Here I am again. I never seem to blog anything unless I’m pissed and it’s never anything about the comic. Well, sometimes it is. The process of bringing Chad Cleanly to life is so innate that I find it hard to describe. Plus, I’m usually winging it, anyway.

I’m stuck again, in the middle of an episode. *Sigh* But I have gotten a good character out of it, the Dead Pirate Steve.  After a rant to my friend Lynnie last night via Instant Messenger, I’ve decided to try out another character called Bill the Weasel.  This inspiration comes hard on the heels of Hemmerati member Sweetie’s linkage of an article in a magazine called Cincinnati Gentleman in which my former muse and now nemesis, Bill Hemmer, is the cover boy.  This, coupled with a little video of the selfsame nemesis in which he hauls out the now tired spiel of “I may have to go off on an assignment at any time,” has combined into the idea of a weasel that is ….well, a weasel.  It’s a bitch when they fall off the pedestal. It used to be kinda cute, all the protestations of “standing at the edge of history” and “traveling the world to get the story,” but now it’s just old. The self-proclaimed world traveler’s world has shrunk to the distance between Greenwich Village and Sag Harbor. I can’t remember the last time he was out of the studio and then where did he go? ANOTHER STUDIO! I think this time the thing that is really grating me is the Cincinnati part. Hemmer has resurrected his good old Midwestern boy routine for his Fox gig and he’s going at it with a zest. I say, yeah right. I see alot of charity emceeing for stuff in NYC but only the Bayley Place Golf Tournament seems to be the thing that attracts the “Midwestern Boy” back to the Midwest. I get really annoyed at all his Ohio cheerleading when Ohio is mostly the place he looks down on when he’s flying out to ski or fly fish in Idaho.

*SIGH* Well, I am sure that the ranting of a middle aged woman with a mediocre comic is really going to give Mr. Hemmer an epiphany and he’ll mend his selfish ways. I know he’ll just give up all the money, the luxury apartment, the house on Long Island, the fashion model beard…er..girlfriend, and go back to WCPO in Cincy and report the news and stop being a weasel.

Ok, I’m done.

Went and saw some Looney Tunes cartoons on the big screen the other day. It were lovely! We saw them at the theatre at the Wexner Center for the Arts. I was very happy to see quite a few kids in the audience. Good to see that some parents give their children credit for knowing what’s real and what’s not.

I finished the long and arduous Fox News bashing story. Now, it’s back to what I love best, stupid and corny jokes and having Chad get puked on. Evening anchors have it so good.

I’ve been reading all the Scott McCloud books that Max so generously allowed me to borrow. I also got a copy of Bridgeman’s Comnplete Guide to Drawing from Life. I’ve got The Ten Cent Plague on reserve at the library, Jonathon Riddle has taken it upon himself to edjamacate me in the arcane lore of the graphic novel which I guess is now 21st Century speak for comic books. This afternoon I plan on hitting the Worthington Park Library to get a copy of Maus. I’ve actually wanted to read it for a while.

Going to go down to Amy’s over the weekend. We’re taking the boat and the Beagle. I’m bringing the camera and my sketchbook for sure! Seneca Lake is a beautiful lake and it’s been years since I’ve seen it. Beagle will be happy. He loves to go in the car and even more loves to go on the boat. He is certainly a strange little dog, but I love him!

Are there worse things than having a bad period and a massive sinus headache at the same time? I think not!

Still wading along on the Chad Dreams He’s in a Video Game thing. I didn’t get one done last night because I had a meeting and then I ate something and got all sleepy. Some dedicated cartoonist. I am such a dummy when it comes to the drawing. At the meeting last night I asked Max if it’s ok to copy stuff and he said “OF COURSE IT IS!!!” I just had no idea. I want to ask him if he’ll teach me to set up panels and draw on a Bristol board and stuff. I don’t know how to do it. I guess I could have learned to do it earlier but I had the roadblock of thinking that I should know how to do it already.

The Sunday Comix Showcase anthology is hopefully beginning to jell. The was a  need for a place to meet that was neutral so I suggested the conference room at the Health Center. Barb was kind enough to allow it. It ain’t the Ritz but there’s a nice long table and chairs and maybe the ghost will pop in once in a while.

It’s the last week of school, kiddies, and this Bug is happy! I get to have all next week off! WUBBA WUBBA!

It will be cool because I can spend more time with my pal and mentor, Max Ink. There hasn’t been any time I’ve spent with him that I didn’t learn something.
The slate of summer adventures will begin, too, starting with the Latino Fest next month. Aaand, the Doo-Dah Parade and ComFest! Then it’s the Jazz and Rib Fest followed closely by the Hartford Fair. I am going to have Max come with us to that. He needs a little countryfication.

And now, to Chadwick Cicero Cleanly. I’ve got plans for this man. He’s going to cover a man who fathered a sea turtle, discover the roots of his beloved Beagle Brokaw, and possibly, finally, get laid. Maybe.

