'Sherwood'.
Brian Lum is an American cartoonist, who worked on several comic and cartoon properties during the 1990s. He has drawn 'Dennis the Menace' for Hank Ketcham and 'Garfield' for Jim Davis, before creating his own short-lived comic strip, 'Sherwood' (1986).
Early life and career
Born in 1957, Brian Lum got his interest in cartooning while a student at Redwood High School in Visalia, California. After doing art assignments for the College of the Sequoias (COS) school paper, he became an editorial cartoonist for the Visalia Times-Delta newspaper. After graduating in industrial arts from the California State University in Fresno, Lum went to work as product designer for Applause, Inc., a toy company producing licensed toys. Lum was mainly involved in designing gifts based on the Belgian 'Smurfs' comic by Peyo.
Dennis the Menace
Through his membership in the Northern California Cartoonists and Humor Assocation, he got in touch with Hank Ketcham, creator of 'Dennis the Menace'. He joined Ketcham in his Carmel Valley studio to work on 'Dennis the Menace' stories for the Marvel comic book series (1981-1982). Nicknamed "The Funny Factory", he worked there alongside fellow trainees Karen Matchette and Ron Ferdinand, as well as veteran scriptwriter Fred Toole. When the comic book folded in late 1982, Lum was without a job.
Brian Lum in The Fresno Bee of 28 April 1983.
Garfield
Shortly afterwards, he found a job with 'Garfield' creator Jim Davis in Muncie, Indiana. He did pencil art on daily 'Garfield' strips, and also designed toys, greeting cards and beach towels with Davis' grumpy cat. Working with Davis in 1982-1984, Lum didn't feel at home in Indiana, so he and his wife returned to Visalia. There, they got involved in the family circus business, while Lum worked on cartoon projects on the side.
Sherwood
In his spare time, Brian Lum created his own strip, 'Sherwood' (1986). Described as "the fourth cousin to Robin Hood on his mother's side", the strip was sold to the Dickson-Bennett Internetional Features Syndicate. It featured gags set in Nottingham Forest, where Robin Hood's less succesful relative tries to rob people. However, Lum felt the syndicate didn't do enough to promote the strip and withdrew from his contract, after it was only sold to one newpaper in The Philippines. In itself, the idea of a Robin Hood spoof wasn't new. In Belgium, Turk and Bob De Groot created 'Robin Dubois' as early as 1969.
Further career
In April-May 1987, Lum briefly filled in for Pete Alvarado on Disney's daily 'Donald Duck' newspaper strip. Lum subsequently did some product design work for 'Wizard of Id' merchandise and freelance work for Dic Animation. By 1988, he also taught cartooning in the Community Service Classes program of the College of the Sequoias in Visalia, California.
Brian Lum's post-1980s whereabouts are unknown.
'Donald Duck' strip of 28 April 1987, drawn by Brian Lum. © Disney.