Another Year Kaput

Adios 2007...


Warm welcome to Constipated Baby 2008...

Holiday Breakage

Christmas Musings

Merry Christmas from your friends at GE!




I just so happen to be watching this right now, for probably the 31st time. And for a change, I'm not quite as downtrodden as Charlie Brown. Cheer up, Brown!




Even these soul-less monstrosities of the feline persuasion have plenty o' holiday cheer. "Eat your brains for Christmas we will, meow, purr, etc."

The Return of Drinky Crow

For those that missed it, including myself, The Drinky Crow Show pilot returns to Adult Swim on Jan. 1st. I'm pretty fond of that drunken little guy, and can often be heard in many a tavern and gin joint exclaiming "Dook Dook Dook!" In the meantime, be sure to visit Maakies.com for more cartooning genius by Tony Millionaire.

Carbon Alley #50!

The big Five-Oh!

Halloween Ain't Over

This is the first cartoon I did for the NMU Graduate Writer's Association. Quick and sloppy, but I kinda like it.

Musical Interlude with Radiohead

I don't normally post music-related items here, as it slightly exceeds the range of interests that this blog presumes to have in common with whatever readership has accumulated, or something, but I'm compelled to add this clip of Radiohead performing the New Order/Joy Division song, Ceremony. It just made me really happy, dammit, and I want to share.

Try Some Sunshine

No comic this week (gearing up for big #50), so instead I recommend you watch this Van Beuren cartoon from 1935, "The Sunshine Makers". It's the usual Disney-esque fare with the usual non-Disney-esque strangeness. Love those unintentionally dark undercurrents. If you don't have the aptitude to watch the whole thing, at least jump ahead to 6:05 and watch for twenty seconds. It sent me into convulsions of hilarity.

Also note the crabby cult song about seasonal depression -

"How are ya?"

"Terrible!"

"That's fine!"

Sounds kinda similar to every stop-n-chat in my neck of the woods right around mid-February.

1000s of Hitch

I love Hitch pics with the boids.

This here blows my ever-lovin' mind. A wiki site with 1000 captured stills for each of Hitchcock's 52 major films. I'm glad there's someone out there doing this sort of ridiculously time-consuming stuff.

Carbon Alley Footnotes

The Happy Inkwell Commune storyline is done (for now). I don't think many people would have picked up on the references to what is considered a minor post-modern novel, but certain elements of it were inspired by Don Delillo's, Great Jones Street. Wikipedia has a brief summary. And yes, Dr. Pepper was indeed a "chemist".

Serendipitously (I think), Owsley is the name of the real life chemist that produced practically the entire supply of LCD to the acid movement of the sixties. I did not realize that until I read The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, several months after I created the character.

Actually, Carbon Alley #49

Cripes, Carbon Rally?

The TM is too close for comfort. Although maybe I'll get some accidental traffic.

carbonrally.com

Catch-18?

Check it out, "Catch-22" was not Joseph Heller's first choice.

Where's My Hasenpfeffer?

Here of course is the one and only reason anyone knows what Hasenpfeffer actually is. Thanks to Friz Freleng for expanding our cultural vocabulary.

Actually, Carbon Alley #48

This was supposed to be #50, but I'm going to renumber the strips to exclude the two non-strip entries from vacation times. So #50 is still on its way...

Cronkite Intervenes

Here we see Walter Cronkite brandishing some cold-war contraption in an attempt to get me to finish this weeks strip. NO DICE, WALLY! Actually, it should be up Saturday. And that's the way it, uh, is... going to be...

Carbon Alley Swipe

If this becomes one of those momentum-gaining buzzwords I am going to be very, very annoyed. Not to mention if they throw a trademark on the thing. Damn them and their energy-saving ways!!!

Link

Pearl Harbor/Anime Day

Over at Cartoon Brew, Jerry Beck informs us that the New York Anime Festival starts on December 7th, Pearl Harbor Day. Just some harmless irony.

FYI, the above screen-shot is from Miyazaki's Spirited Away, a masterpiece and personal favorite.

