Cryogenic Comix # 30

Cryogenic Comix # 30
Copyright (c) 2019 Steve Willis

The first four portraits here are from Morty Comix # 875, created Feb. 5, 1984 while I was living in Pullman, Washington. The next seven images were created in late 1979 or early 1980. The last nine drawings are from 1980 and were drawn on very thin bond with felt tip. The Bushey Taxi quick sketch reflects my time as a taxicab driver for a fleet by that name in Burlington, Vermont in 1979. Big orange 1970s floater cars running 24 hours a day.

Phone photo 1765

La Push, Washington

OK, am I the only one who enjoys the wordplay when we realize La Push and Pullman are on extreme opposite sides of the state?

Teaching Comix

Some time during my stay in Pullman, Washington (1983-1986) I was asked to give a class for junior high school (now called middle school) pupils about comic art. That started a whole sub-career for me of presenting lessons on comix technique and/or history to students from Kindergarten to college.

My favorite classes are for children from preschool to about 2nd grade. Generally speaking, the magic of comic art is still captivating for them. We cartoonists can communicate so well with this group of kids in classroom settings because we ourselves have never fully surrendered the kid within us to the outside world. Look at all the Oldwavers who are still active. We are now in the 55+ crowd, making us Senior Citizens in the eyes of Burger King and the Pre-Paid Cremation Services folks who send me junk mail (how do they find me? It's rather unsettling) , yet we still put a lot of energy into drawing funny pictures and being playful with lines on paper.

It probably helps that we are also the Boomers, the generation with the never ending adolescence.

I notice that around 3rd grade the children begin to ask about how to make a living at the cartoon game. The practical considerations begin early.

My most memorable presentation was to my daughter's 4th grade class. This is a very small town and most of the kids already knew me. At the end of the talk one little boy asked me to sing my underpants song, which of course I sang loud and proud. It has the tune of "She'll Comin' "Round the Mountain" and goes like this:

Oh, I haven't seen my underpants in weeks
Oh, I haven't seen my underpants in weeks
Oh, I haven't seen my underpants
Haven't seen my underpants
I haven't seen my underpants in weeeeeeeks!

All the girls covered their ears, except for my daughter, who crawled under her desk.

I don't know how many classes I've given over the years, but quite a few, including some at South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia, where I sometimes would print out special editions of As I Recall the 'Sixties not only as an example of how to make your own comix, but also for a couple history classes.

If you haven't already, I'd encourage my cartoonist comrades out there to take any opportunity you can to teach or talk about comix to your community. It's been my experience that people are predisposed to have fun when they know cartoons will be the topic presented, and who knows, you might awaken the sleeping cartoonist within one of the attendees.

The photo attached here is from a video of a cartoon class I gave at Lincoln Elementary, Olympia, Washington, April 17, 1987. That's Odd Dog on the easel.

Here we go again!

Another item I unearthed while engaged in studio excavation-- a few of these address change notices from June or July 1983 when I moved from Olympia to Pullman, Washington.

As you can see my inventory of available works wasn't all that much. I didn't keep titles in print very long in those days.

End of the Earth and Turn Left

This jam with Clint Hollingsworth was published by him under the Kage Comics label in Pullman, Washington, 1986 (I know, I know, the copyright statement says 1985, but it wasn't printed until 1986). I believe he only printed 50 copies in enlarged digest size.

I first met Clint when he was an employee of Kinkos in Pullman. I had seen one of his comics for sale in a comics shop in neighboring Moscow, Idaho and tracked him down as the only other self-publishing cartoonist in the area at the time. He was active in martial arts and his comic art reflected this interest. Clint later found a job with Washington State University, where I worked, and we sent this jam back and forth through inter-campus courier. I enjoyed visiting with him and having the opportunity to talk with another cartoonist in person while living at the left turn at the End of the Earth.

Today Clint lives in the central part of our state and, I'm happy to report, is still very active in drawing. I see by this link we share having an abundance of cats.

Trivia:

Page 5: I love the old eye poke.

Page 9: Those of us who were raised in the Puget Sound area used to joke about the "Aroma of Tacoma." In fact, once when I was a little kid we were going up to Seattle on Highway 99 and as we drove through Tacoma I announced, "I didn't do it!" But since the paper mills and other industries have vanished or cleaned up their act in the past couple decades, the aroma is almost gone.

Page 10: Leavenworth, Washington is Clint's hometown.

Page 16, panel 1: Paraphrases from Camus and Sartre in this feelgood comic of the year.

Page 22, panel 6: Ignatz! George Herriman was one of my cartoonist heroes.

Page 24: Clint is making a reference to a then recently published jam I had with Brad Foster called One Normal Guy Talking With a Nut.

Page 25: "Use as tool for evil plan!" They just don't make sound effects in comix like that anymore.

Page 27: Actually I really did like Pullman. Working at WSU wasn't all that wonderful, however. And yes, being born in Spokane, I am a native of Eastern Washington.

Page 38, panel 4: Although I really hate it whenever this happens, I must say this bit by Clint is one of my favorite panels in the whole comic.

Inside back cover. A little plug for Will Shetterly. We regarded him as one of us independent press guys. In 1985-1986 Will was really becoming well known and we were excited to see one of our own make it big. I still have my signed copy of Will's first book, Cats Have No Lord, which considering the title makes Will's "Viva Morty" inscription sort of ironic!