Monday Memorial Day Honkers, Hogzillas, Links & Ketchup

(Photo copyright monsterpig.com, posted to promote their site! See links, below.)

Odds and Ends from Hither & Yon, Thither & Yawn

I was hoping to post Part 2 of my "War That I Never Forgot!" post today, on Memorial Day, commemorating all soldiers who fought dinosaurs in comic books, everywhere, but alas, it's still in the works. So, later. Instead, I'll counter my Memorial Day depression over how completely loathsome and hypocritical it is of our President (our Commander in Chief, who is not to be questioned in military rank-and-file tradition) or Vice President to even dare to open their lying fucking mouths today -- well, I won't go there. No, I'll counter my depression with some pleasant nonsense and links to happier sites and diversions.

Fellow Turok devotees, Unite!

Note my baby honker, roaring, even in tot-dom! It must have been a real bitch to change my diapers with that honker snapping atcha. I'll have to ask Mom about that. Anyhoot, a boy and his honker. Such was the transformative power of Turok, Son of Stone, the pre-pubescent viagra of my youth!

My amigo Mark Martin customized my baby photo (posted earlier this week as the opener to my "The War I Never Forgot! Part 1" opening volley on beloved dino comics of my childhood) and posted it on

his always entertaining Jabberous blog; scroll down to his 5/25/07 post to reveal the secret source of the glasses photoshopped onto my baby-face! (Original MM image post is also in the May thread, scroll on down to 5/23/07). Thanks, Mark! My baby-honker honks atcha!

Then Pete Von Sholly sent me this Turok memory of his own childhood, circa 1962, emailed from far-away VonShollywood, which you can of course visit here (always linked via my list of fave sites, on the right menu), but I reckoned I should remind you of this AM anyhoot. Thanks, Pete!

I will not comment on the larger size of my honker even as a toddler, though you were in your pic my elder, Pete, age-wise. I'm sure it grew to proper honkerdom later in life.

But enough on Honkers. Now, about that Hogzilla --

I warn't kidding y'all. Now, one of my all-time favorite unsung monster movies is Russell Mulcahy's Razorback, the best movie Mulcahy ever made (sorry, Highlander 2 fans). It's all about a giant pig on the loose in the Outback of Australia, and it's a corker, with a great and gory finale. Seems a real Razorback was nailed in Alabama of late, and a Monster Hawg it was, too.

This week, on the CCS discussion board, CCS freshman-now-a-senior Bryan Stone (from Alabama, natch) posted this, commenting "So if you've ever wondered what the Stone clan back in Alabama are up to -- haw!,"

and this, which has prompted much delight and outrage amongst the local CCS yokels.

Then, completely by coincidence and without knowing of Bryan or that CCS board, fellow Alabamaian-transplanted-North Mark Martin sent me this link (via yesterday's comments to this blog)

and this one, its companion piece, which demonstrates this fine Memorial Day how completely un-united and fucked-up the good ol' U. S. of A. really is in the Year of Our Lord 2007 A.D., and that's all there is too it.

Those links Mark sent, BTW, are off the original site Bryan posted; credit where credit is due, but I had to note the complete coincidence of the two Alabama cartoonists I love best sending this my way within days of one another, without knowing the other. Small world.

Mark, of course, is not the NASCAR driver. Bryan, natch, is the fellow Mount Ascutney climber whose cartoon incarnation ('created' by JP Coovert) won the CCS 'Fight' Comic, which I posted the final two pages of here just a couple of weeks ago.

Anyhoot, "Sausage is all gone." But we can forever savor the Peccary Pix!

Promising to you ongoing links for the Center for Cartoon Studies students and artists, I deliver regularly. Here's some fresh groceries.

For instance, there's a few veteran CCSers -- once lowly freshmen, now elevated to the senior stature that is theirs and theirs alone from the upcoming fall 2007 to their own fateful spring 2008 graduation day -- who had yet to offer links, sites or blogs for your edification.

Prominent among them is Denis St. John, who has at last launched his own blog, already graced with some sketches inspired by a midnight movie showing of John Carpenter's beloved, screwy They Live (at left)! Keep an eye on Denis's blog, the best is yet to come!

OK, now on to the honest-to-God freshmen coming in the door in a couple-of-few months. Minnows, soon to be trout; piglets, soon to be Razorbacks. Welcome them, one and all!

Already, though we are barely a week (a week and one day, my friends) away from the momentous first-ever graduating class from our sturdy institution, we at CCS are preparing for the new incoming class. And you might as well, too. I've asked incoming freshmen willing to share their site, blogs, MySpace pages and whatever with you, and some have already heeded the call. Please, be generous with your comments, they can use the encouragement and feedback!

Incoming CCS freshman Sam Carbaugh offers some of his sketches, doodles, thoughts and art here, but has a new site under construction (and soon to be up; I'll post that link once Sam lets me know it's ready).

We've also got some artists who are also musicians coming in the door, too, which carries on another now-venerable CCS tradition (pioneered by Sam Gaskin of Pizza Wizard soon-to-be-fame). Many is the evening the CCS basement has been enlivened by marvelous live music, and the creative space is the better for it. I have particularly fond memories of Blair Sterrett serenading the winter CCS auction with the mournful tune of his saw.

