D.J. Coffman - Sequential Artist, Thinker

A day in May. A May day.

May Day. May Day. Hmph… go figure.

I slept in today until 10am. I didn’t intend to do this, but found myself laying in bed “thinking” and planning– then before I knew it, 10am. ARG! — So I’ve been bustling around here all day playing catchup. Inked a page so far, which is unacceptable– but spent a lot of time on the phone today with business stuff…

I have a couple things going on I can’t really talk about, and at some point I have to do the dreaded “talk to a lawyer” thing or find someone I can trust to help me draft up a simple agreement so I don’t get screwed in upcoming endeavors. I don’t have or want to pay for johnny law shit right now though until my financial situation improves a bit—– it’s all a weird catch 22,– I know this is vague, but my financial situation can’t improve until either A. I’m paid on time or B. I work really hard on speculative things.

The thought has crossed my mind to open myself up to commissions online for you know, comic booky stuff, people who want Green Lantern fighting Hulk or something— , or even open myself up and say I’m available on the side for paying small jobs. So I guess I’m available even though I haven’t advertised this fact other than my blog. Call me! heh.

My main workload right now is working on Hero By Night, I’m ALMOST done inking issue 4, then i have a window to work on top secret project 1. But yeah… I gotta get MY ducks in a row here money wise as things are getting pretty stupid tight. It’s only temporary, but it sucks.

Related news… I guess Diamond canceled the Hero By Night power ring through that catalog. Not enough people ordered through comic shops (which I don’t blame them really) - BUT this may be a good thing for fans because my Alchemist is ready to go at forging said rings so I could sell them direct to hardcore readers online, direct from me. And it’ll be a tad cheaper as well– so that’ll be a win for Hero By Night fans…. It frustrates me a little bit though– I could have been probably selling the rings since late February. Oh well!— I think it’s become one of my goals again to just not even HAVE to use the direct market system. I keep thinking about McCloud’s book Reinventing Comics and his illustrations of cutting out the middlemen…. this is what I use to do with Yirmumah and it worked out pretty well….. Some day soon.

Now I’m on DAD duty here as my wife is out running around picking up bridal dresses or some crap with my sister-inlaw — so that means I get to go feed three kids… my oldest son says I cook better though, so NYAH-NYAH to the Mrs.!

By the way— here’s her new  tattoo she got based on the design I did for her. It turned out groovy… she’s so cute. She is the BOMB.

I DO!

11 years ago my friend Bob lent me his suit jacket because I didn’t have one. It was a little big on me and I don’t like wearing suits, mind you, but it was an important day. I married my wife.

While we didn’t have an elaborate big shindig, mostly because of my own fault in not wanting other people to control my life, I do vividly remember the day– the flower in her hair, the sunshine coming out on a rainy day when we walked outside. I remember the the somewhat small moment of panic that set in when I looked down at her belly that was about to burst like something from ALIEN thinking… “Oh my god… I’m gonna be someone’s parent in a month.”

And here we are 11 years later, officially. Not too shabby!

I have to admit to you, dear blog readers, that I do feel a bit of a failure this morning. Sure I’ve got a bit of “success” drawing some comics, and I can’t complain about that– but I don’t feel “secure.” — I don’t think I ever have, or will. There is no retirement plan for me– the retirement plan is… “draw comics until you’re dead.” — Which would be just fine if there were only ME to consider in the equation. So I work very hard, sometimes 9-9 or beyond to make ends meet here. And I’m lucky– for a long time I wasn’t able to do that. — Anyways– last night, this morning…. it just got me thinking that maybe while I work in comics, I should be looking for something BIGGER… something to bring myself and family some REAL “security”. — Comics ain’t it, and that’s mostly why I feel like I’ve failed in some way. But I haven’t quit, and at least I have my eye on that prize now.

