UGLY MUG #7 – RESPECTO! Finds a Home in the UK Comix Scene

It has been too long since I had a comix story in print, actually in any form available in a public way. You would have to go all the way back to December of 2010 (!) where I had a three-page Xmas story called “Santa Dali” printed in the zine "Pork Belly: Special Santa Issue”. How and why it's been so long since I dropped out of the scene is no matter, just too busy living, but now I'm back with a four-page story called "RESPECTO!" that is right at home in the pages of UGLY MUG #7, an annual British anthology of weirdness lovingly curated and published by The House of Harley. UGLY MUG is a print only publication that can be ordered through the HOH website. Besides my tale, the rest of the 120 pages is filled by a stable of wild ink-slingers including SAVAGE PENCIL (The Legend), John Bagnall, Ed Pinsent, Tom Baxter Tiffin, Jason Atomic and many others.

My story "RESPECTO!" has two inspirations; first was an unfortunate message exchange with an unhinged individual hurling insults and threats at me and in the same breath demanding respect, totally unaware of the hypocrisy of what they were saying . It made me think about what respect is and how do we go about trying to get it. The second inspiration was to use the bizarre and beautiful African masks that I love to study and draw. There may be some who will call this "cultural appropriation", but my intent is to show my respect for this art and culture. These are not my designs, just my interpretation. To dispel any confusion, I have included the origin tribe and region information with each character and hope people will be curious enough to do their own research and learn about African tribal art.

OK HW

Order UGLY MUG #7 at The House of Harley

REJECTION! The "Burls & Gnarls" Tale

 

Page one - Would you read more?

I am making stuff again, specifically comix stories and have been trying to get them published, but that is easier said than done.  My first story of this new era is an eight page tale  called "Burls & Gnarls" I created in January of this year and it's about a guy haunted by weird trees he sees along the icy winter streets of Riga, Latvia. It's an old school black and white, ink on bristol board effort built on top of a beat-like poem of existentialist angst with a touch of defiance. Here's the first page as a taste. (I'm not going to put the whole thing online as I have other plans for it)

After reading this first bit, would you feel compelled to turn the page and read more? Well, I submitted it to three different comix anthology publications and it was rejected each time, so I guess for some people, the answer is "No thanks". It never feels great to not have your work included, but this isn't my first time in the barrel, so I cried in exactly one beer and shared the bad news with my inner circle who did what good friends do and they jumped in outrage and shock, shaking their heads in disbelief that my offering was turned away. It is not a fair or just world generally, so it's necessary to have thick skin and supportive allies to manage such times. Having been on the other end of the stick, I understand that not everything can be included and some things have to hit the floor. It is part of the process. It's never easy putting together a creative project made from many contributions. The important thing for me is putting the work out there. Once the piece is submitted, I have won because I'm participating in the creative community. I take solace knowing that Frank Herbert's "DUNE" was rejected by twenty publishers before it found a home. (side note - I am not comparing my work to that masterpiece). The lesson learned is you do your best, work to your own highest standard and then keep submitting it until it lands in front of the right eyeballs. Don't give up. 

Another taste - page four

So, what will become of "Burls & Gnarls"? I've decided to use it as motivation to publish issue #8 of RELUCTANT SADIST, picking up where I left in 1989, a mere thirty-four years later. My goal is to lash together a 16 or 24 page digest-size comix by the end of 2023. Watch this space!

So that is final rejection lesson to be learn and that is, if you no else will publish your work, DIY baby.

Keep smiling,

OK HW

Some Corpses are More Exquisite Than Others...

I've known Ralf Schulze a longtime, since the late 1980s. We met in the wild, weird world of underground comix and 'zines. I think Ralf sent me a few of his comix in trade; "Dinky-Doo" and "Zombie Vomit" and that started a friendship that has endured until today.

