November 16 - Hey there! Well, I presented the Fallfire Art Contest awards earlier this evening. It sure went quickly! People started to gather just a bit before 5:00PM, and by 6:00PM we were already cleaning up! I think we had a nice evening, even if it was so short, and of the quality of entries on display was probably the best yet. About half of this year's entrants attended the event, each with at least one guest, so we also had a good turn out. Still, there is always a bit of "letdown" once something like this is over. I'm happy, and even proud, of how it all went, but I must admit I'm a little depressed now that it's all done. It was a lot of work, and a lot of money, but I already miss it. That all having been said, I'm looking forward to getting on with other things. I've got a pretty good stack of commissions and other projects waiting for me, now that my schedule is back to "normal." One of the things that I hope to do is blab here about what has been the "...Of The Month" feature for two months now; comic book politicians. It might not be immediately obvious, but the worlds of politics and art are very similar. In fact, now that I think of it, everything I said about what I'm feeling in the aftermath of Fallfire is what supporters of Barack Obama have been saying since he won the Presidency. Hmm. I'll try to delve into the subject further in the next few days, but, for now, I'm leaving you with your Comic Book Politician Characters of The Day for - the 13th - Councilman Rafael Sandoval, the 14th - Mayor(al Candidate?) Phoncible P. Bone, the 15th - Senator Jack S. Phogbound and the 16th - Governor Mary Bailey!
November 12 - Well, at least it's still "November 12" for me...even though it is actually almost 6:00PM on the 13th. I've been so busy that I've yet to go to bed. That's about to change. Even as I am finally going to hit the sack, I plan to get back up to start my "November 13" in just a few more hours. Ugh! Still, I have to do it; duty calls (heh heh, I said "duty"). If all goes well, I'll be back here on the ol' WOMP-Blog later as well. See ya then. Here's your Comic Book Politician Character of The Day - President Gary Calahan!
November 11 - Veterans Day. I'm just old enough to have personally known veterans from every major conflict, all the way back to World War One, which ended ninety years ago today. One of the "old guys" who went to the same church my family attended was a vet of the Great War. I was endlessly fascinated with him, and loved to listen to him talk (about anything, really...but especially about his experiences as a combat soldier). In retrospect, I feel very guilty that, as a rambunctious little kid, I coerced him to relive what must have been terrible events, but now I am so grateful that I did. His story has had great influence on me. This guy was literally in the trenches, facing "the Hun." He survived a mustard gas attack, and even participated in one of those amazing, impromptu Christmas Truces, wherein troops from both sides spontaneously laid down their arms for Yuletide fellowship. One of his most significant memories was when he found himself in a group of about eight lost guys who were temporarily folded into an "all black" regiment. He'd never even spoken to a man of color before that, but he was so warmly received that he from then on was a proponent of what would eventually be called "Civil Rights." It's not much, but my World War One character Superior Soldier is based directly on him. As with many of my characters, Superior Soldier descended from a childhood creation, this one inspired directly by those great stories. Originally named Super Trooper, the character not only has atomic powers (of course), but he is also mentored by an African American. Like all of my little characters, there is a bit of me wrapped up in there, too. I suppose that I am, in a teensy-tiny way, trying to keep that hard-earned honor, and those hard-learned lessons, alive. I've never been in uniform (well, except for a Cub Scout uniform), mostly because I know that it's not my calling. If I'd lived when there had been a draft, or another World War, that might have been different. Who knows? Still, I have long felt that veterans from all wars have fought so that I could make such a decision, so, in my creative efforts, I try to honor that idea, even as we today honor them. My "old guy" friend died about twenty years ago now, but the ideals for which he believed he'd fought still live on...some of them within me. Thank you, sir. And thank you to all veterans. Now, in a complete 180 degree turn, I leave you with your Comic Book Politician Character of The Day - President Lex Luthor!
November 10 - So much. Just...so much has happened since I last posted anything here in the ol' WOMP-Blog. I have no idea where to start, to even attempt to catch up to where I should have been by now. First, and most obviously, I suppose I should tell you the obvious; my "head thing" continued to give me trouble until November 4th. Up until then, I had rolling periods of twisted, malicious pain, which was off-set somewhat by my body's sudden need for eight to ten hours of sleep per day (as opposed to my normal three to five). As always, The WOMP-Blog was the first casualty of such a schedule. Then, there was the whole election deal. Is it just coincidence that I began to feel better nearly the very moment Barack Obama was declared the President-Elect? Hmm. There is no misunderestimating the psychological component of healing, is there? Also, my Fallfire Art Contest came to an end (with Awards Presentation coming up this Sunday), so I have been very busy with that. Still...well, I should have posted something. Sorry. I owe you more than the unexplained absence that I've left you with for so long...especially today, The WOMP-Blog's FIFTH anniversary! Yep, I posted my first blog entry on November 10th, 2003. It was an inauspicious start. I spent most of that short entry discussing The Green Bay Packers football game I'd just watched. Still, it led, day-after-lapse-after-day, to something that has become a very important part of my life. And why? Not so much because of the public forum that it provides for my half-witted ramblings, but, rather, because of you. Yes, you! Whether you are an old friend checking in on me, a new acquaintance I've suckered into reading those ramblings, or just a visitor drawn in by a Google search or peculiar link, I am so grateful for you! I don't always show it with my (in-) actions, but I appreciate you all so very much. That's one of the things that I've learned over these last five years. Keeping with tradition, here is a list of ten other things I've learned (sort of)...
Top Ten Things I've Learned About My Inability To Keep To A Daily WOMP-Blog Posting Schedule
10) Apparently, I'm always sick. ALWAYS!
9) And I have no problem talking about being sick, do I? Ugh!
8) I tend to apologize a lot, too. Sorry.
7) As far as I can tell, I never actually promised to keep to a daily posting schedule.
6) I still act as though I did make such a promise...and to whom did I make it, anyway?
5) My absences are almost exclusively of my own doing (or non-doing).
4) Did I mention that I'm always sick?
