John Callahan Revisited

By Raymond D. Cohen

Admittedly, John Callahan’s cartoons are not for everyone. The sketches have targeted every conceivable social issue from politics to religion to ethnicity. "Political correctness" is not in his lexicon, except to appear as the brunt of one or two of his jokes.

But while a considerable segment of the population takes offense at his humour, others consider him brilliant, very warped and very funny. His growing success cannot be ignored, nor can his rapidly spreading cult status.

Callahan, it seems, tries to keep himself out of the controversy. "I would never argue whether a cartoon was funny or valid or anything," he says. "A cartoon is a thought I had for a brief moment. A publisher puts it out there, and people have reactions. It’s really just a cartoon. Nothing’s written in stone."

He is often the target of his own acerbic pen: Much of his humour revolves around disability issues. And when someone can poke fun at himself, it shows a certain depth of character.

His cartoons also show an understanding of human nature gleaned from years of experiences and introspection. Adopted at six months in 1951 by a couple who had thought they were unable to have children of their own, he was soon brother to five natural-born siblings and as a consequence has felt himself to be a bit of an outsider right from the very beginning. In spite of a seemingly idyllic childhood he was already hitting the bottle in his early teens, and a drunken car accident at age 21 severed his spine.

Needless to say, his life did not improve until he reached utter bottom and experienced an "epiphany," at which point he changed his life around: When left alone in his apartment one day with a bottle of wine tantalizingly in reach, he made a desperate attempt to open it, even going so far as to gnaw at the cork. "When I dropped the bottle, watching it roll away across the rug, something snapped," he wrote." began to scream. I screamed at God...I began to cry like a kid." Ann Japenga, in an L.A. Times article entitled "Rolling Thunder" (July 28, 1991), writes: "After sobbing for an hour, Callahan says he felt a reassuring hand patting him on the back. He describes it as a physical sensation, though there was no one else in the room...He rolled his chair over to the phone and called Alcoholics Anonymous."

Now, 20 years after the accident that paralyzed him from the neck down (Callahan has limited use of his hands), his career has really begun to take off, in spite of some setbacks and negative reaction. His work has appeared in Harpers and Vanity Fair, among others, and he has appeared on 60 Minutes and been invited to appear on Late Night with David Letterman. Several books have been published by William Morrow, including three collections of cartoons -- Do Not Disturb any Further; Do What He Says, He’s Crazy; and Digesting the Child Within -- and an autobiography entitled Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot. Two more are due out in the fall: The Night They Say was Made for Love and another, smaller book called I Think I was An Alcoholic. A short animated film by the same name is scheduled to be released shortly and, in a year, a hard cover book of essays will be published entitled Will the Real John Callahan Please Stand Up.

Callahan is also working to produce and sell a children’s book, one which he promises "won’t be very malevolent." "It’s coming really slowly, but I’m enjoying it very much," he says.Ê"It will be dealing with things that are dear and close to my heart -- whatever that is." When asked for a clue, he says: "It’s a spiritual message to myself."

William Hurt was the first actor to purchase the rights to Callahan’s life story, but Hurt lost the rights when he did not renew them. In an interview with Billy Markus of eye weekly, a Toronto journal, Callahan remarked: "I didn’t think [William Hurt] was right for the part...I said to him, ’Please don’t make a movie called Children of a Lesser Quad.’" Now Callahan has signed an option with Robin Williams. Callahan remarks to ABILITIES, "We’ll find out if he makes the movie. That’s a whole different story whether he makes the movie or not. They don’t give you any indication; they just sign the option and you have to wonder."

When asked how his success has felt, he remains objective: "Well, it’s satisfying to see your work get out there, you know. Work’s long -- it’s kind of gradual; it’s not like it’s an overnight-type deal, anyway."

But Callahan admits that his achievements have made a difference to his financial status. Economic disincentives to employment exist in the U.S. system just as in Canada, in that disability benefits are impacted as soon as people begin to earn any sort of income. So it’s a relief for Callahan to be self-sufficient after four or five years of hassles. "They kicked off the services. I make more money now to support myself, so it’s better," he says. "It was a headache."

And how about Callahan’s personal life? "I have a girlfriend in Seattle who’s pushing for marriage," he tells ABILITIES. "She’s a lovely girl with large breasts...I’m obsessed with her, you know." For many years he has also had a cat named Stanley, a constant source of "unconditional aloofness."

Callahan has some final comments regarding negative feedback, such as what followed the cartoons printed in ABILITIES: "This is typical standard fare for me. I’m used to it...I get reactions for being sexist and racist or cruel to fat people or ’crippled’ people. It just goes on forever...What are you going to do? People have their opinions. You can’t take that away."

Callahan is surprisingly philosophical. "I just figure I’m not trying to offend anybody -- in my heart I’m not. I don’t have any malice," he says.