Does Gilbert Shelton Have a Legal Case Here?

As I mentioned a few months ago, I hope Gilbert Shelton is getting some kind of commission from the catnip company Ducky World for the blatant use of his Fat Freddy's Cat character. And maybe he is, but I sure don't see Shelton's name anywhere on this container.

If Shelton is getting screwed over here, I can empathize.

Any attorneys who want to play David to Goliath (pro bono, of course, we cartooning librarians are not living in poverty, but we can see it from here) are welcome to contact me about Disney's use of my Floating Baby Head character. I think I have a good case. My character appeared in a nationally distributed comic book long before it later turned up in Phineas and Ferb.

Corporate America had no problem going after the underground cartoonists for copyright violations, but seems perfectly at ease lifting the creative efforts of underground/Newave artists for their own profit.

Morty Comix # 2515

 The fate of Morty Comix # 2515 is rather involved, so settle in and read this tale of wonder.

 I set a thin plank above the living room floor

 On this plank I precariously set puzzle pieces for all 50 states

 Then I took out some potent catnip in order to gain assistance from my little friends

 The catnip was sprinkled along the plank

 All set to go

And within minutes Charlie was on the job. I wanted to choose among the very last states left on the plank. Washington was one of the very first ones he sent to the floor.

Seeing that he had started the process, he decided to take a break.

Since it almost time to hit the hay anyway, I made a choice to just leave it for the night. By the next morning I noticed more pieces had been knocked to the floor in the course of the evening.

That morning Dreamer and Buster decided to check out this scene and add to the carnage. Dreamer's tail really did a number on many of the states remaining on the plank.

In fact, one end of the plank was knocked to the floor and the other barely held up by a tiny bit of the corner.

 Buster inspects Dreamer's handiwork.

It was at this point I left for the day.

 When I returned home from work, here's what the plank looked like.

 

Three states were left touching the top of the plank: Florida, Oregon, and Alaska

  

Oh, wait, I found Arizona under Alaska. Make that four states!

As it turned out after examining the earlier photos, I was in error. 

Arizona was merely where part of Alaska landed on the floor.

Then it was time to haul out the old Washington State House of Representatives Cafeteria tray and some wooden pegs.

The tray was placed on the kitchen floor and the four states were balanced on top of the pegs. I was going to let a cat narrow down the contenders, but this time I would pick the states that were knocked to the floor.

Charlie obliged within a minute, by knocking Florida to the floor.

He was enjoying batting around The Sunshine State so much on the linoleum I was afraid he was going to  knock the puzzle piece under my dead dishwasher, so I had to rescue it.

 So for good measure, he reacted by returning to the tray and punching down Arizona.

 Tired out by this activity, he returned to his duties as the sentinel of the kitchen window.

Meanwhile, Hettie, who is the smartest creature under this roof, observed all this foolishness with a bit a haughty disdain.

So it came to Arizona and Florida. I decided to enlist the help of my cartoonist comrade who also dates back to the Newave Comix days, Richard Krauss. As an Oregon resident, he knows we Pacific Northwesterners have to do something to keep occupied in these dark and rainy winter days.

Actually, all I did was ask him to choose either Arizona or Florida and explain why, but he went all out in the spirit of this random art distribution, which demonstrates how contagious it can be. When he was done I had a name and address. Here is Richard's response:

Of course, I'm honored to play "Where is the Morty Comix going to be sent?" The rules of this particular edition are somewhere in Arizona or Florida.

First thought was to flip through Delaine Derry Green's Not My Small Diary #17 to select a city. Her contributors span the country and she lists their addresses at the bottom of each page. There would likely be cities in the two states to narrow the selection. 

Another thought was to take a character name from my novelette in progress, Walt Hutchison, and see if the interwebs point to anyone. Bezango! There's a real estate agent in Fort Myers. And Linked-In lists a full 19 candidates. The Route Salesman at Bimbo Bakeries sounded like a winner, but unfortunately his location in the greater New York area was an instant disqualifier. I wonder if he'd consider moving?

I discussed the game with my family. Ideas of using Pinterest and six degrees of separation were discussed, without conclusion.

I searched "How to make a random selection" using Duck Duck Go. Too scientific.

Drawn to Florida, I downloaded a spreadsheet of population data from the Office of Economic & Demographic Research, scrambled the counties, closed my eyes, held my breath and blindly placed a cursor on Pasco County, population 464,697 by way of 2010 count. Now, we're getting somewhere.

A new search provided Pasco County, Florida results. The official site, leading the results nearly sucked me in, but no, Morty wouldn't go there. 

Pasco County was created in 1887. It was named after Samuel Pasco, who served in the Confederate Army and the U.S. Senate from 1887 to 1899. Towns include Anclote, Blanton, Dade City, Earnestville, Fort Dade, Macon and San Antonio.

The name Dade City is appealing and it's the county seat to boot. Population 6,449 in 2011.

Scrolling results for Dade City, Florida, the entry listing Bee Removal looked interesting. Turns out the resident beekeeper there is the lucky candidate. He is not actually located in Dade City, but he serves the area's bee removal needs and his company is located in Pasco County, in Lakeland.

 

Thanks Richard! Now, off to Florida!

Morty Comix # 2509

 Morty Comix # 2509 gets to travel. Let's let Fate decide where it goes.

I decided to once again employ a monkey part in the method of choosing a new home for a Morty Comix.

Charlie and Dreamer decided right away they were going to "help."

Then I took out a clamp that is humorously shaped like dentures. Ha ha! And I tied a string to it. Charlie and Dreamer had to inspect this as well.

This novelty was clamped to one of the blades of my oversized living room ceiling fan.

 On the other end of the string I tied the monkey part.

At this point I brought out a recently acquired puzzle map of the United States. Since I plan on developing and perfecting this Fatalist method of releasing Morty Comix into the world, I thought it would be a good idea to invest in this. Entertainment for some, a tool of serious art distribution for me.

Tipping the puzzle box on its side with the pieces barely balancing on top of my comfy chair, the other half of the box waits below to catch the chips that will fall where they may.

I turn on the fan, the monkey part circles the room, gaining momentum and height. Meanwhile, Dreamer plays with his new catnip banana.

 In short order, the monkey part hits the box, knocking the puzzle pieces asunder.

 Five states landed in the other half of the box: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Louisiana, and New Mexico.

So I propped up each state with a cup and waited to see how long it would take for a cat to knock over at least one. Within a minute Charlie obliged.

 He knocked over the two great states of California and Louisiana.

So I set up two on a small table and shot foam darts until one of them was knocked out. And California it shall be.

The dice were rolled, and the number three took me to the Golden State's third largest city, San Jose. This is very strange. This is the second time San Jose has been chosen at random! The first occasion was with Morty Comix # 2403. Actually, this is sort of deliciously bizarre but it kind of mildly freaks me out too.

In looking at a San Jose street map, I zeroed in on Lundy Avenue. Why? My middle name is Londy, but it is pronounced as if it was spelled Lundy. Back in the family stomping grounds in the Cumberland Mountains of Virginia, Lundy is not an unusual name. My grandfather, Londy Willis, gained that unusual spelling because he had a twin brother, London Willis (there were three sets of twins in that family!)

So, Lundy Avenue was my choice. I used the Google street view and at random chose a label business.

 

So off you go, little Morty Comix # 2509. Have a great trip!

Fat Freddy's Catnip?

My cats love these catnip bananas, but I hope Gilbert Shelton is getting some kind of royalty for the cat drawing on the label.