IT’S BACK!
Auto buff revives CARtoons
CARtoons wasn’t a comic book akin to The Avengers, The Fantastic Four or The Incredible Hulk. Instead of superhero stories, CARtoons delivered a world of family-friendly hotrod art and humour through comic-strip stories. It also included a howto-draw-cars series that inspired generations of gearheads.
CARtoons was published bimonthly from 1959 to the early 1990s. When it simply disappeared from circulation, thousands of enthusiasts were left lamenting the loss, including Marc Methot of St. Catharines, Ont. But in a twist of fate, Methot is responsible for CARtoons magazine literally coming back to life 25 years after the last issue was published.
As a youngster, Methot would wait at the newsstand for the latest issue. After plunking down his pocket change, he’d rush home and pore over the antics of characters, including Krass and Bernie. He’d also study the howto-draw segments, pick up pencil and paper, and put the lessons to work.
“CARtoons definitely fostered my early interest in art,” he says.
Methot went on to major in art. He described himself as a starving artist working on the factory floor at Bombardier when he suffered a workplace injury.
“I was on short-term disability and was at home on the computer,” Methot says. “I came across a website that was like a trademark brokerage.
“On there, I found an old toy design from the 1980s, Mask. I put down some money and applied for it, but somebody else got it about four days before I did. The site wouldn’t give me my money back, only a credit.”
Everything happens for a reason, Methot adds.
“I was searching for a trademark so I could use up my credit, and that’s when I found CARtoons was available,” he explains. “I applied, got past the first stage, and got locked onto the title.”
At this point, Methot knew nothing about the publishing industry.
“I knew I had something great, though, and knew I had to do something with it,” he says.
Methot is a self-described gearhead. Hid dad’s 1940 Ford opera coupe that is still in the family forms a part of Methot’s earliest memories.
And Methot’s own hotrod — a chopped, shaved and channelled 1950 Plymouth — is a running and driving project in progress.
“One of the first things I did was venture onto social media, and more specifically, Facebook,” Methot says. “When I posted CARtoons might be coming back, the support started pouring in, including from some of the original artists, such as George Trosley.”
Methot began a self-taught crash course in the publishing, printing and distributing industry.
He gathered enough art and stories to publish what he called the Trial Issue, and had 5,000 copies printed. All costs were paid by Methot because many skeptical CARtoons enthusiasts didn’t think the magazine would ever return.
Methot proved he was serious. After the success of the Trial Issue, Methot set up a pre-order subscription system that brought in enough money to keep going.
Relying on more than 50 contributing artists for the majority of the content, Methot does everything else. He puts the magazine together, deals with the printer, distributor and online sales, answers emails, and updates social media sites and the official website at www. cartoonsmag.com.
CARtoons Issue No. 1 appeared in January 2016 and continues to publish bimonthly.
Methot has twice travelled to the SEMA show in Las Vegas. He carries a bag filled with copies of CARtoons, handing them out and drumming up some advertising to help offset costs.
“Some automotive celebrities are big-time supporters,” Methot says, including the crew from Welder Up of Discovery Channel’s Vegas Rat Rods fame and hotrod guru Chip Foose.
Methot sees the new CARtoons as a collectible comic book. Besides subscriptions, the publication is carried on magazine stands (check both the automotive and comic book sections), and is now available to order through comic book shops around the world.
“Comics are collectible, and this is a unique automotive magazine that is a comic book,” Methot says. “If you love cars and love comic strips, this is the magazine to have. There’s nothing else like it on the market.”
When I posted CARtoons might be coming back, the support started pouring in, including from some of the original artists.