3) The month of October has been, traditionally, my "least posted."
2) The month of November has been, traditionally, my "most apologetic."
1) No-one really cares anyway.
Well, I suppose that there may be a small segment of the populace that has concern for me in general, but no-one - including myself, maybe - truly cares whether I post something or not. It's not like it's a vital service or anything. At best, it's a familiar diversion, and even that may be giving myself too much credit. So, what is The WOMP-Blog? After five years, you'd think I would have a better idea. I suppose, like so many blogs, it's a mixture of things. It's an exercise in egotism. It's a social gathering. It's a publicity tool, a billboard, a business card. It's a plaintive cry in the dark; "I exist!" And, for sure, it's the best way for me to connect with people outside of my day-to-day existence. For others, there are Facebooks and chatgroups and Twitters and such, but, for the odd, loping pace of my life, The WOMP-Blog is the best fit for me. So, thank you so much for dropping by. I'm sorry (see #8 and #2 above) that I've been sick (see #10, #9, #5, and #4) and haven't posted anything for almost a month (#3), but I promise (#7, #6) to do better because I believe that I do actually care (modifying #1, then). So, how to proceed? Well, first, let's wrap up my 2008 FallCon convention report, shall we? Here is...
And I Shall Remain...The FallCon-er!
Part Three - Odds and Friends
For the bulk of the show, rather than wander around, The Staff and I camped out at our (half)table. It's an odd thing, really, to sit in one spot at a comic book convention, just watching the world go by. It's a bit like viewing a parade. Of course, not everyone just kept on walking. Thanks in part to an upgrade in the stock of free candy we were giving away (a special Twizzlers mix), we saw many new faces, as well as some old friends. One new face belonged to podcaster Taylor Kent, who interviewed me for his Snark Infested Waters on-line "show." If you'd like to listen to that, click HERE and skip down to the October 5th, "Live From FallCon" archive. I'm the first interviewee, listed under "The Adventures of Moneky." Taylor seems like a nice guy, but I didn't get much of a chance to gab with him "off record" because he was busy, man! Bing, bang, boom; he was relentlessly conducting two minute interviews with just about every guest. Many other "new faces" didn't come with a name, I'm afraid. Or, if they did, I've forgotten them (sorry). This group includes attendees who asked me for convention sketches. It always shocks me when someone wants me to draw something for them, especially when that something is not one of my own little characters (not that anyone really wants those, either). Still, I drew all sorts of fun commissions - all for free - which included Swamp Thing, Solomon Grundy, Captain Atom, and Odin as the King of Spades (cool idea; an actual set of playing cards with a particular theme, each card drawn by a different artist). Oh, I did draw one of my characters - Monkey himself - for Official Fish of WOMP Brad Frankenhoff, son of CBG Fancypants-In-Chief, Brent. That was cool! Brad is somewhat new to the world of comics conventions, and his wide-eyed enthusiasm was infectious. Also, it didn't hurt my ego to see him just as pleased with his new drawing of Monkey as he was with the Uncle Scrooge McDuck piece he got from comics legend Don Rosa! The truncated Team Frankenhoff was only one of the groups of O.F.O.WOMPs who checked in. We also had a good, lengthy series of visits with Jeff Rose & Company, and The Anderson Group (which also included a new subsidiary!). Later, we found out that O.F.O.WOMP Ivan Martin (of Thwip!) had actually won my Mutate art-card! That was cool! Many other old friends popped by, but, all too soon, the show was over, so we didn't get to see half of the folks we'd hoped to see. With this year's dramatic, and successful, growth spurt, I hope that the MCBA gang considers expanding future FallCons to three days. Two just isn't enough anymore! And, from a purely financial standpoint, even I had enough sales to cover any added expenses (although I must admit that all but $1.00 of our convention sales came on Sunday!). Yep. Even though I had no new product to display, I'd say that the 20th annual FallCon was a success for us. Thanks to everyone behind the scenes who continue to make FallCon an absolute highlight of our entire year!
OK, so that's my convention report. Now, I'd better get out of here while I still can. Oh, and I'm going to continue last month's "...Of The Day" theme into this month, since I am picking up exactly one month from when the next name on the list should have been posted. So, thanks again for reading, and here's your Comic Book Politician Character of The Day - Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin!
October 24 - Heya! I hope you all had a great Mole Day yesterday (more about that here). Now, here's some more 2008 FallCon convention report...
And I Shall Remain...The FallCon-er!
