Divide and Conquer™
by Philip Blattenberger

About Divide and Conquer ^TM

By Philip Blattenberger

Doug and Sherman News Flash!

Over the last few months, my comic has undergone several major changes.

For one, I have changed the comic's size. Before, I drew them on a sheet of eight-and-a-half by eleven paper. I separated the sheet into four sections and drew regular four-panel comics, the first panel at the upper left corner and the last at the lower right. I am now drawing them on panels the size of regular newspaper comics. The second major change is the method with which I draw them. Previously I used whatever pencil happened to be laying around the room, usually a .07 mm. mechanical pencil. I have now switched to the more common method of ink, using an adjustable pen holder and different size nibs. The quality of the comic skyrocketed when I started using the ink, although there is less room for error.

Divide and Conquer: A History

I started my comic strip, Doug and Sherman, on May eighth, 1998. A long-time fan of Bill Watterson's "Calvin and Hobbes" and Bill Amend's "Foxtrot", I was inspired to begin.

My first job was to come up with a main character. Being such a huge fan of "Calvin and Hobbes", I chose a young boy, maybe six or seven. (It worked for Watterson, didn't it?) I originally wrote down about ten characters, but decided most were pretty lame.  Finally, I settled on the right one. He had several spikes of hair (unkempt, not punk) and a small, ill-proportioned body. There was a great deal of similarity between my character and Calvin. As a beginner in the wonderful world of cartooning, I didn't really care about that. I was still feeling out the comic strip's world. I struggled between two names for my character: "Scott" and "Doug". I finally decided I liked the last name better.

The next addition to my comic strip was even less of an original idea. I decided that since Bill Watterson's Calvin had a talking tiger, Doug should have...a talking turtle. More of that originality at work.

But, as I said earlier, I didn't care about that at the time. I began creating Doug and Sherman comics right away. The first one was a Sunday comic. Six panels long, it explained how Doug met Sherman, out in a grassy field. I thought it was pretty funny then, but now it looks awkward and forced. I wrote the next one, also a Sunday comic. (All my Sunday comics were six panels back then, by the way.) In the original comics, Doug's friend the turtle was named "Herman". It was the only name I could think of at that time. Then the name "Sherman" hit me. I thought, perfect! That's just what I need! Then a stunning realization hit me. There was a Sherman on the comic strip "Sherman's lagoon!" Hurriedly I blasted through the morning paper, and found (to my great relief) that Sherman was the shark. (I thought Sherman was the turtle at the time. The turtle's name is Fillmore.) At any rate, after that fiasco, I finally had a working comic strip. "Doug and Sherman" featured the misadventures of a seven-year-old and his friend, a talking turtle. I began rattling comics out a mile a minute. Though some of the ideas were clever, the drawings were...well, hideous. I needed lots of work in that aspect. I wrote about a week and a half worth of Doug and Sherman comics. Doug, like Calvin, had a puny body and a large head. He struggled with the same issues Calvin did: TV-watching rights, bath protests, runaway imaginations, etc. I enjoyed doing the comics, but I quickly got bored of the whole thing. After a week and a half, I quit the strip.

Sometime around the beginning of August that same year, I realized I had to get something for my Dad's birthday. I remembered him enjoying my comic strip, so I decided to start it up again. It took a bit of practice to draw Doug efficiently again, but I managed. Sherman, on the other hand, was no problem. His large shell, teardrop head, and stubby fins were rather simplistic. I drew several weeks worth of the comics, improving a great deal. The drawing improved only slightly, but the humor of the comic increased dramatically. The comics, overall, flowed much better. I also added in a new feature for Doug and Sherman. Doug had three siblings who were mysteriously absent from the household for about three months. (I tried to explain the thing with a lame story about them being on a class trip to another country). Richard was nine, two years older than Doug. Tom was eight, and Doug's sister, Donna, was six. This, I decided, added a lot more life and originality to the strip. Doug and Sherman was rolling right along.

And then Doug mutated.

JUST KIDDING! He didn't mutate, but he looked a whole heck of a lot different. In January-February of 1999, I bought a large sketchpad, and began drawing large comics. Each panel was a quarter of the page. The 8 1/2- by 11-inch paper provided for 4 1/4- by 5 1/2-inch panels. I could now draw in large size, adding more detail. I changed Doug's appearance on the first strip I drew in that book. The new Doug, compared the old one, was HUGE! He had regular sized hands and feet, his arms no longer hung halfway up his torso, and his legs were actually of this world. The new Doug, though harder and more complicated to draw, was much more versatile. I could express my ideas and jokes through Doug with much more ease. Sherman, meanwhile, never really changed that much. His head rounded out some, and his shell became larger and fuller.

