CARTOON OF THE WEEK: Happiness is ...

Crain's Detroit Business - April 6, 2009
I can't think of another time of the year that offers the promise of a fresh start more than the start of baseball season - and here in metro Detroit, the start of the Tigers' season.

As the editors of Crain's and I discussed cartoon topics for the April 6 edition, we were in the midst of the series of Detroit's mayoral and council scandals and embarrassments, the pending bankruptcies of Chrysler and GM, and another report of increased unemployment in Michigan.

"What this town needs is a fresh start!" was the overall - and overwhelming - concensus. Coincidently, the Tigers' season opener was the week of April 6 and we had the ideal opportunity to celebrate a much-needed fresh start for the whole town. With that settled, I knew there was no better way to present this than with a tribute to the words and art of Charles Schulz - in my opinion, the most inspirational cartoonist who ever put a pen point to paper.

Well, it worked out pretty well ... the Tigers have been in first place since mid-May, Chrysler and GM have emerged from bankruptcy and are in the process of re-establishing themselves, and we've seen the city of Detroit begin its own re-building process with the election of Mayor Bing and the re-making of City Council.

That's the point!

Dan Saad

Off the Drawing Board: For every cartoon that appears in print, three or four alternative versions are explored with pencil roughs for the editors to review. Here's the other option that was considered for the April 6 Crain's Detroit Business cartoon.