This week on Inside the Kingdom, we sit down with cartoonist Mike Smith, the longtime editorial cartoonist for the Las Vegas Sun and the creator of Gearhead Gertie on Comics Kingdom.

Mike has spent decades turning politics, culture, and daily absurdity into sharp, readable cartoons. But alongside his editorial work, he’s also built a very different kind of comic world through Gertie, a NASCAR-obsessed character whose love of racing is less of a hobby and more of a full-contact lifestyle.

In this episode, we talk about Mike’s path into cartooning, what makes a strong editorial cartoon work, how he shifts between political commentary and character-driven humor, and why sports fandom is such fertile ground for comedy. We’ll also get into Las Vegas as a sports town, the Golden Knights, NASCAR culture, reader reactions, and the strange joy of drawing people who are absolutely certain they are right.

https://comicskingdom.com/gearhead-gertie