Marblehead cartoonist living the dream

Marblehead resident Paul Trap is living the life that cartoonists of all ages dream of. Trap is the writer and artist of a newspaper comic strip called "Thatta Baby," which debuted Oct. 1.The strip deals with the funny side of early parenting, based loosely on experiences Trap and his wife had with their son, Bridger. Trap says that Bridger, who is named for the historic Mountain Man Jim Bridger, didn’t sleep until he was two years old.Or, to put it another way, "Is there anything more dangerous in this world than a baby?" Those are the words of editor Gillian Titus at the Kansas City-based Universal Uclick, the syndicate that distributes "Thatta Baby."Trap is in distinguished company. Universal Uclick also distributes "Doonesbury."While "Thatta Baby" circulation so far is, in Trapp’s words, "a handful of U.S. newspapers and one in New Delhi, India," the strip is available online and Trap just learned that the prestigious Chicago Tribune has picked up the Sunday version and he’s hoping that marks a turning point.The Traps are known on the North Shore and in the newspaper field. His wife, Patricia, is superintendent of the Saugus Iron Works and the Salem Maritime historic site. Paul Trap’s cartoons have illustrated the USA Today Snapshots feature and Baseball America – one of his more inspired cartoons has the New York Yankees introducing a mascot, Chucky the Checkbook.Trap has traveled back and forth across America. In the 1980s in elementary school in Grand Haven, Ill. he was a cartoonist and lover of comic strips and Mad Magazine. His love continued through high school, Michigan State University, newspaper jobs in Georgia, North Carolina and Los Angeles and freelance work from Denver, Atlanta and now Marblehead.Trap has been freelance most of his career. He turned free-lance after Bridger was born so he could be a stay-at-home dad, and he is now looking forward to Bridger’s graduation from Marblehead High in June.In the spring of 2009 he prepared a package of "Thatta Baby" sample comic strips, sent them to newspaper syndicates and went through a round of rejections – but in a contest run by Amazon.com, "Thatta Baby" was one of the top 10 in the online voting. Although he didn’t win he attracted Universal Uclick’s interest.A syndicated comic strip is a joy and a lot of work. "I get one week finished and I want to rest, but I have to start the next week," he said. "It’s like having another baby."Or, to use a "Thatta Baby" example, it’s like the father telling his crib-bound son how tired he is and the baby saying, "See you in about 45 minutes, Dad!"