Where's Goopy Geer?

Love this one. The character Goopy Geer only lasted for three shorts, not quite the engaging front-man that Harman and Ising had envisioned.

Thanksgiving Break

Toikey

Happy Generic Thanksgiving! I hope everyone pauses to hold their turkey mirthfully while others lean in and simulate olfactory pleasure!

New Mark Trail Stuff

"And by us I mean me and my GIANT HEAD."

Writers in Drag

Here's a cartoon I just did for the NMU Graduate Writers Association. For the second time their November meeting is scheduled at the same time as the NMU Drag Show, so they wanted me to do something with that theme.

Carbon Alley #49

Ufologists Rejoice

Great news on the UFO front. Looks like certain folks want to reopen Project Blue Book...

Stellaaaaaa!!

or if you prefer, The State...

Carbon Alley #48

Wackystan?

Wow, in the category of unsettling understatements concerning world affairs, this strip wins hands down. Have a five cent stogie.




This is pretty humorous though. I can relate.

Carbon Alley #47

The Duck Story Endeth

And so, the tale of Homer and Shirley the Duck and Shirley the Person comes to an end. The ducklings have morphed into adulthood seemingly overnight, their once baby-blue plumage now green and... orange? I don't know where Shirley the Duck is. Devoured by her young, no doubt. And they seem to have excluded the final panel in which Homer goes into a Tony Soprano-esque meltdown as the ducklings flutter away. "Luca Brazzi sleeps with the muskies." Yeah I know that's The Godfather but when Christopher and Big Pussy were dumping that body in the first ep they... oh forget it.

A Happy Halloween

Ol' Jack's got his grin on.

An Ub Iwerks Halloween

Hey, it's Auggie McAutumn, painting the town evil!




Meanwhile, "The Dead" eye-up an impishly agreeable Flip the Frog in a scene from Guess Who's Coming to MURDER...




And once again ol' Scarecrow drinks too much Jim Beam Rye and tries to find his way home at about 7am. Young children silently wonder if that's what it's like to be "all growed up."

Every Year...

Carbon Alley #46

Homer Simpleton

First of all, BLAARRGGHH.

And second..... AHA! So obsessing over Shirley the Duck was just an elaborate ruse to get some hot Betty White action! Homer, you're a manipulative, mopey, dumpy, dimwit.

I'm beginning to wonder why I care so much.

Carbon Alley #45

Beat Beat Beat

It's the Beatnik Robot! I think the gist was that he sniffs out the Beatniks. More great photographs here, although they seem to be having major database malfunctions at the moment. Aren't we all.

Incidentally, Wikipedia sums up the reasons why I both love and hate the term "Beatnik."

Ghosts and/or Goblins

Halloween is a-comin'. One more thing I can be overly nostalgic about as I attempt to escape the increasing crappy world we live in. Hmm. A wee bit pessimistic I am tonight.

Homer Run, Homer Fall

So this is the sort of nonsense that has been going down in Mark Trail. I actually have very little to say about these shenanigans.





I am slightly bemused that big boss man keeps up to date with the goings on of his own company through a newspaper that magically updates every time there's a non-newsworthy event. Sounds like our local newspaper. Except for the magic part.

Carbon Alley #44

Sonuvva Bostich

It's a stapler.

How about that first frame for a post-ironic non-contextual image macro? I don't even know what I'm talking about anymore.

Carbon Alley #43

Buster Day

HOO-RAY, it's Buster Keaton's birthday!

Watch the first part of his first short film, One Week.

Mr. Wonderful

I urge you to go check out Daniel Clowes' new strip in the New York Times, Mr. Wonderful. If you aren't familiar with Clowes, you better get familiar.

Smallest pic ever is the only one I could grab.

The Vagabond!

Over at Again With the Comics, it's The Vagabond, the worst super-hero ever, from 1941. I don't know, I think it's a bloody great concept, but somewhat flawed in execution. Hmm. Could there be a new The Vagabond on the horizon?