Russell Myers, Creator of Broom-Hilda

Broom-Hilda is the star of the strip. She is the "ornery, cantankerous, love-starved witch" who thrills in causing trouble, but ends up in hot water quite often herself. She is over 1500 years old and as spunky as ever in her green glory. Broom-Hilda has changed in the past few years, though - she no longer chews on a cigar stub and her wine glass has disappeared, too. Perhaps even witches bow to the changing times?

Irwin Troll is a loveable fur ball with happy eyes and a great sense of humour. He is gentle and unaffected with an innocent, child-like manner and wonder of the world.

Gaylord Buzzard is a snooty but kindhearted old bird, who thinks he is much smarter than anyone else. He is quite eager to give advice but doesn't want to lift a wing to help.

The backgrounds of the Broom-Hilda strip occasionally shift places from one panel to the next, indoors one panel, outside the next. The wacky themes keep fans coming back for more. What else would we expect from the Enchanted Forest?

Myers gets his inspiration for Broom-Hilda by reading the comics pages and finds the hardest part isn't writing a joke but finding a subject to write about.

This cartoonist is a busy man. Along with creating the daily and Sunday Broom-Hilda strip, Russell is a hardware dealer in a small town. He even does the books himself. In his private life, he has a strict policy of no drinking and no smoking, and does regular exercise. He lives in Oregon with his wife Marina on a bluff, high above the Rogue River. They have two children, a son and a daughter.

Russell Myers is proof that cartoon success can be more than a distant dream, even if it takes working like a dog and surviving all the kicks to the head. Maybe the wave of Broom-Hilda's magic wand helped.

*Page 51, How To Be a Cartoonist by Randy Glasbergen, North Light Books, 1996.

http://broomhilda.comicspage.com/

http://www.toonopedia.com/broomhil.htm

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