Part Two - I Am Iron(ic) Man
With no new products to promote, I spent much of the convention making "contacts." Sort of. Mostly, I just wandered around, looking for old friends. And I found them! The Staff and I came across befezed Mike Toft at the table for the local chapter of the International Cartoonist Conspiracy. Mike's the best, man. His mini, Brain Food, has just hit lucky number thirteen, delivering more subversive political and social satire (or however you'd describe it...it kind of defies easy explanation). Later, we ran into roving Jazma Online interviewer, Allen Klingelhoets, to whom I had to apologize for not returning his latest e-interview. Sorry! It's coming soon, Allen. I promise! The Staff and I also sought out former booth buddy Maxxx Madcap, the Grand Poo-Bah of Funny Bone Productions. In addition to his usual nutty gag-panel limited edition prints and such, he was drawing caricatures and selling two special full-color '08 Presidential Election prints. The better selling print by far was, understandably, Barack Obama as Captain Omerica. Less popular was the adorable Sarah Palin as superheroic Josephine Six-Pack. In a fit of impish generosity, Maxxx gave us a signed copy of "Josephine" for our collection. Thanks? And, as far as finding the tables or booths of old friends, that was about it. As I mentioned, the show was jam-packed with guests, so we didn't really have much of an opportunity to seek out anyone else, although we did stop very briefly at artist Brent Schoonover's table. He's a fantastic artist, perhaps best known for the comic book Horrorwood (Brent's site is here). Otherwise, my only other trip away from the WOMP (half)table was to speak to comics legend Howard Chaykin! Look; for whatever reason, I've become peripherally involved in the history of Crusty Bunker, so I could not pass up on the chance to speak to someone who was not only there when it all began, but - after Neal Adams - was one of the most important forces behind the whole story. But...well, he's sort of a hero of mine, so I was pretty nervous about approaching him...especially regarding a subject which may bring up unpleasant memories. Still, I knew that I had to do it, if only because I'd have kicked myself forever if I hadn't. Besides, Walter Simonson told me to do it. So, off I went, leaving behind a note saying "BACK IN 10 MINUTES" and the incredibly patient (saintly, really) WOMP Staff. Fortunately for me, when I got to Mr. Chaykin's table, one-time booth buddy Jeff Rose (curator of The Official Alex Toth Website) was also waiting to talk to him. We stood there for a bit, catching up (he had another daughter - Veronica!), and even chatting with cartoonist Zander Cannon and some of his family, until suddenly, we found ourselves alone with Howard Chaykin. We introduced ourselves, and each made our requests to pick Mr. Chaykin's brain. I don't know why I was so afraid. Mr. Chaykin was a gracious, gushing font of knowledge and opinion! For over an hour, the three of us (and another guy who, about midway through, also stopped by) talked about all kinds of things; the past, the present, books, original art collecting, old movies, new movies, old-time illustrators, current illustrators, and how we are now living in the age of irony. He laid out his belief that a lot of what people do is now done ironically. For example, he asserted that a man could not wear a fedora without the act being an ironic reflection of a long gone time when people might have worn such a hat "genuinely." As he explained his views, I stood there listening, adding my two cents, and agreeing...all while sporting a 1930's haircut and a big, bold necktie. In fact, with my own fedora waiting for me back at the WOMP table, I realized that I am Ironic Man! I've immersed myself in elements of the past for much of my life. Early on, it probably was done with a sense of irony. Today, though? I don't remember anymore. It's just how I roll, man. I can tell you this; I no longer wear an old style of hat, or wide tie, or whatever, in some kind of effort to seem like a retro-nut. These days, I just wear that kind of stuff because it's my clothing. I do try to "dress up" nicely for comics conventions, but that's more to do with a level of respect that I hold for the whole comic book business as a business than with some sort of attempted hipsterism. The thing is...well...a lot of the other guests wear the same things. In fact, in our little row, just booth-buddy GK3 was tieless. Back in the day, only the enigmatic Matt Feazell and I wore anything other than hooded sweatshirts or screen-printed tees. At this year's FallCon, I noticed that even the T-shirts were worn ironically in an environment where images of Spidey or Batman should be authentically embraced, not artificially "aged" to look vintage and hip. I'm not sure how I feel about all of that, but I definitely noticed it. And so has Howard Chaykin, so we had a very lively discussion about it all. And about the Crusty Bunkers, of course. After thanking Mr. Chaykin profusely, Jeff accompanied me back to the WOMP table. "You are so lucky, John, to have a wife who tolerates all of this," Jeff said while motioning liberally to the costumed fans, boxes of comics, and happy nerds. And I am. There she was, sitting patiently behind a sign that had been amended to read "BACK IN 100 MINUTES!" Ah. Is it any wonder I love her? More later, including some shouts out (or shout-outs?) to folks who stopped by the WOMP table to say "Hi!" Here, just to get caught up to some of what I had planned before getting sick, are what should have been your Comic Book Politician Characters of The Day for - the 8th - District Attorney Harvey Dent, and the 9th - President Mon Mothma!
October 19 - Well, that took longer than I had hoped. Thanks to my weird medical situation, I've been "out of it" for, well...half a month, really. Tonight is, in fact, my first "normal" evening since about the 7th. Sigh. But enough with that. I am so ready to move on. Step One? Skip the "Comic Book Politicians" for right now. Before I had my head-thing happen, I'd only recalled enough characters' names to fill my list up to October 11th, so I don't even have enough to catch up with right now anyway. Step Two? Get right to my 2008 FallCon report, which I'm calling...
And I Shall Remain...The FallCon-er!
Part One - Pro Con
Never before have The WOMP Staff and I made it from our homebase of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, to FallCon in St. Paul, Minnesota in such record time. We hit the Sate Fairgrounds an entire hour earlier than we'd hoped, and we were running late when we left. The extra time gave us the opportunity to leisurely set up the - well, let's just say it - shopworn old stuff that I'm still trying to hawk. Sigh. With the exception of some new pieces of original art that I was offering for sale, the only things that were "new" on our table were the Twizzlers and other candies that we gave away. As you may recall, I had planned to have some new Tales From The WOMP-Blog freebies at the very least, but, well...that didn't happen. Oh, well. In the long run, I think that made the show a lot less pressure-filled for me. Without ANYTHING new to promote, I could get some other business done. I've always wanted to attend a show as if it were a "standard" industry convention. You know; like with seminars, product demonstrations, conferences and such. The Staff (my lovely, yet nameless-in-my-posts-per-her-request wife) also had plans. In her capacity as a daycare teacher, she had been entrusted with a "Flat Stanley" from her kids. The little cut-out had visited a farm and a doctor (which was cool, I suppose), but she thought that Stanley would also like to take in a real comics convention! And this year's show was certainly "real." Side note; shortly before FallCon, I happened to read Johanna Draper Carlson's Comics Worth Reading blog when she mentioned that she'd never even heard of FallCon. Shocked, I just had to respond, defending what has become "my show." She noted that FallCon is amongst several "regional shows that don’t make it to national awareness," especially since "it’s scheduled against another good show," namely the totally awesome SPX (Small Press Expo), not to mention Mid-Ohio Con. Of course I understand that FallCon is mostly a regional draw, but I hadn't thought of it in those exact terms. To me, FallCon is one of the "big" ones, albeit about number twelve on that list. It never occurred to me that someone in the extended comics biz wouldn't have even heard of it. That's a shame. This twentieth annual show, held in the vast Grandstand building, was one of the best cons I've ever been to (and I've been a con-goer since 1982). For the first time, I just flat-out couldn't even see most of it. There were tons of dealers, small press, big guests, and all sorts of fun things happening. They also had this great giveaway deal goin' on. Hundreds of hand-drawn trading cards, from artists of all levels of renown, were given to attendees. I drew five of the cards, including artwork of Mutate, one of my own characters. For the next few hours, you could even purchase it, thanks to an eBay auction! More on that later. This year's FallCon featured, like those of the past, a great mix of guests. Our WOMP (half)table was in a great location, just around the first corner to the left inside the front gate. Our "booth buddies" included old friends Chad Corrie and his dad, Lee (Chad's site has a FallCon review, too), the mysterious GK3 (cartoonist/creator of truly funny on-line comic strip, The Bad Influence Man Show), and the amiable Nathaniel Hicklin, author of the book Seekers of Truth, Part 1: Confluence (Nathaniel also has a web-site). Good neighbors make for fun days, so we had a LOT of fun. More report later. For now, it's time to leave you...and - what the heck - here's what was supposed to have been your Comic Book Politician Character of The Day for - the 7th - Secretary Amanda Waller!
