Dispatch from CCS Summer Workshop!

Just a quickie as we're on our lunch break at the Center for Cartoon Studies summer workshop, the first of three this summer --

This group for the cartooning workshop is terrific; about 20 students, ages 13 to adult, and all into what they're doing. This is a remarkably focused group, too, so I've staggered today's exercises (all timed, to the stopwatch) to keep them drawing and cumulatively building upon each exercise to arrive at a few of the drawing skills they'll need for the Wednesday and Thursday intensive session with Robyn, Alec and Aaron (see last post).

This morning we tackled a three-panel, rotating comic drawing exercise, arriving at group (pairs) scripting of the completed three-panel comics with the clear goal of making the group laugh via the 'performance' reading of each comic. So, 20 short comic stories done by 11 AM!

We're now midway through a composite creature/character design exercise I cooked up last year that works well with almost every age group: each student builds a composite critter out of four timed (7 minute) sessions, taking a component from a randomly-chosen photo of a real world animal/plant/object from reference I provide. After the four rounds (each time working from a new reference source, thus a new animal/plant/object), they have an original 'composite critter' which they then refine via two or three stages of drawing -- reproportioning the elements, arriving at a character or creature they can comfortably draw and redraw.

After this lunch break, we'll be using those drawings to have each student sculpt a little Sculpy miniature of their creature, and using those as a reference point, rotate the creature/character in space and thus end up with a simple character sheet, with at least three views of their character from three different angles.

Then, on to the cover and splash page design and mockup exercises -- a full day ahead!

I'm sticking around after dinner, too, to show the group a pretty eclectic collection of short films and cartoons, the evening's entertainment -- then, off for home. Whew.

So, there you have it -- the short order CCS Tuesday Summer Comics Workshop overview. Three more days to go -- and lots of drawing and comics yet to be created from scratch!

Gotta run -- afternoon session begins in 20 minutes... and I've got my own lunch to eat...

Flora I'm Fond-a, More Ketchup, and For The Man Who Has Everything...

* A big plug for

Irwin Chusid's week-long tribute posts to illustrator Jim Flora at Today's Inspiration.

Flora scholar and musicologist Irwin Chusid writes, "Leif Peng is an illustrator based in Hamilton, Ontario. He has a daily blog called "Today's Inspiration" that celebrates illustrators and illustration of the fifties... Each week he posts five images (one per day), along with brief explanatory text. Occasionally, he invites a guest writer to share their expertise on a particular subject. He invited me to curate a weeklong tribute to Jim Flora." Irwin has been at it all week, so check out the gallery via the link -- which should prompt you to track down Irwin's excellent art book on Flora's classic '50s illo work for record labels, music zines and more.

* One more plug for

the Center for Cartoon Studies summer workshops

(scroll down to "SUMMER WORKSHOPS 2006"), which I'll be teaching with James Sturm, James Kochalka, Robyn Chapman, Aaron Renier and Alec Longstreth. Truth to tell, though we'll all be doing our best, Aaron & Alec's two-day comic creation workshop alone (Wednesday and Thursday) is more than worth the price of admission; it's a mind-blower and jump-starter! That said, James & James and I will be teaching Monday and Tuesday, Robyn will be opening up the Wednesday session and working with Aaron & Alec, and by Friday there will be new comics kicking and squealing their way into this crabby ol' world of ours, via the hands, heads and hearts of this week's workshop participants. Always something new being born at CCS!

* Speaking of which, the CCS Year One student team behind the Jersey Devil mini-comic that Heretic will be packaging as part of their September 29th DVD release of Stefan Avalos & Lance Weiler's historic digital mockumentary/thriller The Last Broadcast are already at it again! Without working up a sweat, I showed our Jersey Devil mini to someone I thought might find it of interest -- and we just landed a new gig from a different filmmaker/DVD packager to create a "bigger" mini-comic for another upcoming 2006 DVD release -- but it's top secret until the filmmakers and DVD label decide to unveil the title and package in their own sweet time. So, we can't talk about it here, but rest assured another CCS Year One alumni team mini-comic will be sweetening one of the year's strangest upcoming DVD packages. We're starting work this week, with a planned end-of-August delivery of the finished product. Much work ahead -- should be some fun, too.

* But that's just the tip of the CCS experience, as we move toward the fall launch of Year Two and a whole new class coming in the doors. If you care to read about the Maine College of Art partnering with CCS, Zippy the Pinhead visiting White RIver Junction, a blog story and photographs from a recent visit to CCS, Alison Bechdel's fantastic new graphic novel Fun Home, year one student Alexis Frederick-Frost winning a 2006 Xeric Book Self-Publishing Grant (congrats, Alexis!), and more, go to

the CCS site.

Like, now.

* A bit more bragging: Hey, a book I contributed to just won an award. Co-editor (with Kim Newman) Stephen Jones writes:

"As you may know, this past weekend in Newark, New Jersey, Horror: Another 100 Best Books was presented with the Horror Writers Association's annual Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction. As our first Horror: 100 Best Books volume also received this same award back in 1990, it was with additional pleasure that we accepted this prize."

Our unabashed co-editor added, "Obviously, we couldn't have done it without you. So, on behalf of Kim and myself, I would like to thank you for your contribution to the book's success. We really appreciate all the hard work you put into it." Ah, shucks, Stephen -- I'm just 1/100th of it all.

FYI, my respective contribution was an essay on Alan Moore & Eddie Campbell's graphic novel extraordinaire From Hell, though vet Taboo and Video Watchdog readers should also note Tim Lucas's novel Throat Sprockets made the top 100 grade, too (and Tim has his own contribution to the book as a writer, via his Fantomas writeup).

Stephen's email concluded, "The book is also nominated for an International Horror Guild Award later this year, so let's keep our collective fingers crossed . . ." Next year's World Horror Convention and Bram Stoker Award presentation will be held in Toronto, Canada, March 29-April 1; if you're interested in finding out more, check out

World Horror Convention's website.

Nice to know something I had a small, malformed fetal vestigal hand in has earned the award. I have my own Bram Stoker on our home shelves, which I won in 1993 as the author of Aliens: Tribes (sharing that year's Superior Achievement in Novelette category with none other than Joe Lansdale, an honor in and of itself). It's a tres cool elongated haunted house made of browned resin, with a little metal door that opens to reveal the lettered blonze award plaque; now, I'll forever picture an extra gable or shingle on it for my essay in Kim & Stephen's book. Congrats to Stephen & Kim and all the other contributors!

