Sandwich Bag Dad’s daily doodling and dad jokes now in an all-new book
Melbourne dad, Dave Blumenthal, famously known as Sandwich Bag Dad, has now converted his daily ritual of drawing custom cartoons and penning dad joke puns on his three daughters’ lunch bags into a delightful new book, The Cartoon Chronicles of Sandwich Bag Dad.
The Cartoon Chronicles, to be launched just in time for Father’s Day, is a celebration of Dave’s vast collection of sandwich bag cartoon drawings and pun-filled wordplays that have entertained his children and a growing, world-wide community of dad joke aficionados for nearly a decade!
Featuring everything from bees riding motorcycle (“Born to bee wild”) to coffee cups doing Pilates (“pi-lattes”), Dave’s art is beautifully detailed, whimsical and has become a joyous visual essay of his kids’ school lunch journeys.
According to Dave, what started out as a simple and endearing idea of carving little shapes into his eldest daughter’s school sandwiches, has morphed into a mass collection of drawings and witty puns on brown lunch bags, with a growing band of followers on social media and a recent exhibition at Australia’s National Cartoon Gallery.
“From the outset, it has been a true labour of love – or should I say ‘loaf’ – but now the cartoons and puns really have developed a life of their own,” Dave says.
“I usually draw the bags at night to relax and bring the day to a close. Each one takes around 10 to 30 minutes, depending on their complexity. I try to tailor each bag to my kids’ interests and what they might be learning. I draw inspiration on what is happening around the world and what tickles my fancy on the day. My aim is just to find a way to bring out the dad joke that’s hidden in practically any situation. With everything going on in the world right now, I think it’s more important than ever to smile.”
Dave said he has been completely blown away by the positive responses to his quirky art over the years, including at an exhibition this year at the National Cartoon Gallery in Coffs Harbour.
“While I originally started doing this just to bring a smile to my kids, I just love seeing that my drawings are able to make so many people around the world chuckle too. I hope that happiness goes far and wide with the launch of my new book.
In honour of his late father, Dave will be donating 15% percent of gross profits from the book to the Leukemia Foundation.
“My dad was the king of dad-joking and taught me most of that I know about this fine artform. He passed away from leukemia before my kids were born. I couldn’t think of a better way to pay tribute to him than to perpetuate the art of the dad joke in printed form and to use it to raise awareness and funds for leukemia.”
The Cartoon Chronicles of Sandwich Bag Dad will be available for pre-sale orders from August 1 from https://www.sandwichbagdad.com/.
Price: $29.95 (excl postage).
