What My Dad must put up with...

I pondered for several days whether I should post this here...

...as it's more of a joke that only folks who have been in our house lately would get. But then, I really like the way my style worked on this card, and I figured I should share it, especially since I hadn't posted any art in some time.

Dad, in his retirement, has two passions. Doing jigsaw puzzles, and reading.

Mom, in her retirement, has two passions. Sending cases of Potato Chips and treats to anybody on the face of the planet who may have at sometime mentioned her name in passing, not to mention relatives I don't think I've ever seen. Somehow She remembers all their Birthdays and Special occasions. And tries to make sure some Potato Chips or candy make it to their particular corner of the globe in time.

When Mom is on a package-mailing jag, no horizontal surface in our house is safe. It will quickly be covered with cartons either being packed and addressed, or unpacked. This is why my drawing table, while I could adjust it to lie flat, is always tilted at an angle. My Drawing surface is MY SPACE! She'd better not try to pile boxes of Potato Chips on it, or who knows what I'll draw her doing!

Lately, Mom has been on a binge ever since she learned that Weds July 20th is National Lollipop Day. She has made it her mission to send everybody she knows a bag of Mini Tootsie Pops before that fateful day. You might say that Mom is a real Sucker for this holiday! She should get some kind of medal or even a paycheck from Tootsie Roll Industries for all the pro bono work she's been doing for them.

Poor Dad. He had been working for a couple weeks on a particularly difficult puzzle, only to one morning find his work on the Dining Room table inaccessible for the duration. The cat, Quincy, is puzzled too, because he's usually what ends up on top of Dad's puzzle, not a bunch of boxes.

I've got something special planned for you readers in a few weeks when National Lollipop Day rolls in. Keep your wrappers on until then.

Found this creepy hand candle yesterday at The Salvation Army store. It always makes Monster stuff so much scarier when you find it at a shop run by reliigious types. I was wearing my usual jacket with my button that says "Devil" at the time. 

I went to an auction to buy records, and ended up getting this 11-inch Tiki made of Lava Rock to boot for 9 bucks. I have to share. 

Here's hoping All You Mothers have a nice day. 

A Small Stash of Vintage Mini-Comics I found in Ohio...

Recently I took a trip to Columbus, Ohio for the Small Press Alternative Comics Expo (SPACE). Before I left, I stopped in at an old Head Shop called "Monkey's Retreat". They had a box of old mini comics, surely not in the best shape but still readable, and still with the original sale prices!

here are some scans.


I promise that the next post I make here will be a new cartoon by me.


"Tales From Private Hells" (1987) by Dony Mahoney, Tim Fuster, Jim Black and others.

"Plain Loon's Cosmic House" (1983) by Michael Roden, and "Z" #17 (1980) by Bob Stewart

some interior pages from Micheal Roden's mini-comic. Really wild op-art collage effect. There's an online catalog of his stuff here:
http://homepage.mac.com/dalecoovert/roden.html

a page from Mark Martin and Eric Mayer's jam mini, "Why Me?". the nifty use of the blue spot color is repeated elsewhere to great effect. Mark was also a regular contributor to STUFF, and went on to Alt-Comics fame with Gnatrat and Montgomery Wart and 20 Nude Dancers 20 , among other great stuff. Here's mark's site: http://www.markmartin.net/

some issues of "STUFF" (1986), a mini-anthology edited by Brad Foster.

The Evil Dr. Palindrome!

I'm still putting together new books for the S.P.A.C.E. show next weekend, so here's another classic Dr. Palindrome...

It's almost Prom season again, so this one is kinda timely.

New BenT Mini-Comic: I Am A Rock

Page 10 from "I Am A Rock"

page 11

If I don't update here for a couple weeks, it's because I'm hard at work in my spare time getting new mini-comics ready for the SPACE convention in Columbus, Ohio on April 16th.

I have three new books in various stages of production right now. The panels above are two pages from the new mini that I just finished the scanning on.
"I Am A Rock" turns the Simon and Garfunkel song into a parody about The Thing (from marvel's Fantastic Four comics)

if you want to have first crack at my new work, get to SPACE. http://www.backporchcomics.com/space.htm

Any remaining copies of the new books will be available thru my website shortly after the show.

Because Cat Cartoons are Popular...

