Page 8 - MidWeek Kauai - July 27, 2022

8 KAUA‘I MIDWEEK JULY 27, 2022
AGood Humor man on the main- land hands out ice cream, but Roy Chang, an ed- itorial cartoonist, author and illustrator on O‘ahu, gives “paw”-tographs and Funkof- ied illustrations. What?
come a long way since that day.
the Curse of the Ki‘i, an ex- citing story involving two unlikely adventurers who are sixth-grade cousins and total opposites.
soliciting donations for the Alzheimer’s Association to honor his mother who had Alzheimer’s and passed away in 2020.
Longtime Cartoonist Drawn To Giving Back
By MaryAnne Long
Many longtime readers may remember Chang, whose popular editorial cartoons ap- peared for years in MidWeek, as well as other local pub- lications. Using illustrated satire, he offered readers food for thought about the social, economic and political issues of the day.
Chang is a 1986 grad- uate of Moanalua High School; earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in illustration from the Academy of Art College in San Francisco; and received a master’s de- gree in education from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
He summarizes, “Through- out their adventure, they learn the power of their connection to ancient Hawai‘i and the importance of working to- gether.”
Chang adds, “I just fin- ished The Longest Day event with a local snack food com- pany. They collaborated with me to produce a special Aloha Pepe-labeled snack in June, but I will continue to collect donations via my fundraiser page through July 31.
Chang discovered his tal- ent as a child. He recalls one experience of being bored at a church service where he began drawing doodles. An elderly woman sitting behind him praised his work and gave him a quarter to draw one for her. His art career has
One of his most-often rec- ognized characters is Aloha Pepe, an art mascot in the form of a Chihuahua who serves as a whimsical edito- rial cartoon commentator.
As for being Funkofied, Chang explains, “I create caricatures of people drawn in a full-body Funko Pop style. People love having their own self-figures dressed as their favorite character or
For a $30 or more dona- tion, donors can receive a customized Aloha Pepe art piece.”
Says Chang, “Aloha Pepe covers topics like hate crimes, puppy mills, Alz- heimer’s, bullying and even human sex trafficking, but he is always sharing aloha while being outspoken.”
activity. For example, I did #getfunkofied drawings of the four lead characters from Magnum P.I. and later saw
Learn more at act.alz.org/ goto/alohapepe.
If you happen to meet Aloha Pepe, do ask for his
In addition to creating edi-
Chang has always used his artistic gifts to benefit others. He and Aloha Pepe have been
“paw”-tograph. He loves the attention.
Aloha Pepe in many poses
PHOTO COURTESY ROY CHANG
torial cartoons, Chang is also the author and illustrator of the book, Cacy & Kiara and
cast members posting selfies with those portraits.”
MaryAnne Long is also an artist, art instructor, art collector and curator. Con- tact her at malong@hawaii. rr.com or longlostart.weebly. com.
Island School

Schedule a tour today! Call or visit Accredited by HAIS, WASC, and NAEYC
Creating that
“place of peace
and balance”
in your garden
828-6400
www.gardenpondskauai.com
In Kilauea, next to Mini Golf • Open Wed-Sun • 12 to 5 pm
h
s
t
o
p
w
e
a
v
e
a
r
n
r
i
v
e
d