chanting a series of DNA triplets. I casually
remarked to a Catalyst staff member that I had hidden a message
in the DNA sequence, which, unfortunately, resulted in its removal from
the cartoon. I would probably have gotten away with it if I hadn't said
anything. My most popular cartoon, about the evolution of an NIH postdoc
(May-June 1995), was also censored. In the original version, the postdoc,
by his fifth year at NIH, considered each of his experiments "a
waste of [sorry, Alex, still censored]," which was changed to the
more subtle
phrase "worthless phenomenology." My last cartoon censored
was the "Diagram of an NIH Post-Doc's Brain" (September-October
1996), which showed a part dedicated to "remembering not to bring
a gun to work." This part of the brain's memory was erased at the
direction of The Catalyst's editorial board.
Q:
I heard that you had drawn a cover for The Catalyst; what happened
to it?
Dent: The cover was supposed to be for The Catalyst issue about postdocs at NIH (November-December 1995). I did a drawing of a nude Joe Post- doc holding a pipetman and a lab coat and in the same pose as Michelangelo's statue of David. I think some of the higher-ups at NIH thought this cartoon was too risqué. Although The Catalyst had considered printing this picture with Joe's genitals covered [by the Table of Contents box], it was decided not to use any of this drawing in the end.
Q: When do you get the best ideas for the Dent cartoons?
Dent: Usually,
the night before the deadline for completing an issue of The Catalyst.
Sometimes,
I stay up fairly late at night to work on the comic strip.
Q: It's obvious that you based Joe Postdoc on your own experiences. Do your colleagues recognize themselves in the characters you portray?
Dent: I got a number of comments from other postdocs that they liked the cartoon about the evolution of an NIH postdoc. Most of them identified with the "fifth-year postdoc." When my cartoon about "the nine types of principal investigators" appeared (November-December 1995), my boss asked me which type he was.
Q:
Uh oh, what did you say?
Dent: I said he was a combination of all the different types.
Q: That's very diplomatic. Have you considered trying to make some money from your cartoons? I'm sure there would be some buyers for Joe Postdoc T-shirts.
Dent: No, I have never considered it. Probably because I have no business sense - I'm terrible about money matters. I don't get paid for any of the cartoons I draw for The Catalyst - not even reimbursement for supplies, such as markers and paper.