I continued to draw my comics. Slight changes were made here and there, but Doug still looked like Doug, and Sherman like Sherman. I added the idea of Doug being a black belt in martial arts, and I continued the use of his brothers and sister. I drew probably one-hundred and fifty of them total, over the next two years. These included full-length Sunday comics (no longer wimpy six-panel ones, either). My dailies ranged from regular four panel gags to long stories lasting more than a week. I was pleased with my comic.

But slowly an issue appeared - one I knew I'd have to confront sooner or later. I was aware of it when I started the comic in '98. The problem loomed larger and larger as I began exploring the possibility of publication. I knew Sherman the turtle, a favorite character in my comic strip, would have to leave. He just wasn't original enough. Canceling Sherman from the strip was very hard to do, but I knew it was necessary for the strip to survive and possibly be published. Following is the note I wrote explaining the dismissal of Sherman from the strip.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

I began the comic "Doug and Sherman" over three years ago in May of 1998.

From the very beginning, it was Doug and his amphibious pal, that amazing talking turtle. In the years that followed, I never really changed them much. Doug's appearance changed a little, Sherman's shell got bigger, I added siblings for Doug, ect. The cartoon was, in my opinion, successful.

However, it lacked one thing: originality. It followed the same theme as Bill Watterson's "Calvin and Hobbes"; a mischievous kid and his talking animal friend. Sherman, like Hobbes, was witty, sensible, and usually quiet and sincere. Doug was like Calvin - obnoxious to a degree, presumptuous, hyper, whiny, impatient, with unlimited sarcasm. The themes of both comic strips were basically the same. Now that "Calvin and Hobbes" has left the cartooning world, there are no more comics with that type of theme. However, "Calvin and Hobbes" was an irreplaceable work of art. Any attempt to copy the idea, and be successful, would be completely futile. That is why Sherman, a well-loved character in my strip, is leaving "Doug and Sherman" now.

Sherman has been a wonderful character to draw. He has improved my drawing skills, greatly increased the level of hilarity in the strip, and added, overall, a great level of personality to the strip. It is with great regret that I discontinue drawing Sherman the turtle  in the strip. Sherman's namesake, however, will be passed on - to a new character. The cartoon will be about Doug, a boy, and Sherman - his brother. This will keep the humorous relationship in the strip. Sherman the boy will have the same personality as Sherman the turtle, so the humor and bond between Doug and Sherman will remain relatively the same. Again, I regret dropping the character of Sherman. However, the new change will make my work much more original, as well as opening it up to a whole new range of possibilities.

The removal of Sherman from the strip, in my opinion, takes a very large piece out of the strip - mainly because Sherman was there from the beginning. However, it is a necessary measure in ensuring the originality - and possible publication - of the strip. I close with the promise that Sherman the turtle will still be in the strip...as Doug's pet turtle, a normal one that doesn't speak. It is my sincere hope that the strip continues successfully. I'm glad I started the strip - but it wouldn't have been possible to keep my interest in it without a certain turtle.

Thank-you, Sherman.

-Philip Blattenberger

6/8/01

Well, that's it. I definitely have enjoyed drawing Sherman the turtle. I've already drawn over a week's worth of new comics featuring Doug and his brother, Sherman. Doug and Sherman are twin brothers, ten years old. I hope the strip continues successfully. As soon as possible, I'll provide you with some pictures of the new Sherman - and the first set of comics featuring him.

Doug and Sherman Archives

Below are examples of several comics that I've already done.

This comic was one of my first Sunday strips. It was definitely not very good: choppy drawing, forced humor. However, I was an amateur then. The comics I create now are far more sophisticated.

NOTE: These comics were originally drawn with a regular pencil. The lines were smooth, and everything looked a lot better. In order to successfully place them on this website, I had to process them through Image Composer and the Paint program - thus the choppy lines. The actual comics are much, much better - more fun to read, and more fun to look at. Keep reading the comics section of your newspaper - one day Divide and Conquer may be in there.