Bruce and Joan Chrislip picked me up at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport before the sun rose on Friday. Without wasting any time, we headed for downtown Cincinnati to fuel our bodies for the day of touring ahead.
And Bruce ordered something called "goetta."
Here you can see this concoction in the center of the plate. It's a sausage patty with oats and onion mixed in. That last ingredient prevented me from trying it, but it looked good.
What interested me about goetta (pronounced "getta") was how knowledge of this culinary delight was pretty limited to the Cincinnati area. Informal polling in Columbus revealed that this taste treat was an unknown to the rest of Ohio.
By the time breakfast was over the sun was rising and I got a good look at downtown Cincinnati. Somehow it felt like a much older version of Spokane.
Bruce gave us a tour of City Hall, a huge structure built before Washington became a state. Having worked there for a number of years, Bruce knew the place pretty well. Jerry Springer was once the Mayor of Cincinnati, and knowing I was walking in the very halls where he worked was oddly fun.
Among the things that impressed me about this place was the large display case of awards bestowed upon Cincinnati, especially the 2nd place plaque in the 1941 National Pedestrian Protection Contest. Also the Cincinnati in miniature display, which was gathering dust but did give me a sense of the layout of the city. Here we see Bruce and Joan next to the model, like benign gods hovering over their domain.
As we left City Hall, Bruce introduced me to Mayor Mallory, who asked me if I liked politics. As I replied I enjoyed presidential trivia my cartoonists eye could see the thought balloon above his head forming the woodscrew plus ball symbol.
But hey! I'm in Cincinnati for the first time in my life, and within 90 minutes I'm shaking hands with the Mayor. Is that neato or what?
We also visited the Union Terminal, an enormous example of art deco architecture now serving as a museum. One of the staff members proudly proclaimed the facility has the largest half-dome in the United States.
Bruce and Joan took me across the Ohio River into Kentucky where we walked through a riverside neighborhood where guys like Henry Clay used to hang out. First I walk in the footsteps of Jerry Springer, and now Henry Clay-- two showmen. Here's a nice shot of the Cincinnati skyline taken from Kentucky. The river was apparently subsiding from flood stage.
On the left you can the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge, built in the 1860s.
Hobnobbing with mayors and haunting the trails of historical figures is OK, but the real thrill of the day was meeting Justin Green and
Carol Tyler, two of Ohio's cartoon treasures. Justin was part of a small group underground cartoonists who created work that had a life-changing influence on my development as a comix artist. The fanboy within of 40 years ago kept trying to surface as I visited with Justin, but hopefully I didn't embarrass myself too much.
Bruce and I visited their studio/home and then went out for lunch. Pictured in this hazy shot are Justin, Carol, daughter Julia, and Bruce at a local cafe called, I think, Sugar and Spice. Prediction: Julia will be an artist to watch.
Bruce and I then spent the rest of the afternoon with David Chrislip. Bruce's brother was a subscriber to
City Limits Gazette when I was editor, and at the time supplied me with some images of Bruce's early comic work when I interviewed him (that's what brothers are for). During this visit he produced a box of comix the four Chrislip brothers had drawn in the 1960s. They were the sort of homegrown superhero stories many of us created with ball point pen on typing paper or ledgers before the days of undergrounds and photocopiers as we taught ourselves how to draw comix. It was a fun trip back in time. Pictured: Denise, David, and Bruce.
Ohio has this restaurant chain called Bob Evans, or "Blob Evans" if you listen to Bruce. I remember these cafes from my last visit to Ohio in 1999. Bruce, Joan and I went to dinner at one and they adorned my burger with a flag! I brought the little flag home and now you can see it in this pop culture crammed display with Barney Rubble wearing a Starhead Comix pin in a Bonanza cup being serenaded by the Beatles with an alien and Santa looking on. I know, I know, it's a cliche, you've seen this a million times before, but I couldn't help it.
We wrapped up the day viewing some obscure animation and video, including a local television news bit originally aired in 1973 about a comic convention. One the interviewees included my host, Bruce!
