Fifteen Heart Attacks, page 6

From this point on, all the pages are entirely written and drawn by the amazingly incredible creative ball of energy we know as Maximum Traffic. Students of Newave and Obscuro will notice what care he took to  mimic my drawing style in certain instances in order to have some sort of continuity in the inevitable anarchy of the open jam.

Max is a brilliant star in the comix universe. I am so glad I got to meet him in person last year at SPACE in Columbus, thanks to Bruce Chrislip and Bob Corby making my trip possible.

Phone photo 1805

Coffee Grounds

Tumwater, Washington

Buttons - Presidential Campaign - 1980

Anderson For President

Congressman John Anderson of Illinois initially ran in the 1980 primaries as a Republican, but refused to join his party in their extreme tilt to the Right, so he bolted and ran as an independent. One of the more interesting third party campaigns in recent history, he enjoyed support from college campuses (and my Republican father even voted for him) but ultimately had no impact on the election, which was a landslide for Ronald Reagan. Then he vanished. So far as I know, John Anderson is still alive and is 90 years old today.

Phone photo 1804

The new Tumwater Eagan's has a mural of the old Tumwater Eagan's, the one that was just down the street from Olympia High School when I was a student there. Notice the vintage Olympia Beer neon sign above the scene. The Eagan's pictured here was only a block away from the brewery.

Fifteen Heart Attacks, page 5

On page 5 I did the pencil work, lettering, and partially "inked" (felt tip) panel 1. Maximum Traffic completed the inking on panel 1 and entirely inked panel 2.

Phone photo 1803

Buttons - Presidential Campaign - 1996

 

  In Perot We Trust 1996

Paul Tumey sent me this great button with a wonderful graphic explanation. This button for Ross Perot's second presidential campaign as the Reform Party candidate is pretty amazing. Thanks Paul!

I'm not really an active collector of political buttons, but I do enjoy the way they can spark a conversation on many levels.

Phone photo 1802

Tumwater, Washington

Bezango, the Film

Ron Austin and Louise Amandes have just created a blogspace centered around their upcoming film:

Bezango, an Anthology of Pacific Northwest Cartoonists.

Here's the mission statement: Bezango is a film, and website, documenting prominent Northwest cartoonists. The project chronicles the history, struggles, and evolution of the local cartoon industry.

Phone photo 1801

Tumwater, Washington

Fifteen Heart Attacks, page 4

Phone photo 1800

A rather disturbing bit of advertising

McCleary, Washington

Buttons - Presidential Campaign - 1980

 Kennedy '80

During the 1980 primaries I found this button on the floor of a city bus in Seattle's University District

Phone photo 1799

McCleary, Washington

Fifteen Heart Attacks, page 3

Phone photo 1798

Buttons - Presidential Campaign - 1976

Leaders, for a change

Carter Mondale

On the curl: Paid for and authorized by 1976 Democratic Campaign Committee, Inc.

Phone photo 1797

Lacey, Washington

Fifteen Heart Attacks, page 2

Gotta love that "What th--?!" phrase. No comix story should be without it.

Phone photo 1796

"Am I the oNly Person who Thinks this Weather is total Manipulation. It is not A Natural thing Being Done to Us. 'Chemtrails' 'HAARP' 'GeoEngineering' Look These up!"

This large sign was up for several days at the entrance to town. Someone recently vandalized it.

Buttons - Presidential Campaign - 1972

come home america

McGovern Shriver 1972

On the curl: 8-72, Westcoast, Vote Distrs., 26 Brooks, Venice, Calif. 90291 

Oddly, the discoloration on the left of the button is not visible to the naked eye.

One of  my favorite political buttons, and an early presentation of a theme that has been used by both parties in nearly every subsequent presidential campaign.

Phone photo 1795

Fifteen Heart Attacks, page 1

Fifteen Heart Attacks was a story I began, I'm guessing, in 2009 or 2010. But life caught up to me and the project died. But I can present this unfinished piece in stages. Maximum Traffic got in on the act later. You'll see.

Morty the Dog's declaration on the splash page is a direct quote from the amazing Vincent Price in his very best movie, Theatre of Blood. Supposedly I actually uttered these lines when I came out of surgery while under the influence of pain killers on April Fool's Day, 1995.

One time in the late 1970s/early 1980s I woke up after a wild party and found myself behind a couch in the morning. That fond memory inspired this page.

Phone photo 1794

The Fab Four 

Everywhere I look, there is a cat.

Morty Comix # 2426

Morty Comix # 2426 was placed in an arcade area of a Tumwater, Washington pizza joint

Phone photo 1793

Charlie actually watched about half of The Accidental Tourist quite attentively with me. I think the Corgi dog in the movie really grabbed his notice.

Buttons - Presidential Campaign - 1972

 Remember Oct. 9

For more buttons, Ms. Anderson, Clergy & Laity Concerned, (402) 426-4006, $25.00/M

This was a button distributed by the McGovern campaign. The reference was to a statement supposedly made by Richard Nixon, Oct. 9, 1968, when he was campaigning for President. Now this is only from my memory, but the quote was something like: "Those who have had a chance for four years and could not produce peace should not be given another chance." At the time Nixon uttered this he was aiming at LBJ's Vice-President and 1968 Dem. nominee, Hubert Humphrey. In 1972 this button attempted to remind voters of how Nixon had not only failed to end the Vietnam War, but actually escalated it.

Phone photo 1792

Morty Comix # 2425

Morty Comix # 2425 was set behind a promotional display sign at a Tumwater McDonalds

Buttons - Presidential Campaign - 1972

McGovern