* As if the CCS workshop wasn't enough on my plate for this week, I'm also interviewing the Vermont filmmakers behind not one but two recently completed and/or still-in-post-production feature films. Tomorrow, Marge and I are driving way up past my old home digs to near-where-I-grew-up Waterbury Center for an RSVP by-invite-only session for the cast and crew of The Summer of Walter Hacks, hosted by actor/director/co-writer George Woodard and producer/co-writer Gerianne Smart. George & Gerianne wanted someone to interview all concerned on video, and I wanted to be sure to cover the film's production for a future volume of Green Mountain Cinema, so they invited me to handle the honors and duties. I'm an old hand at such on-stage interviews (having done my share at comic cons, Chiller Con and various video industry trade shows and functions), so we gracefully and gratefully accepted the invite -- should be a high time.

Come Wednesday, I'll be meeting the young filmmakers responsible for the latest Center for Digital Art student feature Delusion, a tight little psychological thriller which debuted just this past Sunday, June 18th, at the Latchis Theater in Brattleboro, VT. CDA cofounders and instructors Michel & Linda Moyse are hosting the interview session at their home CDA studio, again to yield coverage for Green Mt Cinema. BTW, last year's senior CDA feature Collie Rotweiler and the Hangaround Kid just won a Golden Remi Award at the end-of-April WorldFest-Houston, the 3rd oldest film festival in North America. Congrats to its talented cast and crew, and to the Center for Digital Art which nurtured and mobilized their considerable skills. I was lucky enough to interview many of Collie Rotweiler's young creative team during filming last spring, and that material saw print in The Brattleboro Reformer and will be featured (expanded and revised) in a special CDA-dedicated volume of Green Mt Cinema.

* What do you give the man who has everything -- particularly an ex-alcoholic born-again bubble-environed blinkered absolutist who's already blind-drunk on power? Why,

give him more power, of course!

The Republicans angrily refuted similar powers for President Clinton, but since President Bush has been good and apparently hasn't received a blowjob in the Oval Office or White House hallways as yet, this looks like a peachy reward.

Clearly, the Republicans really do think they'll be in power forever.

* Marge and I have tried off and on all afternoon to post photos and art on this blog, but our server just won't follow through. It's wipe-out and wipe-out every time, slamming us out of Safari in a heartbeat. Sigh. Sorry, bunky. It just ain't meant to be...

Shitfuckmonkeygashpusssuckingasslickingcuntchewingdamn!

Well, I had a great post all ready to go, worked on it all morning -- and when I went to load my first-ever image on this very blog -- Safari crashed and shut down. Boom.

So, the hell with it. I had written all this great stuff about what I've been up to the past four weeks, including a post of The Last Broadcast cover art, and it's all gone, and I've no time left to fritter away at the task anew.

Basically, I've hit the walls of what's viable with dial-up only access, and have no affordable options open to Marge or I to change that when we're at home. In fact, among the "invisible" work I've juggled the past few months (including three regional Board of Directors positions) is the Marlboro Broadband Committee I chair and the Windham County Five-Town Cooperative I'm part of as the Marlboro Committee chair.

Since I lost the morning's labors, lucky you, you get to read the minutes (slightly edited to remove contact info I composed for the last two committee meetings. This is part of what I do, week in and week out, all in hopes of getting broadband access most of you take for granted here in our own home.

More later, including livelier reading and some new Bissette art online (at last!), if Safari "lets" me --
_____

Note: For the time being, Marlboro Elementary School provides Marlboro residents with their only access to a T1 line for high-speed internet access. Jess Holzapfel on duty, MES Library, Tuesdays from July 11th through August 15th, 1-7 PM -- that's when the public can come in and access the T1 line.
_________________

May 27, 2006 Marlboro Broadband meeting minutes

Attending:

Stephen Bissette
Clea & Alistair (last name?)
Jim Mahoney
Patrick Moreland
Callie Newton
Gregg Noble (Optima)
Alfredo Varela
Jane Wilde

Not in attendance, but interested to work:

Mike Andreotta
Augusta “Gussie” Bartlett
Andrea McAuslan (consultant)
Meg McCarthy
__

We opened the meeting with introductions all around; note, please, that Callie Newton is presently part of the Marlboro selectboard; Alistair is a software engineer; Patrick Moreland works with CABA, and as such immediately mentioned his experience in proposal and grant-writing and management, offering his skills in that capacity; and that Gregg Noble is the Chief Operating Officer at Optima Computers in Brattleboro, and was attending to offer whatever information and input Optima can extend to reaching our collective goal.

All attending had read the information on the Marlboro Broadband Committee website, and Steve Bissette hosted and moderated the meeting.

Bissette passed around the Dummerston May 17 meeting handout “Broadband on the Hill” by Tom Lowell, and with Jim Mahoney’s input offered a summary of the Dummerston meeting, the resulting five-town cooperative in the works, and Marlboro’s involvement with that effort with the ultimate goal of bringing broadband access to Marlboro residents and the cooperative town members.

* Gregg Noble of Optima opened with comments on what system might be most applicable to Marlboro’s needs. The frequency most likely to be used would be a 900 megah. system, which “can shoot through trees and bend” around our topography to some extent. He noted, too, that there is an agreement in place wherein ANY VT state property is accessible for installations necessary to wireless access, and that solar power can be used for towers necessary to the system, using high points that currently have no electrical lines. Gregg also said Optima “may have a solution” to providing an alternative to T1 lines.

We noted that the cooperative would own the towers necessary to any such system.

Gregg noted that Optima’s model -- which has been used to bring broadband to Dunmore, VT -- uses a point-to-point system (similar to Tim Flesher’s LastMileNet model), but whereas LastMileNet uses a “fixed model”, Optima’s involves something slightly different. At the end point of point-to-point, each customer “serves” a MESH network (“802-11”) serving those within 300 ft. of each home access point [note from SRB: I don’t know if I’ve adequately covered/described this difference via my hasty notes -- Gregg?]

There followed some discussion of:

* Likely ‘high points’ in Marlboro for placement of towers. There is apparently a tower on Ames Hill Road on a private residence, which is rented to VT Yankee; the Molly Stark fire tower was mentioned.

(Note: Andrea McAuslan followed up on this point via email:

“The tower is on my property on Cowpath Forty. I rent land to the owner of the tower, who leases space on the tower to a number of businesses and organizations, ENVY being only one of them. Yankee should not be called. The person who should be called is -- [info deleted for this post]"

Thanks, Andrea!)

* Patrick asked if coaxal cable “strung house to house” might provide an option (unwieldy/unlikely in Marlboro), and opened discussion of satellite.

Though the general opinion of those having satellite indicated extreme dissatisfaction (Jane Wilde sarcastically referred to, in the rainy weather we’ve had, “a two-week delay” in her signal/service), the upcoming LEO (Low Earth Orbit) satellite option prompted brief discussion and its probable difficulties given Marlboro’s topography (Patrick: “That’s not likely to fail”).

