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…and here is this week’s all-new Small Saves cartoon!
I’ve also finished the next cartoon for my other comic strip, Community Kids. The title is just for working reference for now. I’ve yet to come up with the official title.
Some inside info on this cartoon. “Bad Johnny” is actually based on my grandfather. When I was very young, he’d sit with me on the couch and tell me some tall tales about the antics of Bad Johnny. It was a character he invented to entertain me. I’d always be laughing after all the tales. In the other room, you could hear my mom tell my grandmother, “He must be telling JJ (my nickname) another Bad Johnny story.” It’s funny, I came across my grandfather’s school yearbook. Next to his picture was his life’s ambitions. They were listed as wanting to play for the NHL, and then be a sports cartoonist! Apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree! He was a left winger and was known for his amazing speed and accuracy with a wrist shot.
He loved sports and ended up being the supervisor for the City of Boston’s Park Department. From umpiring baseball games to making sure every child had a basketball or opportunity to play the sport of their choice, he loved being involved in the world of athletics. He later established his home base at the Paris Street Gym, where I eventually worked at in various points throughout my life.
The little girl, “Jazzy”, is based on one of the kids who loves playing basketball there. She is now an adult, attending college.
My grandfather had long since retired when her generation, like the ones before her, came. While she had never met him, I smile, knowing it was his hard work decades ago that paved the way for future kids to have a place to call home.
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Enjoy this week’s T-Shirt design….
Have a great week, everyone!
Jay… and Small Saves!
