Cryogenic Comix # 23

Cryogenic Comix # 23
Copyright (c) 2019 Steve Willis

The drawings are felt tip on thin bond, probably drawn in the first half of 1980.


Old memories resurface as I rediscover my own drawings from about two/thirds of my life ago.

The equine drawings come from my upbringing on a 55-acre farm where my Dad raised Shetlands as a sideline. For part of the summer of 1980 I went down there to help build a barbed-wire fence. I recall that every time I slammed that posthole digger into the ground a little cloud of ash from the Mt. St. Helens eruption from May 18, 1980 would rise up. Heavy dense stuff. Most likely still in my lungs today!

Notes: The TV antenna sort of dates this, as does the Dean Rusk reference. Actually even in 1980 most people had forgotten about Dean Rusk, one of the "Best and the Brightest."

Cryogenic Comix # 19

Cryogenic Comix # 19
Copyright (c) 2019 Steve Willis

The first 18 issues of this series was originally published in 1998 and followed with a 2005 Danger Room edition. I will be creating subsequent issues here on this blog as a strictly online title.

The following pieces were created probably in mid-1980,  judging by the depiction of what life was like around here after Mt. St. Helens erupted May 18, 1980. The drawings are felt tip on thin bond.

One detail about this particular 1979-1980 trove I had forgotten about, there was also a Morty the Bear character. Morty the Dog's first solo story was not until 1981 and the earliest drawing of "Mortie" the Dog I can locate is ca. 1978, but it looks like I was also trying out another type of Morty.

I always liked the name "Morty." Lenny Bruce employed the name in his stand-up with a comic punch and that's probably how I came to use it since I did not know anyone by that name.

April 1980

I have suddenly been gifted with a ton of my own original art from 1979-1980, plus a ton of my old published comix. The original art dates back to when I lived in Burlington, Vermont and in Seattle, Washington.

Your Morty blog will be in public view for a little bit while I scan and post these never before published or posted drawings. Many many more to come and I feel like I am discovering most of them for the first time!

The following three drawings were created in Seattle in April 1980, only a month before the eruption of Mt. St. Helens. These pencil works were obviously using photographs as models.

Volcanic Predictions

I bet she didn't think someone would find this over 3 decades later and laugh.

Postcard - Seattle, Washington

"Looking south from the top of the Space Needle-- this is how Seattle looks in the twilight. 90 miles away but seemingly close-by stands majestic Mt. Rainier (14,408 ft.) glowing in the sunset like a strawberry ice cream cone. A beautiful and unforgettable sight from the Space Needle or from a plane."

Probably from the 1970s. This is one of the more unusual bits of postcard prose I have encountered. Rainier has been one of those awesome geographical features that never ceases to instill wonder into the hearts of us native Washingtonians, east and west. It is part of who we are. We love it, but the Mountain could erupt at any time, causing incredible widespread damage. Those of us who remember the eruption of Mt. St. Helens in 1980 know it can happen with relatively little warning.

Calling The Mountain a "strawberry ice cream cone" is deliciously bizarre.

Morty Comix # 2565

Morty Comix # 2565 took advantage of a flaw in an information kiosk on the Interstate 5 exit for Winlock, Washington. One of the metal display sheets had a "wow" in it, just inviting a Morty Comix to jump in there, where I suspect it will remain for years.

I imagine on a totally clear day, which we don't really have too many of here in Bezango, WA, this site offers a great vantage point for viewing what is left of Mt. St. Helens.

Hard to believe, but Winlock was actually a hotspot for Communist activity back in the 1920s-1930s.

Postcard - Mount Saint Helens, Washington

"The cascade country in the Mount St. Helens vicinity in Washington State ranked among the most majestic wilderness areas in the world. Now, after the eruption of Mt. St. Helens on May 18, 1980, thousands of giant 200 foot trees lie strewned across the mountain terrain. Their bark and branches have been stripped away by the volcano's blast."

And we have four more volcanoes that could blow at any time. I camped at Spirit Lake, where St. Helens was reflected in the water, in Sept. 1978, and even at that late date there was no clue it was going to erupt within such a short duration.

Postcard - Mount Saint Helens, Washington

"Mt. St. Helens and Yale Lake"

Appears to be from the 1960s. This is an artificial lake created by a dam in the early 1950s. It is also the area where skyjacker D.B. Cooper was thought to have landed, mostly in neighboring Lake Merwin.

St. Helens, of course, no longer looks like that. The 1980 eruption literally blew the top off. 

Postcard - Longview, Washington

"Longview Bridge, Port of Longview and Mt. St. Helens, Washington. Located 66 miles upstream from the mouth of the Columbia River is one of the finest inland ports in the nation. This bridge spans the Columbia and connects Longview to Rainier, Oregon. Magnificent Mt. St. Helens in the background."

Probably from the 1970s, and definitely before Mount Saint Helens blew up in 1980, losing that nice pointed cone top.

Postcard - Deception Pass, Washington

"Canoe and Deception Pass bridges. Much of the tidal waters behind the islands of North Puget Sound rush back and forth twice a day through this narrow passage. Deception Pass State Park displays scenic beauty with the help of Mount Baker visible on the horizon."

In the 1970s, which is when I'm betting this postcard was created, we always figured that out of the five volcanoes in our state Mount Baker was the most likely to explode, since it seemed to be frequently steaming and shaking. The 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens was a bit of a surprise, relatively speaking.

Postcard - Chehalis, Washington

"Chehalis, Washington, and Mt. St. Helens. This friendly city, located between Seattle and Portland at the base of timbered hills, is the home of the Southwest Washington Fair."

If you click on and enlarge the image, you might be able to see Mount Saint Helens (when it still had a pointy top) on the horizon. Obviously this card was printed prior to the May 18, 1980 eruption.

Chehalis is known regionally as the county seat for Lewis County, for being a twin city of Centralia, and for hosting giant Yard Birds.

Missing Persons

This was another WFMU giveaway as part of a fund drive. Compiled in 1996 by Hank Arakelian, these were actual playing cards.

The theme concerned missing persons. I was given the diamond number cards and assigned to come up with missing persons in the Pacific Northwest. My subjects were Jacko the Sasquatch, Harry R. Truman, Hale Boggs, Butch Cassidy, Wesley Everest's grave, victims of Billy Gohl, flying saucers over Mt. Rainier, me, and D.B. Cooper.

The artists in this project were: Sam Henderson, Deirdre Kennedy, Justin Green, William Graef, Dave the Spazz, John Schnall, Kaz, Hank Arakelian, Harry S. Robins, George Erling, Doug Skinner, Krystine Kryttre, Diane Farris, Chris Ware, Bob Powers, Steve Willis, Nisa Rauschenberg, Mack White, Robert Armstrong, David Chelsea, R. Sikoryak, and Dorian.

The set was accompanied by a small booklet presenting the biographies of the subjects.

Wes Everest's grave is now a well marked IWW memorial to the 1919 Centralia Massacre. I never met Harry R. Truman, but I remember seeing his lodge when I visited Mt. St. Helens and Spirit Lake a year and a half before the eruption.

Missing