Ralf lives in Richmond, VA and recently I spent a weekend up there hanging out with friends. Ralf and I met for lunch then settled in for some beers at Steam Bell Beer Works (sidebar - great beer and friendly folks, worth the trip). Ralf brought along a sketchbook and asked me, "Do you want to draw?". I sheepishly admitted that I haven't been drawing much, feel self-conscious drawing in public and have no idea what I would draw and after the bullshit excuses were out-of-the-way, we settled down to work.

I started off with a shapely dragon-salamander creature, falling back on the ten-year old boy mind that is forever doodling during geometry class.

Ralf is more in-touch with his abstract side and went with these two images; one vaguely obscene and the other reminded me of a Simpsons nightmare (I'll leave it to you to figure it out)

After warming up, we got down to business and decided on the theme "MASKS" for some exquisite corpse fun. The rules of EC are simple, gather a group of artists (or those that want to pretend to be artists, essentially the same thing) fold some paper and each person gets to draw a section. The rub is, you don't get to see what the other people drew in their sections until the end.

We set-up two pieces of paper so we could both be drawing and pass the paper back and forth until it was time for the big unveiling. The first two drawings we set-up with horizontal folds and one of us started at the top and the other the bottom. These two drawings turned out surprisedly coherent. I particularly like the one on the left (above photo) with the eyepatch.

For the second group, we decided to mix it up and folded the paper in quarters, working vertically with one and horizontally with the other. These two certainly hit a more zany quality that we were hoping for.

I appreciate Ralf prodding me to get back to drawing, lighten-up and have some fun.

Good times!

OK HW

A Cup of Elvis

Back in the summer of 1988, Carole Sobocinski invited me to contribute a piece to her anthology zine Zabawny. Each issue featured a different theme and  Zabawny #9 was an All-Elvis issue. "Café Elvis" was what I came up with, a surreal melange of Daliesque imagery and a reworking of the lyrics from the Manhattan Transfer song "Java Jive".

Fast forward to right now and you can find the original "Café Elvis" art hanging in an exhibition called "That's Funny: Art with a Sense of Humor" at the Charles H. Taylor Center in Hampton, Virginia (Sept. 13 - Oct. 19, 2014).

In the same show I also have a short stop motion animated film called "ZANK", which I wrote about in my companion blog "Weaverwerx" and two bas-relief sculptures, which I'll be writing about soon.

OK HW

"Demon Skull" Illustration from "Dementia Magazine 1986

I've always been into skulls. Partly, I think, because of my love of monster and horror movies from a very early age, but also because they are easy to draw. In 1986, I found in opportunity to contribute some illustrations to a new horror anthology magazine called "Dementia". I don't recall how I found out about it, but was glad for the chance to get some of my weird drawings out there in the world. The publisher, Roger Reus, assigned me a story to do a drawing for, the title of which fails me, so I did the  piece and and few spec spot illustrations and sent it off and waited for the publication. My main story drawing was not used, but all of my spot drawings were and I even got a sizable ad for RELUCTANT SADIST on page 30 as trade for my efforts.

This "Demon Skull" drawing was inspired by the work of H.R. Giger of Alien fame and Roger and Martyn Dean of YES rock album covers. I am a child of the rock'n'roll, stoner culture of the 1970s and that psychedelic energy leaked into much of my work at that time. I did this drawing with a Pilot V5 ballpoint ink pen on bristol board. I don't recall how long it took, but I do know that I had fewer distractions back then (internets I am looking at you) and more patients. I have toyed with the idea of trying to sculpt this figure, but I cheated this drawing by making a flat version of the skull without apparent far side protrusions showing. I imagine he'd be symmetrical, so not too difficult to complete.

Here's the cover of that first and only issue of "Dementia" sporting a fabulous EC Comics looking drawing by "Allen K." of a zombie chowing down on some hapless citizen decades before it was cool or commercially mainstream.

OK HW

"PUNK NINJA" the Original Sketch

To follow on to the last post, I found the thumbnail sketch for that "PUNK NINJA" illo. I think this sketch reads better then the final illustration. Sometimes you got to know when to stop.

OK HW

80s Retro - "PUNK NINJA" Lives!!!

