Goodbye, Blue

Well, pen – er – pen nib holder, it’s been a great run, but you must retire now.

As a cartoonist, I still continue to draw the ol’ fashioned way with a dip pen and black India ink.  Using a dip pen requires nibs.  And nibs require a holder.  Hence, a nib holder.  I don’t know though… I like to refer to it as simply a pen (quite frankly, I don’t know its technical name).

At any rate, one that I have used for the past couple of years is, well, retiring.

This pen has been through the ringer.  It’s responsible for hundreds of comics, MAD Magazine cartoons, work for clients, greeting cards – basically everything.

Last week, an important function of it broke. 

There’s an inside piece that holds the nib in it.  Anyway, I don’t want to get too in-depth, but it broke and it’s pretty much unrepairable (although, for a temporary fix, I did try stuffing it with a paper towel).

So, it’s done for.

That means that, unfortunately, I had to break into my wallet and purchase a new one (for a whopping $1.77).

I must say though, that was a pretty good run it had.  I know I’ve thrown it a few times out of frustration, have accidentally stepped on it and haven’t always cleaned it as thoroughly as one should, but despite our abusive relationship, we made some pretty good art together.  (Boy, that sounds like a Lifetime movie.)

We’ll see how well the new gal, I mean pen, holds up.  If it can make it through my violent tirades, I’m sure we’ll get along just great.

In memory of Blue (yeah, we’ll just call it that), here are some photos.

Above:  After a crazy career, here is Blue’s last visit to the drawing table.

Above:  Trying to keep it functional, I stuffed some paper towel in there to try to hold a pen nib.  That didn’t work too well.

Happy retirement, pen!  May the rest of your days collecting dust bring nothing but happiness and ink-splattered joy.