The Origin of Edgar, Pt. I

I've always been a doodler. In high school I doodled on the desks. In college, the margins of second-hand textbooks. At home, whatever scrap of paper is handy. I usually doodle some kind of pattern: wavy lines, shapes, dots. Sometimes I draw my face, which became the basis for my other comic strip, the Unnamed Road.

Eleven years ago, I was absently doodling a circle within a circle. I drew another circle within a circle, then another, and another. Soon I had circles within circles clumped together. I drew two lines, one above the clump and one below. Under it I wrote "blood clot."

I looked at the doodle for a while, turning it sideways and upside down. I grabbed a nearby pad and drew a large circle within a circle and added arms bent at the elbows that terminated in my approximation of Mickey Mouse gloves and legs with club feet. I tossed in a beach umbrella, a bucket, a soda can, two clouds, and a kindergarten sun. The soda can and the bucket were drawn so crudely that labeled them "soda" and "bucket and added little arrows pointing to the item so there would be no mistake what it was. I decided to label the other things in the frame, too--"the sun," "clouds," "umbrella." Then, for some reason, I labeled the circle man "Edgar." I finished off the drawing with a caption: Edgar the red blood cell goes to the beach.

Here that drawing. Click on it to see it in its full glory.



The more I looked at the scene the more questions I had. Why would a red blood cell go to the beach? It's not like going to get any redder. Then: what the hell was a red blood cell doing walking around at all? What kind of life would this creature have? Was this scene inside a body or did it take place in a world peopled by red blood cells? How did he eat without a mouth? What kind of name is Edgar?

Everything that Blood Culture is today has its roots in that single drawing. The seemingly banal scene, the matter-of-fact present tense caption, the labels, even Edgar's hair. (Take a look at my drawing again. See that dark line at the crown of Edgar's head? That's his 'do.) It's all still there today, eleven years later.

I knew I had something good. But what was I going to do with it? Recognizing my artistic limitations, I knew I needed help discovering more about this character. I also knew the most likely candidate: an art director coworker named Gerry.

Next time, part II.