No. 453: The Canoe

I bought this beauty for twenty-five cents at a library sale yesterday:




Be this a lesson to you all! Please don't neglect the disgusting, sad children's book bargains in the corners of bookstores, libraries, thrift stores, dollar stores, novelty toy stores, and women's shelters, for you never know when beautiful images will creep their way into your mind forever for a couple of dusty old dimes. Children's books can be just as powerful as comics in their own ridiculous and often borderline-boring ways. Be on the lookout! Don't reject these types of books just because they seem awful and uninteresting at first glance. UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE CANOE, with beautiful artwork by George Carlson (of Jingle Jangle Tales fame), could pass for the new Jim Woodring book if your heart is in the right place. Definitely my best purchase since I left Vermont and can't buy large, barn-shaped boxes of animal crackers for $1.10 anymore.


I wish I had a canoe
Like this birch bark one, do you?
Best of all, I like the sails
Made of furry squirrel tails.
Froggie, waving from the shore,
Wishes they had room for more.

No. 452: Comics & Stories

The cartoon horse asks you a question, but you are unsure of what it is saying. You know it is a question because of the way its lips are moving. The lips are definitely forming words that look like they make up a question. You can almost see the question mark at the end. With much time and patience (on your part and the horse's), you are finally able to make out the question that the cartoon horse poses. It is:

"Why are most comic book picture stories unreadable?"

You think about the question for a minute and the answer comes to you relatively quickly. You say:

"Because people think they are so cute and clever!"

And the horse says:

"I bet you couldn't think of a good Family Circus gag, you piece of shit."

No. 451: Dirty Notebook Lies To All

No. 450: Checking in with the Little People

No. 449: Horror of the Gag

My computer has suffered an unfortunate (temporary??) death, so updates might continue to be slow for the near future. I will pepper the blog with real-life pictures of comics and drawings until I can successfully use a scanner again. How frustrating and depressing is the frailty of machines! Maybe the problem is that I think of myself as some sort of 1970s Woody Allen creature, desperately trying to put on my seatbelt but getting tangled in it instead. Maybe it's time to stop thinking these unhealthy thoughts and get a job at the Campbell's soup factory. As far as comics go, I'm having a good time penciling page after page, semi-dreading the day when I have to ink them all. Sometimes, in the night, I look at my wall of filth and dream of being a better cartoonist and person.

Remember--

There is nothing so horrific as the horror of the gag. --Carl Barks

No. 448: Lessons At Beagle Lake

An excerpt from my comic Lessons At Beagle Lake has been posted to Blaise Larmee's new publishing outfit, GAZE BOOKS. It seems like this will be an exciting venture. Other cartoonists on the website include Austin English, Caroline Bren, and Zara Messano. Try it!

No. 447: Reality

Hello, readers! I have been drawing a few stories lately for various venues. It feels nice to be doing something "for something," almost like a real cartoonist. Like Harold Gray, in his canopy bed at night, trying to keep the tears hidden. Here are some sneak peaks at what to expect in the near future.

No. 446: Publicity Dept.

Thanks, Graham Kolbeins, for writing a nice article about my comics at Future Shipwreck. It can be viewed here.

No. 445: Sweatbox Fantasy