Does Gilbert Shelton Have a Legal Case Here?

As I mentioned a few months ago, I hope Gilbert Shelton is getting some kind of commission from the catnip company Ducky World for the blatant use of his Fat Freddy's Cat character. And maybe he is, but I sure don't see Shelton's name anywhere on this container.

If Shelton is getting screwed over here, I can empathize.

Any attorneys who want to play David to Goliath (pro bono, of course, we cartooning librarians are not living in poverty, but we can see it from here) are welcome to contact me about Disney's use of my Floating Baby Head character. I think I have a good case. My character appeared in a nationally distributed comic book long before it later turned up in Phineas and Ferb.

Corporate America had no problem going after the underground cartoonists for copyright violations, but seems perfectly at ease lifting the creative efforts of underground/Newave artists for their own profit.

Fat Freddy's Catnip?

My cats love these catnip bananas, but I hope Gilbert Shelton is getting some kind of royalty for the cat drawing on the label.

More Original Art!

Michael Dowers just sent me a huge package of original art I had apparently lent to him since the 1980s I had forgotten about. Thanks Michael! What an unexpected arrival in PO Box 390! A treasure trove of memories!

This work will probably be made available for sale very soon, as in starting today or tomorrow.

In taking an inventory here's what I find:

Stories (I will eventually track down the original publication source for all of them):

"No Cigar" (12 p.)
"Dredging" (4 p.)
"Rainmaker Painraker" (12 p.) from Storm Warnings. Conventional mainstream minds liked this piece, but I hated it. Go figure.
"Slim Chance and Fat Fate" (7 p.) also from Storm Warnings.
"Chow Time" (4 p.)
"I Love, Er, Like Seattle!" (2 p.) This was the only piece I drew as an original work just for the Seattle Star that was not a reprint aside from a cover for one issue.

Entire books:
Cranium Frenzy # 7 (1994). (19 p.)
Bezango (1994). (24 p.). I am torn about offering this art for sale for three reasons. First, this comic was later reprinted as a nationally distributed comic under the Starhead label with the title Bezango Obscuro. That jacks it up a notch. Second, as a nationally distributed comic, it left the fold of the obscure and my character Floating Baby Head was widely read. This character is now used in the Disney cartoon Phineas and Ferb, and I am still interested in investigating possible legal action against Walt's regime for stealing my idea. I know, it's a David v. Goliath scenario, and if I try I'll be crushed like an insect in a manner that will ruin me. But that concept was mine first in a national commercial comic and the original art can serve as a court exhibit. I feel very ripped off, even if it was possibly unintentional. Third, the upcoming documentary on NW cartoonists is called Bezango WA and I suspect this "Bezango" term will not go away. If that is the case, I now hold a precious primary source document that should reside in a public depository, like the Washington State University Comix Collection.
Xenophobic Knives and other Love Songs, Pt. 2 (1991) (12 p.) 

In addition, Michael sent three pages of an unpublished work called "Outside-In, the History of a Comix Series." Looks like it was drawn in 1989. Michael says he left p. 4 in a scanner, so when he sends that one I'll post the whole thing here. I must admit I have no memory of drawing this thing or why I drew it.

Still deciding whether or not to sell each page individually or as a set. I'm open to offers before I post. You can check out my other art and comix for sale here:

 http://www.mortythedog.com/p/comix-art-25-sale-includes-new-items.html

[Update: "I Love, Er, Like Seattle!" is no longer available]

[Another update: "Dredging" has been spoken for]

Attention Phineas and Ferb Fans: Meet the ORIGINAL Floating Baby Head

It came to my attention that a popular animated cartoon has a character called Giant Floating Baby Head.

I wonder if any the folks behind the show saw my Floating Baby Head character comix in the 1990s? And if not, what sort of collective memory were we tapping into?

State of Beings # 1 (1991)

Bezango / Bezango Obscuro (1994)

State of Beings #7: Connecticut

Originally provided for your viewing pleasure with City Limits Gazette # Kitty McAdoodledoo (Feb. 1992).

If isn't porcupines it's those darn floating baby heads again! Also that ever-present song about underpants that keeps surfacing in these comix. Sheesh. And the fork in the head too! A lot of perpetual iconic images from my comix rolled into one little story. What does it all mean, anyway?

At least that underpants song is brief. Heh-heh. Get it? Underpants? Brief? Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.

State of Beings #1: Alabama

This was the first of a series of irregular comic supplements I included in the biweekly City Limits Gazette. They were usually 4 p. digest-size things, making them sort an extended minicomic.

The first issue was an insert to CLG # Banjo on my knee (Sept. 1991). As you can see I employed a creative numbering system simply to screw up serials librarians and their neat little check-in cards.

I'm guessing at this point in CLG's history the print run was between 50-65 copies.

This issue contains probably my only caricature of George Wallace, who was still alive at the time this was published.

Bezango / Bezango Obscuro

My first comic of 1994 (January), 100 copies. Rose colored covers in enlarged digest format.

2nd ed., around Feb.-March 1994, 50 copies with a salmon cover, also enlarged digest size.

Starhead Comix reprinted the comic in commercial form later in 1994 and retitled it Bezango Obscuro. I'm not positive, but I think Michael Dowers told me he printed somewhere in the neighborhood of 700 copies.

The cover color was supplied by Art Penn, an amazing artist chiefly known under another name as an illustrator of children's books.

Because the comic was originally drawn for the digest size, there happened to be extra space in the margins. This was filled by employing an academic Michael had met in a bar. Dr. Whidbey interviewed me once on Michael's front porch. I recall he was drinking something that smelled like high octane mango, and wore black socks with his sandals. Howerton College, a private school somewhere up north, went under awhile back due to bad investments. Or maybe the whole thing was just a dream.


My only comment on his comments is the use of the word "claim." I know not this "claim," it just is.

There was more padding by including part of Morty Comix #2018, and three issues of State of Beings, which were initially released as comic supplements with the biweekly City Limits Gazette during my editorship, 1991-1993.

The 1st Danger Room Reprint Ed. of June 2005 was a return to the original form, except the 5 copies with red covers were printed in digest form, not enlarged.

"Bezango" is a word I just made up, I like the sound of it. "Obscuro" was a term I began to use frequently while editing CLG. By the early 1990s the Newave was dead and I started using "Obscuro" as another word to describe the kind of comix we produced. Michael picked up on that and added it to the commercial release. I'm not sure if Michael himself or Art Penn created the second part of the cover title logo.

I'm including a scan of the enlarged digest cover, the original color of the cover (a gift from Michael which I prize) with and without the acetate overlay, and commercial comic itself. Whidbey has saved me the trouble of adding trivia notes.