Legendary political cartoonist, artist and character David Boyd Sr. was a graduate of The Citadel and a U.S. Army veteran, he made his way to Newnan in the 1960s to head the Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce. He later tried his hand at private business, but eventually decided to combine his love of politics and his talent for drawing into a successful career.  Boyd published his first political cartoons in 1968, in The Newnan Times-Herald. The cartoons were so popular that he ended up selling them to several other Georgia newspapers.  Later, he partnered with local attorney Gus Wood to create Mark-Morgan Features, a syndicated newspaper service that, in addition to Boyd’s cartoons and comic strips, offered a political column, crossword puzzle, horoscope and church page. Mark-Morgan content was published in more than 200 newspapers.

      His longtime friend Keith Dunnavant, a historian and author who lives in Newnan said that what David was able to achieve was significant. According to Dunnavant, David was able to leverage his particular art and his view of the world and turn it into a viable business. David filled newspapers throughout the South with significant commentary about politics.

      Boyd was renowned for his political cartoons – in 1982, he became the first self-syndicated artist to win a Green Eyeshade Award for excellence in journalism – but his illustrations also appeared in books and magazines and on greeting cards.  He lent his considerable drawing talent to books by notable humorist Lewis Grizzard and created an entire series of iconic characters for comedian Jeff Foxworthy’s “You Might Be a Redneck” books and merchandise.  But Boyd’s real passion was politics. His scathing cartoon commentary made enemies of a wide swath of public figures, some of whom sought him out for a confrontation and left his presence having made a new friend. Others were greatly amused by his portrayals of them.

     Boyd thrived on the furor and controversy he created and the people he met as a result, according to a 2016 story in The Newnan Times-Herald, written after he announced his retirement from the cartoon business.  As a young man, Boyd survived a tragic car crash. Later, he triumphed over a brain bleed and cancer. He even famously ran over himself with his own car in downtown Newnan.