Animal welfare issues have always been important to me.

Imagine my surprise when, after a lifetime of teaching me to keep personal things to myself, Mom insisted my drawings were the start of a comic strip for millions of people to enjoy.

The relationship between Cathy and Mom in the strip is the one relationship drawn from real life that I have proudly never even tried to disguise.

The biggest change in my life is that I now have to apologize for being thin.

Mothers send strips to daughters to make a point. Daughters smack strips down on the breakfast table to make a point. My own mom sometimes cuts a strip out and sends it to me to make sure I understand her.

I'm most proud of having created something that men never completely get.

The specific story line that people have responded to the most has been the horror of bathing suit shopping.