Evergreen Lecture

Last night I had fun talking with a classroom of 40 plus students in "The Women's West" program taught by Jolie Sandoz and Ann Storey at The Evergreen State College. My talk, which was a bit rambly, attempted to tie together the threads of the Baby Boom, the history of Evergreen, and Newave Comix and the creative freedom afforded by photocopy technology. Most of the students were in their 20s, the same age I was when I attended Evergroove.

I printed up special TESC editions (75 copies each) of Write-In Morty the Dog for McCleary Mayor, Dante's Coat, Ambergris, To Touch the Face of Larry,  and As I Recall The 'Sixties, as well as a sample of Bezango WA 985.

For you bibliographic completists, the above minis also had a blue test copy, except for To Touch the Face of Larry, which had two copies. I used the lecture opportunity to promote Mini-Comics Day in McCleary and who knows? Maybe we'll see some future cartoonists come out of this.

I had a blast and this was the first time I have given an academic lecture in several years. This was also my first time talking to an Evergreen audience, and it was sort of strange delivering this in a building that didn't exist when I was a student there. They were a good group, very attentive and asked good questions. We even had a drawing exercise.

Thanks for having me over, fellow Geoducks!

Cranium Frenzy # 10

1st edition, September 5, 2003, 40 copies, ivory cover. All editions are regular digest size.

2nd edition, October 24, 2003, 20 copies, green cover.

Special Oly Comix Fest Edition, May 10, 2004, 32 copies, yellow cover.

1st Danger Room Reprint Edition, June 2005, 5 copies, pink cover.

This is my most recent full length solo comic. It was created as sort of a 30th anniversary of self-publishing obscuro comix-- hence all the reprinted work and dredging up of many old characters. I guess I should get on the dime and really finish up this comic I'm working on now in order to have Cranium Frenzy # 11 ready by 2013 for the 40th anniversary.

This comic was also my experiment with silent timing in comix.

Trivia:

The cover logo was, I think, drawn on toilet paper or a paper towel with felt tip and then enlarged.

Page 3: There are many characters in this story who were left over from the unpublished Bezango WA 985 # 9, such as Oric the waiter. They will be easy to spot.

Page 8: Oogla boogla meebee zeebee was a chant I first used in comix in the early 1970s.

Page 15, last panel: My favorite panel in the whole comic. Shows you how us lowbrows like to celebrate frivolity.

Page 20-22: My comment on the post 9/11 world. Also, a personal photocopier in the hands of a cartoonist can be a dangerous thing.

Page 28: I like the word "thwart" almost as much as I like the word "cranium."

To Touch the Face of Larry

First published in 1998, probably in August or September, 35 copies on cardstock (19 green, 16 yellow).

The 2nd ed., which was published a month or so later, had 15 copies on cardstock (14 grey, 1 blue). There is no edition statement.

The 1st Danger Room Reprint Ed. of June 2005 consisted of 5 blue cardstock copies.

In 2006 the story was posted both on OlyBlog and Loafers Magazine.

It was drawn with a #1 lead pencil.

I'm very fond of this one. The concept came from Ann Hartman, a fellow McClearyite who told me her sister Ruth always imagined God to look like her Larry Fine (of the Three Stooges) hand puppet. So I took it from there and brought that idea to it's natural conclusion.

And just so you know, I like Curly but Shemp rules, man. Shemp smoked cigars and had a son named Morty.