Big Shout Magazine Cartoon Issue

(October 1995, Big Shout Magazine)

For our February 1995 issue, staff artist Kurt Brugel suggested a cartoon takeover of sorts. He recommended a fully-illustrated issue, meaning there would be no photos or photo-real artwork. Any photos that were shot were actually illustrated by our staff artist Steve Cobb. And throughout the issue, Brugel suggested we have a little impish cartoon character that would run amok and try to destroy the ads and other content in the issue. Pretty crazy, right?

The cover was a collaboration of Brugel and Cobb. The concept was Brugel’s, as was his gremlin-like character that rampaged through the pages of the magazine. Artist Chris Jenkins created a second character called Big Shout Head who was a super hero summoned to stop the gremlin character. Veteran artist Tom Watkins also weighed in with some of his own artwork.

Here is how it played out in the issue…

The Deadline Gremlin tries to destroy the Contents Page.
Instead of our usual assortment of live photos, artist Steve Cobb illustrated the shots from actual photographs taken by our staff photographers. We still paid the photogs, by the way!
On a dark and stormy night, somewhere in a downtown Wilmington, DE newspaper office, an editor wrings his hands. Deadlines are hell, every editor knows that, but on this night things have suddenly taken a turn for the weird. In a bizarre turn of events, not fully understood, the right combination of photo-copy toner, a spilled beer, white out, and discarded office supplies react with a nearby wall socket to spontaneously create the most deadly of all newspaperman’s enemies… the Deadline Gremlin.

Within seconds of him drawing his first few breaths on the material plane, the evil Gremlin submerges into the finished pages of the publication and begins to wreak havoc. Thinking quickly, the editor summons his four best artists to pool their collective energies in an effort to create a force to battle the Gremlin. Bursting from the synchronized mental energy of these four men comes an awesome force… Big Shout Head. It springs into action and soon gives chase…
We made sure the gremlin only destroyed our Big Shout house ad so none of our advertisers would be upset.
Nearing the end of the issue, the Deadline Gremlin is cornered by Big Shout Head and seemingly has no place to run. But wait, the 900 services page …
But Big Shout Head moves too quickly for the Gremlin and activates his super-charged voice, causing devastating destruction. Is this the end?