October 13 - OK, so let me talk to you while I can. Hi! Remember me? I don't. It's been so long since I've been able to post something here in the ol' WOMP-Blog that I can barely remember how to do it. And why have I been away? Nutshell time! There was continuing Fallfire planning, weird hours at the dread "real" job, a backlog of art projects, and...something else...what was it, again? Oh yeah...a blood vessel burst in my head! YEARGH! Yes, the pain was awful, and it's still like a constant, mostly low-level headache, but I guess I'm basically OK now. The whole thing has kept me to a week-long schedule of doing only that which I absolutely had to. Otherwise, I occupied my time with writhing in agony and attempts at sleep. I am getting better now, though. Besides the headache, the only real residual seems to be the halo of "blood spots" that are sprinkled all over the skin toward the top of my head (fortunately, they're exactly where a hat covers them...unfortunately I don't wear a hat at work). Hmm. I hope to get back to other news soon, including a FallCon report, but, for now, I have only brief periods where I can think about anything other than trying to get better. Sigh. What a fun month I've had. Well, I had better split for now. I hope I didn't scare you with all of this. It's no big deal, really. I'll be back to 100% soon. I'll see you then! Toodles!
October 6 - Hey! How are ya? Well, I'm back from the 20th annual FallCon comic book convention. We had a lot of fun, made new contacts, saw a LOT of old friends, and even sold some stuff. I hope to post a complete report...later. Right now, I'm still in recovery mode. Whenever I get back from a comic book convention, the "comedown" just takes then wind from my sails. Days, or even weeks, of sleep deprivation catch up to me, as does the "go-go-go" convention schedule (not to mention the hours and hours of driving or the disruption of "normal" sleep schedules). The whole thing just wipes me out for a day or two. Oh, and while I've been off getting my geek on, my life - put on hold for a weekend of pleasant diversion - has been impatiently waiting for me to get back. I spent most of Monday doing laundry, cleaning house, answering e-mails, and scrambling to get back to artwork projects...oh, and more Fallfire planning. So, I guess I'm going to just call it a day (it's already almost 5:30AM on the 7th as I type this). Maybe tomorrow I'll tell you about FallCon. For now, I'm just going to get some sleep. Until later, then, here are your Comic Book Politician Characters of The Day for...
- the 4th - Chancellor Palpatine,
- the 5th - Chancellor Gowron, and
- the 6th - Mayor "Diamond" Joe Quimby!
October 3 - Thanks, everyone, for your support during these last few awful days. I still can't really process the death of my friend Joe, but I have come to realize that - of course - I never will. All I can do is keep moving, and kind thoughts from folks like you will help me do just that. I also have to send special thanks to Joe's sister, Kris, for writing to me during what must be one of the toughest times of her life. If there is any comfort in all of this, is that Joe has left us all with a legacy of love, humor and strength that everyone he knew - especially his family - will never forget. In that shared memory, Joe will always be with us. And I still can't even begin to tell you how special Joe was. Maybe someday I'll figure out a way to do it, but all I could do now is give you little bits and pieces. Instead, I am going to try to take some first steps to "keep moving." So...
Let's get back to some "normal" stuff. It's also been an incredibly busy time for me over the last few days. As the twentieth annual FallCon has loomed (it's TOMORROW, this Saturday and Sunday! ACK!), I've been trying to prepare for it, but I've fallen so far behind in my plans that I've just given up on them. Sort of. I've got another eight hours (approximately) to get something ready, but whatever I am able to do, it'll be slapdash, so I might just use that time to get some rest instead. And I need it. Over the last week, I've probably had a combined twelve hours of sleep. And why? Well, first I have to tell you that...
One thing that Joe's passing has brought into focus is my reluctance to publicly state my opinions. As I've said many times in past WOMP-Bloggings, I am, at heart, reluctant to risk offending someone. It's not so much because I want everyone to like me (although I'm sure that's a large part of it) as it is a typically Midwestern trait to just keep my more controversial opinions to myself...unless forced to defend my positions, in which case I can "turn it on." It's not that I don't have strong opinions, it's just that I feel uncomfortable proselytizing. That's just how I was raised. For example, I was a grown, married man before I discovered that my Mom was a lifelong Republican! Joe, however, was the exact opposite. He proudly, and loudly, talked about his views and opinions. Even in high school, he and I would actually debate current topics rather than eat lunch. In fact, all of my closest friends (we called ourselves The Keystone Kopps) had many spirited lunchtime discussions, even when we fully agreed. I suppose that it's no surprise that, during our Junior year, Joe and I became the two candidates for President of The United States...in a mock election, of course. For our History course, each Junior student was required to deliver a campaign speech tailored especially for the 1896 U.S. Presidential election. After presenting these speeches (over and over again), each student would vote for and then promote a fellow student, first amongst small groups, then within each period, as "candidates." Little by little, the list whittled down until the "general election," where the two remaining candidates were Joe and me. Whichever one of us won the overall vote was guaranteed an A+ grade for the semester, but, since we were both already getting A's anyway, the only real prize was bragging rights. While previous generations of Juniors had dutifully, and begrudgingly, presented dry lists of positions on Free Silver and Prohibition, Joe and I took the whole thing to another level. For example, I temporarily "became" a minister - named Rev. Jonathan C. Mundtley - to garner more sympathy. In anticipation of our speeches before the entire Junior student body, wherein "the President" would be elected, we made campaign posters and public "appearances." Our regular noontime debates took on a new light as small crowds gathered to hear us (OK, it was more like three curious onlookers than "small crowds," but we played to them as if they were throngs anyway). As coincidence would have it, Joe and I had randomly taken opposite sides in the positions of 1896, so there was some real attempt to win over the electorate. On "Election Day," I even went so far as to wear a clerical collar! Joe and I passionately presented our platforms, after which it was time for the voting. By the slimmest of margins, I won. Had Joe been a lesser person, that might have bothered him (especially my sneaky use of costumery), but he was happy for me. Not a second of hard feelings passed between us...ever. In fact, I gathered up all campaign posters - Joe's and mine - to keep in my "Why The Heck Is He Saving All That Crap" files. Yesterday, I found one of Joe's posters, still clear and colorful after twenty-five years. This may have been the first time that Joe had held a strong position in public, but it was definitely not the last...
