Small Saves
Encyclopedia
Small Saves is a syndicated periodic comic strip
written and illustrated by James DeMarco. It focuses on a young ice hockey
goaltender
named Small Saves and his adventures in a small, unnamed northern town. Small Saves is approximately nine years old and plays goaltender for a team of children in his age group, which in turn competes against other teams of children in his age group.
, even when sleeping. When not in a game, though, he wears his helmet tipped back on his head. He wears the traditional goalie jersey number, #1. Small Saves is very talented at his position but when he has a bad game, or loses a game, he does so in spectacular fashion. He often instigates dressing room pizza fights among his teammates, much to the consternation of his coaches and league officials. His family is proud of Small Saves and he is friendly with his teammates and members of opposing teams alike. He is also very proud of his equipment, hosting parties at his home when a new piece of equipment arrives. His equipment is always pictured as retro, leather-and-wood equipment, tan-brown in color. His mask is plain, undecorated white. He has no doubts about his future vocation: Hall of Fame
professional goaltender.
Afterwards, James returned to Boston. James earned an Associate Degree in Commercial Art at Bunker Hill Community College. Later work as a graphic designer developed his drawing style, while continuing to indulge his passion for goaltending in local adult leagues. Goaltending contributes to the perspective needed to create the strip. "From your vantage point," DeMarco says, "you get to see the best and worst of your team, and you need to balance your desire to scream with the ability to laugh."
Small Saves debuted in 1991. James says that his fascination for cartooning began very young, drawing inspiration from classics such as The Family Circus
, Peanuts
and Dennis the Menace
.
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
written and illustrated by James DeMarco. It focuses on a young ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
goaltender
Goaltender
In ice hockey, the goaltender is the player who defends his team's goal net by stopping shots of the puck from entering his team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring...
named Small Saves and his adventures in a small, unnamed northern town. Small Saves is approximately nine years old and plays goaltender for a team of children in his age group, which in turn competes against other teams of children in his age group.
Small Saves
Small Saves always wears his game jersey and his goaltending helmetGoalie mask
A goaltender mask, commonly referred to as a goalie mask or a hockey mask, is a mask worn by ice hockey, inline hockey, and field hockey goaltenders to protect the head from injury. Jacques Plante was the first goaltender to create and use a practical mask in 1959. Plante's mask was a piece of...
, even when sleeping. When not in a game, though, he wears his helmet tipped back on his head. He wears the traditional goalie jersey number, #1. Small Saves is very talented at his position but when he has a bad game, or loses a game, he does so in spectacular fashion. He often instigates dressing room pizza fights among his teammates, much to the consternation of his coaches and league officials. His family is proud of Small Saves and he is friendly with his teammates and members of opposing teams alike. He is also very proud of his equipment, hosting parties at his home when a new piece of equipment arrives. His equipment is always pictured as retro, leather-and-wood equipment, tan-brown in color. His mask is plain, undecorated white. He has no doubts about his future vocation: Hall of Fame
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...
professional goaltender.
Other characters
- Mom: Small Saves' devoted hockey mom frequently has to resort to tricks to get Small Saves to do anything not related to hockey, such as telling him a game starts in 15 minutes in order to get him up for school.
- Mia: Small Saves' cat, who also wears a goalie mask tipped back on his head. Mia is based on artist James DeMarco's real-life cat, also named "Mia."
- The Coach: The Coach, name unknown, is the long-suffering manager of Small Saves' team. It is frequently The Coach who deals with Small Saves' reactions to bad losses.
- The Defenseman: The Defenseman, named Dee, is a female teammate. She is notable for being the only player on Small Saves' team who does not wear a helmet, and her ever-present dark sunglasses. She is always willing to go toe-to-toe with Small Saves exchanging trash talk with her teammate.
The Artist
James "Jay" DeMarco has been an ice hockey goaltender since age 5. His experience included prep hockey in Watertown, MA and three years of semi-professional play in the South Florida Hockey League.Afterwards, James returned to Boston. James earned an Associate Degree in Commercial Art at Bunker Hill Community College. Later work as a graphic designer developed his drawing style, while continuing to indulge his passion for goaltending in local adult leagues. Goaltending contributes to the perspective needed to create the strip. "From your vantage point," DeMarco says, "you get to see the best and worst of your team, and you need to balance your desire to scream with the ability to laugh."
Small Saves debuted in 1991. James says that his fascination for cartooning began very young, drawing inspiration from classics such as The Family Circus
The Family Circus
The Family Circus is a syndicated comic strip created by cartoonist Bil Keane and currently written, inked, and colored by his son, Jeff Keane. The strip generally uses a single captioned panel with a round border, hence the original name of the series, which was changed following objections from...
, Peanuts
Peanuts
Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward...
and Dennis the Menace
Dennis the Menace
Dennis the Menace may refer to:* Dennis the Menace , a daily US syndicated newspaper comic strip since March 12, 1951.**Various television and film adaptations of the comic strip:***Dennis the Menace...
.