'The Argyle Sweater' and its creator have hit the big time

In less than two years he has gone from obscurity to syndication in almost 200 newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Washington Post.

Starting Monday, readers can see cartoonist Scott Hilburn's The Argyle Sweater in the Star-Telegram, too.

"He was in newspapers within six months," after coming to the attention of Universal Uclick executives, said John Glynn, the syndicate's rights and acquisitions vice president. "Right from the draft, he started. He didn't spend much time in the minor leagues."

If the idea of a fat, cigarette-smoking fish that's wearing shades, labeled the "unholy mackerel," tossing an empty bottle of booze out of his car as he cruises past a church makes you grin, The Argyle Sweater is probably a fit.

"I was drawing a project for open house when my teacher stopped at my desk and asked if I wanted to be a cartoonist when I grew up," Hilburn wrote in a recent e-mail describing his second-grade career epiphany. "Until then, I had no idea that people actually got paid to draw silly pictures. From that moment on, I knew what I wanted to be. No joke."

Speaking of jokes, the 38-year-old McKinney resident claims he only became a cartoonist after unattractive cuticles killed his dream of being a hand model. Actually, Hilburn was middle-aged, working on a clinical psychology master's degree and creating interactive media for a telecom company when he finally decided to pitch his work via an online site in 2006.

Typically, cartoonists will spend a couple of years in what Glynn calls development, proving their consistency and compiling cartoons before syndicators try to market their work. Hilburn's single-panel cartoons were an exception.

"We saw him in October or November," Glynn said. "We signed him within a month."

Cartoonist Steve Sicula draws the syndicated Home and Away cartoon strip, and is collaborating with Hilburn on an animated TV series treatment based on one of Hilburn's favorite panels. He calls Hilburn's rise "incredible."

"When you factor in the shrinking available comic space in most newspapers, it is even ... more impressive," Sicula wrote in an e-mail. "He has defied the odds and is able to draw full time. I don't think you can say that about 95 percent of the cartoonists that have launched in the last few years, uh, including yours truly."

As for the inevitable comparisons to The Far Side?

"We both appear in the Post-Tribune in Gary, Ind., where my mom lives," Sicula wrote. "She was a huge Far Side fan, and she is equally excited about The Argyle Sweater.

"Every time I talk to her she tells me how she got a huge laugh out of The Argyle Sweater on a particular morning," Sicula wrote. "So Scott is not only appealing to a new, younger set of readers that may have seen calendars, etc. of The Far Side, but has managed to win over many past [Gary] Larson fans. That is a huge achievement."

Hilburn's panel doesn't rely exclusively on a menagerie of animated animals. Cavemen, cops and Colonel Sanders have all appeared in the 'toon.

But we couldn't resist the opportunity to have an introductory chat with the Garland native and find out what's filling the thought balloon over his head in addition to images of bereaved chickens who've lost their eggs to predatory Easter rabbits.

What's the hardest part of your job?

Deadlines, ideas, being funny 365 days a year, finding time to do things besides work, responding to reader e-mails in a timely fashion, resisting the capability of working in my underwear and never leaving my house. Pick one.

How many hours a week do you actually have to work?

How many hours are there in between The Price Is Right and Judge Judy? Just kidding. But that's probably how most people think my day goes. Most people don't realize it, but it really is a full-time job. Imagine trying to come up with something funny or clever seven days a week, 365 days a year, and then squeezing those thoughts into one little rectangle each day.

Some weeks I might only spend 20 hours cranking out 20 great ideas while other weeks I might spend 50 turning out seven mediocre ones -- and that's just for the ideas. I also spend time creating the roughs, inking, colorizing and uploading the final versions, approving various cartoon-related projects my syndicate might send me, responding to reader e-mails, working on cover art for my next book, etc.

Why do people who pen comic strips lean so heavily on animal fodder?

I think that's part of the beauty of cartooning. You can use anthropomorphism and it's OK. In fact, that kind of absurdity is expected in cartoons, and because we have such limited space to convey our ideas, they often help get the point across.

What makes animals so funny?

Animals, in and of themselves, generally aren't funny. Putting them in human situations, however, can, at times, be hilarious: i.e., what happens when porcupines spoon in bed? If a family of birds go on a road trip in a car, when they stop for restroom breaks, do they get out and go on the windshield? You get the idea.

Is there an unfunny animal?

Salamanders aren't that funny. They think they are. But they're not.

When all else fails, what's your go-to critter?

Before I was syndicated, it was dung beetles. Dung beetles are always funny. Some editors aren't too keen on dung humor though, so now I'd have to say vultures or chickens.

Which comes first? Picture or caption?

The idea or concept comes first. Then usually the caption, then the drawing last. Not always, but usually.

You've acknowledged your work's kinship to Gary Larson's Far Side. What's different about your cartoon?

Well, first let me say that there will never be another Far Side. Larson's panel was revolutionary and paved the way for so many of us who are working today. That said, I think my humor tends to be a bit edgier than Gary's.

What's your favorite cartoon that does not involve animals?

Probably Lio. It's innovative, funny, sweet and creepy all at the same time.

Are you content to do newspapers, or are you trying to crack other markets, such as The New Yorker?

I'd love to be in The New Yorker, but any comics that I think up that don't make it into newsprint, I save for a future book of rejected ideas. There are other markets I'm in though. The Argyle Sweater calendars did extremely well this year, my second book collection is now available and I have greeting cards that are sold at Target. I'm currently working on a treatment for an animated TV series -- I'll let you know how that turns out. The only other market I'd like to be in is Boston Market. They have a great meatloaf sandwich.

JOHN AUSTIN, 817-390-7874