Varvel: IndyStar’s cartoonist says thank you and farewell

After 24 years as IndyStar’s cartoonist, I've drawn nearly 8,000 cartoons, including those of Bill Clinton’s boxers, George W. Bush and Barack Obama’s ears and Donald Trump’s hair. Today's will be my last. 

I have chosen to take Gannett’s early retirement offer. 

The Bible says in Proverbs 16:9, “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” Cartooning has been my dream job since I met The Indianapolis News cartoonist, Jerry Barnett in 1974. I was just 17 and willing to move anywhere in the country to draw cartoons for a major metropolitan newspaper. But the Lord established my steps here and working at IndyStar has been a fulfillment of that dream.

But I have new dreams now and the buyout gives me the chance to pursue them. More about that later.

I’m leaving but not retiring. Thanks to Creators Syndicate I will continue to draw cartoons and people can still see my work in publications around the country and on Facebook, Twitter and my other social media platforms.

After five decades in journalism there are so many people to thank — too numerous to mention all of them here. But I need to recognize a few. 

First of all I want to thank you, the readers. None of us can do this without you. 

Next, a huge thanks to Barnett who became my cartooning mentor and encouraged me to chase my dreams. I owe my career to him.

Thanks also to the Pulliam family for making me part of their great newspaper tradition 40 years ago. 

I’m forever grateful for the late Wendell Trogdon and Jerry Lyst. In 1978, Trogdon hired me to be an artist for The News. And in 1994, Lyst hired me to be The Star’s cartoonist. These men gave me a chance. They changed my life and I've always loved them for it.

Andrea Neal was my editor during 9/11. It was her idea to sell posters of my Uncle Sam cartoon that ultimately raised $130,000 for the Red Cross relief effort in New York. Thanks to her, that cartoon became the most popular one of my career. 

Thanks also goes to Tim Swarens who was my editor in 2010 when he challenged me to think outside of the box and create a graphic novel series on child poverty called, "The Path To Hope." That project won three national awards including the Robert F. Kennedy award for editorial cartooning. 

I've served seven publishers and in the past year, Suzette Hackney became my fifth director of opinion. I'm thankful that all of these individuals were not only my bosses, they were also friends.

The highlight of my career has to be my induction into the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame in 2015. While I admit it’s flattering to be recognized for my work, the greatest honor of my professional career has been to follow in the footsteps of my predecessor the Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist Charles Werner, and become the cartoonist for my hometown newspaper.

Readers may have noticed that one year ago I started writing columns. I've enjoyed it but cartooning will always be my first love. Sadly, so few get to draw editorial cartoons for a living. I’ve heard that there are only 20 full-time editorial cartoonist jobs left in America. In the 1970s, there were 200 of these jobs. I know how blessed I've been to be one of the few who got to do this for a living.

So you're probably wondering why would I ever leave? Like I said, I have some new dreams and now is the right time to pursue them. They include:

• Movies: In the past I’ve written about House of Grace Films, a Christian film company, run by my oldest son, Brett. Together we co-wrote and produced The Board in 2009 and The War Within in 2014, which won seven film festival awards. It would be a dream come true to continue that work full time. 

• Books: I’m finally going to publish another compilation book of my editorial cartoons and include some columns. I've written and illustrated a children’s book,
"The Good Shepherd" in 2014 and illustrated "Old Whiskers Escapes" last year. I dream of becoming the next Dr. Seuss.

• Public speaking: I've done a lot of it during my career. I have a killer PowerPoint presentation. 

• News: Some of my former colleagues are working for digital news sites on what George Bush called “the internets.” I'm open to offers.

Finally, if none of these work out, I have a very promising and lucrative opportunity that was emailed to me by a Nigerian prince. 

Seriously, I leave you with a quote from John the Baptist who said, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.” -John 3:27.

So I thank God for establishing my steps on this journey

Thank you for viewing my cartoons and reading my columns in IndyStar. May God bless you all.