1st ed., September 1, 2002, 40 copies, blue cover.
Print-on-demand for a short period starting November 16, 2002.
1st Danger Room Reprint Ed., June 2005. 5 copies (1 red, 1 blue, 1 green, 1 yellow, 1 pink).
The "It's the Arts" themed issue.
Trivia. Page 4: Based on a real performer I witnessed at The Evergreen State College open mic night in the student center in the 1970s. Page 6: Those twin WPPSS towers are still standing today. Incredible. Page 9: Homer T. Bone was a real person, another colorful character who represented Washington State in that other Washington. Page 13: McCleary has had several newspapers in the history of the town. One of them was called, and I'm not kidding, The McCleary Stimulater. And the Capitol Theater in Olympia was the inspiration for this character. The place that is now the home of the Olympia Film Society (and where Peter Bagge and I held a panel discussion last summer) really did have a little plywood guy like the one described here. Page 14: Both of the real life examples of bulldozer art referenced here appear to be gone now.
Bezango!
ReplyDeleteSteve, I want to let you know that I have been thinking about Bezango a lot recently. I have been meaning to write you about this for over a week since I returned from 10 days at the Vipassana meditation center in Onalaska. One of the words in one of the chants that SN Goenka, the teacher, does sounds like "Bezanga". So I thought of you and your comics. I wonder if the chanting of Goenka provided any inspiration for your title.
Berd
Hi Berd! The word "Bezango" just came to me out of the blue about 20 years ago and I liked the ring of it. I have little firsthand experience with chanting of any kind and was raised in a Protestant church where the singing was stilted and strained. My Dad graduated from Onalaska High School, but I guess that doesn't count except as a mildly interesting aside. I imagine it could be a challenge running a Vipassana meditation center in the most right-wing regressive county in western Washington-- Lewis County. Thanks for pointing out this interesting "Bezanga" chantword. There is no such thing as coincidence.
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