* Patrick also asked what “technical structure” would be necessary to any point-to-point system in Marlboro. Jim, Steve etc. followed up on the Dummerston proposal: the advance the necessary infrastructure, Marlboro and/or the five-town cooperative would have to establish a private cooperative, essentially to finance and construct the towers, repeaters, etc. for point-to-point for for-profit companies like Optima, LastMileNet, etc. to then utilize and service.

* Patrick also noted the recently-passed May deadline for a USDA grant that might be applicable, which opened up discussion of grants.

Alfredo asked what info exists on relevent grants.

* Al and Laura Duey at the Vermont Rural Broadband Project were discussed, with Gregg noting they are quite effective, providing “an informed neutral presence” in such endeavors.
[By the meeting’s conclusion, Jane Wilde volunteered to contact Al and Laura and follow up; I gave Jane my copy of the initial contact letter from Laura.]

* Discussion returned to the option of stringing cable/line, and the differences between thick and thin fiber optic cable (thick cable is designed to carry signals at full strength over long distances). Gregg followed up on this with the following points:
- Another avenue for research is the fact that municapalities have the right to use existing poles and string lines.
- T1 lines can be strung NOW at a cost of approximately $400 per month
- Discussion of DSL, copper cable, Verizon’s existing three-mile limit from “Remote Deslam” (“green box” transfer stations; our closest is in Brattleboro, well over 3 miles away), and the obstacle this represents.

* Alfredo raised the possibilities of bringing some political pressure to relevent authorities and our VT Legislature and representatives, if only to push for further funding of extant state programs we might be eligible for.

Patrick noted the VT Community Development Program “funds a wide ranged of projects around the state... but one has to be a municapality to access funds...”.

* This led to discussion of the existing five-town cooperative project Marlboro is now part of. Alfredo expressed the viability of expanding that cooperative to TEN towns, which prompted discussion of the channels we need to pursue, either as a part of the cooperative OR as a town:

1. Technical -- research and prepare a report on the technical solutions possible, including all relevent mapping, topography issues, assessment of available technologies, etc.

2. Grants & Funding -- research and pursue all available funding options for building the needed infrastructure for a viable point-to-point system (which may involve multiple solutions and service providers).

3. Political -- research and aggressively pursue all political options, contacts, and campaigns relevent to bringing broadband ASAP to rural communities like Marlboro.

Followup & Conclusions:

Note that the work already underway by Jim and Steve for the five-town cooperative addresses key ‘bedrock’ fundamentals necessary to (1) Technical -- they will continue and complete that work.

Jane Wilde volunteered to contact Laura and Al Duey, as well as Jack Hoffmann, Executive Director of the VT Broadband Council, who recently gave the presentation at Mt. Snow on this issue.

Callie offered to follow through, once we had something “in hand,” with the Marlboro Selectboard; to be discussed & acted upon once further necessary preliminary work is completed.

Patrick offered to research the Funding options, and to “connect with Jim [and] the antennae guy” (I didn’t quite follow this, but Jim did).

Alfredo volunteered to begin pursuing the political options open to us, and work up a letter or letter template to this end.

Clea offered to make investigative phone calls to VT Yankee to ask about the standing tower, and find out more about that.

Gregg made it clear he is interested and engaged, distributing his contact info among the group; he will also be attending the next Dummerston meeting on June 15th.

(Note: Andrea emailed the following concerning the political issues:

“PLEASE BE SURE YOU ARE REGISTERED TO VOTE!!

This being an election year, everyone is up for re-election in November. Dummerston/Putney is going to have a Democratic primary, as well. It might be good to think about a public forum in October focused solely on broadband issues for Windham County.

Carolyn Partridge, who represents Windham/Rockingham/Grafton currently is Majority Leader (the Speaker's first lieutenant/confidante), and there are others in the county who have plenty of power in Montpelier, assuming they are running again, and get re-elected.

July 17th is when major party (Dem, Repub, Prog) candidates have to file their petitions to run -- even if there is not a contested primary, there is a primary vote in case someone is running a write in campaign. The primary election is September 12th; last day to register is Sept 5th at noon. The general election is Nov. 7th; last day to register is Oct. 30th at noon.

Statewide candidates, especially for governor and lt. governor, should also be targeted for letters, phone calls, etc. In the fall, when forums start happening, locally and statewide, and on VPR and VPT, be sure to call in questions regarding rural access for broadband. Stress the economic/business angles. Money talks.”

Thanks again, Andrea. Via email, I suggested Andrea and Alfredo consider working together on the political issues; up to them, of course.)

_______

Windham County 5-Town Cooperative/Dummerston Meeting, 6/15/06

Attending:
Steve Bissette, Marlboro
Tom Bodett, Dummerston
Leigh Brady, Putney
Benji Crasin, Putney
Tim Flesher, Great Auk/LastMileNet
Tom Lowell, Dummerston
Meg McCarthy, Marlboro
Steve Mindel, Dummerston
Gregg Noble, Optima/Great Auk
Reg Rockefeller, Dummerston
Kevin Ryan, Dummerston
Gregg Scragg, Dummerston
Betsy Whittaker, Dummerston
__

The meeting was held in the church basement nearest the Dummerston Town Offices; though fewer attended than expected, the meeting still proved productive.

The meeting opened with introductions, during which Tom Lowell quickly updated the group on his plans for a tower and T1 line (“almost there”) on his property at the corner of Cemetary Road in Dummerston. He noted that it was now imperative that a means of funding is arrived at, preferably with the proposed five-town cooperative in place. Tom made it clear, he is ready to move ahead, with or without the cooperative, though he hoped to do so WITH the cooperative, or able to retroactively deal with the funding issues (i.e., fund-raising, reimbursement, etc.) as part of the cooperative.

Tom Bodett and Kevin Ryan reiterated the Dummerston Broadband poll (out of 950 mailed, 450 responded, 250 expressing their desire/need for broadband access), noting that 314 residences on the Dummerston 9-1-1 map presently had no broadband access.

A discussion of the “price point” threshold followed, leading to further conversation on the Dummerston situation and sharing of the Dummerston map with the group, which opened circulation and discussion of the various town mapping that had been completed.

Tom Lowell passed around the Dummerston topographical/9-1-1 map, highlighted with markers to indicate broadband access and lack of broadband access. Steve Bissette distributed copies of the Marlboro topographical/9-1-1 map prepared by Jim Mahoney, noting that only TWO Marlboro locations presently have broadband access: Marlboro College on South Road and Marlboro Elementary School on Route 9, each serviced by T1 lines. [Note: I also covered all the Marlboro population and resident count specs -- 477 residences, none currently with DSL or broadband access, save for less than half-a-dozen with unsatisfactory satellite service. - SRB]

At this point, Tim Flesher arrived, using the Marlboro map to note the placement of existing towers in Marlboro. Discussion followed, concentrating on the methodology of determining which locations in Marlboro might best serve as placement for towers to establish service for the largest portion of the community; this led to discussion of the same issue for Dummerston.