_______

I’ve been told that I’m the coolest Dad EVER after letting my son speak with Brer Rabbit from the Flobots on the phone. You may have never heard of the Flobots yet, but you will very soon. Around these parts though the past couple weeks, Flobots are a “very big thing” as they’ve become my son’s favorite band, and dare I even say it? My favorite band? Well, okay…. next to Pearl Jam. A dream concert for me would be Flobots opening up for Pearl Jam, and Mike McCready coming out to bust out some solo or rhythm with the ‘Bots. But yeah, I guess I’m a HERO now to my kid. Thanks, Brer Rabbit!

——-

I DO!

Inking continues here…. almost mindlessly. I enjoy it though in some therapeutic way. I keeps my mind off the bills that are coming due and the pressures of the outside world. It also keeps my mind off the fact that 500,000 people, HALF A MILLION people could be dead in Burma, and that oil is now a record breaking 126 a barrel….. I’m kinda sick of “keeping my mind off” of it though, which is why….

———

I DO!

Top Secret Side Project X continues…

I do… and do… and do… and do….

Dammit, I’m a DOER!

Family: This past week has been a rough one with the death of my wife’s grandmother. My wife has been, understandably, a wreck at times–  She’s doing better now as we get back in the swing of day to day life here. It was nice to have her cousins in, whom we thought were 10 hours away, but found out were actually only six hours away, so we may be planning a road trip to North Carolina this summer. Many stories were exchanged of the level of douchebaggery that goes on in these death situations, or back when they were putting her grandparents in the assisted living home and the family was selling everything off to raise money— I won’t get into that, but it sure seems to me, that when all was said and done her grandparents had about half a million to retire on… but it’s all gone in only a matter of a few years– we wonder that certain things don’t add up, and in fact, I had heard there have been several trips to Las Vegas by the folks who became the legal decision makers… but I don’t want to make accusations… it’s just a curious fact. I have faith that if anything seedy was going on, EVER, that Karma works all that out. — I think I am preconditioned to only lean on what I see as the good in people, and not the little devils inside us all.

Work: Back at it hardcore today. I have a lot I wish to get done.  Scanning, lettering, penciling and some other stuff as well. I only have 2 weeks until I spend a few days at New York Comicon, so I want to get ahead. Busy April! — So, our special issue 4 that’s only 99 cents and available for preorder now– after that I’ve asked that our cover price on issue 5 be taken back down to 2.99 instead of 3.99 that we launched with. Our current head of publishing at Platinum, Sean O’Reilly, believes that the increase in cover price never really made a matter, and mostly that could be true, but I disagree after seeing our preorder numbers for the past 3 issues. They’ve been about half of what our miniseries numbers were, and I’ve seen mention of the 3.99 cover price on some blogs where people enjoyed our book, but were on the fence on ordering it because of the cover price. I know stores don’t mind, and some retailers will tell you that customers will spend the money regardless if they are going to buy your book, they’ll buy your book. but therein lies the problems here… we’re not Spider-Man or Superman or something people “know of” really. Blame that on a lot of things, but it boils down to pretty much little to no advertising in the comic industry about our book, outside the full page ad inside the Previews magazine… I know many retailers who simply won’t order new indy titles unless they are by a proven company or “name” in comic or a customer actually goes in and asks them to preorder. The way the market is for MOST shops, they simply don’t have the budget to take on new titles– This is why we push preordering so much to our online readers.— But again, that’s a very backward situation, I know. The direct market distribution system needs some sort of overhaul. I’m not the person to tackle that issue, but enough people agree, that’s for sure.

I’m very confident that when a shop DOES regularly pick up our book, they order again, but that might only be 500-600 shops out there doing that right now. We’re, on purpose, making a book that’s fun for people who love comics, and new people. It’s getting that message out that’s a bit hard. It’s mostly just word of mouth ad a previews listing— I’m meditating on how I can fix that from here without causing any waves or without putting too much of an extra workload on top of my work load.

I may do direct preorders from me. This would mean you’d be able to preorder anything we’d sell direct from me, and I’d tabulate the orders, go to MY local shop (Joy’s Japanimation)– put in a big order, that I would then wait for, and then pick up, and then ship out signed to every “direct reader”– This is my LAST choice, because it’s a lot of tedious work, but it can be done. It might have to be done.

