September 11, 2007 12:41 PM

Sports cartoonist Drew Litton

Rocky sports cartoonist Drew Litton chatted about his 25 years on the job.

Mark_Wolf(Q) You teed off on Monday Night Football commentator and Washington Post columnist Tony Kornheiser this morning. What's wrong with Tony?
Drew_Litton(A) I actually like Tony Kornheiser in certain situations. I just don't think he works for Monday Night Football.

Mark_Wolf(Q) Better or worse than Dennis Miller?
Drew_Litton(A) Oh, my gosh. Dennis Miller was a nightmare. No comparison really. It's just not good when the last two guys they get to provide color commentary make you long for Howard Cosell. Under no circumstances should one ever long for Howard Cosell.

Mark_Wolf(Q) We'll wrap up Monday Night Football with this: I think Ron Jaworski is the best guy in the booth since the glory days. Agree?
Drew_Litton(A) All I can say is where have you gone Dizzy Dean? Now that was commentary. Yeah it was baseball I know but with these guys in the Monday Night Football booth it might as well be.

Mark_Wolf(Q) You just celebrated 25 years at the Rocky. What was your first cartoon here?
Drew_Litton(A) First cartoon ever was printed on Friday as an introduction to a commentary page we were starting in Sports. It featured caricatures of Dick Connor, Bob Collins and B. G. Brooks. The first sports cartoon printed that Sunday, September 12, 1982. It was about the Broncos' Billy Thompson buying a Mcdonalds franchise. I was feeling my way around.

Mark_Wolf(Q) What kind of reaction did you get initially?
Drew_Litton(A) I did one the day after my first Broncos game about the Broncos meeting their own worst enemy...themselves. Reeves responded to it to one of our reporters. I knew then this had a chance to work. But honestly my first two years were so awful. I was grrowing into the job. The Karlis uprights cartoon changed everything.

Mark_Wolf(Q) How did the Karlis cartoon "change everything?"
Drew_Litton(A) I drew the cartoon right after the Broncos' kicker at the time, Rich Karlis, booted the ball into the uprights two games in a row. It resembled a fork with multiple uprights. It resonated with readers. If you didn't see it, someone was going to tell you about it. It solidified my role here at the News. And probably allowed me to keep my job.

Mark_Wolf(Q) You gave some of your targets the opportunity to take their best shots at you. Would you advise any of them to give up their day jobs?
Drew_Litton(A) I'm hesitant to say this but I think I can throw a football better than Elway can draw a cartoon. But it was so great to have those guys draw the cartoons for the celebration last Friday. John's son Jack was actually very good.

Mark_Wolf(Q) Do you get much feedback from the subjects of your cartoons?
Drew_Litton(A) I get a pretty good amount of feedback on my blog. Sometimes I hear from the subjects themselves, especially at Spring Training and Broncos Camp.

Mark_Wolf(Q) Even after winning two Super Bowls, John Elway never seemed to warm to your image of him.
Drew_Litton(A) Look...the caricature can best be described as Bugs Bunny on steroids...Would you feel warm and fuzzy about that portrayal? It's safe to say there are Elephants who would kill for tusks like John's.

Mark_Wolf(Q) You had Elway and then Jake Plummer, both of whom you found eminently caricaturable (is that a word?). Now you've got Jay Cutler. What kind of subject is he and do you find your drawings of a particular person evolve over time or do you like to find an image and stick with it?
Drew_Litton(A) Oh, they definitely evolve. It takes time for the rough edges to round out and for the essence of the character to come through. Cutler is going to be fun because he always looks like he is half asleep. Toss in the backwards hat and it'll work. But he's no Elway. Or Plummer for that matter. The Plummer beard was a Godsend.

Mark_Wolf(Q) The Rocky is giving readers a chance to vote on their favorite cartoon. How is the voting going and how do the readers' choices line up with your own?
Drew_Litton(A) The voting is going very well. We had tremendous response on Friday and all weekend really. It's a blast to interact with readers and to see how they would pick their favorite cartoons has been a lot of fun. Some of the choices are a bit surprising. The Karlis cartoon, for instance, didn't fare as well as I would have thought.
Mark_Wolf(P) For the record, I think the only reason the Karlis cartoon isn't ranked higher by readers is that it was published 23 years ago.

Mark_Wolf(Q) If you had to pick one favorite, what would it be? And why?
Drew_Litton(A) That's a good question but not all that easy to answer. I have favorites that didn't even make the finals of the the cartoons we posted online and in the paper. I like the Sakic through the window cartoon. But I'm always going to be partial to the Karlis cartoon because of what it meant to my career. I still love the Arthur Ashe tribute cartoon and one I did last year about Buck O'Neil and how he should be in the Hall of Fame. I'm a Buck O'Neil fan. He had a spirit that was so amazing. So I like those cartoons I guess the most. But it's a bit like having 5000 kids and asking which one is your favorite. Kinda hard. Unless your Travis Henry I guess.

Mark_Wolf(Q) You were adamant that the Broncos not go after Terrell Owens. Watching him on Sunday night, it's hard to imagine the Broncos have anyone close to his ability. Still think he would've been a bad fit here? Certainly would've been good for you!
Drew_Litton(A) Oh he would have been great cartoon fodder no doubt. I almost always root for those kinds of guys especially if they have big ears and googly eyes. But Owens is sooo selfish. I have a real problem with selfish athletes. Selfish people actually.

Mark_Wolf(Q) One of your recurring images is the guy sitting in his recliner in front of the TV either avidly awaiting the start of a season or being apopletic about what he's seeing. Any aspect of self-portrait in that image?
Drew_Litton(A) (As I answer your question from a recliner in front of the TV). Uh, Yes. Guilty as charged. I am a couch potato. The true creed of Couch Potatos Anonymous.