Phone photo 216

Morty Candle Box

A Morty candle box constructed about 15 years ago by my sister-in-law, Susan.

Phone photo 215

Bryan's gate

Clay Geerdes Website

Fellow Newaver David Miller informed me that Clay Geerdes' nephew, Bill Kossack, has started a webpage in memory of the man who made our crazy network possible.

I contacted Bill and he added:

"I have an area on my site titled "Underground Friends". Everyone that was connected to comix and knew Clay are invited to submit to it. It's really just a place where someone can submit whatever they want about themselves, how they got into comix, their favorite memories, what they are doing now, etc. They can send me their favorite pics to post with their submission. It doesn't need to be about Clay entirely, but mostly a place where people who were associated with comix can post whatever about their lives.
I'm going to update the web site this weekend with more additions and another update on the weekend of Jan 8th. I'm hoping to have all the Comix World newletters posted by then. The biography section is undergoing a more organized change."

Here's the link to website: https://claygeerdesinfo.com/Home_Page.php

Phone photo 214

Morty In Box

Designed and built by John Crosby, ca. 1987.

John was the bookbinder at The Evergreen State College Library. When I worked there in the capacity of Acting Head of Cataloging, John constructed this In Box. The material on the edges is made of buckram, the fabric you see covering most hardback books.

I first met John in 1986 during my interview process. They shoved me into a room with about 30 people, all firing questions at me as I was struggling to maintain a professional image. Then in the middle of all this, there's this fellow who got an evil grin and dramatically pulled out one of my comix with Morty on the cover. "What can you tell us about ... this?" he asked, clearly enjoying himself as the mischievous character I later got to know. So much for my professional image.

That was the first time I met John. And I got hired in spite of the comic. Or maybe because of it.

John created all sorts of creative artistic pieces. This In Box is one of my favorites of his.

Phone photo 213

Midnight Fiction 2008 Desk Calendar

Richard Krauss of Portland, Oregon pulled me out of semi-retirement when he asked me to contribute to this fun project.

I was peacefully minding my own business like the true Norm that I am, just making an average living with my own two hands [and here as Steve lifts his hands his fingers sort of wiggle back and forth while a "deedle-deedle-deedle" sound effect takes place, as if made by a xylophone] and along comes this opportunity to present the world with an image placed in my cranium by cosmic forces.

And who, I ask you, can resist the chance to draw a penguin in the desert sands? Not me. I just woke up and knew I had to do it.

Midnight Fiction released this as loose leaves in a CD case. As you can see by the contributor list, I was in good company.

The penguin was based on a pet penguin that used to hang out at my house. I have posted a photo of him with Dreamer the cat. Unless you have lived with a penguin, it is difficult to explain how evil they really are. Fortunately he just picked up and left shortly after seeing my drawing for this project.

Phone photo 212

McCleary Time Capsule, 1943-1963

McCleary Time Capsule was a chronology column that ran in almost every issue of the McCleary Museum Newsletter from vol. 5, no. 1 (spring 1995) to vol. 10, issue 4 (Dec. 2000).

The column covered the first 20 years of McCleary's transformation from company town to a real municipality.

I was also the editor of the newsletter up to vol. 6, no. 2 (summer 1996).

And yes, this was all done with a photocopier, typewriter, scissors, and gluestick.