The greatest thing we have going for us right now is the remarkable fact that we have more “readers” each day than Batman, Superman, Spider-Man. Those big companies haven’t put up “webcomics” the way webcomics really work and the way we’ve been doing it. That’s a big opportunity there on all sides of that equation, I think. Through the webcomic we’re reaching new people each day with a chance that we’ll hook a fan for life. That doesn’t really happen on comic book store shelves where things like “market saturation” come into play. Where one shop only has so many customers with so many dollars to spend…. there is no market saturation in webcomics. There could be someone coming across this little blog for the very first time and see a link to Hero By Night and curiosity has just given us a new reader for life.

Off to get coffee… then work.

The big bad news is, my wife’s grandmother passed away last night. This is my wife’s favorite person on the planet, no doubt. And I’m glad this lady lived here, because she embedded something in my wife that I love dearly– some sort of true old fashioned family values. My wife’s other grandfather on the other side of the family only passed away one month and 10 days ago, so she’s just emotionally drained right now— the only comforting thought is her grandma is now with her grandfather who passed away two years ago– he was a good man, a carpenter who built their own house and they were very proud of it. In their elder years here, everything they built was stript or sold away as they were put into nursing homes and shuffled around. A very sad story, and all too common.

I just wanted to look my wife in the eye, and I couldn’t do it, but I wanted to look my wife in the eye and let her know that her grandfather has been building a much bigger house for the past two years for his wife to come and live in, and now they’re happy together. That thought makes ME happy, but it also makes me cry like a sissy.

Here is the comic I drew for my wife when her grandfather passed away 2 years ago.

So the wife and I, along with Bob, went to Barack Obama townhall meeting in Greensburg, PA - held at the Hempfield High School gym auditoriom. We waited outside in the cold in a long line of like-minded folks for about an hour or so. Calista and I breezed through security, but Bob beeped and got strip searched! hah! Go figure…

When we got in there were volunteers saying you have to have pink tickets to go to the forward seats and they were pointing everyone up to the rafters… pink tickets, I found out, were delegates. Well I ignored the lady because it didn’t look like she knew what she was talking about, and I asked another fella and he said, you can sit anywhere except the seats that say “reserved” — so we ended up on the left side of cordoned off area, but front row! How about that!? — I knew this was a townhall meeting so he’d be walking and talking and we’d get a great view.– Obama came out and did his stump thing, then opened it up for questions. The most memorable was a dude who asked two questions, one, would we get rid of the penny and why not? And two, would we build island prisons for habitual sex offenders! — Obama kinda laughed and said, WOW, that’s a real range of issues, but he actually went in and gave detailed answers to each one of those! You can tell he just loves to talk about issues– and most of all, he’s giving it to you straight.

I had taken the little sketchcard I drew back on January 4th, see here, thinking it was a longshot to have it signed, or that I’d even get anywhere near to the man, but it was in my pocket with a sharpie just in case. I’m glad it was!

At the end of the talk, he went around the entire ring of front row area, my wife and I were right up there talking to Barack O’Friggin- Bama! — My wife was in front of me, and I had her hold the sketchcard and sharpie– before he comes around the Secret Service officers sweep you and tell you to put pens away, he has his own pen– Barack comes up and says hello to my wife and she holds the sketchcard out and he takes it and says “Wow! This is really nice.” - And she says “Thanks, I didn’t draw it though,” and I pipe up “I drew it.” — and he stops and talks and says “Wow, you’ve got some real talent there. You drew my ears smaller than they actually are. Thank you!” — then we shook hands, I was kinda mesmorized in disbelief as he walked off with my sketchcard… and as he was walking off to the other side he turned and said, Oh, did you want me to sign that and get that back to you? — HELLZ YES! — Well I didn’t say that, but something more like, Definitely! — So I guess the process is, he hands it to a large Secret Service officer, and they have another Service officer holding a stack of books that he signs when he’s done, and they bring it back in for you after he’s exited the building. I imagine they have to search all the books first— so my sketch came back awfully fast.

