The work of local artist and Tama-Grundy Publishing contributor Michael D. Davis (pictured far right) will be on display at the Toledo Public Library throughout the month of October. PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY

TOLEDO – Renowned local artist and Tama-Grundy Publishing cartoonist, columnist and correspondent Michael D. Davis has his work on display at the front of the Toledo Public Library for the entire month of October, and the exhibit is free and open to the public.

Readers know Davis for his whimsical cartoons with reflections on local happenings, his reporting on government meetings and his acerbic tales of life in Toledo and occasional travels elsewhere. His fascination with visual art dates back to a young age, and he was featured in the local paper at the ripe old age of 12 when his first exhibit went on display at the library.

He’s continued to grow and evolve as an artist since then, but his work continues to show a deep appreciation for pop culture — films and literature especially — with a particular reverence for horror, hence the October display.

“Usually, my stuff tends to veer towards the weird and the spooky and the rather horror themed, so they just slot me in October,” he joked. “If there’s a theme to this year, it’s low-budget or kid accessible because not everyone can afford a canvas. A lot of people think (that) to do art you need special items like a $20 pencil or $30 pen or canvas, but you don’t need any of those things.”

The goal this time around, he added, was to use items as simple as the cardboard from a 12-pack of soda or foam board to show how the art itself is more important than the tools used to create it. Davis was at the Garwin library teaching kids how to draw monsters when one of them said he didn’t have money for drawing paper, so hearing that inspired him to go the low-budget route.

Devotees of Davis’s work can rest assured that it won’t just be the same old exhibit this time around, as all but one of the pieces are now — he did bring back a skull with melted crayons because, in his words, he “thought it was cool.” He always tries to keep the references fresh as well, and he even pulled one from an unlikely source: the ’90s teen comedy “10 Things I Hate About You,” a modern Shakespeare adaptation starring Julia Stiles and the late Heath Ledger.

He had just watched the film and remembered the posters for Bogey Lowenstein’s infamous party, so he incorporated them into a drawing to “dirty up” a picket fence as a child walks by with an unconventional balloon.

Davis frequently combines his loves of writing and art into comic books and collections, and he’s recently made his first foray into children’s books with “The Tale of Humptystein.” As one could probably guess, it synthesizes the famous characters of Humpty Dumpty and Frankenstein into a story only he could imagine.

“A lot of mine (in the past) have dark humor. I hope to gear it towards both adults and children,” he said. “(This book) has the children’s book feel, but I hope that I made it interesting enough for adults as well… It’s my first attempt into actual picture books because I hope to do a lot more picture books.”

“The Tale of Humptystein” can be purchased on Amazon in paperback for $5 at this link: https://www.amazon.com/Tale-Humptystein-Michael-D-Davis/dp/B0CJLLLTS1/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=UcYmE&content-id=amzn1.sym.579192ca-1482-4409-abe7-9e14f17ac827&pf_rd_p=579192ca-1482-4409-abe7-9e14f17ac827&pf_rd_r=135-4490751-8190406&pd_rd_wg=WTw3F&pd_rd_r=f6073957-cf84-4312-b34a-977be2bda0c1&ref_=aufs_ap_sc_dsk

But if you see Mike around Tama County, there’s a good chance he’ll just hand you a copy.