Tuesday, 20 May 2008

Black Cloud

Today's Bizarro is brought to you by the political party that is supposed to be good for the economy.

This idea came in part from my buddy Phil, a budding cartoonist in his own right. He and I have had a pretty good number of collaborative efforts in the past year or so.

I write 90% or more of my comics, but I'm always willing to look at other people's ideas. Fresh perspective is important if you've got to write a cartoon a day, for life. I've been doing this without break since 1985. As I type that it makes me a little nauseous.

FCBM4 Day 20

It's day twenty of the fourth annual YACB Free Comic Book Month!

Our next selected entry is from Jesse Irwin, who listed his five comics as:

1. The Invisibles
2. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
3. Little Lulu
4. Herbie
5. Green Lantern

Another submissions that's kind of all over the map. I'll take a wild stab this time out and guess that Jesse might enjoy the retro-future tales in Dan Norton's Space 1958 #1 by Dan Norton & Mike Hawthorne.

For Jesse's bonus comic, I'm sending him the Uncle Scrooge ashcan.

Jesse's comics should be in the mail within a week. Enjoy!

There's still time to send in your entry for the YACB Free Comic Book Month; details are here.

Current FCBM Statistics:
40 entries
40 free comics sent so far
11 days remaining

Monday, 19 May 2008

More Chins Than...

Today's Bizarro cartoon is brought to you by Asian Laundry Services International.


This joke was suggested to me by a friend who is a very big dude and likes to kid himself about it. Thanks, Derek.

I got a few emails asking if the guy in the lower right corner is supposed to be me. Yes, it is, and yes, this regular habit of mine is something of an homage to Hitchcock. When I was young, my dad showed me how Alfred would appear momentarily in the early scenes of his movies, which instantly became my favorite thing to watch for. I put myself and CHNW in my cartoons all the time, but only folks who know us or read this blog realize it's us.

One reader asked if that was tofu I'm eating. I'm not a huge fan of tofu, but I do eat it from time to time. Whatever it is, it certainly is not meat. Although it is a cartoon, and animals are rarely harmed in the production of cartoon meat.

Paul Hornschemeier Interview - Audio

Here's the raw audio of the on-stage interview I did with creator Paul Hornschemeier (Mother, Come Home; Let Us Be Perfectly Clear; etc.) at Saturday's Ann Arbor Book Festival:



(If the embed doesn't work, here's the direct link: download. It's about 64 MB.)

I unfortunately had the levels set too low, so you may have to turn your sound volume up pretty high to hear it.

It's over an hour long. I've done a few interviews in the past, but this was the first time I ever interviewed someone live and at length. As such, the topics of conversation kind of bounce around, but I still think it went well.

A big thanks to Paul, who was a great interview subject, interesting and entertaining, able to take my questions and run with them. If you're ever looking for someone to invite as a speaker, I can recommend him heartily.

FCBM4 Day 19

It's day nineteen of the fourth annual YACB Free Comic Book Month!

Our next selected entry is from Thomas Jenkins, who listed his five comics as:

1. Blue Beetle
2. Green Arrow
3. The Incredible Hercules
4. Booster Gold
5. Avengers: The Initiative

Thomas is obviously a super-hero fan, so I'll send his the first issue of the recent Captain Marvel mini-series by Brian Reed, Lee Weeks & Stefano Gaudiano.

For Thomas's bonus comic, I'm sending him the Iron Man ashcan.

Thomas's comics should be in the mail within a week. Enjoy!

There's still time to send in your entry for the YACB Free Comic Book Month; details are here.

Current FCBM Statistics:
40 entries
38 free comics sent so far
12 days remaining

Sunday, 18 May 2008

Satan's Toolshed

(Click on image to enlarge)

Today's Bizarro is brought to you by the National Association of Independent Contractors, aka "Slackers With Tools."

I don't often praise my own cartoons but when this one came to me I couldn't scribble it down fast enough.

CHNW and I bought a place in Brooklyn four years ago and immediately started saving our money for a new kitchen. Last year we got estimates, had enough money, and decided to go with a contractor who came highly recommended by a friend. He said it would take "x" amount of money and 8 to 10 weeks. That was 9 months ago, and although he just finished the job, he has yet to come remove the rest of his tools. So far we've paid him "3x" and he thinks we owe him more. The Taj Mahal took less time and money than this kitchen.

On top of all this, the giant slab of stone-like crap the counter tops are made of is completely the wrong color, and there is a court battle between he and the counter top guy over whose fault it is.

I'm certain there are responsible contractors out there, but from the stories we've heard from friends, and our own experiences with the Kitchen Mahal, I think many are guys who don't want bosses, don't like responsibility, like to keep their own schedule (i.e. work half a day, smoke pot for three days, go to the beach, work half a day, disappear into the mountains for a week, etc.) who have a bunch of extra tools and large, brass balls.

If this project doesn't end in a murder/suicide, it will be a miracle.










This was the title panel from the cartoon. According to millions of American fundamentalists, this is a historically accurate portrayal of the origin of species. This image may well be used in the "science" classes of home-schooled kids all across the nation.

This is the 21st century, right?

FCBM4 Day 18

It's day eighteen of the fourth annual YACB Free Comic Book Month!

Our next selected entry is from Shane Windsnes, who listed his five comics as:

1. X-Men
2. Spider-Man
3. Y, the Last Man
4. Fables
5. Runaways

Shane likes the mutants of X-Men and the young heroes of Runaways, so he may also enjoy the first issue of Young X-Men by Marc Guggenheim & Yanick Paquette.

For Shane's bonus comic, I'm sending him the Iron Man ashcan.

Shane's comics should be in the mail within a week. Enjoy!

There's still time to send in your entry for the YACB Free Comic Book Month; details are here.

Current FCBM Statistics:
39 entries
36 free comics sent so far
13 days remaining