Cartoonist has deep Georgia roots

A few weeks ago, I hinted that we’d be making an announcement on a new cartoon.

Before I share our decision, I’ll just say this one was easy.

We received dozens of emails — all of them urging us to consider the work of an Atlanta-born artist whose comic strip appears in more than 150 newspapers around the country.

“This daily cartoon is insightful and thought-provoking, and it still manages to be humorous ... much like another local guy ... Lewis Grizzard,” one reader wrote.

Another said, “He has plenty of outlets, but we Atlanta types would love to see his work here.”

The emails kept coming. Readers who were familiar with the comic described it as smart and funny. Publishing the cartoon in the pages of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, they said, would be a dream come true for the artist.

It’s no wonder then, that we ended up selecting “Mike du Jour” as our new comic. It debuts today.

The comic’s creator, Mike Lester, graduated from the University of Georgia. He once worked for The Atlanta Journal. And, yes, appearing in the pages of his hometown newspaper is special.

“I’m in a lot of newspapers,” Lester told me last week, “but I’m most proud to be in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.”

When Lester and I spoke, he was busy putting the finishing touches on a cartoon that will appear shortly.

For those who aren’t familiar with “Mike du Jour,” the strip tells a short story that begins on a Monday and ends on a Saturday. Sundays are free-for-all days.

As for the main characters, there’s Mike — an autobiographical composite who’s a blend of Walter Mitty, Buster Keaton and Lester himself. There’s Lumberjack Jack, Steve the Salad Bar Tender, Phyllis Stein (a barmaid, waitress and ex-con) and Minnie (Mike’s dog).

For Lester, the comic strip is the culmination of a journey that began shortly after he graduated from UGA in 1977 with a bachelor’s degree in graphic design. As with any successful endeavor, there were plenty of bumps, lots of hard work — and even a little luck — along the way.

As Lester tells the story, he spent two weeks working at a TGI Fridays on Roswell Road, where he earned the title: Worst. Waiter. Ever. Luckily for him, he received a call from the editor of The Atlanta Journal, who was intrigued by his design background and invited him for an interview.

Little did Lester know that a huge fire, which broke out shortly after he arrived at the newspaper’s offices, would disrupt everything. The editor at the time, Jim Minter, told Lester they would have to postpone. After all, Minter and his staff had bigger concerns that day.

But Minter made Lester an offer: If he wanted to design some pages for the newspaper in the meantime (free of charge, of course), he certainly could.

That’s exactly what Lester did until he was officially offered a full-time job.

“Other than the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, I don’t think there was a more vibrant place than that newsroom,” Lester told me.

Years later, Lester left for an advertising gig. But the allure of working again for a newspaper kept calling. Fortunately, for Lester, so, too, did The Wall Street Journal, which asked Lester to draw a cartoon for its readers.

With that, “Mike du Jour” was born.

“It quickly became something that nobody else was doing,” Lester said of his cartoon. “I wanted to do something that you’re not used to seeing.”

There was only one small problem: The Journal wanted Lester’s cartoon to appear three days a week. Given the title, Lester insisted that it publish at least five times a week.

Thanks to Lester’s shrewd negotiating abilities, The Journal relented. Lester could draw the cartoon five days a week, if he wanted. He would be paid for three.

And so it went, from 1995 until 1998, when The Journal and “Mike du Jour” parted ways.

A short time later, The Washington Post agreed to help Lester syndicate the column in newspapers around the country.

Yet, for all these years, the cartoon never appeared in Atlanta — until now.

It’s a homecoming, of sorts, for Lester.

His mom, his daughter and his son all still live in Atlanta — as do many of his friends. (Lester now lives in Florida.)

When he was 13 years old, he won a contest to serve as a Braves bat boy for the day.

Lester claims to have eaten more Varsity chili dogs than anyone else in Atlanta.

Oh yeah, he also drew the Georgia Tech mascot.

Today, the college still uses Lester’s rendition of Buzz.

As for “Mike du Jour,” what can you expect each day?

Well, that depends on what Lester stumbles upon. The comic strip, you see, is based on Lester’s personal observations.

There was the time, for instance, when Lester spotted a man unpacking a box filled with packing “popcorn” outside on a windy day. A gust sent the “popcorn” fluttering into the air, prompting an episode of “Mike du Jour.”

“I’m never going to run out of material,” Lester said. “I’ve done six gags on leaf blowers. I ask myself, ‘What’s interesting and funny about croutons or wine in a box?’”

In describing the comic, Lester told me: “It’s kind of like ‘Seinfeld.’ It’s really not about anything.”

And that’s exactly what drew us to Lester’s comic.

We hope you’re as entertained by “Mike du Jour” as we were when we reviewed samples of Lester’s work.

We also hope you’re as happy with our decision as Lester.

“I kept thinking how much I wanted to impress my hometown, make people proud and make them pick up the AJC every day,” Lester said. “It’s that big a deal.”

The comic, by the way, debuts on Lester’s birthday.

Though, it is bittersweet in one respect.

“Dad isn’t here to see it,” said Lester, whose father died in 1998. “At least not in the flesh.”