ilovedixie.com

Ethan, one of the things I want you to know about me is that a friend of mine and I had a cartoon strip for about a year. It was called "ilovedixie.com." This is what our press release said about me and Joe:

Fueled by their deep love of the South and having grown weary of the stereotype portraying most Southerners as ignorant, gap-toothed rednecks, Davis Mauldin and Joe Ruisi have launched a cartoon strip called “ilovedixie.com.” Ike and Henry, the strip’s main characters are puttin'-a-whuppin’ on the mean-spirited, inaccurate image that has been sold to large sections of the nation regarding the good folks from the South.

Ike, a black, middle aged, pharmacist, and Henry, a white, 50ish, entrepreneur, are close friends and proud, lifelong Southerners. They love Dixie and wax eloquent about the blessings of living south of the Mason-Dixon line. Frequently, they poke fun at Yankees (a Yankee is defined as an obnoxious liberal, contemptuous of Southern culture, telling us how to live) and their perceptions that are off base. Their comments range from good natured humor to country wisdom to politically incorrect commentary (“Politicians should be limited to two terms... one in office and one in jail”).

Continually listening in, Henry’s hound dog Wallace interrupts his perpetual snooze to offer pithy doggie commentary in thought balloons about the conversation at hand.

Ike and Henry are unapologetically and consistently politically incorrect. They are Christians without being preachy. They love Southern values and institutions, such as family, chivalry, country music, NASCAR, huntin', fishin', SEC football, and grits. There is no racial tension between the two men ... Ike and Henry genuinely like each other. The strip portrays Southern folks as the majority really are: people of faith, friendly, family oriented, laid back, helpful, and humorous - with a large dollop of country-inspired common sense.

The inherent goodness of Southern culture and values has been ridiculed too long in favor of race baiting and attacks on family, heritage, and history. Ike and Henry - with Wallace’s help - are on a mission to revive Southron pride and to preserve and celebrate all that is good and positive about the South.

ilovedixie.com is a collective effort by an unlikely north/south duo, Joe Ruisi and Davis Mauldin. Davis, the strip’s creator, is a lifelong Southerner, a 30+ year political activist, and writer. Joe, a professional cartoonist, is a transplanted New Yorker with a certifiable Southron heart. The two met providentially on the Internet and immediately recognized a common passion to promote Southern pride through a cartoon strip.

We did one (mostly political) cartoon each week... typically, I would come up with the gag and Joe would draw it. Joe was my artist and is retired. He loves playing/singing in church and for old folks in nursing homes. We decided after a year that we would stop the strip so he could spend more time with his music. We really had a good time while we were doing it and our cartoon web site got over 11,000 hits/month. Here is one of my favorite cartoons: Wallace, the hound dog, was modeled after my beloved "Credar-Crest-Velvet-Eared-Nucklehead" (a breed I made up) dog, Baxter. Baxter was the star of the show. He slept through each cartoon and awakened in the last frame to add his comments. Henry was a take-off of one of my friends from boarding school (St. Andrew's School; 1960-1964), Henry Hamman. Ike, the black guy, was a composite of several of my black friends.
We also had T-shirts for ilovedixie.com... here is one of my favorites:
Anyway, we had a lot of fun with ilovedixie... it was a life-long dream of mine to be a cartoonist and to follow in the footsteps of the famous cartoonist, Bill Mauldin. Working with Joe came pretty close to realizing my dream although Joe did the actual drawings.
I love you baby boy, call me sometime,
Granddaddy
931-598-9160