Leigh Brady presented the Putney mapping, appropriately color coded (she had a large presentation map prepared, not handout copies), and its specs: 1058 units, of which only 320 have dial-up broadband access at this time. Leigh (and Benjie Crasin) discussed the particulars, noting which locations have DSL or coverage, and how the western half of Putney and all points east of interstate 91 (along River Road) do not have access. Tim Flesher indicated that a sizable region of West Putney is about to be covered by LastMileNet (also note Gregg Noble and Tim Flesher indicated that Tim is now working with Gregg and Great Auk, and is no longer with LastMileNet).

Tom Bodett and Tom Lowell redirected discussion to the need and nature of the proposed cooperative. Tom Lowell asked Gregg and Tim to address their business and potential (or preferred) methods of dealing with such a cooperative. Both did so: Gregg affirmed it would be preferable to work with a cooperative, that would own the infrastructure (e.g., towers, “radios,” hardward, etc.), while Tim noted the average cost of needed equipment per person served would be between $500-700 (Tim charges $250-300 up front fees at present). Gregg noted the Great Auk model is funded in part by advertisers and subscribers (the ads appear on the homepage), and the importance of the five town representatives filling out the Great Auk/Optima application forms Gregg emailed to the group.

Reg Rockefeller noted that Verizon recently refused installation of a T1 line to her home unless she changed service to a business line; via sover.net, the cost of a T1 line is presently $350-432 per month, a prohibitive amount for most (if not all) individuals. Clearly, the need to form the cooperative and proceed with a communal solution to this dilemma is vital.

Intensive discussion followed of the proposed cooperative’s means, methods and strategy (or strategies), and the need to complete the present mapping project for all five towns to arrive at mapping of potential towers, serviced areas and frequencies. Discussion of T1 lines, repeaters, and the problems presented by metal roofs followed, leading Tom Bodett to ask “How should we approach forming this cooperative and making our plan?”

FUNDING:
This is imperative, and the cooperative may have to exist as a legal entity before various funding options can be pursued. For instance: the group presently needs to raise $300 per town for the needed survey maps (see #2, below); who should the checks be made out to?

ACCOUNTANT:
To exist, the cooperative must locate and employ or engage an accountant committed to the cooperative’s needs. Discussion followed, without resolution.

TOWN ZONING ISSUES:
Discussion of zoning and placement of antennae issues followed, without conclusion at this time; further research is necessary.

The group determined the following course of action must be pursued ASAP, in preparation for the next meeting (tentatively July 11 or July 18th):

1. Topographical/population maps: incorporating the town 9-1-1 maps and town topographical maps. Some of this has been completed, some has not, or is in progress.

2. Survey maps by/for Optima/Great Auk, to determine best tower/repeater placement and coverage per town:
An estimate for this process was discussed with Gregg and Tim. The mapping per town will cost $2000-3000 per town plus $250 per tower site determined; a total of $4000-5000 per town.

3. Photos of Antennae:
It was requested that photos of the various tower/antennae structures be provided by Great Auk for posting on the town broadband sites, so that homeowners/property owners being approached for possible tower sites would have a clear idea of what kind of structures are being proposed. Gregg said this was no problem, and photos (of at least four variations) will be provided for online posting.

4. Local Searches, per Town, for the Best Viable Sites:
The need for Tim and/or Gregg, and the respective towns, to participate in active searches for ideal sites for tower placement is pressing. This process can only be done in person with the active participation of Gregg and/or Tim, to observationally check and determine (a) best “views” for tower placement, (b) power sources and (c) whether phone lines are nearby (not required, but preferred). This is to arrive at:

5. Each Town Proposing TWO Tower/Antennae Sites:
In conjunction with, prep for, or based upon the completion of (4), each town should by next meeting propose the two “most robust sites” in their community for tower placement.

To complete #4 and 5, it was determined that each town should come up with the modest sum of $300 per town for this process.

The meeting closed with a proposed meeting date of July 11 (if that isn’t good, July 18th is our alternative) -- to be determined via email exchange with the group. The hope/need for Walter and Jodie French’s involvement in the July meeting was noted; meeting adjourned.
___________

Well, them's the minutes -- reflecting weeks of work in between -- I know, yawn. Who cares? Well, I care.

It's an uphill struggle we're in, and with no possible service on the horizon from Verizon or any other provider, it's all up to us as a community. We are, in this part of New England, essentially in the same position our predecessors were getting electricity and phone lines into the hinterlands -- harder still when you're between towns with the services (here, broadband access) we're aching for.

But I know this concerns none of you, really -- though it may go some ways toward explaining to you what I'm up against daily dealing with the simple tasks (for most) of interfacing online with email, blogging and the internet.

More later today on livelier topics, if time and servers permit... but I reckon I won't be posting any art here in the interim.

Yow -- One post per week?

Ah, as work continues on the website construction, on my freelance gigs, on the early summer travel and obligations, and as time to work on the computer becomes tighter and more complicated, I'm losing ground on the ol' blog, aren't I? Apologies to those who used to frequent this venue. I hope to be back up to speed soon, and again make this a livelier read.

In the meantime, suffice to say I'm scrambling all over the state on various errands, including yesterday's talk at the Bixby Library in Vergennes, VT. Next week is the first of the Center for Cartoon Studies summer workshops, which I'll be teaching at Monday, Tuesday and Friday -- just got off the phone with CCS co-founder/honcho James Sturm as we tighten and tweak our Monday-Tuesday sessions. I'll see at least a couple of you there!

More later -- back to the daily email grind --

21st Century Corporate Revisionism: We OWN Your Ass

Time to be attentive, folks.

With a relatively minor news item from yesterday, 21st Century corporate "customer relations" policies took a major turn.

Yesterday AT&T redefined its corporate privacy and ownership (of your info) policies in a manner that completely redefines the entire landscape. This will have major repercussions, as other telecommunication firms and corporate entities quickly follow suit, most likely with relative invisibility. I mean, how many of you really read that fine print accompanying your bills? Before you click "I accept" online?

I heard this last night as an addendum sign-off item on National Public Radio's Marketplace program, and went looking this morning for more information. According to Reuters, "AT&T Inc. said on Wednesday it was revising its privacy policy, explaining to customers that it owns their phone records and can hand them over to law enforcers if necessary.... The changes take effect on Friday and come at a time when AT&T and other phone companies face lawsuits claiming they aided a U.S. government domestic spying program by giving the National Security Agency call records of millions of customers without their permission."

