Morty the Dog # nothing

This odd little minicomic was another entry in the subgenre of repackaging stories from digest sized comix into the mini format.

In 1987 Starhead Comix took two old stories of mine and created this mini, 7 x 13 cm. The spine was on the top, and most of the pages faced each other in a way that required the reader to keep flipping the book around. Unlike most other minicomix, this one had color covers and was printed on newsprint.

"A Day in the Life of Morty the Dog" was from Cranium Frenzy #2 (1982), "God's Little Joke" from Cranium Frenzy #1 (1981). I'll supply the backstories once we arrive at posting the Cranium Frenzy series.

I have no idea how obscure or common this minicomic is. I thought Michael Dowers did a great job on composing the cover. I can't place the source for the drawing of Morty he used. Color has never really been my thing, but Michael and his brother Patrick have really given my work more flair when they apply their talents in this area.

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State of Morty the Blog

In our first month we've had over 1000 pageviews from all over the world including Canada, England, France, Germany, Finland, Russia, South Korea, and Utah. I'm probably about halfway through posting all the little minicomix, and then I'll be moving on to the larger publications. This could take years, folks.

My favorite part about all this is getting reacquainted with you other old guys while seeking permission to post these jams.

Sarah has been instrumental in setting up all this. There is no way this blog would be happening without her. So if you like this stuff, your thanks belong to Sarah.

Today you'll notice we are now PayPal verified by the little logo on the margin. So we are edging closer to making some comix and artwork available for you collectors.

Onward.

Morty Prima Facie!

The 1st edition was published by High Resolution Productions (Shawn Christie) in Cloquet, Minnesota. There are a few misleading details on this one. Although the cover has "no. 1" the comic was intended as a monograph rather than as a serial, so the real title is actually on the back page. The date on the back is c1986, but this minicomic didn't see print until 1987, I'm guessing in April or early May.

The 2nd edition was published by Future Comics (Chris DiRe) in Lancaster, New York. The 1st Future Comics printing had 50 copies on white paper in July, 1987. Chris kept the "no. 1" on the cover and a "Future Comics" logo on the top of the cover.

When the work became part of the Reprint Series in my 1994 print-on -demand spree, I stripped off the numerical designation. I have no idea how many copies of this little guy were printed.

The 1st Danger Room Reprint Ed. in June 2005 consisted of 5 copies on yellow cardstock. I incorrectly had the statement "Originally published 1986" on it.

This one has always been one of my favorites and it brings back fond memories of an age when I thought I was invulnerable. In the 1970s I saw a lot of the West Coast and New England thanks to hitching rides. Once in awhile I'd get stuck in a spot for quite some time (next to Disneyland was the worst ever!) and have a chance to just think. This comic was my attempt to capture that experience.

Of course, by 1986 there was no way I was ever going to hitch again-- I was an old guy-- in my 30s!

Notice how the conflict between Morty and myself becomes one of his great joys. That little mutt! I think I'll have to go to a doctor to have him surgically removed!

Morty Comix #2173

This special "Mass market Issue!" was another blank page filler. I had four empty pages to use after I pasted up the mini, Musical Chairs, and this was the result.

The Mar. 25, 1999 run had 50 copies (18 yellow, 20 green, 12 pink).

The 1st Danger Room Reprint Ed. in June 2005 had a grand total of 5 yellow copies.

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Morty Comix #1882

Although Morty Comix were created as one-of-a-kind original art giveaways, for some reason Michael Dowers talked me into making this "Special Mass Production Issue" in 1990. I am guessing it was due to 4 extra pages he had to fill when he was also printing issue #2 of another series I edited, Raining Quills. Publishers abhor blank pages.

There exist some accidental versions of Morty Comix #1882 incorporated into Raining Quills #2, also published by Starhead. I assume these are few and far between.

This comic was reprinted as a 1st Danger Room Reprint Ed. in June 2005 with 5 pink copies.

In Sept. 2006 there were printed 10 yellow copies of the 1st OlyBlog Reprint Ed., to take up the slack of blank pages with a reprint of Brave New Nazis of the Inland Empire.