OK. Let's just cut to what I've been tap-dancing around for some dumb reason; Joe was gay. Oh, I certainly didn't know that when we were kids. I'm not even sure whether he knew it when we were kids, but, by the time he was in college, everyone knew it. Rather than shy away from talking about it, Joe became a LGBT Rights activist. And he wasn't one of those angry "You rednecks are idiots" activists, either. With his ever-present quick-wit and tireless enthusiasm, he instead literally put the "active" in "activist." He actively presented himself as a positive role-model, daily waging a quiet war for respect and acceptance. And how did he do it? He volunteered his time anywhere and everywhere. He joined many "traditional" organizations. He was an unofficial foster parent, a neighborhood leader, and community organizer. With his wonderful partner, Dallas, he even co-founded what is now the Center for Homicide Research. During the last two decades, Joe had been an incredibly vocal advocate for what he believed...and a brilliant critic of what he despised. Perhaps remembering his Junior year Presidential campaign, Joe knew just how to perfectly deflate pomposity, how to cleverly expose small-mindedness, and how to always, always win an argument...all while maintaining his wicked, wicked sense of humor. For a quick example, his sister Sue told this story at his memorial service...
Even death provided a punchline for Joe. Long ago, he'd told his family that, should he die, he wanted to be cremated...after which his ashes were to blown into the faces of people he hated. As Sue put it, "Since George Bush and John McCain's schedules won't allow them to both be here at the same time," the family decided not to go that route. Heh. Laughs at Joe's service were more expected than tears, although there were plenty of both. Although, as I sat there listening to Joe's sisters while they struggled through commemorating him, I felt...I don't know...something different. I'd been sad - very sad - for days, so that wasn't it. I'd felt the loss, the anger, the bewilderment, the acceptance, and whatever else grief is supposed to bring, but this was something different, something else. When Sue briefly mentioned something about how she would now have to step up and be the spokesperson of the family, I realized what my odd feeling was; I had just been handed a mission. I have to, somehow, step up to the plate now that Joe's not here to publicly fight for things with which I privately agreed. He had, after all, grown up in the same small community, with virtually the exact same influences as I had. If he could overcome all of that to champion causes in which he believed, I suppose that I can, too...
But it's not that easy to change. I want to. I want to feel free to talk about subjects that really matter. I want to be clever and compelling and cutting...but I'm still me. I'm still afraid of offending that proverbial "someone" who seems to be more important to me than my beliefs. No, I can't just change with an I Dream of Jeannie blink. I have to start small. So, two days ago now, I went to LaCrosse, Wisconsin, to talk with Barack Obama...
And I wasn't the only one. In fact, I was one of about ten thousand who'd decided to do the same thing. I really shouldn't have taken the time off from my crammed schedule. I had hard artwork deadlines looming, an impending comic book convention, an art contest to manage, people to see, places to be...but I had also just said "goodbye" to a lifelong friend. Add that to the troubles facing everyone today, and, well...I just felt like I needed a little hope, you know? I won't bore you with the details of the visit (at least not right now). Suffice to say that Mr. Obama was appropriately inspirational. He made many clear, constructive arguments for his candidacy, but, for me, his most important impartment was that sense of hope. The audacity of hope. Hope for a better future. Hope for any kind of future. Mostly, hope that there are still people out in the world who were decent and smart and thoughtful. It's with that sense of hope, along with my mission from Joe, that I now feel like I can begin (finally, now that I'm 118 years old) to speak my mind...
Yes, I may offend, but that's sort of the point, isn't it? It's one thing for someone like Joe to fight for Gay Rights. He had an obvious personal stake in the matter. I'm not gay, so it's probably more important for me - and people like me - to stand up for our LGBT friends, as well as for everyone else who suffers unfair discrimination. If I offend someone by doing this, so what? If a person is truly offended by what I say, they can just choose to ignore me. If I learned anything as I stood on the corner of Pearl and 2nd Streets listening to Senator Obama with 10,000 people of every shape, color, age, and size, it's that there are many other people who would also agree with me. And even if we don't agree, we can still get along, right? So...
I guess that this begins a new era for me and The WOMP-Blog. Oh, I'll still be blathering on about comic books and cartooning, of course, but I will also try to be a little more assertive with my opinions. Don't worry, though; taking a page from Joe's playbook, I won't beat you over the head with my views. Instead, I hope to just let them occasionally, and naturally, creep into whatever I'm talking about. By more publicly, yet unobtrusively, expounding what I believe, I hope to make Joe proud. And how will I start this "new era?" Well...