Got that? As of tomorrow, the rules have changed -- in a major way.

Of course, AT & T is softballing this news. "AT&T said the updated policy was aimed at helping customers understand its practices better and does not change how it treats customer information.... The new policy, unlike the old one, spells out the fact that AT&T owns its customers data. It says that customer information constitutes "business records that are owned by AT&T. As such, AT&T may disclose such records to protect its legitimate business interests, safeguard others, or respond to legal process."

I love how they spin this.

The policy is "aimed at helping" you -- not profitting AT&T and getting their fat out of the various legal fires our Emperial Grand Ominpotent Stomper Prez's phone-tapping policies created by changing all the rules and thus releasing/selling your info as they see fit -- thus protecting and profitting AT&T beyond what was reality until tomorrow morning.

Got that?

Furthermore, "Under the new policy, which was being mailed out to AT&T's more than 7 million Internet customers, the company also said that it would track viewing information for customers of a television service it is developing in order to help it make recommendations to customers based on their viewing habits.... It also said that before customers use its services they must agree to the policy, an element that was not in its previous guidelines."

Though, since this is in effect as of Friday, you gotta make up your minds FAST -- though, according to Spokesman Michael Coe said the company, which was formed in November by the merger of AT&T Corp. and SBC Communications Inc., had been working on the new policy for the last six months. "We are not changing how we treat customer information," said Coe. "We updated our policy to make the language clearer and easier for our customers to understand."

AT&T and their banks of attornies and research experts take six months to design, streamline and spin this radical new policy, with multiple paths of legal, business and industry venues extrapolated and determined -- you've got two fucking days to sign on or -- or what?

This is not to be ignored or brushed aside.

This is a curious synthesis of government fascism -- the "is it legal? It must be legal? The President is King" surveillance policies -- and the dominant cabal of oligarchs reeling from the unexpected consequences of their presumptive complicity neatly side-stepping accountability while beefing up their bottom-line windfall by completely redefining reality according to their business and legal needs.

This is another profound erosion of our illusory democracy, and firmer bedrock for the reigning plutocracy.

This is another step in our lifetimes toward corporate redefinitions of our reality, the rules of the game, and what of your own information and personal life you own.

For more info, go to

read the whole story --

and

check other versions and variable of the story here --

-- then do your homework.

A Short Interview with Paul Gravett: Origins of Escape

An unsung hero in the international comics and graphic novel scene is Paul Gravett, whose most recent book Graphic Novels: Stories to Change Your Life (2005, Collins Design) is currently in US bookshops and comic stores -- and is highly recommended. Designed by Paul's long-time partner and Escape co-founder Peter Stanbury, Graphic Novels is the latest extension and incarnation of the now-venerable Escape legacy, and bar none the best current introduction and overview of the graphic novel form. As usual, Paul's writing is informed, insightful and incredibly eye-opening, his net expansive and all-encompassing; the book is essential reading.

Paul agreed to answer a few questions about what brought him into the medium and what led to the creation of Escape, which after 20 years remains among my favorite comics zines of all time.

Our exchange was short but sweet:
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Stephen R Bissette: Could you tell us a bit about yourself, Paul. Where are you from? What are a few highlights from your life before and alongside your life in comics?

PAUL GRAVETT: I'm an Essex boy, born in Shenfield, schooled in Brentwood, graduated in Law from Cambridge. After that spent nearly 18 months in the USA, mostly with a university friend in Albuquerque, discovering Hispanic culture and landscapes and helping me think again about what I wanted out of life.

SRB: What first hooked you on this marvelous medium -- what comics really turned your head as a youth, and as a young man?

PAUL: I grew up on TV21 and Look & Learn, two glossy photogravure weeklies with stunning painted science fiction comics. Via the Batman TV show and British reprints I got into the real thing, genuine American comics, but not only superheroes, all kinds from Harveys and Charltons to Warrens, Skywalds and undergrounds. And it's been a constant learning curve ever since!

SRB: When did you first engage creatively with the medium (this would include editorial/publishing endeavors, too)?

PAUL: You could count my first home-made comics when i was around 9, a weekly inspired by Gerry Anderson's Thunderbirds. There was 5 of those. Mine were called Torpedoes and there were 12 of those! I even made cardboard models of them and with my Dad and brother filmed a movie, setting fire to a miniature airport in our garage. You might also count my first fanzine, Monolith, mostly a US comics magazine, typed by my long-suffering younger brother Tony and handed out to friends and fellow collectors at school. A teeny tiny print run. Then come reviews and articles for fanzines and through that setting up Fast Fiction in 1981 as a stall and mail order service selling small press comics or 'stripzines'. Which led to my first paying gig working for pssst! magazine in 1982, initally on a promotional bus tour, then in their offices as a Traffic and Submissions Manager, getting to see the work of lots of new talents.

SRB: When or how did you make the decision to engage with the medium via projects like Escape -- where you aren’t creating your own comics per se, but building bridges/venues for others? (Having done this myself with Taboo, I understand what a very different path this is.)

PAUL: I think I've always loved the editorial creativity of magazines and books, putting things together, working with creators, helping them shape up and improve their stories, encouraging and motivating them. Escape was very much driven by meeting my partner Peter Stanbury in 1982, who brought an enormous amount of ideas and inspiration to starting our own magazine, to focus on the best of the small press scene promoted via Fast Fiction. We looked very much to Raw and to European magazines, including PLGPPUR, a superb "fanzine" that mixed interviews with major creators and reviews with new strips by upcoming talents. That blend of comics and context is what we liked.

SRB: Eddie Campbell refers to you affectionately in his comics as “The Man at the Crossroads.” I’ll ask Eddie about this someday, too, but -- from your side of the “crossroads,” what does he mean by that?

PAUL: I always laugh a bit at this nickname because you don't "crossroads" on an eight-lane freeway! I was flattered, because in that pre-internet era, I made the effort to bring people together and find and make allies towards comics in all kinds of places. To me, Eddie sees me as someone who can build links between comics and their creators and other parts of culture and life. That was one of the meanings and "missions" behind the name Escape itself - to break out of the inward-looking, secretive cultish aspects of comics and put comics alongside all the other media and arts. Our first 'tag line" was "Escape - from it or to it!".

SRB: As a “colonial,” my first conscious encounter with your work was via Escape. What preceded that project -- and what led to, and culminated in, the extraordinary anthology zine Escape?