The whole day is a blur now– my wife is in awe I think… here are some photos…

Well, it was a great time. Something different. I couldn’t help but think…. I’m shaking the president’s hand. That’s sure what it felt like to me.

So we’ve got tickets to go see Barack Obama at Greensburg townhall meeting this afternoon/evening. My oldest son wants to go, but I’m not sure it would be the place for a 10 year old, lots of standing, maybe two hours of standing– but it’s very cool that he is so interested in American history and politics. He’d rather read a newspaper than play a video game I think. Our little professor. In 7 years, he’ll be 18. That scares me a little– I want to world to be at peace– I don’t want him heading off to some other war of the future. I’m afraid that’s what McCain has in mind.

I just got done reading Mark Evanier’s “KIRBY: KING OF COMICS” - and of course, it was great. I can’t wait for the TOME he’s planning on writing. Get to it Mark!

Every now and again, I get asked about, what’s the deal with Jack Kirby’s ghost and Yirmumah and all that? And it’s not really a complicated story, but one I didn’t like to talk about publicly until recently, for fear of it making me sound crazy. Maybe it still will… But it’s odd, how everything comes together. Here’s a timeline of events…

1993 - I’m now embarrassed to admit, but when I was 17, my whole goal was to come right out of high school and be the next hot artist during the 90s boom. You had tons of young “hot” artists breaking in, some featured in Wizard and I’d just eat that up. It’s really what I wanted to be. I’d ditch school and go hang out at Extreme Studios and be the guest of Danny Miki there, it’s where I learned first hand that Rob Liefeld was a jerkoff, but also where Todd McFarlane said something nice to me in the elevator about a spawn print I had had made and happened to have on me. Marc Silvestri, McFarlane, Capullo, Larsen, these guys were my comic gods back then. I was completely ignorant of comics history—– When I’d even come near Silver Age or Golden Age comics, they just looked lame to me at that age.  They weren’t as exciting as McFarlane’s Hulk bashing through a brick wall and like 5000 bricks going all over the place. — I’m really ashamed of this now, but hey, I was a real know nothing kid.

San Diego Comicon 1993 - I went with what I thought were solid samples of my work, looking back now they were terrible. But I still managed to get portfolio reviews with any small companies I could. I remember a portfolio review with Chaos Comics, but my work wasn’t horror, and I remember them saying I needed to draw bigger boobs on the women! No kidding… Even though I was being shot down left and right, those cons made it seem like you were absorbing some magical energy you could take back with you to the drawing board at home. I remember it was almost time for me to catch my ride back home to the desert, and I was waiting out in an out of the way place. Over to the side I saw a small group of people gather around some older guy, some trying to get autographs and one guy trying to show his portfolio– I heard it was Jack Kirby, who all I knew then was the rumors that this guy created just about everything at Marvel and Stan Lee had taken all the credit and he didn’t make a dime. I walked up in he middle of a conversation, someone had asked him about Stan Lee, and he said “If Marvel Comics is hell, then Stan Lee must be satan!” and the 5 guys around all chuckled– a couple artists, including myself stood with little pieces out for him to look at, and I mean, it did look like he was looking at work and giving a critique—- knowing what I know now, I would have never bothered him, just thanked him– but he did look at whatever mish-mash I had there and I could tell he wasn’t really looking at it– I don’t recall what he said exactly, but it was just a standard encouragement to keep drawing and drawing. He told another artist “well why are you here? you should be drawing!” — and the group moved along.

For years after that I guess you could say I tried to “break in” to comics. I did the normal routines of sending in samples and getting rejection letters, and then I stopped doing that and just began working for independent writers and small companies that didn’t pay. My work was still pretty bad, but was getting better just from the sheer amount of volume I’d produce.  I think in this period though, I became more and more jaded as I saw a lot of crooked things by small companies, people being stiffed, work being stolen. Suddenly those dreams of being that hit artist, you know they dry up. I was really cynical and jaded. I still had offers from so called companies, but they all just seemed like people who needed artists so they could make a dime and not pay you anything. Mark Evanier would later call those types “Unfinanced Entrepreneurs” — Yeah, I worked for a lot of those! — I gave up on the idea of comic books, and started doing comic strips for newspapers, etc.

