Cartoonist finds fame in NYC

Your fingers turn the pages of a crisp, hot-off-the-presses issue of the Bloomington Independent. As you glance through the newspaper, a political satire-filled cartoon entitled "This Modern World" catches your eye.\nThe byline does not read Gary Larson or Gary Trudeau. Credit is instead given to Tom Tomorrow, a syndicated cartoonist whose work appears in many weekly newspapers, as well as on Salon.com and his official Web site, www.thismodernworld.com.\nBefore adopting the pseudonym "Tom Tomorrow," the cartoonist went by his birth name, Daniel Perkins. The child of a broken home, Tomorrow spent time in Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Arkansas, Georgia and Florida before he was 18. One of his interests while growing up was cartooning.\n"I always drew and wrote my own comics from about as far back as I can remember," he said, "Along the way, I have dabbled in photography, painting, guitar playing and other unfocused creative pursuits before deciding to concentrate on the cartoon."\nDuring his sophomore year at the University of Iowa, Tomorrow made a decision that changed his life forever. He left school and moved to New York City.\n"I lived hand-to-mouth in Brooklyn for a couple of years, surviving on ramen noodles and peanut butter," he said. "I eventually headed out to San Francisco, where I spent almost twelve years before the vagaries of fate and love propelled me back to Brooklyn, albeit to somewhat more comfortable circumstances than the first time around."\nIn 1987, Tomorrow created the concept for "This Modern World." He spent the next few years refining the cartoon.\n"I've been doing this cartoon in a recognizable form, i.e. anachronistic fifties-looking characters, lots of dot patterns, lots of words, for about thirteen years, although the first couple of years were more experimentation than anything," he said. "It's why I describe my most recent book, 'When Penguins Attack' (released in September), as marking my 'ten year anniversary' more or less."\nTomorrow then began the task of requesting publications to carry "This Modern World." He eventually amassed a syndication of approximately 130 newspapers.\n"I just kept sending it out to alternative papers until they started picking it up," he said.\nThe past decade has been professionally good to Tomorrow. His accolades include the James Madison Freedom of Information Award from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Media Alliance Meritorious Achievement Award for Excellence in Journalism and the 1998 first place award in cartooning from the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Competition.\nIn the summer, he was given the National Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication's Professional Freedom and Responsibility Award. Tomorrow has four other cartoon compilation books besides "When Penguins Attack" in print: "Greetings from This Modern World," "Tune in Tomorrow," "The Wrath of Sparky" and "Penguin Soup for the Soul."\nIn addition to "This Modern World," Tomorrow draws a biweekly cartoon for The American Prospect. He also creates a weekly animation series on his official Web site.\nTomorrow flexed his political muscle earlier this year by actively supporting Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader. He spoke at Nader's Oct. 21 campaign rally in Oakland, Calif.\n"I understand that there's an argument to be made that politics is the art of the possible, and so you should just vote for the lesser evil. But I tend to believe that, since we live in a democracy and not some third world dictatorship in which we are required to faithfully cast our ballot for the fearless leader in order to give his reign credibility, if there's someone who stands for the things you actually believe in, then that's the guy you should vote for."\nNo matter how long "This Modern World" remains in syndication, there is still only one thing that Tomorrow wants his followers to glean from his cartoon.\n"I want my readers to know that they are not alone, or insane, if they do not agree with the conventional wisdom of newscasters and pundits"