Got a letter today from an old boss of mine who had been to sea on board an aircraft carrier, and he sent me a couple of air plan cartoons. Air plans, for those not in the know, provide the scheduled flight operations for the day. They let the ship and the air crews know which aircraft are launching and recovering, and when. Traditionally, a cartoon is included with the air plan, and often poke fun of someone on the ship, or depict an operation in which the ship is engaged. They usually use an existing cartoon and alter the cartoon and/or word bubbles to fit the situation. Sometimes, they use a Broadside cartoon.
Here is one:
Here is the original:
This really bothers me.
It’s not that I mind having people use my cartoons for the air plans – in fact, I like it. If a Broadside can be morphed to put some smiles on some Sailor’s faces, nothing could make me happier. In fact, I consider it an honor if they use one of mine in the air plan. And it’s not that I mind that they change the words to fit the occasion, because air plan cartoons are traditionally focused on events that only the crew would recognize.
You know what bothers me?
It’s that they are almost always funnier than the originals.
