Paul Fell’s Huskernutz: From the Pages of Huskers Illustrated Magazine (J&L Lee Co., 2009) $7.95.
Huskernutz is a collection of Fell's cartoons from Huskers Illustrated Magazine. The book is published by J&L Lee Co., which is owned and operated by Jim McKee and his wife Linda Hillegass, former owners of Lee Booksellers in Lincoln.
According to Paul Fell’s Website: “HuskerNutz points out the behavior of Nebraska sports fans that is accepted as ‘normal’ by the red-blooded members of the Husker Nation, but could be viewed as quirky by the outside world.”
Many of the cartoons in this book are reminiscent of Gary Larson’s Far Side. For example, there’s the drawing of a Husker fan marching purposefully toward the stadium, his game ticket in hand, dragging behind him a bulldog whose jaw is clamped tightly on the fellow’s rear end. The caption reads: “You’ve never been one to let minor health issues stand in the way of being at a Husker home game.”
Another cartoon shows a Husker fan, bundled up in winter clothing, watching the game on TV. The ground is covered by about a foot of snow, and there is snow on the television set. The guy’s wife has just thrown a hot dog out the window at him. The caption reads: “When you can’t get tickets and have to watch the game on TV, you try to replicate stadium conditions as closely as you can.”
And there’s the one of a guy sitting in a folding chair beside one of those portable toilets you see at construction sites. One sign reads “Free Restroom,” another sign reads “Toilet Paper $1.00,” and the caption reads: "Howie has discovered a way to make his Husker weekends pay for themselves."
These are three of the 92 cartoons in this collection. All are quirky and guaranteed to get a chuckle, if not a belly laugh, from everyone who has experienced Husker Mania. Highly recommended.
Fell grew up in Massachusetts. He came to Nebraska to play football and study art. From 1984 to 1992 he was editorial cartoonist and newsroom artist for the former Lincoln Journal. After the paper eliminated his position suddenly he became his own boss and now does business as Paul Fell Cartoons.
To purchase this book: indiebook.org.
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