Found Object in Elma Leads to a Bizarre Case

"I'm a creepy stalker! morelater.com/creep"

"His name is Rick or Eric. His phone number is 360-970-3081. He's been stalking a blind woman since September. He got her number by following her around and listening to her. She called the cops, but they wouldn't do anything. Know any more about him? Call 425-522-3748."

So I'm minding my own business like a Norm, walking down the gritty sidewalks of Elma, Washington, when I spy this little (1.5 x 2.5 inch) card on the ground.

For those of you who enjoy a little detective work like I do, be prepared to enter a bizarre case here when you dig a bit. Naturally it involves my alma mater, The Evergroove State College!

There are two sides to everything, and I am making no conclusion here, merely reporting.

As a Morty Comix distributor I am curious how many of these little cards were printed and how they were scattered. And why did I find one on the sidewalks of Elma?

I'll add this to the next box I'll be sending to the WSU Comix Collection. It qualifies as a micro-zine-- an independent voice using nontraditional print channels to be heard.

Phone photo 1716

My modern a-go-go groovy wall hung toilet, which has caused a lot of damage to a wall and floor, has finally been exiled to Recycle-Land. This had a date inside the tank revealing it was manufactured in 1969. So at the same time when Neil Armstrong was the first human to set foot on the Moon, this hip artifact was being produced. Makes you think, don't it? Well, maybe for a few nanoseconds.

My other toilet, which has a date of 1966, is a normal, drab, ordinary device and it works just fine. And drabness, as I am fond of saying, is goodness. Give me normal and drab over cool any day.

What is in Steve's Refrigerator Today?

"What is in Steve's Refrigerator Today?"

I actually get asked this question quite frequently, even by strangers on the street, post office employees, and very surly clowns who don't like to use their real names. So instead of repeating myself, I'll just post it. My refrigerator contains enough hamburger buns for one hamburger, a mostly full jar of Adams Peanut Butter (creamy), 3 sticks of butter, canola oil, mayonnaise, sweet honey mustard that expired over a month ago, and mango butter.

There. I hope that satiates the inquiring minds of people who need to know the sordid details of my dietary habits. In the freezer I have waffles and one hamburger patty.

Morty Comix # 2389

Morty Comix # 2389 was tucked into a sake list at an Olympia, Washington restaurant specializing in Japanese cuisine.

I was taking my daughter, now in her mid-20s, out to dinner. She asked me what I was doing and I responded, "Nothing." She responded with a monotone "Oooookay" as I documented the Morty Comix distribution with my phone photos. We then continued our conversation on another topic as if nothing had happened. 

All quite, quite normal, thank you very much. Ding!

Morty Comix # 2366

Morty Comix # 2366 was dropped into the after hour depository slot of a bank in Elma, Washington, that has been closed probably since the 1970s. Ron Austin was my witness in this act. Ron commented that I had a very strange way of distributing my comix, but I feel it is actually quite normal. In fact, I am so normal the U.S. Bureau of Normality uses my life as a median. Need I say more?

Cartoonists Northwest February 15, 1991

A broadside announcing my speaking engagement with the Seattle-based Cartoonists Northwest. But hey, what's with "We're a bit weird as well."? Are they suggesting I am "weird"? Obviously misconceptions like this have forced me to defend myself with documentary proof I am quite, quite normal.

Clues & Cues

Clues & Cues was the in-house faculty and staff newsletter for South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia, Washington. You can see the serious and exalted place in which I was held by my peers, 1992-1994.

I didn't feed them this stuff, but somehow the PIOs knew when to show up. The Obscuro comix lecture was even set up by them!

Strange? I'll Show You Strange!

Every now and then, but less so now as the then of 30 years ago, we obscuro press cartoonists are described as eccentric or strange when compared with the rest of the population.

But I would like to point out that what we do is quite normal and healthy and not nearly as strange as other activities which are totally acceptable by the mainstream.

Like the game of golf. How weird is that? I mean really? C'mon.

Think about it.

And now, for no apparent reason, I'll include a picture of yours truly in Washington DC with two people in giant cat costumes in 2007.

Midnight Fiction 2008 Desk Calendar

Richard Krauss of Portland, Oregon pulled me out of semi-retirement when he asked me to contribute to this fun project.

I was peacefully minding my own business like the true Norm that I am, just making an average living with my own two hands [and here as Steve lifts his hands his fingers sort of wiggle back and forth while a "deedle-deedle-deedle" sound effect takes place, as if made by a xylophone] and along comes this opportunity to present the world with an image placed in my cranium by cosmic forces.

And who, I ask you, can resist the chance to draw a penguin in the desert sands? Not me. I just woke up and knew I had to do it.

Midnight Fiction released this as loose leaves in a CD case. As you can see by the contributor list, I was in good company.

The penguin was based on a pet penguin that used to hang out at my house. I have posted a photo of him with Dreamer the cat. Unless you have lived with a penguin, it is difficult to explain how evil they really are. Fortunately he just picked up and left shortly after seeing my drawing for this project.

Odd Size Comix #15

Published by Borpo Deets (better known as Maximum Traffic) in 1996 in Butler, Pennsylvania. It is one letter-sized sheet of paper folded twice.

At first glance this looks like a jam with Max, since he did such a good job of lifting my style on the cover illustration. But no, this is 100% Max, commenting on one of my several long absences from the whole comix network.

Actually I really did snort, by accident, the ashes of a cremated person. But that story will wait for when I post the comic entitled How Two Ex-Presidents Went Up My Nose. Max also makes a reference to my many attempts to kill Morty the Dog.

I really like the way he drew the Obscuro Plaza. That's just how it looks, too. One of my favorite places to stay.

Normal

In a symbolic twist, Normal was first published Sept. 2, 2001. My last comic before the end of the Old Normal for all of us. This run had 33 copies, all in yellow.

The 1st Danger Room Reprint Ed. of June 2005 had 5 green copies.

The entire minicomic was scanned and posted on OlyBlog, July 24, 2007.

The original art was drawn in a very tiny size using a sharp-enough-to-perform-surgery #1 lead pencil. Then the art was enlarged on a photocopier. I like the accidental neat stuff that happens in the texture when this method is employed.

As for the content, The Wild Bunch is one of my favorite Westerns. Holden was terrific in that one. Also note the porcupine, an animal that has been in the background of my published comix since 1973. In fact, I saw a huge one waddling around in front of my house just a couple months ago! And yes, I actually do utter the saying, "Drabness is goodness" on a frequent basis.

Phone photo 20

See this cup? It belongs to me. This hot beverage drinking utensil is proof that I am a normal person. It has a picture of a 19th century piece of agricultural machinery which pretty much places the whole matter beyond debate. I hope this puts the whole "normal" issue to rest.

Pay no attention to the small wild Russian boar standing next to it.

The Question is: Is it normal to talk about being Normal so often?

Steve shows us that he is a norm