 While working on the R.S. book project tonight, I found some old comix that I had contributed art too. One of the earliest was a mini-comic from 1987, published Ryan Holland of Vision Comics called "Punk Ninja". Straight forward concept, classic eight page mini with a drawing of a Punk Ninja by a different artist on each page. You can find my bit on page five.


Nearly all of the renditions gave the Ninja a Mohawk, which was standard-issue for punk rockers back then. Of course there is also loads of leather and spikes (thank you "Road Warrior"). I got to say that I'm not too embarrassed by my P-Ninja drawing. Strong, basic composition and I even worked in some shurikens (Chinese throwing stars). I'm not sure if the Chinese writing is legit, but that is one serious Mohawk.

OK HW

Back Issues Available!

I have some copies of issues #3 and #4 left over from the WORD exhibition at the Charles H. Taylor Center, so you can own them for the bargain price of one measly US dollar each (plus .75 cents shipping & handling), just click the Paypal button to the right. I'm also open to trades from other comix artists, so send me something!

OK HW

WORD - I'm in an art exhibit called WORD!

If you wait long enough, sometimes a few people take notice. WORD. That's the name of an art exhibition at the Charles H. Taylor Arts Center in Hampton, Va. that just opened and includes some of my original art from RELUCTANT SADIST. I'm thrilled to be able to publicly share this work. The subtle shading and ink wash work that I did was often muted and degraded when I photocopied it, so it's great to be able to show off the real stuff. James Jones, the curator/gallery manager at the Charles Taylor Arts Center, has been very supportive of my art.

His enthusiasm is encouraging me to do more, as I can see how my work can connect with an audience, something I sometimes forget about. I only wish I was finished with my book, so I would have had copies there to share with folks. Since I did not, I instead reprinted fifteen copies of Issue #4, which I handed out for free. They were grabbed up much quicker then I expected. I'm going to do some copies of issue #3 and drop them off soon.

The show is up until July 7th, so if you find yourself in Hampton, Va before then, pop in and check out all the marvelous art. It is a fine array of all media and styles; hard not to find a few things to love. I feel proud and humble to be included with such wonderful art.

OK HW

A Little Surreal Holiday Visit from Santa Dali

Happy holidays! I hope you are having better luck at getting into the spirit this year than I am. With the retail stores putting up decorations in early October and the non-stop commercials trying to brow beat us into shopping now! I was burned out before the Thanksgiving turkey was cut. Bah!

So in an effort to find some Xmas spirit, I was looking back over this three page bit I did for Dan Taylor's mini comic, "Pork Belly" called "Santa Dali". I connected with Dan through the Poopsheet Foundation, answering a forum board "submission call" notice. It had been a long while since I had done any comix work, so it felt good to throw some ink down again. Check it out;

Have a Merry Ho-Ho!

OK HW

King-Cat Comics

The world of self-published comics and zines is stronger then ever because of the internet. It's never been easier to create your own comic and distribute it. Way back in the 1980s and 1990s when I was doing "Reluctant Sadist", everything was done through the mail. A zine artist would connect with their readers by sending out review copies to pubs like "Fact Sheet Five" and "Small Press Comix Explosion". Now you can draw a comic streaming live or collaborate with other artists all over the world. There are no boundaries.  I got to admit though that I like reading comics the old-fashioned way in a hard copy format. I like the artifact and intimacy of "reading it real". Somehow reading it on a screen makes it too easy to forget, gives the words and images less meaning. I use the net to find new comics and when I do, I send off my dough and eagerly await getting some "good mail".

I don't recall when or how I found John Porcellino's zine, "King-Cat Comics", but I've been following his blog, "Maybe Blogging Will Help" for a few months and decided it was time to get my hands on some King-Cat. The photo above is my "de-enveloping" of issues #65 and #71. John also included a hand-written note and doodle which was a nice touch. When I read comics, I prefer to read auto-biographical stuff and King-Cat fits that. The stories and art are minimal, but personal. There's a zen quality to the stories that often focus on simple experiences that could easily be overlooked in this busy world. I like being reminded of the simple things. Here's my favorite panel from issue #65 called "Places".

