Cartoonist to receive cancer treatment in Bloomington

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A cartoonist with a rare tumor threatening his vision is getting some help from artists who draw rival strips.\nRob Harrell, whose "Big Top" comic chronicling the exploits of an eccentric cast of circus animals appears in about 40 newspapers, is recovering from surgery to remove a tumor in the lacrimal gland behind his right eye. He hated the thought of running old cartoons for a strip still finding its audience, so artists from Jim Davis of "Garfield" fame to "Ziggy" creator Tom Wilson stepped in to pen "Big Top" for him.\n"It's one of the nicest things that people have ever done for me," said 37-year-old Harrell, whose strip is syndicated by Kansas City-based Universal Press Syndicate.\nThe cartoonist's tumor was discovered in October, but it wasn't until January that its type was determined. When it was, doctors said they'd likely have to remove the eye.\n"We were sort of shell-shocked," Harrell said of himself and his wife, Amber, who live in Austin, Texas. "That was terrifying."\nCancer specialists later suggested an experimental treatment. He had the tumor removed and expects to begin eight weeks of radiation therapy next month in Bloomington.\nHarrell's surgery was needed so fast he was unable to create a stockpile of extra strips to run while he recovered. So other artists stepped up.\n"The idea that I wouldn't help someone with eye surgery seemed absurd," said Jan Eliot, the "Stone Soup" creator who has had seven eye surgeries herself, which she called a nightmare for an artist. "You can break a leg. You can have all kinds of things happen other than your right hand or your eyes."\nEliot, who spoke from her home in Eugene, Ore., had her "Big Top" strip run Wednesday in papers including the Boston Herald and the Detroit Free Press, and as far away as Singapore and Australia. Strips by a total of 15 guest artists will continue to run through March 22.\nHarrell said his temporary replacements handled the strips entirely on their own, from storyline to art. He didn't see them until they started running on Monday.\n"It's so much fun to get up in the morning and see what somebody else did," he said.\nHarrell has since resumed his work and plans to continue throughout his radiation. The patch over his right eye has been removed, but it is still swollen and only about two-thirds opened.\n"Big Top" follows a boy named Pete who is growing up in the circus, surrounded by characters including a poodle named Dusty, a bear named Wink and a clown named Stucco.\nPop culture often turns up in the cartoon. Ellen DeGeneres challenged Wink to a dance-off in one strip, while a ChapStick-addicted Dusty once roomed at a rehabilitation center with Beanie Baby-obsessed Brad Pitt.\nFor now, "Big Top" fans are noticing differences. When Harrell's strips resume, Wink will wake up, realizing he had fallen from his unicycle and suffered a head injury, explaining why all his friends looked different for a couple of weeks.