PAUL: Multiple paths led to Escape:

- setting up Fast Fiction and discovering a wealth of young British talent deserving of far greater exposure

- exploring new post-Heavy Metal French-language and European comics, inspired by Raw, Arcade, PLGPPUR, A Suivre, Metal Hurlant, El Vibora, etc

- working at pssst! magazine and seeing great artists misused or ignored and as i had no editorial say, dreaming of making a magazine of my own

- sneaking into the pssst! offices on Saturdays with Eddie Campbell, Phil Elliott and Ian Wieczorek and making the PMT photo-mechanical transfer reductions for the first issues of Fast Fiction

- meeting Peter, who hit on the title and designed the logo, and hatching all kinds of formats and features

- meeting Mike von Joel and getting typesetting at an affordable price (we had planned to do all the text on a typewriter)

- by pure luck meeting Serge Clerc at a comic mart and interviewing him over tea for the first issue

- getting support from so many small press creators, notably Phil Elliott who found us our first printer

- promoting the magazine via the ICA's Graphic Rap exhibition (where i met and interviewed Mark Beyer)

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The End -- for now! Thanks to Paul for taking the time to chat. More, perhaps, in some future post...

Morning, one and all --

OK, lazy boy Bissette, cramming in a wee blog before scuttling off for Rutland, VT to meet and greet folks I’ve not seen in some time.

* The good folks at Heretic loved the cover painting I just turned in for Stefan Avalos & Lance Weiler’s pioneer digital gem The Last Broadcast DVD, which will hit the racks September 29th. That package is jammed-packed with extras, including the Jersey Devil mini-comic the CCS Year One student team and I just completed last Monday. More info, art coming to ya via this blog and the new website, up later this month.

* The Last Broadcast will be released day-and-date with another Lance Weiler digital feature, his latest: Head Trauma, which also has some new Bissette comics work for those of you craving a fresh hit after almost a decade. As previously mentioned here, my son Dan and I drew up a faux-Christian comics tract for a special appearance in Head Trauma. What was originally going to be a mere prop grew and grew into an integral element in the film’s complex, creepy tapestry, as its haunted protagonist finds the comic’s imagery fusing with the nightmares and waking visions threatening to drive him around the bend. It was the first time a filmmaker using some component of my own work invited me to organically contribute to the film itself, as Lance sent me rough cuts of the film-in-progress and we worked up new comic panels to further resonate specific key images between the narrative and the comic the troubled hero returns to with growing obsessive dread. Lance was a pleasure to work with, and it was a hoot to see Dan’s and my work gradually taking a greater role in Head Trauma (earning me my first screen credit, along with my son, after the likes of Return of the Swamp Thing, TMNT: Secret of the Ooze, From Hell and Constantine tapped my various creative efforts over the years sans screen credit or acknowledgement).

For the upcoming Heretic DVD release, streeting about the same time Lance is touring the US with Head Trauma’s targetted theatrical release (including a showing in nearby Brattleboro, VT’s venerable Latchis Theater), Lance is including an interview with Dan and I about our work on the comic, and an overview of the production’s integration of our art (and that of another cartoonist, delineating the home-made comics drawn by the next-door neighbor in the film). So, double-DVD-dose of Bissette in the fall, coming your way.

* And that ain’t all! Lance also recorded my reading some atmospheric musings that will be incorporated into the alternative soundtrack CD of Head Trauma, which will also be coming out on September 29th! So you’ll have to keep an ear as well as an eye out for my efforts come Halloween season.

* Speaking of which -- looks like there may indeed be an October H.P. Lovecraft weekend here in Brattleboro, VT this year. Joe Citro and I met with organizer Alan Eames (aka “The Beer King”, author of the popular The Secret Life of Beer tome) on Monday, and it’s looking good for a Halloween-season celebration of Lovecraft’s 1928 visit to the Guilford and Brattleboro area, which inspired and sired his chilling tale “The Whisperer in the Darkness”. More on this as it coalesces into reality...

* I’ll be posting some sales links this month, beginning with this inexpensive blast from the Bissettian past. It’s a nice print, and well worth snagging while you can -- compliments of Overlook Connection publisher and proprietor David Hinchberger, who turned up a small stack of this 15-year-old super-limited edition piece. I signed ‘em last month, and now Dave has them available until all 200 copies are gone:

“Stephen King's
Signed Limited Edition Lithograph
from The Official Stephen King Encyclopedia
The Shape Under The Sheet

Only 200 Copies Signed
by Artist Stephen R. Bissette

Only $14.95
plus Priority shipping
and sent rolled in a tube

This year marks the 15th Anniversary of The Shape Under The Sheet the Official Stephen King Encyclopedia by Stephen J. Spignesi. Stephen King Officially sanctioned this project when it was released in 1991. This was the last book about Stephen King that the author gave his blessing.

Overlook Connection Press released the Signed Limited Edition (signed by 27 contributors!) with a unique cover, slipcase, etc. One of the special features is that we had artist Stephen R. Bisette (artist and writer, known for his work on Swamp Thing, Taboo, and many books and comic projects) commision for us original endpapers and frontispiece art for our limited edition. The frontispiece "The Shape Under The Sheet" as seen in picture here, was bound into the front of the book, but had to be folded in because of it's size.

We have made availalbe this original frontispiece of "The Shape Under The Sheet" from the original printing(!) to you as a frameable lithograph. It's flat (not folded like the book version), and signed / numbered by artist Stephen R. Bissette.


== FEATURES:
Lithograph:
The Stephen King Official Encylopedia .

== Printed on Acid-Free linen stock and frameable.
== Measures: 11" x 15 1/2 "
== This is the original stock that was published fifteen years ago and was set aside for this special release.

== Limited to only 200 copies
== Sent rolled to keep it flat.
== A Framed Signed LIthograph is available - see below for more information.
== Signed, and Numbered by Artist Stephen R. Bisette in red!”

For more info and/or to buy your copy now don’t drag feet! Go immediately to

the Overlook Connection --

--just scroll down the opening page a bit, and there ‘tis in all its glory.

Have a great Wednesday and week --

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[Cue Mommas & The Poppas:] "Monday, Monday -- Can't Trust That Day..."

Short Monday AM post to say:

* I wrapped up the cover painting for The Last Broadcast on Saturday and will know by tomorrow if it's acceptable to Heretic and the filmmakers. I'm pretty pleased with it -- if all goes well, I'll be able to (at last!) post an image here on the blog, and this'll be the debut art for that. So, hopefully, you'll see it soon!

This was the first color piece I've done that was a complete pleasure to render, stem to stern, in a great while. I had a solid concept for the DVD wraparound cover, which all involved enthusiastically approved. The painting itself, however, took on its own life, and though I stuck absolutely to the approved 'rough' and concept, the final result went quite beyond what I had in my head -- what should have been a simple textural pattern became more disturbing, fusing skeletal shapes and forms into an evocative "something else" I found delightful.

Let's hope Heretic, Lance Weiler and Stefan Avalos agree!