I relate to that idea. Sometimes I see myself in some second floor apartment above an old store front in some small, quiet town reading a thrift store copy of "The Dharma Bums" while lying on a hand-me-down couch. If you dream of simple things, then check out King-Cat Comics.

OK HW

"Dry with the Threadbare Towel" - Issue Seven

Many shit words

hangover filled mornings

grabbing at the alarm clock 

shower with the empty shampoo bottle

wash with the thin soap

dry with the threadbare towel

no breakfast

coffee/biscuit

rice lunch

home to empty kitchen

cut off notices

more beer

stereo

more beer

laundry

can’t find a pair of clean socks

always had clean socks at home

What happened to meat and vegetables??

-Michael Wingfield

That piece comes from one of my favorite RS stories that was in issue number seven and is called, "Dry with the Threadbare Towel". It was born from a writing collaboration with my friend Michael Wingfield. Back when we were young bucks, we'd often spend nights hanging out in bars playing a writing game we called "Poetry Tag". Basically, we'd throw out some random phrases and both spend a few minutes writing something around it. We'd stop, read out loud what we had written, swap notebooks and try another phrase. Needless to say, a lot of bad crap was scrawled, but now and again, some gems would break through the chaff. "Threadbare Towel" was edited from one particular round. This bit, the combination of Mike's words and this drawing I did of him, is my favorite panel in the story.

OK HW

Hey You Kids, Don't Put Your Lips On It...

In an old skit on Saturday Night Live, Steve Martin and Bill Murray stared into the camera and asked, "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?" So what's the connection with RS you ask? Recently I was chatting with a new friend on Twitter and she asked me what my book was about. That stopped me cold. What the hell is, was RS about? I've been digging back through the journals trying to reassemble my thinking from that time (sometimes an exercise in terror and humiliation. Jesus, the 80s was a scary time in many ways), so I have a fair handle on why I was doing the comix (the usual, an odyssey of spiritual growth and a cry for attention), but what was it about? There were themes of friendship, alienation, suicidal tendencies, angst, surrealism, attempts at humor, confusion and drinking. I didn't have a conscious agenda, rather I went wherever my damaged little muse would take me, usually somewhere dodgy with lots of broken glass and rusty nails laying around. When you finally did turn the corner and saw the thing, you damn well didn't want to put your lips on it.

OK HW

Image for December 3, 2011 - How These Things Get Done...

I have mentioned on here from time-to-time about a project I am working on to collect my old underground comic from the late 1980s called "Reluctant Sadist". Considering the glacial pace that I have been moving on this project, I should just call it "RELUCTANT" and turn it into a performance art piece. I was going great guns gathering materials and scanning all the art work and contacting folks from the past securing permissions to use their words and images and then I came to the hard part of the project; ACTUALLY WRITING THE DAMN THING. Through the years, I have grown lazy in my creative work habits and throw on top of that distractions like the internets and the sad result is not much to show. Part of my problem too is I haven't been able sustain the effort. Sure, I have been able to achieve little victories here and there, but then I'll have a gap of months with no work and I lose the flavor of the thing. Today, I decided to commit to half an hour a day to the project, even if it's just research or reading, I need to keep my ass in the chair with the materials in front of me for that thirty minutes. Now, that doesn't sound like a lot of time, but you'd be surprised at how much can be accomplished in those thirty minutes. I also find that I often work well beyond that period, as I did today, because the hardest part for me is often just getting started. Here's my work table. I need to spread out. I also have three different notebooks open for other notes because I usually get ideas for other projects; short movies, comix stories, this year's Xmas card, etc; and I make sure to capture them all.  I also took this photo to document how I work, as I enjoy seeing other people's work and studio spaces. What's your workspace look like?

OK HW

Note: This first appeared on my other blog, Weaverwerx on December 3, 2011.

