Drawn To Lives On The Edge

How a cult cartoonist became the next outsider to inspire a Gus Van Sant movie.

- James Robins

A sign hangs in the window of the Anorexics Café: “Now closed 24 hours a day.” At an aerobics class for quadriplegics, the instructor says, “Okay, let’s get those eyeballs moving.” Two Klansmen trot off to a cross-burning, their hoods and robes pure white: “Don’t you love it when they’re still warm from the dryer?” A trio of hardy cowboys encounter an abandoned wheelchair in the wilds. “Don’t worry,” the caption reads, “he won’t get far on foot.”

These are some of the gags by American cartoonist John Callahan. It’s not hard to see where his surreal, pitch-black humour comes from. A heavy drinker from age 12, Callahan had his spine severed in a car accident in 1972 when 21. It took another decade to get clean, to regain enough movement in his arms to begin sketching. His cartoons were syndicated nationally.