Apparently, Morty Comix #1882 was born to be an extra blank page filler!

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It Has No Story, and It's Only Part of a Small Cult Phenomena, or, Low-Budget 'Pataphysics Made Easy

Hey, how many books can you name with the word '' 'pataphysics " in the title?

This was published by Dada Gumbo in Tucson, Arizona in 1985, not too long before Dale Luciano moved to Ashland, Oregon.

Like the previously mentioned Harnessing the White Elephant, this was later reprinted in Dada Gumbo Morty in 1994.

As usual, Dale had sent me panels with images slapped on in Dada random. I saw my job as attempting to form a story with what I was given.

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El Ranchon wallpaper, Elma, Washington

Lump Soup Sciolpluileas!

Here's one I'm betting not many of Chester Brown's fans know about.

Starhead Comix in Seattle published both editions. The first was in 1985. The second printing in 1990 had some color in the cover.

At the time this comic was first drawn, Toronto cartoonist Chester Brown had yet to become a household name in comix. Yummy Fur was a small digest-sized comic at that time, but Chester's considerable talent was already obvious. His character Ed the Happy Clown was pretty much of a polar opposite to Morty the Dog. Perhaps that is why I played up Morty in this comic to be more of a jerk than ever in an effort to increase the comic tension.

The proposed title here was Lump Soup Sillies, but Chester threaded the word "copula" into the title and created a new word. I think we produced this by sending the art back and forth, a process I enjoyed with a fellow storyteller. It was fun wondering what Chester was going to do next with Ed.

Scanned and posted with permission from Chester Brown.

Olympia Film Society Art Auction

OK, I have a copy of the catalog, but am unable to post it here. And apparently it isn't online yet.

It is scheduled for Oct. 1. Keep checking the OFS website for updated info.

There are two of us local comix guys in there. Jon Strongbow's entry is described thusly:

Jon Strongbow has donated an homage to
the Broadway Market and movie theater
that once existed in Seattle. The Masai
dancers are men who in leaping experience
weightlessness which is akin to flying.
Mantis is a mythological being who may
have created the entire human race.
http://www.jonstrongbow.com/

It's in color. I don't know the dimensions or medium.

Jon and I go way back to but it has been many years since we've seen each other. I think I last saw him at the Starhead farewell party in Ballard about 1997.

Here's the entry for yours truly:

Steve Willis is a librarian who also writes comics.
He has donated 5 new issues of Morty Comix to
the auction. Read about the series at Olyblog:
http://www.olyblog.net/guide-morty-comix

http://www.mortydog.blogspot.com/

The Cap Theater has also been one the venues for the Olympia Comix Fest for several years. In fact, Peter Bagge and I had a nice little forum on politics in comix there just a few months ago.

Harnessing the White Elephant Vol. 2, No. 1

Dale R. Luciano's Dada Gumbo Press showcased his interest in Dada and Surrealism. An educator in theater arts by trade, Dale wrote a landmark survey of Newave comix artists which was serialized in several issues of The Comics Journal in the mid-1980s. He was the first serious writer from the outside to recognize and cover with any depth the Newave comix movement. At the same time he went native, and started publishing an wagonload of some of the most interesting minicomix of the 1980s.

Dale and I jammed on several comix projects. Our collaborative work would typically follow this process: He'd send me several panels with random images pasted on them. That was the Dada portion. Then I would attempt to form a story around the images. Sometimes I wasn't sure what Dale with do with our work-- would they part of a larger anthology, or, as a stand-alone book?
Harnessing the White Elephant had no vol. 1, no. 1 as far as I know. 100 copies were printed in May 1986 by Dada Gumbo in Ashland, Oregon. The comic is sideways, 11 x 14 cm. As you can see by the content, I was not a big fan of the Art Establishment. Actually, my opinion since then has softened a tiny bit-- but not much. This minicomic also showed up in 1994 in Dada Gumbo Morty, a collection of all Luciano/Willis jams under one cover, reprinted during my print-on-demand publishing period.

Scanned and posted with permission from Dale Luciano.

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