CNHI News Service Drawing on contrast

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Honey Creek Middle School math teacher Jeff Thompson laughs as editorial cartoonist Gary Varvel draws his head as part of a caricature in front of a cafeteria full of students Tuesday at the school. "I wanted to save some time by not having to draw hair, "joked Varvel about picking Thompson for the drawing.

To Gary Varvel, the role of an editorial cartoonist is like walking into a bar, throwing the first punch and watching everybody else fight it out.

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Describe your vision of a typical contributor to a newspaper opinion page.

Done?

Chances are, Gary Varvel doesn’t fit your stereotype. He teaches art part-time at a Christian school, serves on boards at his church, leads Christian marriage retreats for young couples, and has a wife of 25 years and three children. Varvel also creates editorial cartoons that are syndicated to news outlets around the country.

The characteristic that sets him apart, though, is that he’s conservative, compared to his colleagues. At least that’s Varvel’s opinion. And that’s exactly what readers get, Varvel’s opinions, eloquently summed up with artwork and a handful of words. His cartoons appear in his home paper, the Indianapolis Star, and dozens of others, including the Tribune-Star, through Creators Syndicate.

“I have to make decisions on what’s right and wrong every day,” Varvel explained last week, after an appearance as the featured speaker at the annual Honey Creek Middle School Writers Fair.

“I have people say, ‘Well, you’re doing the wrong thing, because 90 percent of the people say otherwise,’” he added. But Varvel doesn’t mind being in the minority.

A classic example showed up in a 2005 Varvel cartoon, as debate swirled over President Bush’s resistance to embryonic stem cell research. Varvel drew a scene in heaven, with two angels — one a man, the other a baby. The older angel says, “I died waiting for embryonic stem cell research to find a cure. What about you?” The baby answers, “I was the embryo.”

One week later, Varvel fielded a call from a man afflicted with Parkinson’s disease, a disorder which researchers believe could be treated with transplanted stem cells. Varvel expected an earful. Instead, the man asked for permission to use the cartoon.

“He said, ‘I don’t want to be the guy in your cartoon who has to explain to a child why my life is more important than theirs,’” Varvel recalled. “To me, that was a powerful statement.”

His stem cell cartoon, like many of his others, was guaranteed to trigger an argument. That’s the idea.

To explain his job, Varvel quotes a friend who works at an Arizona newspaper. “He says the role of an editorial cartoonist is to walk in the bar and throw the first punch, and then watch everybody fight it out.”

The blog Varvel maintains for the Indianapolis Star exemplifies that description. His cartoons get posted, and the feedback starts flowing. Those blogs “actually turn into arguments between [the responders] themselves, and I stay out of it,” Varvel said, grinning. “Somebody will write in and tell me how stupid I am, and then somebody else will take them on.”

His cartoons must fit in a 5-by-8-inch box, but the Star allows him to think outside the industry’s box and be himself. That freedom, as Varvel told Honey Creek students and teachers, makes his role a “dream job.”

Varvel’s fascination with cartoons grew from the zany images in Mad Magazine. Victory in a drawing contest at Danville (Ind.) High School earned him the job of cartoonist for the school newspaper. Varvel got to meet Indianapolis News editorial cartoonist Jerry Barnett, who urged him to continue. He did, first at IUPUI, then at a small weekly paper in Brownsburg, and finally as chief artist at the Indianapolis News, thanks to Barnett’s endorsement. In 1994, Varvel replaced retired Pulitzer Prize winner Charles Werner as editorial cartoonist at The Star. Since then, he’s won numerous awards, had his work syndicated, and watched it appear in global publications such as Newsweek, the New York Times and Sports Illustrated.

Varvel is one of just 80 editorial cartoonists in the United States.

His success, ironically, bloomed from a setback. In the 1980s, Varvel interviewed for a job at the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch. His artistic skills impressed the editor, but the guy couldn’t figure out where Varvel stood philosophically. “I was just drawing Jay Leno jokes,” Varvel recalled.

However, as he told the Honey Creek students, “Sometimes bad things will happen to you, but they’re actually a good thing.”

Varvel’s cartoons began reflecting his own “belief system.” Soon, it became clear to readers that Varvel leans on his religious faith in moral issues and on “the founding fathers” in political issues.

“I admit that I grew up in a Christian home here in middle America, and my viewpoint is kind of reflective of my community and reflective of my church,” Varvel said. “But I think I’m here for a purpose — to see things from a different point of view.”

Of course, Christians aren’t one-minded. So even within that demographic bloc, Varvel hears disagreements with some of his opinions. “But we remain friends over it,” he added. “We don’t decide to divide on it. It’s just like a family.”

The same goes for his fellow members of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. The conservative wing of that group is small, Varvel said. Yet he maintains friendships with artists of differing viewpoints, including an atheist.

“He doesn’t believe, and his cartoons reflect his disbelief,” Varvel said, “but he’s a great guy, and we communicate a lot.”

Though Varvel understands his work often angers people, it also is frequently funny. After Katie Couric debuted on the “CBS Evening News,” the program’s ratings temporarily jumped. Varvel drew the male anchors at rivals NBC and ABC in skirts, joking that those networks hoped showing some leg would win back viewers. He got a letter from NBC’s Brian Williams, requesting a copy to hang in the newsroom hallway, “because no one here has seen my legs.”

He gets hate mail too, including a letter from a Washington woman hoping Varvel would “die a slow and painful death.”

Whether he’s making fun or making people mad, Varvel’s faith and personal values guide his work.

“Everybody — if you’re an editorial cartoonist — has to have a belief system,” he said, “and I’m not that smart. I need some help.”

Mark Bennett can be reached at mark.bennett@tribstar.com or (812) 231-4377.