Conversations with George Gant

Today we’d like to introduce you to George Gant.

Hi George, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Hi! My name is George Gant and I am the creator of the award-winning comic strip Beware of Toddler and the artist for the upcoming graphic novel Redman’s Muddy Waters Too.

From a very early age, I always wanted to be a cartoonist–I was the kid in school drawing in class instead of doing classwork. Eventually I began drawing editorial cartoons for my high school’s newspaper, even winning several awards for my work. After high school, I took a few graphic design courses in college, then took a break from art altogether for a few years.

With the growth of webcomics, I gave cartooning another shot with the webcomics The Reset Button and On the Grind, the latter producing two printed book collections. I also did a bit of freelance illustration work on the side. I kept drawing comics until one day during a game of hide-and-seek with my daughter, I came up with the idea of Beware of Toddler. Since then, Toddler has become very popular in its own right, producing one book collection and making the rare jump from webcomic to syndicated newspaper comic. Around the same time I also joined The Beano, the largest children’s comic magazine in the UK–being one of the few Americans to do so.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It hasn’t been smooth at all, but it could probably have been worse. For starters, cartooning has been a time-consuming yet unprofitable profession until recently. Ironically, when I hoped to make money from my cartoons is when I struggled the most. Only when I focused on the craft itself did things begin to click. It’s still time-consuming, though. I’ve missed out on a lot of events and hurt a lot of relationships due to my goals.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I mostly specialize in comic strips, though I’ve done other things like children’s books and comic book illustrations. Because of this I am easily known most for my series Beware of Toddler and my work in The Beano, but with the upcoming release of the graphic novel Redman’s Muddy Waters Too, I’m pretty sure that will change. These two projects are probably the things I’m most proud of, as one is my most popular series, and the other is the biggest one I’ve ever worked on. These are fun, colorful, and cartoony–which are a few things that separate me from a lot of my peers.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
That’s honestly a good question. We are currently in the beginning of the age of AI, where everything is automated and people think they can craft worlds with a simple prompt. If I can be honest, I absolutely hate it. The best thing about the creative process is the process. That’s where the soul of the work comes from and no computer can replicate that. Combined with IP saturation and the rejection of original ideas, I’ll admit I’m pretty worried about the future.

That said, that’s where we are right now. With a focus on automation and profits there will be a dearth of quality. I hope that in the next few years this brings a renewed focus on creativity and original ideas.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://comicskingdom.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/bewareoftoddler
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/bewareoftoddler
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@bewareoftoddler

Image Credits
Muddy Waters Too – Redman, George Gant

Beware of Toddler – ©George Gant. Distributed by King Features Syndicate