Steve Willis Archives v. 2

1st edition, March 1991. Chico, California : Onward Comics. 50 copies. Blue cover, regular digest size.

This one contains a couple pieces new to this blog.

"The Day I Wore Bruce Chrislip's Tie" was originally published in John E.'s Mumbles # 4, I think. Rather fitting this is being scanned and posted on the eve of Bruce and Joan hosting my visit to SPACE later this month. As time has passed I have come to regard this story to be every bit as pretentious and overly dramatic as the art gallery types I make fun of. The term "cringe-worthy" comes to mind when I read it today-- obviously created at a time when I would occasionally lapse into Drama Boy mode. But I do like the panel of Bruce holding his clip-on tie.

Second, the little ad for The Tragedy of Morty, Prince of Denmarke was a bit of self-promotion that had escaped my memory.

Stevetreads # 2

1st ed., 1987, Chico, California : Jeff Nicholson. 3 copies, regular digest size.

Jeff seems to have edited this one with a local Washington State theme.

I see the geoduck, mascot of The Evergreen State College, not only recently made the "9 worst college nicknames" list but is now a highly coveted by the Chinese mafia.

Phone photo 90

This McCleary, Washington gravel lot was once home to an old-timey movie theater and later auction hall-- the one I described in the microcomic Pop. 1075 posted Sept. 10. The building burned down around 2003, I think. The grey sky and giant mudpuddles are the norm around here. That hill in the background is probably crawling with mountain beavers.

Pop. 1075

In the mid-1980s Paul Curtis was active as a cartoonist and publisher in Saegertown, Pennsylvania. He produced a series called Micro-Comics, little comix about 3.5 inches high, drawn by a wide variety of artists. Reading a packet of these tiny comix was like eating potato chips. You would find yourself reading one after another until your head was full.

I got my turn to contribute to this fun series with #125. It was drawn in 1986 and published in 1987. In June 2005 I reprinted 5 copies on green card stock as the 1st Danger Room Reprint Ed.

The story told in Pop. 1075 is basically true. By the time the comic was published I had returned to McCleary and was rediscovering the town. The theater/auction hall in the story burned to the ground, cause unknown, about 2003-2004.

The concept of using real stories from rural Southwest Washington as story material for comix was expanded in the Bezango WA 985 books I wrote about 8 years ago.

Morty the Blog, Not a Boaring Place

Just to show this won't be all comix all the time, I'll relate this local news. In answer to my query, the City of McCleary informs me that no, I cannot keep a wild tusked boar running loose in my totally fenced 3/4 of an acre yard.

Grays Harbor County, where I live, has been home to wild Russian boars for a few decades. Instead of going out and killing them, which the State encourages, I say we take them in and befriend them.

Sure they are an invasive species. That makes them strangers. Therefore as a stranger, as Shakespeare would say, we should give them welcome.

McCleary, where I live, is known for the annual Bear Festival, where citizens celebrate the community by eating bear stew and holding a parade. By changing just a couple letters, we could forget the consumption of hot stew in July (how crazy is that anyway?) and have a big parade of boars. Then our town could have a welcome sign that says, "Welcome to McCleary - Home of the Boar Festival!"

Now that would liven things up a bit.