It was around 1997 I was producing different samples for newspapers, while i worked shitty day jobs. Just married and with a kid on the way, I took a long hard look at my dreams of drawing comics. I think I may have been about to hang it all up, I had definitly hung up the idea of producing mainstream anything in comic books. Then I had that weird dream.

The dream… well, Jack Kirby was in it. Sort of, verbally slapping me around. Asking why I was slacking, wasting time on other things. There was a weird Mexican Radio playing in the background– I was very confused in the dream — but this Jack wasn’t the kind old man from 1993, this one was energetic, drinking and smoking, tough talking. Basically in that dream he told me I couldn’t wait around for someone to come hand me work, I had to just start putting out my own books, and that ghosty Jack encouraged me to tell the truth, if I knew someone was treating someone unfairly in comics, bring it to light, so that other creators wouldn’t get bamboozled by some of those douchebag small publishers who were just feeding off young talents. That dream was so weird and vivid, I drew the first Yirmumah minicomic about it. I did what the Jack in my dream told me to, I took it to shops myself.— the response to it was fun, and got me interested in self publishing for the first time. Even mini comics, hand stapled…. even sometimes it was costing ME money to put them out or drive them into shops.

Yirmumah was like therapy to me… I spilled out all that cynical rage onto paper– very bitter and jaded stuff, but hilarious. Much of it is misguided, but still hilarious in a raw way. I made my good friend Bob into a character of sorts, and we said, to heck with this, we’re going to take it to conventions! So we booked Mid-Ohio Comicon first, Pittsburgh second….. at the first Mid-Ohio con we took Yirmumah to, I remember Mark Evanier and Sergio Aragones were having a Jack Kirby tribut panel, and Bob encouraged me to go to it, so we did. Bob had joked he was going to embarrass me with the story about the Kirby dream, and he actually raised his hand to ask a question and I was sweating… he asked instead whether there were any creations Jack thought were bad or disliked, and I think I remember Mark Evanier laughing and saying Red Raven???— but the one thing that freaked us both out…. they had said that for background noise, Jack would listen to radio, often on a mexican radio station…. so here we were a year later, and that one weird detail of my dream had come out. Bob and I looked at each other with a Twilight zone’d freaked out look. — When I tell that story to anyone who asks, they usually ask me, are you sure you didn’t read that somewhere earlier and knew it before the dream? — No. Honestly, and it’s shameful for me to say, but up until that point, I had no desire to learn anything about the forefathers of comics at all. I’d SKIP those articles if I ever saw them. –

but after these strange events, THAT is when curiosity took over. I found myself not buying any NEW comics. It was around that time I read Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud— if you’ve read that book, there’s a character in there, that was almost who I exactly was, and it resonated with me. The guy who thought he’d be the next big thing, but it all fell apart, and he realized he was all about surface, and then had to start learning about MORE than just the shiny surface of the apple. Looking back now, I think that was a turning point for me– it was as if that chapter was written specifically to put me on a BETTER path. And do I did– my buddy Jim Rugg leant me his Will Eisner books (he probably remembers) — Comics and Sequential Art, etc…. I devoured those and bought my own copies. I had no interest whatsoever in the late 1990s comic market mainstream stuff– I found myself buying collections of old stuff and just DIGGING it now. Really learning about the craft of comics– and becoming VERY inspired learning about the work ethic of the comics forefathers. This period actually made me LOVE comics. — You can ask my wife how passionate I can talk about these subjects.

Yirmumah, without me knowing it, had brought me back into comics. And thinking back on it now, it was as if Jack had delivered to me in a dream something I’d need if I’d ever make a go of comics as a lifelong career… Yirmumah was some sort of attitude. Some sort of unstoppable DRIVE– a tough talking old school sort of mettle. And it did make me feel like I could do it again… but on my own terms with my own rules.

