Seinfeld was ultimately a show about nothing. So local artist Gareth Gaudin wanted to ensure his new Seinfeld-themed comic book was “a comic about less than nothing.”
Gaudin, creator of the popular Perogy Cat character and co-owner of Legends Comics and Books on Johnson Street, had a good reason for printing 500 copies of his new Animals of Seinfeld comic book, which he will give away for free beginning this weekend.
Not only is Saturday Free Comic Book Day — the industry’s version of Record Store Day — it also happens to be when Jerry Seinfeld, star and creator of the iconic TV series, is scheduled to make his stand-up debut at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
Ironically, Seinfeld happens to be one of the world’s biggest Superman collectors. For Gaudin, who claims there was not one episode of Seinfeld that did not reference Superman, the parallels were too obvious to miss. “He is at the top of the comic-fan totem pole.”
Gaudin spent the month of April drawing Seinfeld-related strips, almost all of which revolve around animals (Smuckers the Coughing Dog, Fredo the Weak and Stupid Parrot, Rusty the Flatulent Horse) that appeared in various episodes of the TV show. A hand-drawn Seinfeld appears only on the cover, to avoid legal infringement. For good measure, Gaudin — a devout, knowledgeable fan of the Seinfeld series and its minutiae — added a disclaimer: “Please don’t sue me.”
Gaudin has drawn a comic a day for the past nine years, the results of which he compiles and publishes in his Magic Teeth Dailies compendiums. Gaudin said he has drawn comics on 3,200 consecutive days.
The Seinfeld comic book he created is No. 63 in the ongoing series. At a scant 16 pages, it represents the slightest entry. “It’s the smallest book I’ve ever done,” Gaudin said of his Seinfeld edition. “But since it is a free one, I thought I could get away with it. It’s full colour, though.”
He’s just happy he had a chance to celebrate one of his favourite comedians. “When I sit down to draw, I put on Seinfeld,” Gaudin said. “It’s got the perfect rhythm to draw to. The rhythm is actually conducive to being creative.”
Gaudin left space inside the Animals of Seinfeld for readers to grab an autograph from Seinfeld himself, should they see him wandering around town. “I’m not expecting Seinfeld to walk into the shop on Saturday,” Gaudin said. “But even if he just heard that somebody had done this comic, that would make me happy.”
