on My Childhood: Dr. Seuss

I was a huge fan of Dr. Seuss as a kid. One Fish Two Fish, Red Fish Blue Fish? I can recite the book verbatim. Used to LOVE that shit. Think you’re a bigger Cat in the Hat fan than I am? Take a gander at this throwback and sit the fuck back down.

Seuss was actually a big influence on me wanting to draw. While I didn’t necessarily emulate his whacky tendencies (I had my own style, which probably leaned closer to Calvin and Hobbes), I appreciated how he could create these insane-looking characters. He used words that didn’t exist, but could still tell a story and get a point across. (What the hell is a Lorax anyway?) These books, to me, were masterpieces. They took an entirely different level of skill than I could only appreciate from afar.

That being said, I’m an even bigger fan of his knowing that this motherfucker probably took tons of acid and shrooms. Apparently ripping cigs was his only vice, but I’m sure that he did some crazy shit in his spare time.

I recently stumbled across this video that shows his darker art. It’s almost like he had an alter ego. He uses darker colors, sharper angles, and more sinister facial expressions. It’s awesome, mainly because I’m sure he tripped balls before creating these. The best part is that I feel like a kid again, rediscovering an entirely new body of work from one of the artists I looked up to most.