By getting back on track with the conclusion of what I began last month; Often Mispronounced Comics Creators' Names (and How To Pronounce Them). Hooray? Just because I went first through the trouble of researching the subject, then through the effort of setting up the premise here in The WOMP-Blog, I've decided to follow through with the last of what I had prepared (special thanks to O.F.O.WOMP Brian Payne for the suggestion of Simonson to replace my duplicate Buscema). Here, then, are your remaining Often Mispronounced Comics Creators' Names (and How To Pronounce Them) of The Day for...
- the 23rd - Mark Evanier (EV-uh-NEER),
- the 24th - Phil Jimenez (yeh-MEN-ez),
- the 25th - Bob Wiacek (WHY-uh-CHEK),
- the 26th - John Romita (roh-MEET-uh),
- the 27st - Dan Didio (dih-DEE-oh),
- the 28th - Dan Clowes (KLOWz),
- the 29th - Walter Simonson (SIGH-mun-sun), and
- the 30th - Alex Toth (TOEth...rhymes with "BOTH")!
Of course I need a theme for this month, too. With many thanks to newly minted Official Friend of WOMP Barack Obama for the suggestion, I leave you tonight with your first three Comic Book Politician Characters of The Day for...
- the 1st - Senator Robert Kelly,
- the 2nd - Congressman Nathan Petrelli, and
- the 3rd - Mayor McCheese!
I hope to see all of you this weekend at FallCon!
September 25 - Hi. This has been a terrible, terrible day for me. I found out this afternoon that one of my oldest, dearest friends, Joe Shulka, has died. He was 42 years old. Our friendship goes back to the fourth grade, starting when he was the kid next to me in Math class who laughed at the funny pictures I drew. For those of you more familiar with me, Joe was a fellow Keystone Kopp. There is absolutely no way, especially this soon, to express what a loss this is for the world, his Twin Cities community, his family, his friends, and for me. I'm just...uhn. I feel like my legs have been kicked out from under me. Joe was my brother, by choice rather than birth. So much of who I am, what I do, how I think...it's all been influenced by this great, funny man. There has never before been anyone like him, and, sadly, there never will be again either. I...I hope to be able to deal with this WOMP-Blog and other "normal" stuff again soon. Right now, I'm just hurting. That's what it is. I physically ache...whether from crying or from my heart breaking, I can't say. But it hurts, it hurts. Man. In the next couple of days, I'll try to find a way to share his indomitable spirit and razor-sharp wit with you all, my e-friends, but, for now, I just have to...well, I don't even know what I "have to" do, but I know it's not typing on my laptop. I'll be back sometime soon. For now, though, I leave you with this link to Joe's obituary. It's not much, but it will give you an idea of how special he really was. Thanks, everyone. Thanks.
September 22 - Hello, e-friends! I'm at the absolute frayed end of my strength for today, having been working hard on my Fallfire contest, which begins...UGH; right now! Still, I feel like I should at least post something while I can. I have only about four hours in which to sleep before I have to get up and go to meetings and such tomorr...well, later today, actually. Before I pass out, I just wanted to just check in to say "Hi." Oh, and here are some more of your Often Mispronounced Comics Creators' Names (and How To Pronounce Them) of The Day for...
- the 17th - John Byrne (BURN),
- the 18th - Kurt Busiek (BYOO-sek),
- the 19th - Rick Veitch (VEECH),
- the 20th - Jerry Siegel (SEE-gul),
- the 21st - Neil Gaiman (GAY-mun), and
- the 22nd - Sergio Aragones (AIR-ug-OWN-ez)!
September 16 - Hey there, all. You might have noticed that I haven't blogged at ya for a few days. Sorry! This time of year brings not just turning leaves, lowering temperatures, and heavyset school-crossing guards. For whatever reason, it also swamps me with art commission odds and ends. And, of course, I'm busy getting stuff ready for the WOMP table at the twentieth annual FallCon comic book convention in St. Paul (October 4 and 5). The coming of Autumn also brings my Art/Creativity contest, Fallfire. I'm up to my eyeballs with contest prep, and I have less than a week to go before everything is officially under way. I had hoped, and still plan, to bring in some help this year, but, so far, I've had only the time to do some of the basic set-up myself. Toward the end of this week, I will have time off from my dreaded "real" job, so I may get my "normal" schedule back on track, but, until then, my day is squeezed dry by the time I fall asleep. In fact, I really should get back to it. Before I leave you, I did want to ask you all for suggestions of other comics creators' names for which you'd like "official" pronunciations. I have my list all set up for the "...Of The Day" entries, but I just realized that I included both John and Sal Buscema (duh), so I now have an open spot for someone new. Any suggestions? Please send them in. Until then, here are your Often Mispronounced Comics Creators' Names (and How To Pronounce Them) of The Day for...
- the 8th - David Micheline (MIK-el-EYE-nee),
- the 9th - Howard Chaykin (CHAY-kin),
- the 10th - Carmine Infantino (IN-fan-TEE-noh),
- the 11th - John (and Sal) Buscema (byoo-SEM-uh),
- the 12th - Len Wein (WEEN),
- the 13th - Dustin Nguyen (ngWHEN),
- the 14th - Mark Millar (MILL-er),
- the 15th - Martin Nodell (noh-DELL), and
- the 16th - Tom Brevoort (bri-VOORT)!
September 11 - I don't know what to say. Ever since 2001, this date has...well, I just don't know what I'm supposed to say whenever September 11th rolls around. I don't want to be maudlin or, worse, seen as somehow capitalizing on the tragic events of this day seven years ago, but I also can't just ignore all of it, either. I can't even report my own feelings anymore, since the day dredges up every emotion from sadness, remorse, and anger, to pride, fear, and appreciation. And it's not like I was in New York or Washington at the time back then. I was in a little town in Wisconsin, living my little life far from the threat of personal danger...but I still felt like I was personally attacked, that I was in immanent peril...that "they" were trying to kill me. Like everyone, I was glued to the TV, alternating between crying and calling anyone I knew who even lived in a state near the attack sites. Everyone else seemed to be doing much the same. For example, have I ever told you that my wife had just returned from a week-long trip to New York City? She had been home for a while, but people still called the house to check on her, just in case. For most of us, thankfully, we experienced those events from afar, but still somehow intimately. We watched, and we wondered. What do we do now? What will happen next? What will become of our country? That reminds me of an earlier time of crisis for our nation, when another observer far from the danger watched and wondered those same things. In the immediate aftermath of the attack, he took pen to paper and wrote down those questions which filled him with fear, pride, and the other complicated emotions of the event. I know you've heard his words before, but "listen" to some of them again, and remember how you felt seven years ago...