* I've also been scrambling to catch up with email, Marlboro Broadband Committee meeting minutes and obligations, and prep for a meeting today with Joe Citro and Alan Eames about a proposed H.P. Lovecraft festival here in Brattleboro, VT in October. Joe and I are driving over to Alan's later this morn, so expect news soon...

* I've prepped the first summer CCS film program for the students and CCS folks, which begins tonight. Should be fun; we'll see who and how many show for the show.

* Also juggling a batch of comics and graphic novel reviews for John Rovnak and Panel2Panel.net, which I'll be delivering later this week. I'll post excerpts and links here -- so, more reading ahead.

Have a great Monday, one and all --

This just in (30 minutes ago) --

http://news.yahoo.com/fc/us/immigration

“Immigrants say Bush must learn English
AP - 30 minutes ago

OMAHA, Neb. - New arrivals to this country said Wednesday that President Bush must adopt American values and learn English, pushing anew for their proposal for Bush to adhere to his own overhaul of immigration rules. To gain passage during this midterm election year, Bush must clearly speak in English and demonstrate his own allegiance to American values to win over many in his own party who are opposed to provisions he demands besides stepped-up border enforcement. Those provisions include providing a path to citizenship for many illegal immigrants and allowing additional work permits for foreigners, who clearly speak better English than the President and demonstrate a better grasp of the Constitution.”

Oh, wait, I got that wrong -- the story actually says:

"Bush says immigrants must learn English
AP - 30 minutes ago..."

Oops, sorry.
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Glad the bigots and homophobes couldn't even rally enough votes to get the proposed bill off the floor. What bullshit -- with everything we're facing as a country (including a new season of hurricanes), this is all the Republicans can manage?

A quote from Bill McKibben, compliments of my Jamaican (VT) amigo HomeyM:

  "In the last century, we've seen change in human societies speed up to an almost unimaginable level, one that has stressed every part of our civilization. In this century, we're going to see the natural world change at the same kind of rate. That's what happens when you increase the amount of heat trapped in the atmosphere. That extra energy expresses itself in every way you can imagine: more wind, more evaporation, more rain, more melt, more... more... more...

  "Our rulers have insisted by both word and deed that the laws of physics and chemistry do not apply to us. That delusion will now start to vanish. Katrina marks Year One of our new calendar, the start of an age in which the physical world has flipped from sure and secure to volatile and unhinged. New Orleans doesn't look like the America we've lived in. But it very much resembles the planet we will inhabit the rest of our lives."

Celebrating 6/6/06 with The Jersey Devil

Just a quickie to note that The Last Broadcast DVD mini-comic/booklet "Jersey Devil" project a team of Year One CCS students and I have labored over throughout May is indeed completed -- and delivered!

Of the 12 pages, we completed a 7-page self-standing mini-comic (color and b&w), two additional pages (a guide to the Jersey Devil sightings and filmmakers bio page, including portraits of directors Lance Weiler & Stefan Avalos), and I also wrote the two-page overview of the film's history and legacy. But it's the comic that the team labored over, and it's a beaut.

Appropriately enough, it was completed in the wee hours of 6/6/06, which is entirely coincidental, unlike today's orchestrated international release of The Omen remake.

I got home at 1:30 AM, but it all got done thanks to the two team members who were still laboring away until 3:30 AM, when they delivered the digital files to the good folks at Heretic -- so, take a bow, project designer Jacob Jarvela and cartoonist/artist extraordinaire Elizabeth Chasalow!

But I don't want to fail to mention the entire team, all of whom fulfilled their creative obligations with style: along with Jacob and Elizabeth, take a bow, Alexis Frederick-Frost, Sean Morgan, Lauren O'Connell, Caitlin Plovnik, Adam Staffaroni, Josie Whitmore -- and we did it all with great scribe work from fellow CCS instructors, novelist Sarah Stewart Taylor and poet Peter Money. Special thanks to Rich Tommaso, too, for letting us incorporate the infamous "Jersey Devil" panel from his published comics story "Satan's Slaves"! It all came together nicely in the end. Everyone's distinctive art styles are evident in the finished product, which you'll all see later this summer when Heretic releases The Last Broadcast on DVD.

BTW, Adam Staffaroni took on the task of lettering the comic, which of course led to a couple of relettering sessions in the eleventh hour (well, actually, closer to the seventh hour), so a special tip of the hat to Adam for fulfilling those duties.

More details tomorrow. BTW, I'm also working with some of the other Year One CCS students on another project, and hope to engage the others in something before summer's out. Anyhoot -- I'm fried and outta here! Toodles, poodles!

What the Cat Dragged In

Hey, wait, we don't have any cats any more...

Anyhoot, this post is what the cat dragged in, my inauspicious return to the blog after over a week of hyper-activity directed elsewhere.

As touched upon a couple of weeks ago, the 'upgrading' of Yahoo and all other email servers in the same week disrupted what had been a pretty cozy morning routine of writing exercises and work; now that my primary ancient writing computer's operating systems cease to interface with existing email (I've tried four other systems in the past two weeks, all resulting in similar agonies), and this old iMac is too ancient to accomodate an upgrade in operating systems to the needed 2006 levels, I'm in the too-familiar turf of being forced to blow money I don't want to on this fucking technology. The pisser, too, is doing so has compromised (at best) goalposts: we still have only dial-up access, so it'll be a few grand spent to still suffer the daily slow-mo email ritual.

Thus, I've pared down my email time by rearranging life accordingly, and the blog has necessarily fallen by the wayside. Less internet-related computer time has accomodated more writing (away from internet access) and drawing time, and as Marge has said more than once this past week, she's seen me drawing (and enjoying it!) more this past month than the entire eleven-plus years we've been together.

So, to bring this vapid little re-entry intro to a close:

Apologies to those few who frequent this rant soapbox; the hard reality of my archaic computer interfacing and interactions hit the brick wall, and I'm adjusting as best I can. This means the dependably daily blog postings I'd maintained pretty well since launching this in September are at an end -- though this blog isn't, by a long shot.
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Among other momentous events of the past two weeks I won't go into here (all good, in the end), the big news from here is the energetic teamwork with a group of Center for Cartoon Studies students, two writers (who happen to be CCS co-instructors), and yours truly on a cool little comicbook project I'll tell you about later this week.

We've been cooking on this project throughout May, and it all comes to a head today with the do-or-die wrap-up and delivery to the publishers (actually, DVD label Heretic) of the completed comic in digital form.

I'm off for CCS in about two hours to jump into whatever the day brings in terms of the team seeing this through to the end. I've been awake since about 3:30 AM, unable to get back to sleep -- I haven't felt this buzz in nine years (when the last, unpublished SpiderBaby Comix issue was completed for printing -- which, as inferred, never happened): the rush of a comic project coming to its conclusion. At the end of today, those of us who've been working on this little gem will be able to hold mock-up copies in our hot mitts and read/dig it!