Image for 4-18-11 - peep

I always liked this frame. It's from the fifth issue of my old underground comix, "Reluctant Sadist". I need to get back working on the book project I started that will collect all the issues together and also other work from that time. The "peep" is because I got no excuse. I must get ass in gear.

OK HW

Note: This first appeared on my other blog, Weaverwerx on April 18, 2011.

Image for 2/17/11 - Reluctant Sadist book project

Today, another panel pulled from my old comic "Reluctant Sadist". I am making some solid progress on my book project to collect all that old stuff. Here's a little taste from issue five.

OK HW

Note: This first appeared on my other blog, Weaverwerx February 17, 2011

Image for 2-13-2011 - Progress

I got a fair chunk of writing done yesterday (I know, I'm a day late) on my "Reluctant Sadist" book project. Worked on Chapter eleven that collects underground comix art I did for other publications. I was surprised at how much I did and I wonder if I had stayed with it, where I might be today. I suffer from the jack-of-all-trades curse. I can do a lot of things moderately well; well enough that I could make a mark in any one area. But, as it has gone, I've dabbled. I did devote myself to sculpture for a number of years, but even then I explored different styles and subjects. In the past twenty five years I have gone from comic book style drawing and monster make-up work to sculpture and writing (poetry, non-fiction articles and a feature film screenplay) to painting and acting. I love it all. So, here I am back 'round the horn and writing about the old comix work. Will it lead to my return to that world? Stay tuned to find out...

OK HW

Note: This first appeared on my other blog, Weaverwerx February 13, 2011.

Image for Feb. 7, 2010 - Art from the archive

Another piece of art from the mighty Weaverwerx archive, that I recently scanned for my "Reluctant Sadist" book project. This was a cover I did for the long gone and long missed local magazine "Catharsis". Ah, those were the days.

OK HW

Note: This first appeared on my other blog, Weaverwerx February 7, 2011

The Hard Part Begins...

I have been tracking down folks and publications whom either contributed to my old comix "Reluctant Sadist" (remember the book project I'm working on) or reviewed it to get permission to reprint their work. It's been a fun and enlightening bit of detective work. Everyone has been very supportive and cooperative so far and that has been encouraging me to get more done. My biggest enemy right now is negative inertia. It's too easy to let the job, socializing and household duties eat up all of my time (not to mention the TV and the intertubes). Getting all the material cleared is a huge step. Now the hard bit begins. I have to actually start writing something. To jump start that creaky chunk of grey matter, I have dug out the old journals from that time period and have been reading through them trying to get back to that time and place. Sifting through the petty gripes and endless blathering to find a live wire that reconnect me to the heat. Help me understand why I was doing what I was doing and why I stopped. Examining each issue again is setting off smoke bombs and bottle rockets, flashes of memory and insight and I know once I get the hand moving the words will lay down.

I added a link on the sidebar to the right to Brad Foster's web site Jabberwocky Graphix. Brad contributed a cool one page piece to the fifth issue of RS and has agreed to let me reprint in the book. Thank you Brad.

OK HW

Note: This first appeared on my other blog, Weaverwerx on April 29, 2010

Progress Report from March 31, 2010

I have actually been moving in what could be mistaken for a forward direction on my "Reluctant Sadist" book project. "Reluctant Sadist" was an underground, self-published comic that I did back in the late 1980s'. I printed seven issues before I got distracted by sculpting, but that's a story that'll be saved for the book. All the artwork has been scanned, plus loads of stuff that I did for other comix and even a nice chunk of scribbles and sketches. It's been a lot of fun to dig back through the piles and look at all that old stuff. I've finally made my pack-rat tendencies pay-off, as I have plenty of material for the book, including old reviews from "Factsheet Five" and "Small Press Comics Explosion". Next up will be getting folks who contributed to my old comic to sign release forms, so I can use their stuff. Then the hard part, I have to start writing.

OK HW

Note: This first appeared on my other blog, Weaverwerx on March 31, 2010.