Good to know that tradition is only going to grow! For instance,

24-year-old Brooklyn-dweller Steve Seck is on his way to CCS this late summer/fall, too, and he has his MySpace art, posters, photos and so on posted here,

and lots of music, videos, pics and pix from his band Creaky Boards posted here. Check it all out, and be sure to let him know I sent you!

In another bit of cartooning coincidence of the geographic variety, both Sam C and Steve S originally herald from Michigan -- either side of the 'hand,' it seems -- so there ya go. Forging bonds and they're not even here yet.

Next with the cajones to just open up his online life and work to y'all, taking the leap off that virtual diving board into what he hopes might be water, is none other than Pekin (that's it, Pekin), who has already captured my heart by noting his love for Charles Mingus and Bruce Campbell, which is all I need to know just now. Welcome aboard, Pekin, looking forward to meeting you!

BTW, Pekin's portrait, posted here, is of himself, "in thirty years."

But that ain't all, folks. We've already got some ambitious internet cartooning on display from the upcoming freshmen class, which is a great sign of things to come.

First to post a sizable body of work is Jeff Mumm. He has the most online comics to share at this juncture, with his latest Ninja Pig project "A Little Larceny" in progress and updating from now till the end of summer -- check it out --

-- and Jeff's earlier menagerie of "Obscured by Species" online comics and characters are archived here. Worth a look and enjoy!

There. Hogzilla and Ninja Pig, all in the same post. Beat that!

That's just the tip of a new iceberg, folks, and with the way the ice caps are melting, we should welcome every iceberg we can find.

That's it for today, hope this livens up your Memorial Day.

Tomorrow, it's back to that bad boy Gabby Schulz, for Part Three of the "Gabbin' with Gabby" marathon interview. See you here!

Have a great Memorial Day, one and all --

A Day of Rest...

Hope you're all having a great Sunday!

Marge is hurting this weekend, so we've laid low and close to home. Yesterday was spent with our youngest offspring -- sons Daniel and Mike! -- with Danny blowing through around noon hour with three of his buds en route to Burlington.

Mike was here from 9 AM to 10 PM working on the basement, installing lights and light switches for the new section; his wife Mary poodled over around noon and we all had a good time eating and chatting whilst I grilled up some turkey burgers on the grill. A six of Long Trail was downed to wash down the burgers and salad and a fine time was had by all. Mary and I made a run to Home Depot to pick up needed supplies, including a big batch of energy-saver bulbs, for which Mary ribbed me endlessly (they were $8+ bulbs, but man, the basement shelves are now lit in style). I took NH Route 12 back to Windsor, and on the way (once Mount Ascutney was in view) Mary told me she'd climbed the mountain -- taking the Brownsville Trail, the same one Peter Money and the CCSers and I had taken two weeks ago -- and was amazed I'd made it. She's an experienced hiker and runs and exercises daily, and she had a tough time making it up the summit; reckon I'm in better shape than I thought for an old coot!

After we got back, Mary headed home midday and then came back for supper: I cooked up a load of spaghetti to go with the leftover pizza (from Brick and Brew in Hanover, excellent pizza) and garlic bread and garlic knots. Again, big yum. Mary headed out soon after and Mike insisted upon finishing up the electrical work, wrapping the job up around 9:45 PM.

It was a productive and yet pleasant day, and great to spend so much time with our sons and with Mary.

This morn, the predicted thunderstorms never materialized on this side of the Green Mountains -- so, off to the flea market I went. Scored a few goodies at a nickel to $1 a pop, including a batch of Mark of the Devil vomit bags unlike any I've ever come across: Reggie Nalder's face had been redrawn! Weird! They were from a stash of magazine and movie paper, all from the early '70s, so these are from a New England theater of the era, not reprints by 1990s gorehounds; I had to pick up a couple of 'em for the collection. Snagged a Big Little Book for $1, too, and some choice items for Christmas gifts for our amigos.

The rest of the day I tended to Marge, who's pretty much off her feet for the weekend (not by choice), cooked up lunch, and unpacked in the basement betwixt bouts of writing upstairs on the laptop. Wrapped up work on the Gabby interviews, so those will all be up this week, as promised, and chipped away at book projects and a bit of text for the new website.

All in all, another good day. Daniel and his amigos are dropping by again tomorrow for lunch en route home from up north, so we've got that to look forward to.

Oh, and Colin and Dave, the Accent UK editors, sent me two copies of Zombies, which looks excellent. Nice package, and the repro and stories are sharp throughout; I passed one copy on to Dan, and will show the other around CCS this week. Colin and Dave shipped a fat package of comps over as well for everyone here, but they'll take some time to arrive via slow-boat-to-Boston or where ever the hell they come in.

OK, have a great Memorial Day, one and all. Sorry, I can't work up anything inspiring or infuriating to post, so disgusted and discouraged am I with the way the current President, Pentagon and Administration have so thoroughly mismanaged, abused, demoralized, ransacked and ruined the military, the National Guard, and our whole country -- and for what? They have set new lows in the treatment of vets while creating a new generation of traumatized, brain-damaged and/or maimed survivors -- ah, I'll shut up. I'm just bumming everyone out.

If you can, have a great Memorial Day. If you can't, do something to ensure someone else does.

See ya in the funnies...