We've been chipping away at the art for a little over three weeks now, completing panels as the script came together. The final draft of the script was completed for lettering this past week (with minor revision work finished on Saturday), and the bulk of the art was delivered for scanning by Saturday midnight. Everyone's done a terrific job thus far, and we've had some fun with it. Marge and I took a drive up to White River Junction late that afternoon to deliver all but my last panel (which I'm bringing in this morning) to the team, treating ourselves to dessert at the Tip Top restaurant en route. It was a sweet afternoon all the way around, and I relaxed for the first time in weeks yesterday while still puttering on various unrelated projects off and on -- still, nothing prepared me for the once-familiar charge that snapped my eyes opens way too early this morning.

I lay there dazed in the pre-dawn stillness for a bit, trying to force myself back to sleep while wrestling with "what is this?" confusion. It sank in after about an hour, as the morning bird songs stirred the air: this is how I used to feel the day every issue of Swamp Thing or Tyrant finally reached its conclusion. "It's almost done -- it'll be done today!"

Wow -- never thought I'd be tasting this again.
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Lest this rouse undue enthusiasm for some of you, note that this elation was arrived at via a venture that (thankfully) does not involve the comics industry.

My retirement from that cesspool stands, though it's becoming more and more apparent that venues are presenting themselves from outside the industry to work anew in the medium I so love. As I said when I retired (to deafening silence), it's the industry I happily left behind, not the medium, the artform.

Many folks have emailed me over the past six to seven years, wondering when I'm "coming back" to comics -- meaning, nine times out of ten, comics as they're commonly defined in our culture: the comics industry (DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, Image, etc. -- urgh -- all that). My retirement from the industry in '99 put paid to my years in that piranha pit, and nothing but nothing since has tempted me back. As noted on the old Swamp board at the now-defunct Kingdom and here, the few teasing temptations even peripherally linked to the industry I once worked in always ended up simply wasting my time and energy, coming to nothing (and still over the same old shit: little or no money seeking complete ownership of whatever was involved; "negotiations" that ended up meaning, in all cases, their way or the highway -- easy to walk away from when my own highway has been so much more rewarding since '99).

Keeping perspective has been easy, though; mind you, I take none of this personally, however passionately I may weigh in on the issues involved. When Warren Ellis noted during his entertaining panel at the Copenhagen Komiks.dk weekend that work-for-hire is the status quo on all but the comics projects he does for little or no advance (e.g., Image), and that even he can't get a proposal through DC in less than 12 to 15 months (as opposed to mere weeks at Marvel), it was oddly comforting: the old bureaucracy is alive and well in the plantation fields I once worked.

It's been interesting how many old friends and peers from my years in comics have popped up of late, having arrived at the same decision I did and expressing their own contentment at leaving it all behind. We're all much happier away from the exploitative, abusive environment of the industry, and each have found their own inroads toward new paths allowing us to cultivate our creativity in fresh directions. We've managed to do so without the daily dose of shit-eating the industry seems intent on force-feeding freelance creators of my generation (I can't speak for the next, those who followed in our footsteps, and one must note that the prior generations had been habitually force-fed dumptruck loads of dung).

As I've stated here, thanks to the one-two push provided by my son Dan (who's not drawing comics, mind you, but simply asked me to draw one for him earlier this year) and all the great folks at CCS, I've found my way back to enjoying drawing again. The completion of today's project marks another signpost: the viability of collaboratively doing comics again without working in the industry.

I'm in an odd position, generationally: I mean, everyone I teach with or have in some capacity shared classroom space with at CCS -- co-founder James Sturm, co-instructors James Kochalka, Tom Devlin, etc., guest lecturers and/or visitors Alison Bechdel, Seth, Chris Ware, Ivan Brunetti, Jason Little, and many more -- are of the generation after mine. Their creative and professional paths have involved not at all the struggles, ordeals, grudges and putdowns tied up with working in the comics industry such as it was in the '80s; they work in a world apart from that I labored in, and though I'm not saying the grass is necessarily greener on those paths (we all have our respective speed bumps and ruts along the way), it is different in many significant ways from the paths my generation forged.

When I pop into a local bookstore and unexpectedly greet, say, Alison Bechdel's Fun Home leaping off the shelves, hot off the presses, I'm overjoyed for Alison while wondering how it is such projects come together in this rarified atmosphere (intellectually I know how it works for the new generation, but it's an experience I've never had). It's a new world, the world Alison and James and the rest live and breathe in. My "comics experience" has nothing to do with what now is possible. Years of struggling to barely pencil issues of Swamp Thing in five weeks up against insurmountable monthly publishing schedules, signing away one's rights in exchange for a meager check, wrestling with collaborative ventures with multiple creators, grinding through distribution channels to keep my head above water -- all that and more has nothing to do with where my CCS compatriots live, work and breathe: I'm like some amphibian gasping on land after shedding my tadpole gills, looking up at the birds, soaring overhead.

I may never have those opportunities, given my age and orientation to the medium, but that's OK. It's how this works for some. I'm as "old school" in this context as many of our first-year instructors at the Joe Kubert School -- Joe himself, Ric Estrada, Dick Giordano, Lee Elias, Hy Eisman, etc. -- seemed to us in '76, weaned as some of us were on the underground comix, National Lampoon and Metal Hurlant. But like those great instructors (and cartoonists!), I've much to offer yet -- as a teacher, as a creator -- and lucky me, I'm doing so. I'm in it. It's reinvigorating, awakening, wonderful.
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What's also interesting this spring is how many out-of-left-field opportunities are manifesting -- I'm wrapping up work on a DVD cover painting this week. Last week, contractual negotiations were completed on a licensing venture involving two characters I own, with another licensing option on the table for this week's consideration -- this one involving a comic or two, as well. Neat.

And not a one of 'em involves "the comics industry" as I knew it all too well.

Glad I'm still here to enjoy it.
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More on the above-referenced comic project later this week, naming names and sharing peeks at the work. I'll just get to the other end of today, and we'll (the team) get it outta here!

Then I'll talk about it.

Still -- kudos and cheers for the CCS Year One students teamwork that made this all happen!
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One of the side effects of having to now work with the email via Safari on Marge's laptop is the possibility of posting graphics on this blog at last.

Haven't experimented with it yet, but it looks like the Safari on the iBook provides that option on this "Create Post" menu (which my old iMac never did), so may even be able to post a panel or two of art.

And, at last, photos...
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Hope you all have a great week.

Sorry I was "away," so to speak.

But I've been here all along -- and it's all good.