Captain Cartoon’s first post-eye operation studio board drawing.
By Michael K. Todd
The looming eye operation promised to be tenuous, to say the least. Captain Cartoon’s severe cataract blocked the surgeons’ view of the detaching retina, so that had to be fixed as well. Therein lay the miracle, however. The uninsured caricaturist – having to work through that cataract for six long years – would soon be liberated from a fog-shrouded existence!
To be sure, there is considerable cost associated with a dual cataract/detached retina operation, and upon hearing the projected amount, he instinctively elected to return home and let that curtain fall. Nearing the parking lot, however, common sense prevailed . . . and Dick Kulpa trudged back up to the Bascom-Palmer Eye Institute’s sixth floor to face the music.
Here’s what the Captain always fears during any eye operation. Fortunately this did not happen here.
Not to understate the tremendous efforts, expertise and execution wielded by the two main surgeons involved, there is little that can be said here about the actual operation. Patients remain semi-conscious during these types of operations, posing no problem for the Captain who is semi-conscious by nature. And while Kulpa posted a gag cartoon about the operation on Facebook, fact was, both procedures went flawless. This, as opposed to previous eye surgeries by local eye surgeons which were everything but.
Upon next day’s bandage removal is when an eye-popping miracle occurred. Kulpa could see and recognize his driver from over three feet away – all the way across the street! This newly-discovered clarity was astounding. Signs could now be read and more importantly, faces could be seen in all their detail by this long-time caricature artist! Freckles…eye color…..even those much-dreaded wrinkles were now plain as day.
It was as if a six-year fog had been lifted, especially when Kulpa went back to his studio work. That’s because, while his caricature markers were all labeled making coloring pretty accurate, such was not the same on computer. Upon opening a file for his latest book “Lil’ Lilly” is when the Captain, with renewed vision as good as his cat’s, discovered what heretofore was virtually impossible for him to see.
The illustrations below make the point:
LIL’ LILLY book: The left page is what Kulpa colorized prior to his operation, the right page is as he thought it appeared. Dick could not see yellow properly, nor could he see contrast. In the revised version he has recolored the black outline around Ollie, the little boy. That itself was not the problem: Kulpa saw no onscreen difference in the fleshtones.
A more dramatic look at what Captain Cartoon could not see in his computer colorization: This “Lil’ Lilly” book’s back cover, while shown in various stages, gives a dramatic insight into what Kulpa could not see properly onscreen: The color yellow.
That rainbow star at the left was supposed to be the same color as the rainbow star on the right. To the Captain, it looked as red on the left side as it now is on the right side.
The red you see on both sides occurred because Dick simply used the pallet box to set that color. But not for the rainbow.
Unfortunately, a down side emerged post-op. It seems a neighbor lady who’d been hitting on the Captain was inadvertently exposed when he got a second look – through his new eye – and drew an updated caricature of her.
That cataract-retina operation was a real eye-opener for the Captain, who finally saw his neighbor lady as she really looked.
So, Just how does Captain Cartoon feel after getting his sight back? Find out here!
Dick Kulpa published CRACKED Magazine and is former artist of the Star Trek, Bruce Lee and Ghost Story Club syndicated newspaper strips. He is also known as the creator of Bat Boy.
CAPTAIN CARTOON 