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
From his perch as on a British prisoner ship, Francis Scott Key couldn't tell what was going on as the attack on Fort McHenry went on into the night. Fearing for his own fate, and the fate of the United States, all he knew was that if the cannons were still firing, there was still hope. In the end, he asked the question which we Americans have to answer every generation; not just whether the red, white, and blue symbol is still flying, but does it still represent a free and brave nation? We will always be vulnerable to attack. Unfortunately, that's just how it is. That we are attacked is "proof through the night" that we're still here. "The question," then, asks us to really think about who "we" are. I think you do have to be free to be brave, and you definitely have to be brave to be free. I guess I try to remember that when this date comes up every year. I imagine that Key felt something similar every time the anniversary of the attack on Fort McHenry rolled around. That was September 13th. Thankfully, he knew what to say.
September 8 - So, what else have I been forgetting and/or forgoing? Well...
4) We have a new cat! Actually, he's just a baby, having just turned two months old. Basically, my mother-in-law found out too late that pets were not allowed in her new apartment, so into the mix of already-too-many cats at WOMP Headquarters comes...
Alex P. Kitten
As for the play on the name of Michael J. Fox's character on the Family Ties TV sitcom of two decades ago...? Well, he had already been named Alex when we got him, and there seemed to be a patriotic/political "theme" to his life, just as there was for Fox's character. He was born on the Fourth of July, and we got him on Labor Day in the midst of political party conventions and a hotly contested Presidential election season. The night before we drove over to get Alex, I had a dream in which we called him "Alex P. Kitten." When I woke up, I thought "Well, that's as good a name as any other, I suppose," and now Alex is stuck with it. Not that he minds, of course. He's all sorts of crazy, kitteny fun. He's jumping, running, tipping things over, eating everything, and (and I swear this is true) guzzling beer (OK, "guzzling" is in the eye of the guzzler, I suppose...all Alex really did is lick the moisture off of an empty bottle). Finally, today, all resident cats have warmed to his wobbly antics. He's actually fitting in quite nicely, although this addition to the menagerie officially makes us "crazy cat people."
5) Thanks to the Wisconsin ArtsBuild program, I am one of just 175 people soon to be featured in a guide to Wisconsin artists! It's not that big of a deal, really. The whole thing is more of a glorified database, but it's still pretty cool. I don't know what will come from this (if anything), but I'm mildly jazzed about it. I can't be too happy, of course, or the fickle gods of fate will slap me down. Especially troubling was the request to provide a single example of my work (just ONE? Man, I draw WAY too many different kinds of things to narrow it down to a lone piece), and a photo of myself. As you may or may not know, I do not allow photographic images to be taken of me. It's my firm belief that such a photo would steal my soul...leaving behind a fat dork who roughly resembles me. Still, I was able to scare up an image from my last "Done-In-One" comic book workshop in Delavan, Wisconsin. Also, cheating a bit, instead of one representative art piece, I submitted a mish-mash mosaic featuring several of my recent illustrations. I'll try to post more about this when the directory is published.
6) About a month ago, I dropped a teensy hint about "my upcoming book(s)." So, just what the heck was I thinking? Well, first of all, back then I was pretty gung-ho on the idea of collecting, annotating, illustrating, and publishing my Crusty Bunker bloggings. I spent several weeks buying every vintage Crusty-inked comic book, as well as examples of other stuff that the individual Bunkers have done since (an impressive percentage of recent illustrated Pop Culture history). The plan was to have everything ready for this year's FallCon, but, well, time is running out. At best, I may have a preview version available for the show. The book itself may take another year (I'd rather do it right than soon). Still, there is a new book printing business nearby, so I might come up with something else instead. I'm leaning toward some sort of compilation of short stories from the World of Monkey, both my own and those produced by guest writers (I have collected several of these over the years, but have yet to find a way to share them). A distant possibility would be a collection of my Kubert School remembrances from August, but that is even less likely (especially since "Hazy Recollections of An Embittered Never-Was" doesn't seem like the most saleable book). Time will tell, I guess.
That's about it for now. Here are two more Often Mispronounced Comics Creators' Names (and How To Pronounce Them) of The Day for - the 7th - Tim Seeley (SEE-lee, not si-LEE, as I heard recently), and the 8th - David Micheline (MIK-el-EYE-nee)!
September 6 - I forgot to talk to you about a couple things. For the last month, while I recalled my Kubert School days, I kept dropping hints and clues as to other things that were happening in the meantime, intending to get to them this month. In fact, come to think of it, I've been doing that for years. Long-time readers will remember such classic go-nowhere teases as "something that will change The WOMP-Blog forever," and "working on a big, super-secret project." It's not like I've intentionally neglected to follow-up, it's just that I'm a forgetful moron. Now, there is absolutely no way I can tie up all loose ends left dangling over the last five years or so, but I can clear up a few...
1) That "big, super-secret project" was a new book series written by Anthony Wedgewood. Tony contacted me out of the blue with a proposal...or, more appropriately, a challenge. Based on a fantasy world of magical creatures and lost civilizations, he has developed a series of books which all need illustrations. LOTS of illustrations. Like, literally hundreds. The basic concept that he developed was to simultaneously release three books at a time - one for children, one for young adults, and another for adults - each telling completely different stories which would all be canon to his world. Kids could read just the "introductory" level books, and still get a full story. The same would go for young adult and adult versions. True fans could get all books. Kids, in theory, could graduate from level to level throughout their lives. Beyond the fact that the stories are solid and intriguing, I think that Tony's marketing plan is pretty ingenious. And ambitious. Too ambitious for me, apparently. As the realization of just how much work - how much of my life - this project would take, I got cold feet. Oh, I wanted to be a part of his plans somehow, and I really did try (sketching "Nums" and other beings for about a year, on and off), but the crushing scale of what saying "yes" really meant froze me like a bunny in the snow. That's why I so pointedly said "was" up there. He has another illustrator now, and his first books are just about to hit the shelves. I ran into Tony by accident just beforehand, and gave him my apologies. I felt/feel like a jerk, but I was so happy that he had just written me off and moved on. This whole thing was a little like a blind date, wasn't it? We met, had some drinks, talked about the future, and tried to make a go of it, but, in the end, we just weren't meant to be together.
