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.  

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

Phone photo 2728

Tom Rehm displays a beautiful Jeff Zenick t-shirt

Butler, Pennsylvania

Phone photo 2715

Tom's yard, Butler, Pennsylvania

Phone photo 2709

Sculpture in Tom's yard

Butler, Pennsylvania

Morty Comix # 2620

Morty Comix # 2620 was drawn on the reverse side of a business card and presented to Tom Rehm in Butler, Pennsylvania. Here he is pictured expressing his joy by wrapping his cranium in a "freaked out in a moon age daydream" poster.

Future Tenant Interviews Obscuro Bezango Curator Tom Rehm

Here's the Link!

Morty Comix # 2609

Morty Comix # 2609 was slipped into a copy of my favorite Vonnegut novel, Slaughterhouse-Five, at the public library in Butler, Pennsylvania. On the way to this book, Tom Rehm showed me the beautiful mural in the children's section created by his brother, Michael Rehm.

Morty Comix # 2608

The fate of Morty Comix # 2607 is so obscure even I don't know where it landed! But it has to be somewhere in Butler, Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, let's stroll to downtown Butler, where I placed Morty Comix # 2608 in the back cover a sample book in a print shop-- the same print shop that has printed the work of Tom Rehm, Maximum Traffic, Buzz Buzzizyk, and even the mysterious Borpo Deets.