Fifteen Heart Attacks, p. 20-21, by Mike Hill!

The Fifteen Heart Attacks online jam lives on! One of my favorite ever cartoonists, Mike Hill, who lives in Western Pennsylvania (a part of the country I have learned to love), contributed the following. Thank you Mike for climbing aboard!

White Buffalo Gazette

 

When I was in Butler, PA last summer I had a chance to meet or re-meet local Keystone State cartoonists Tom Rehm, Buzz Buzzizyk, Wayno and Mike Hill. And Chrislip even came from the wilds of Cincinnati. In fact, I believe I even saw the mysterious Borpo Deets, who showed up at the Future Tenant show in Pittsburgh wearing an obvious ill-fitting toupee and an unintentionally humorous false beard in a comical effort to conceal his identity. He had a glow in the dark necktie that had the words. "Will you kiss in me the dark, baby?" When I looked at him and said, "Oh, you must be the infamous Borpo Deets," he swiftly made some feeble excuse about an alligator in his SUV that needed tending, darted out, and never returned to the show. 

Anway, the above promo is the siren call for Obscuro cartoonists to show their stuff. All you comrade weirdo cartoonists should heed this invite. Buzz Buzzizyk has a special eye for the iconoclastic and revolutionary comic art. 

 

Morty Comix # 2658 - Updated!

Morty Comix # 2658 was sent to Buzz Buzzizyk in Butler, Pennsylvania. He made a "bootleg" copy to practice his enhanced dialogue and color scheme (pictured above). Then he worked on the original and distributed it. I don't know what he did with the final copy of this issue. I love the text he added here!

Once again, the mysterious Borpo Deets has a hand in this. What is it with this guy? I tried to visit him when I was in western PA a few months back but never quite connected. Tom Rehm and Mike Hill (check out Mike's very nice Worker Poet blog)  who apparently know him, were constantly changing the subject whenever the name "Borpo Deets" came up. 

There's a story here, but it is too cryptic for me to decipher.

I submit Deets has a hypnotic spell on Buzzizyk, Rehm and Hill and prefers to remain "the power behind the throne" of their artistic public face. Just a thought. I did catch wind that he's an older hermit guru type who actually physically recoils when puns are used in his presence. Also, I understand he basically lives on sauerkraut, calls everyone he initially meets a "douchebag," and enjoys capturing lightning bugs with his mouth.  

Bil Keane Statue

Our old friend Mike Hill of Worker Poet sends us news that the rest of the world is waking up to what those of us in the City Limits Gazette who contributed to a section called "The Bil Keane Watch" knew over two decades ago, the guy was a Zen Master Class Act.

A statue of Bil will be dedicated on Nov. 8 in Scottsdale, Arizona (I would so like to be there) and possibly a museum will be built covering his life and work.

Here's the article.

Morty Comix # 2639

Morty Comix # 2639 was drawn on a cinderblock in a basement of a cabin in Butler County, Pennsylvania. This drawing joined others on the wall including work by Mike Hill, Edward Bolman, Spaz, Maximum Traffic, Delaine Derry Green, and the mysterious Borpo Deets.

Mike Hill Covers the Obscuro Bezango Show

Mike Hill of Worker Poet fame also performed a bit of photojournalism for the Rehm/Traffic/Buzzizyk Obscuro Bezango show in Pittsburgh's Future Tenant gallery. But unlike me, Mike uses a real camera and is an accomplished photographer! He has graciously given me permission to select a few of his photos. None of the artists wished to have their faces posted online, so I have to dance around that as I select:

Tom had cleverly hidden the part of the exhibit with my own comix art under that red covering until the last minute. I was touched-- and impressed by his stealth. It didn't make me feel so bad about hiding all those Morty Comix in his house!

That twisted face has scrawled on the reverse side something about the mysterious "Borpo Deets," who I am convinced was the mentor to all three artists in the show.

 

A break during the final stages of setup. My West Coast sensibility was prepared for massive humidity, but it actually was pretty nice the week I was there. Notice the Big Eyed Bean From Venus in the window. It was fun watching folks react to it as they walked by. 

 Opening night. Willis, Wayno, Chrislip

 Willis, Chrislip

 It's the shirt that draws these beautiful women to me

For your readers in the Pittsburgh area, this show is continuing to September 1st

Worker Poet Covers Obscuro Bezango

Our old friend Mike Hill has some coverage of the Obscuro Bezango show, including a few unusual photos:


Check it out at this link http://workerpoet.blogspot.com/

 

Morty Comix # 2613

Morty Comix # 2613 was placed in a nonfurtive way in Bruce Chrislip's drawing notebook during the Obscuro Bezango show opening at the Future Tenant gallery in Pittsburgh. In fact, Mike Hill even photographed the event and the flash on his camera was caught in my first photo here.

Obscuro Bezango Show 6

The Opening Night.  An astounding thing happened. Five of us from the old City Limits Gazette crowd were there at one time: Left to right, Bruce Chrislip, Tom Rehm, Wayno, Mike Hill. I was the 5th but how can I be in two places at once?

I was too busy schmoozing to take many photos, but I did document the following for you students of Newave Comix.

 Hillary chats up Bruce

Wayno, Chrislip, Hill. This was first time I have actually met Wayno in person, even though we corresponded off and on since the 1980s. He was a wonderful contributor to the Bil Keane Watch in City Limits Gazette and a major part of the spark in that title. He brought me a package of coasters, in part to replace my coffee stained and much loved Scottie's Bar coaster in my studio.

 Mike Hill, Bruce Chrislip

A graphic of the mysteriously vanished Maximum Traffic is on the wall

Bruce braved a four hour drive from Cincinnati to attend this opening. As the historian for our brand of comic art, his presence gave the event a a few more "chops" as they say in West Pennsylvania.

But too soon it was all over and the crowd spilled out to the night streets of Pittsburgh. Buzz Buzzizyk, Maximum Traffic, Tom Rehm, all free spirits inspired by the shadowy Borpo Deets, had their night of being honored.