John Callahan (cartoonist)

John Callahan (born 1951 in Portland, Oregon), is a cartoonist, artist, and musician noted for dealing with macabre subjects and physical disabilities.

Accident and career

Callahan was rendered quadriplegic by an automobile accident in 1972 at the age of 21 [http://www.wweek.com/story.php?story=6103] ; he draws his cartoons by clutching a pen between both hands. His visual artistic style is simplistic and often rough, although still legible. It has been likened to that of William Steig, James Thurber, Richard Condie, and Ben Wicks.

Callahan's cartoons deal with subjects often considered taboo. His black humor may be exemplified by the title of his "quasi-memoir", "Will the Real John Callahan Please Stand Up?". The subject matter and treatment of his cartoons shares something with the work of Charles Addams and Gahan Wilson although it is much more aggressive than even the "Playboy" cartoons of these cartoonists.

Two animated cartoons have been based on Callahan's cartoons: "Pelswick", a children's show on Nickelodeon; and "Quads", a Canadian-Australian co-production, which retains the violence, "joie de vivre" and political incorrectness of his cartoons. The main character, who "walked out of a bar, and into a car" as the theme song relates, is a quadriplegic who won a large settlement from the rich driver who ran over him, and lives in a mansion with his buxom girlfriend, gay Australian physical therapist and a cast of fellow handicapees. Their outrageous adventures infuriate the neighbours which include an angry nun, the milquetoast millionaire who originally ran over the main character, and his domineering, Joan Riversesque wife.

A proposed biographical movie, with Robin Williams in the title role, was in the planning stages in 2000 but was never produced.

Other careers

John Callahan is currently working on a nudes and portrait project, shown in several galleries throughout its progression.

Callahan is also a songwriter. He released his first CD in 2006. "The Independent" of London calls his songs "Beautiful, but dark". He writes all the music and lyrics himself and is backed up by many notable musicians. A Dutch film crew recorded the studio sessions in which Callahan plays a simplified piano version of "Roll Away The Day". The album is produced by blues musician Terry Robb, with a special cameo appearance by Tom Waits.

Personal life

John Callahan was adopted as an infant, and had five siblings. As a child, he was molested by a female teacher. He began drinking at the age of fourteen. “I used the alcohol to hide the pain of the abuse,” Callahan has said. After the car accident that caused his spinal cord injury, he went through extensive rehabilitation. At the age of 27, he gave up drinking alcohol. He lives in Portland, Oregon. [ cite web
url = http://www.unitedspinal.org/publications/action/2004/11/24/john-callahan-back-to-the-drawing-board/
title = John Callahan: Back to the Drawing Board!
author = Lori A. Wood
date = November 24,2004
work = Action online
publisher = United Spinal Association
accessdate = 2008-05-19 ] [ cite web
url = http://wweek.com/editorial/3307/8380/
title = Tales From The Crip
author = Beth Slovic
work = Willamette Week
date = December 27,2006
accessdate = 2008-05-19 ]

Works

John Callahan's books include:

*"Freaks of Nature"
*"What Kind of God Would Allow a Thing Like This to Happen?"
*"The King of Things and the Cranberry Clown" (a children's book quite unlike the adult-oriented cartoons in his cartoon collections)
*"The Night, They Say, Was Made for Love"
*"Do What He Says, He's Crazy"
*"Digesting the Child Within"
*"Do Not Disturb Any Further"
*"Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot"
*"Get Down!!"
*"Will the Real John Callahan Please Stand Up? Lurid Revelations, Shocking Rejections, Irate Letters, With an Introduction by Robin Williams"

References

External links

* [http://www.callahanonline.com Official web page]
* [http://cdbaby.com/cd/johncallahan Purple Winos in the Rain on cdbaby.com]
* [http://www.myspace.com/johncallahanthecartoonist Myspace page]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MthHVHekdtw Link to music video on YouTube]
* [http://scenemissingmagazine.com/article/?p=1031 Scene Missing Magazine Interviews John Callahan]
* [http://www.glidemagazine.com/hiddentrack/review-my-morning-jacket-edgefield/ Glide Magazine reviews Callahan performance at Edgefield w/My Morning Jacket]