Well, it's in the blogging world, of course! Thousands of viewpoints! Labels like Left, Right, Conservative, Libertarian, Liberal--these just don't cover that wonderful spectrum out there. I have my own point-of-view, but all are grist for my mill.

I'm the last of the "boomers" in age, and it seems to me that the monolithic view presented of that generation (PC correctness, dried up old hippie platitudes that actually contradict themselves) are, thankfully, finally going away.

So, yes, I definitely have an ideological axe to grind. But it's not Republican. Or Democrat. Or Libertarian. I believe the people I'm writing to are looking for better representation than these entities provide. I want to be the voice of the average citizen out there, people you bump into every day.

DE: Who would you say are your main inspirations, as a cartoonist? Or even as a person?

CM: As a cartoonist: Gary Larson's Far Side, Pooch Cafe by Paul Gilligan, Cafe 8Ball by Dominic Capello, The Hots by Stephen Hersh and Nina Paley, Story Minute by Carol Lay, Arlo & Janis by Jimmy Johnson, The Imp by Jose Arroyo & Robin Reed, Stephanie Piro, Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau, and Overboard by Chip Dunham.

As a person: The Founding Fathers!

DE: Your work has frequently been compared to that of Garry Trudeau. Are you flattered by that comparison, annoyed by it, or...?

CM: Yes.

Actually, I think a lot of the comparison comes about inasmuch as Doonesbury has not only been the pre-eminent strip on politics, but perhaps the only one (other than Mallard Fillmore) for such a long time. So, if you have a strip and you want to establish a storyline over time, on real political events, with real names, well, everyone refers to the only one they have ever seen (until now): Doonesbury.

As I see it, Trudeau is more "hip" to his generation. But today, he's the Establishment.

Rather than laugh-out-loud funny, people tell me they see Day By Day as cerebral, measured, amusing, and insightful. (Now, you guys who say that are looking at www.daybydaycartoon.com, and not some other strip, right?)

DE: Day By Day currently has a permanent cast of four characters, in addition to the occasional politician or other random character. I suppose the question is inevitable, but, are they based on you or anyone you know? Are you Zed, for example? Do you know any Damons?