Musclehedz®



john gleneicki picJohn Gleneicki, AKA Jagster (the name that dons all of his cartoons), has been drawing and creating cartoons from as early as just four years old.

It started with Hanna-Barbera characters like Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble, but he was always doing more than just copying.

"Interestingly enough, I was drawing Fred as other people: Superman, an artist, a hockey player - basically thinking outside the box at a very young age," says Jagster.

Eventually, he would go on to create a series of his own hilarious characters, including Hugh Mongus, the main bodybuilder in his comic series, Musclehedz.

CheckAdvantage is pumped to present the work of John Gleneicki on checks, address labels and checkbook covers as part of our Licensed Artist Series.

Besides Musclehedz, which you can find every month in Flex Magazine, Jagster has also created three other cartoon series in his 20+ years career of cartooning: The Cheap Seats, which focused on sports in general, Wrestlehedz, which had a pro-wrestling theme, and Cagehedz, which caters to fans of Mixed Martial Arts.

Even though he always had a knack for it, Jagster never planned to become a cartoonist. He was working as a commercial artist and for brands like Kellogg's, Mattel and Toyota. 

Then in 1992, he happened to meet some people who were planning a magazine that would cover the local bodybuilding scene in Ontario, Canada. John suggested a cartoon series for the publication and the magazine said, yes! Although, the local magazine did publish some of the early Musclehedz cartoons, the magazine folded shortly thereafter due to financial troubles. But Jagster had no trouble finding a new home or a national audience for his bodybuilding humor - and a new career was born.

Musclehedz cartoons are obviously for a specific kind of person and Jagster admits that it probably helps to be living the bodybuilder's lifestyle to really get the humor.

"That's not to say that people who don't work out won't understand the cartoons," he explains. "It's just that the people who would rather eat a protein bar than a candy bar will recognize the similarities of their life to those in the Musclehedz cartoons. And that may worry them...or cause insomnia, cramping, and diarrhea."

Above all, Jagster wants to make people laugh. "I have an obligation to entertain to the best of my ability, and that's something that I try not to drop the ball on...ever!" he says.

Find out more about this artist when you visit musclehedz.com. You can also purchase gear featuring the Musclehedz cartoons at musclehedzstore.com. Plus, sign up for Toon of the Week and get some laughs in your email inbox.