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Steilacoom, Washington

$475 - Original Art - Cranium Frenzy # 7

19 pages of all the original art for Cranium Frenzy # 7 is for sale at $475

Starring Morty the Dog, Mukey the Mutant Membrane, Snoodle B. Clapsaddle and a talking lawnmower, this story was first drawn and published in 1994. The art is blue pencil and felt tip on card stock, 35.5 x 28 cm. A couple word balloons have a dab of whiteout. The artwork is in excellent shape and has held up well for being nearly 20 years old.

$475 ppd
Check or money order to
Steve Willis
PO Box 390
McCleary, WA 98557-0390

NO LONGER FOR SALE
 

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View of Anderson, Eagle, and McNeil islands from Steilacoom, Washington

Favorite Movie Quotes: Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia

"Don't give me that crap. There's nothing sacred about a hole in the ground or a man that's in it, or you, or me. Listen, the Church cuts off the feet, fingers, any other Goddamn thing from the saints, don't they? Well, what the Hell? Alfredo's our saint! He's the Saint of Our Money and I want to borrow a piece of him."

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Nightcrawlers Bait

Steilacoom, Washington

Morty Comix # 2511

Morty Comix # 2511 provided a few minutes of entertainment while devising a way to determine where it will be sent.

 

 All my United States puzzle pieces were scattered on the hallway floor

 A foam basketball was employed

 I rolled it down the hall hard enough so it would bounce back toward to United States puzzle pieces

 

 And it worked, first time!

 Let's see that again in slow motion, shall we? What an amazing play!

 It landed on-- North Carolina!

 

So now I go to the studio and ... oh. Wait.

 

First, let's get a close-up of this puzzle piece. We see poultry, swine, and tobacco. I can't wait for the new 2013 Washington State puzzle piece where we will see lumber, fish, and marijuana!

An ancestor of mine, named Thomas Reeve, attempted to set up a turpentine operation in North Carolina in the 1630s, but couldn't make it stick. So he migrated to Long Island to an English community called Southold. Several other ancestors of mine passed through NC on their way West. One of them was enlisted under the NC banner in the Revolution and took part in a couple battles. Someday I really have to go back there and visit.

OK, back to the prehistoric critter. I went into the studio and looked for anything pointy. The tail of this little guy fit the bill.

Then I hauled out my 1955 atlas, opened the page to North Carolina with all 100 counties neatly given a different color and readied myself for the next dizzying step.

 With the pointy tailed dino-toy in hand I spun around in place---

 And landed the tail on the map at random.

The nearest town on the map to the point of contact was a place called Fuquay Springs. But with a little research I learned that town merged with a neighboring community in 1964 and is now called Fuquay Varina, North Carolina.

Anyway, as this method of artistic distribution continues to evolve, I have started favoring the sending of these Morty Comix to non-residential addresses and only to public or quasi-public places, which includes business. Also I am discovering how to use Google street view as a tool. In this case I was cruising through a main road and spotted a business that included the word "Glam-O-Rama" in its name. I like it!

So it is off to the other side of the country for this one.

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DuPont, Washington

Favorite Movie Quotes: Brannigan

"Now, would you like to try for England's free dental care or are you gonna answer my questions?"

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Mud Bay

Buttons - Comic Art - 1989

Mr. Fix

(c) 1989 S.L. Stevens

On reverse: Badge-a-Minit, LaSalle, Ill, 61301

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Mud Bay

Morty Comix # 2510

 

Morty Comix # 2510 was a difficult one to place.

  

It really started in 2007 in Washington, DC. I was attending a librarian conference there that year.  I'm the one in the middle. The cats are Baker and Taylor, mascots for a book distributor.

  

In the bag of conference swag I collected at that event, this plastic sheet of Presidents of the United States was included. 

So now, several years later, this Prez gallery will help me select a new home for this issue of Morty Comix.  I placed it on the floor at the end of the hallway in front of a bulletin board.

 Above the whole scene is a painting by my Aunt Pat Pearson.

   

Then I brought out my bowl of spare pennies. My daughter made this bowl long ago when she was in school. 

 

I tossed the pennies at the bulletin until one of them bounced off and landed on the presidential visages.

It didn't take long.

 

Jackson, Van Buren, Harding, and Coolidge

  

I'm looking for counties. Since there is no such place as Coolidge County in the USA I was able to disqualify Silent Cal. So before rolling the dice I assigned numbers: Jackson 2, Van Buren 3, Harding 4. Within a few rolls Harding was the winner.

There are two Harding counties in the US, but only one is named after the President. Harding County, New Mexico has a population of less than 700. I wanted to find an address in the ghost town of Rosebud, given the fact I was co-author of the role playing mystery game, Riddle at Rosebud, which was set in New Mexico, but alas, ghosts don't have mailing addresses. At the time I cooked up that title I had no idea there really was a place once called Rosebud in the Land of Enchantment.

So what I settled on was sending the comic to a bar in Mosquero, the county seat.

And I must say I find it hard to believe Warren Harding actually has a county named after him. Incredible.

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Ducks at Mud Bay

Favorite Movie Quotes: All the King's Men (1949)

"You're throwin' money around like it was money."

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Elma, Washington

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!