I love comics and cartoons. I mean, who in their right mind doesn\’t.

It is an era of innocence that only lasts about a decade where every story begins with \’Once upon a time \’ and finishes with \’happily ever after. \’

The End.

Or is it?

I have fond memories of awaking early before middle school simply to stare in front of the TV and watch Tom & Jerry run around chasing one another.

Or timeless characters such as Dick Dastardly and his fighter pilot pooch Muttley, with that trademark bark-cum-laugh hi hi hi hi hi hi hi!

Thanks to those ingenious Warner Bros, moms and pappas around the planet taught their kids about the birds and the bees with dogs and cats.

And panthers, mice, roosters, bears, ducks, rabbits. In fact , it looked, anything but a real human.

And who can forget Bugs Bunny\’s taste for carrots, Wiley Coyote\’s obsession with ACME dynamite, and Pepe Le Pew\’s constant amorous moves toward anything with a heartbeat.

Come to think about it, those cunning cartoonists were prepping us small rug rats for life in (and beyond) the playground.

If you take away the cute characters, whimsical music and of course, the breakfast timeslot, you had an adult grand narrative of Food, Hate and Love that was fed daily into susceptible minds together with Coco Pops, full cream milk and that mesmerising melody of \’snap, crackle and pop. \’

I\’m not sure which was more saccharine – the Fruit Loops or the Loony Tunes?

Saturday morning TV sure was a proper Animal Farm. (And no, not the one you\’re thinking).

You learned the facts of life from toons – much before The Facts Of Life was first aired in 1979!

Then there was that bizarre collection of blue creatures called The Smurfs who lived in a wondrous forest and ate wondrous mushrooms (or was that the writers of the show?). Let\’s not forget this was way before The Blue Man Group – and a lot more fascinating, if you ask me.

I mean, where in any society does there exist a family unit composed of only one female and an apparently never-ending supply of males, led by the one they call \”Papa\”?

I think that\’s where the phrase \’Who\’s your daddy \’ had its roots, but that\’s another subject altogether.

The point is, whether you may be a big kid or a little kid, cartoons, comics and illustrations are always heaps of fun.

It isn\’t relevant if you are watching them on TV or watching a professional cartoonist draw a caricature: a creative illustration, a black and white sketch, or an inventive doodle can take us all back to that golden period of innocence.

Ha ha, I said doodle.