Big-ass humor

You may not recognize his name, but anyone who’s ever gone into Postcards, Etc. in Midtown has seen his work. Meet Eric Decetis, Sacramento native, Catholic school graduate and former respiratory therapist-turned-cartoonist. At 48, his line of greeting cards—The Lighter Side, published and licensed by Noble Works—features abundant women, big butts, and men acting like dorks. Read a Decetis card and most likely you’ll laugh out loud, then quickly think, “Hey, I shouldn’t be laughing at this!” But you do, because, frankly, the guy’s funny.

A walking commercial for the possible benefits of decaf, Decetis’ rapid-fire, gregarious nature lends itself to storytelling—although, like most cartoonists, he’s enjoyed relative anonymity up until now. On the brink of a syndication deal for a single-panel cartoon, Decetis is eons away from his post-college days when he sold fire alarms door-to-door in Texas.

How long have you been drawing and what continues to attract you to this field?

I could draw since I could hold a pencil. I have a gift from God, and I’m very fortunate. Drawing stopped being a hobby in the early ‘80s. Cartooning—the best job in the world. It’s being a stand-up comedian without the fear of being heckled and booed off the stage.

You seem to have a fascination with big butts, especially on women. What’s the deal?

I’ll be honest with you—it sells. I draw the parallel to stand-ups. A comedian gets immediate feedback about what’s funny by applause and laughter. With panel cartoonists, who lead fairly isolated lives, my only feedback is when I get a statement about what cards are selling. And anything that has to do with buttocks, those are the ones that really sell. My goal is to make as many people laugh as possible.

What’s the reaction been from women?

It’s amazing … my following, I mean who you see at my signings and whatever, are generally middle-aged, larger women. They all want that card [points to large woman tacking up a ‘lost puppy’ flyer, when the dog she’s looking for is—how to say this delicately?—trapped between her ample butt cheeks, unbeknownst to her]. They tell me, “We love them. … It shows we have a sense of humor.”

You’ve got a very Beavis & Butthead sensibility to your art—are you just a 15-year-old juvenile delinquent at heart? Or do you think others are?

It’s stuff that I find funny. It’s not sophisticated humor; high-brow humor has just never appealed to me. I can do it—it just doesn’t make me laugh. But I never want to offend anyone, and if I got feedback that I did, I’d really feel bad about it. But, yeah, my stuff’s edgy and it’s sort of like a guilty pleasure—it’s the humor I got working in the hospital. I think people get it and like it because more people are loosening up and not looking for any excuse to be offended.

At the risk of making your mother cringe, let’s talk about your salad days, drawing for skin mags.

Yeah, it’s almost a rite of passage. I mean, that’s where a lot of cartoonists get their start. I was first published in an antique-postcard collectors’ magazine—I think they paid like five bucks. Tom Cheney, Callahan, P.C. Vey—everyone was just trying to get published, and men’s magazines paid very well, so it offset all the cartoons you did for Pet-O-Rama or whatever. I don’t do them anymore. … The eatin’ is better now.

At what point did you say to yourself, “I’ve made it.”

Oh, gosh, I guess it took about 10 years—until 1992 or ‘93—before I said, OK, this isn’t a side gig any longer.

Sacramento Magazine is going to profile you next month—what does that mean to you?

No one’s supposed to know that … but since you do, yes, they are, and I’ve got to say it’s very humbling to be recognized in your hometown. In New York or San Francisco, it’s just a job. But here, it makes it special. I’m very honored.

Have you ever drawn a comic strip or panel or would you want to?

I was approached three years ago, but at that time I didn’t have enough [panels] in the vault, so to speak, and I didn’t like the idea of having to work on anyone else’s deadline, so I didn’t go for it. Now, however, Noble Works has said they want to move in that direction, and I’m ready because I’ve got enough stuff that isn’t already out there.

Who makes you laugh?

Charles Adams, a cartoonist whose characters inspired the Addams Family TV show—very dark humor. Callahan—he’s very in-your-face and right on the money, irreverent and funny. Tom Cheney—I guess he’s a peer and I think he’s the funniest single-panel cartoonist working today.

Is there a genre you want to tackle but haven’t yet?

The final frontier at this point would be syndication.

Where do you want to be in five years?

I would like to see my art on trousers everywhere. And maybe [on] gum—then I’ll know I’ve made it.

Eric Decetis will be signing cards at Evangeline’s in Old Sac on Sat., Nov. 18, from 12-3 p.m.