Fasten yer seatbelts, it’s gonna be a hell of a ride.

Holy Cannolis! I’ve been a bad little bug! I haven’t posted anything new for almost a month!

Well, might as well get right to it.

Chad is going to be featured on Webcomicsnation. I got an interview and everything! I was interviewed by a very nice girl named Tea Fougner. Very cool first name, I say! I also cleaned up the Chad page and changed the color scheme. So far it’s been met with general approval. I had to reinstall the Stat Counter and either the old one wasn’t registering all the hits or Tea, sweetheart that she is, has been talking Chad up big time because my hit counts are zooming up, up, UP! WOOHOO!

My back has been killing me. I went to see a chiropractor on Monday and left with my back hurting worse than it did before! I’m living on ibuprofen.

The latest Chad episode was in response to watching America’s Election HQ on Fox News. I wasn’t surprised to see Megyn Kelly barking about how horrible Clinton and Obama but I was really disappointed to see Bill joining in so gleefully. I suppose I could chalk it up to he wants his contract renewed and with more money but it still stuck in my throat. He has spent alot of time in the past yappin’ about “journalistic integrity” and now he’s shown himself to be nothing but a money whore. Can’t trust him again, never again. Guess it’s back to Jim Lerher for me!

I just read an article saying that climate change could affect beer production. ACK! Guess folks are going to sit up and take notice now!

You want great comic art? You want classic comic style? You want to laugh your ass off? Then look no further than Wasted Potential by Ray !! Tomczak.

I know Ray, but I don’t know much about him except he likes to wear hats and he’s very funny and smart. He is in my Sunday Comix group and I get to have a bite of food with him occasionally after meetings. He doesn’t talk much but his comics do!

Wasted Potential is a treasure trove of wonderful sight gags, puns, self-deprecating humor and expressions. They’re like Lays potato chips, you can’t read just one and it’s a guarantee that you will get out loud laughs, you know, the kind that just burst out of you. You also don’t want to miss The Complete Pop Darts Ray’s take on pop culture.

So if you see a guy with a crazy hat on, shake his hand and thank him for the laughs. Even if it isn’t Ray, he’ll still appreciate it.

Geez! All the coverage about the big snowstorm and Columbus barely gets mentioned! We got the most snow, much more than Cincy or the Mistake on the Lake but can the MSM mention that? Noooooooo!

This is the CAPITAL of the FREAKING STATE! EVERYTHING got shut down! But can it get more than a nanosecond of air time? Hell, no! Now all the talk is about poor East Coast getting some wind and rain. Awwww…poor them. But it’s NEW YORK CITY!! OMG! Call out the National Friggin’ Guard! Oh wait, we can’t. They’re all over in Iraq.

Yeesh.

Of course you realize, this means war.

Well, it’s a blizzard! We officially have gotten a foot of snow so far. The wind is howling, too. Good day to stay home, which I am doing!

S.P.A.C.E went pretty well. I sold about $31.00 worth of stuff and met some nice people. I held my own in a discussion about using graphics tablets and the guy even apologized afterward because he thought I thought he had attacked me. I said, “Hey, it was a discussion. No biggie!”

I got to be the voice of Donna Dead for Kel Crum’s comic presentation. Kel did a grrreat job with the voices but I sucked big time. I gave a copy of “Ice Cream Anti-Social” to Matt Feazell who was pleased to have it. Everyone seemed to like Moanin’ Wally.

My other big news is that in a month or so, Chad Cleanly is going to be featured on WebComicsNation. I got an email from Tea Fougner who is the Project Manager for the joint WebComicsNation and ComicSpace site. I was a little freaked out so I asked her why she picked Chad since it’s really not the kind of comic that most of the demographic would voluntarily read. Here is what she said,

I tried to pick comics that are unique and consistently updated that have decent art and writing– and in your case, I also wanted to highlight the fact that Chad Cleanly has been on WCN for almost three years!

Life is really an Indian giver. Ain’t it great?

The Hubster just sent this link to me.

Garfield Minus Garfield

No, I’m not going to tell you what it is. Them what has the twisted mind will understand and appreciate the gift they have been given.

Personally, I always thought Garfield had some sublime moments, like the strip where Garfield sticks his head in a mouse hole. When he takes it out, he’s got on a wig and makeup. The last panel reads,”The strange mice are back.” There was a Sunday page wherein Garfield removes a mouse from it’s hole, winds its tail around it like a top then jerks on the tail and the mouse starts spinning. It spins all the way over to where Jon is reading the paper with his coffee. The mouse grabs onto to the coffee mug then leans over and pukes into it while Jon looks on in horror. The inevitable “GARFIEELD!!” comes in the last panel.

It’s what comedy is about! Strange mice and vomit!

No, Mr. Cleanly…I expect you to die…..