Who?

Who is Salt Shaker Claw Man? D. Antone Ravenberg shares the origin story.

Six years ago, my family and I were celebrating a recent graduation. The graduate, my brother-in-law, Jared, had chosen the Bass Pro Shop. As usual, I was sitting with the kids, my nephews (I’ve always preferred cartoons and toys to politics and real life). Looking for a way to entertain, I picked up the left over grab claws and a salt shaker and said, “Look, I’m Salt Shaker Claw Man.” The kids loved it so much that I made them and myself some homemade t-shirts. That was four or five years ago. I would regularly get compliments and inquiries on the shirt, people asking where I bought it from, who Salty was and so on.

I had a really supportive friend who believed in me as a budding writer and illustrator encourage me to write and illustrate a book about Salty. So here we are. Salty has gone through a few visual changes since then (he didn’t have eyes in the beginning) but he’s the same character he’s always been. Brave to a fault, a little salty, and always willing to be everyone’s best friend.