2) While I'm at it, the thing that I thought would "change The WOMP-Blog forever" was a computer program that would automatically provide links to the things I blogged about. If I wrote "Batman is awesome," this blog-builder program would search for a Batman web-site, then alter my post to turn the word "Batman" into a link. I gave up on it pretty quickly, since, to extend the example, there are probably eighty-six thousand sites pertaining to Batman, and who knows which one I'd get. Now, as The WOMP-Blog Archives are posted to LiveJournal, I've got something similar anyway. My in-post links provide several "you might also like" links when the cursor passes over them (as well as a snapshot of the linked page itself).
3) I'm pretty sure I made some cutesy remark like "and speaking of bees" last month. I did that because I had just been attacked by a swarm of them! Right before heading out for Star Wars Trek '08, I threw some stuff into the garden compost heap behind our house. Immediately, bees came pouring out from inside the heap, stinging me all over! I ran off, and was even indoors, relating my story to The WOMP Staff, when I realized that several bees were still inside of my clothes! I suffered five more stings as I crazily stripped off my clothes (and stomped on them!), for a total of eighteen painful stings. Within a day, most sting-wounds had dwindled to mere irritations, but three - on my right wrist, right ear, and fat gut - were itchy, swollen and miserable for weeks. The one on my belly is still visible, a month or so later. And the bees are still there! We're trying to formulate a plan that will safely and humanely remove the bees, while preserving the "health" of the compost that we use in the garden (so traditional bug-spray is probably off limits).
And there's other stuff, like the information about C.N. Landon and the official Wisconsin artists site that's going to include a bit of info about me, but it will all have to wait...again. I'll try to get to all of it in the next posts, I promise! For now, though, here are your Often Mispronounced Comics Creators' Names (and How To Pronounce Them) of The Day for - the 4th - Irwin Hasen (HAY-zun), the 5th - Bill Golliher (GOLL-year), and the 6th - Mike Mignola (min-YOH-luh)!
September 3 - So, have you recovered from Joe Kubert School Month yet? I hope so. I purposely avoided posting for a couple of days, just to give you all a break. In fact, the "...Of The Day" feature for this month is something just a little lighter than usual. I figured that I still needed at least a month to recuperate. In fact, I've had the September theme all lined up for a week or so, when I got this fortuitous e-message from O.F.O.WOMP, and C.B.G. Head Honcho, Brent Frankenhoff -
Typo on FallCon site
Big surprise, but you're listed as John Mindt, Esq.
All I can think of with that one is doing my best Inspector Clouseau voice.
"Yes, I'm looking for a John Mindt."
Yes, although this is technically a misspelling of my name, it actually is one of the many mispronunciations I've heard. How you hear "Mint" when you see the word "Mundt" is beyond me. The most common garbalization of my name is "John Mun-det," although my favorite has to be "Mr. Mundtesquire" (of course, that one is somewhat self-inflicted). As I posted my Kubert School memories, I also recalled the confusion of just how to pronounce "Kubert." By dumb chance, I had always pronounced it correctly, but some fellow first year students said "CUB-ert," and one (and I will cut him some slack because he was from Europe) called Joe Kubert "Yo khoo-BAY." Early on, we timidly asked teacher Ben Ruiz for the correct pronunciation. By the time Bill Sienkiewicz came on the scene, we just flat out asked him "So, how do you pronounce that?" While the correct pronunciation of Sub-Mariner may be subjective, people's last names usually are not. Inspired by (and starting with) the peculiar names of some of my Kubert School teachers and classmates, this month's theme is Often Mispronounced Comics Creators' Names (and How To Pronounce Them)! Yep, I plan to do for you what Ben did for us! Now, I do have two little "rules" (if you can even call them that). First, I'm going to focus my pronunciation guide on last names. I'm assuming you all already know how to pronounce "Joe," "Bill," and so forth. Second, these pronunciations are all "to the best of my knowledge." All of them I have heard pronounced first hand by either the creator him/herself, or by someone who really should know what they are talking about (like Brent, come to think of it). OK. Let's kick it off with the first three, your Often Mispronounced Comics Creators' Names (and How To Pronounce Them) of The Day for - the 1st - Joe Kubert (KYOO-bert), the 2nd - Bill Sienkiewicz (sin-KEV-ich), and the 3rd - Hy Eisman (EYES-mun)!
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August, 2008, IN SUMMARY (for more, please go to the WOMP-Blog Archives)...
"...OF THE DAY" THEME - It was Joe Kubert School Month here in the ol' WOMP-Blog, and I really got into my experiences while a JKS student in 1984 and 1985, didn't I? I was able to remember the students, the teachers, the good times, and the bad. In all, August may have been my most emotionally wrenching, overly verbose, and on-topic month of blogging in years...and I didn't even really start until the 11th!
NEWS - No news, really (which is good news, right?). The only thing even news-like was when someone reminded me of former JKS classmate Ted Riddle's last name...which, uh...is Riddle.
SPECIAL FEATURES - In the earliest parts of the month, I blogged from the road as The WOMP Staff and I took off for what we called Star Wars Trek '08. That was pretty cool.
RANDOM RANTINGS - I really kept all of my rants to a minimum, focusing that energy instead toward my Kubert School remembrances...which, in retrospect, were just a tad ranty, I guess.
NOT MUCH ELSE - Boy, I do lead a boring life!
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