You'll dread the day you learn how many words
your cat understands.

The Evil Dr. Palindrome!

Parts to O'Brian. Air Bootstrap.
This started out with me trying to come up with a St. Patrick's Day palindrome.
I kicked around several keywords, I really wanted to make something work around "potato famine", but no luck. ...then decided to try Irish surnames.

I need therapy.
...or perhaps a girlfriend.

The Latest U.S. Pez Dispensers.

New Pez dispensers!

The New StarWars assortment is out, and the new figures include Emperor Palpatine, a revised Chewbacca, and The death Star! I personally look forward to the epic battle between Emperor palpatine and The Heffalump in Episode Three.

The Glow-In-The-Dark Palpatine (with the black robe) is a Wal-Mart Exclusive figure.

f-ARTjoke

How Saint Patrick Really Drove the Snakes Out of Ireland.

MODOK The Menace!

Look at that evil grin. I bet he's dreaming
he just assassinated Tony Stark!

New Products aimed at the Rap Music Demographic...

Now put your long ears in the air, and wave 'em like you just don't care...

Dammmmn! I hope homie don't bust a cap in TastyKake's ass when he find out these have coconut in 'em.

Word to your Grandmother.

The Evil Dr. Palindrome!

Only an Evil Doctor would Veto Medicaid, right?
Yeah. I know..I tried to make this one make sense, really, I did.

Lordy, Lordy, Look Who's 40

This is a scan of the card I sent to Misun Oh, of the zine Tearjerker, who enters
zinester adulthood today. One of Us, Minty, One of Us!

Happy Birthday, Queen Cat!

f-ARTjoke

Salon Des Scent
(after an 1897 poster by Alphonse Mucha)

Actually I based this on a line-art rendition I found in a Mucha coloring book. Yeah. I can't believe somebody made a Mucha coloring book, either. I was able to find an image of the original poster, which I display below only so you can see how litle justice my line does to the fine deco stylings of Monsieur Mucha.


here's a shot of my victim

The Evil Dr. Palindrome!

Yes. I think being a Yankees Fan makes Doc Palindrome Evil.

Not that I'm any fan of Baseball, or professional sports in general. If I were any kind of fan, I'd take more time to care about what a Yankees or Orioles uniform really looked like, or what that danged bird mascot or even a stadium looked like.

Still it's that time of year when folks around here are excited because the Orioles still have a perfect record, and they think they might be able to retain that beyond Opening Day now that they've added Sammy to their roster. To namedrop another team's mascot, WaHoo!

Me, I simply recognized that Sosa's name has "Os" in it when reversed, and thus I had to draw this.
I know that no self-respecting Yankees fan would ever utter an epithet as tame as "Rats!", but then I figure that there are plenty of the vermin in Yankee Stadium, (some don't even buy tickets) so it was appropriate.

Edmund Scientific: The World's Unluckiest Man.

The Good News: We've Outsourced all Employee Deaths Overseas.
The Bad News: You, Ed, have killed Three Indonesian Children this month.

The Evil Dr. Palindrome!

I know some of you are thinking, "So, Dr. Palindrome is a sexist! That's certainly Evil of him!"

You should stop for a moment and consider that perhaps you, the reader, are the one who is Evil, for the dirty things you infer when you see this drawing. Perhaps the good doctor is truly feeling tired, and desires a nap on yon mattress before they film the next episode of his little drama. perhaps he is summoning the propmistress, who, admittedly, dresses rather strangely, to take proper care of his sword until the next performance.

Oh! NOW you think I'm implying sexual favors when I use the phrase "...take proper care of his sword..." You have a rather dirty mind, Dear Reader. Have you considered Therapy?


NO! I don't mean SEX Therapy! Sheesh! Where does it end with you? Go to confession, you Pervert!

f-ARTjoke

The Night Wind
(after the watercolor of the same name by Charles Burchfield)

I found a print of the original painting in an old portfolio from MOMA that was in a used book sale.
I can't find the original image on line, but I'll scan a bit of it in for you, so you can see what inspired me to add the hooded figure with the gas problem:


a segment of the original Burchfield piece

Here's a link to more of Burchfield's work:
http://americanart.si.edu/highlights/artworks.cfm?id=GM&StartRow=12