Family Owned and
Operated Since 1957
Greene’s Florist
701 N. Main ~ Weatherford, TX 76086
817-594-2733
The most thorough carpet cleaning on the planet
... or it’s Free!
I have had my carpets cleaned by hard
working individuals that did noteworthy
job, however it does not come close to the
thorough service provided by Valtierra
Cleaning Service! Great customer service,
Matt is fantastic.
58
I love using services provided by local
businesses. Michelle spoke to me on several
occasions as if we were old pals. She an-
swered all my questions and Matt was the
same. I value their values customer service
is not as visible as it should be these days
but trust me they value you as much as
you value them.
Pam Huttow
Perrin, TX
Valtierra Carpet Cleaning, Inc.
Weatherford, TX • 817-599-9866
Nickelodian cartoonist he had collab-
orated with on Hebegebe comics.
One of the cartoonists on this project
had worked on SpongeBob Square
Pants comic books in the past, and
DeGrand landed a back cover illus-
tration for the publication.
Shortly after, Mad Magazine
contacted him saying they were
on the lookout for contributors. He
began submitting material to them
and was eventually published. “Those
were my two big breaks,” DeGrand
said. “After that, I was able to quit my
day job and do this full time.”
Four years later, DeGrand contin-
ues to build a name for himself
publishing his work online via his
website, Facebook and Instagram.
Most of his work happens in his
home studio, recently relocated to
the garage due to the birth of his
second child, Christopher.
His main source of income these
days is generated from his SpongBob
work. He has also illustrated work
for Garfield, The Simpsons and Uncle
Grandpa, but you won’t see his work
in more realistic-looking comics like
The Walking Dead or Superman.
“I don’t think it’s fun to draw
realistically,” DeGrand said. “I can
trace my style back to the original
Mickey Mouse and Betty Boop. It’s
the rubber hose cartoons that are
superfluid and stylized.”
His appreciation of this long-last-
ing style of comics began as a child.
He didn’t read comic books, but
rather gravitated to newspaper comic
strips like Peanuts and Calvin and
Hobbs as well as animated cartoons
like Looney Tunes.
“The big show that premiered and
altered my perception of what I want-
ed to draw was Ren and Stimpy,”
DeGrand said. “It was like a sledge
hammer to the face when I saw that
show. It was gross and weird and
crazy, and my parents hated it.”
He later met a Ren and Stimpy
comic who autographed a comic
book for him along with the message
to “keep drawing” along with some
drawn in dollar signs. That was a sign
to DeGrand not to give up on the
idea of making money as an artist.
To do that, DeGrand had to learn to
blend his own style into that of the
pre-established comics he was hired