A strange series of domino like effects lead me from project to project, and ultimately to WEBCOMICS, and the enlightenment that they were the future of the medium. I always kept in my mind, as I talked with other creators or groups– what would those guys from the 40s have done with all the tools we have today? Why, I don’t think they would have persued books at all if there was a way to magically beam your comics right into kid’s bedrooms and families living rooms every day! — that’s what got me so hyped on Webcomics, even during the days when publishers at shows would just see anything on the web as not fit for print. — in just a few years how things have changed!

Back to Kirby and Yirmumah— I Had old fans of Yirmumah ask me why I never put Jack in the webcomics– and I think it was after I had learned so much about the past, I just didn’t want anyone to think poorly of me for portraying Jack in this REAL tough guy, no nonsense way. I just didn’t feel right about it. — But I get to the end of this KIRBY: KING of COMICS book, and Mark Evanier tells this story about a rough time he was having when he was 18– and Kirby just kinda sensed it and got him to spill the beans about what was up. See Mark was being harassed by an ex-employer, threatening legal action all while other things were weighing on him, and Kirby went to the phone and all Mark heard of the conversation as Jack called his harrasser was “If you ever bother Mark again, I’ll come down there and punch your goddamn face in,” -

I’d buy this book just to read that story, because now I know that my depictions of Jack weren’t so far off. Which makes the dream even freakier to me.

In a weird way, I see Jack Kirby now like the grandfather I never had or knew when he was alive. I don’t wish to ever draw like him, in his style– only to be inspired by the sheer amount of energy, work ethic, and love for his family and friends that he had. Even total strangers. I think one of my goals is to just inspire others like he did. Maybe telling this story will do that.

So what now!? My studio is 85% wallpapered with Kirby’s Mister Miracle work. Those black and white collections make a mean wallpaper, I’m tellin yah! I just like being surrounded with that crackling energy. When I’m feeling lazy or uninspired, all I need to do is look up somewhere, and he’s slapping me in the head telling me to get back to work. And not just Jack anymore, I think about all of those guys, and how hard they worked. I’m grateful because, well, I feel like if not for them, I might not have the opportunities I have now. They are the greatest generation of comic creators, and a huge inspiration to me.

Back to the drawing board. 

I slept in today. Sue me. I’m still a bit sick here off and on with this cough and congestion, but today feels like the day it’s clearing up, thank goodness.

Probably gained a pound or two thanks to Easter food. Back to the gym tomorrow, as long as the cough is gone.

On conversations… I think I’ve had the strangest mix of conversations here this morning. Via email I’m talking with a guy at DC Comics, then our PR guy at Platinum Studios, emailing back writer Jay Busbee right before this blog. I was on the IM talking with James Patrick, he has an awesome new book deal in the works, an we were talking about Hero By Night issue 4 stuff which I’m starting here this week– gotta bang out issue 5 cover here first…. but then the phone rings.

My wife answers and comes in about 30 seconds later with the phone muted and not looking happy. It’s my Dad. He’s at the magistrate’s office. Being the adventurous type my Dad is, and a man of honor, on New Year’s eve he had an altercation with some couple, where this woman’s boyfriend had done her wrong in some way, and well, I think my Dad cold cocked the guy for hitting a woman or something. He wouldn’t give me details. The police got involved, but ironically my Dad wasn’t cited for anything, the woman was. And I guess this woman has been seeing my Dad since then… a knight in drunken armor! —- UGH. Well, today was court day, and they need money to pay her out of there or they’re taking her to jail… supposedly they tried everyone else because they are broke, but they end up calling me to ask for 140 bucks– which my Dad can pay me back on Friday when he’s paid…… so what do you do? Well several thoughts go through my head.

#1 I don’t know this woman. And I don’t really care to, especially now. Let her rot?

#2 My Dad’s voice asking me, I could tell we were the last hope to help this person, but only for HIM. And it seemed rational that we will be paid back this Friday I guess.  So I got off the phone and asked my wife to write a check out to the magistrate’s office…

Well, my wife is thinking more along the lines of #1 there, without the question mark on the end. She takes the checkbook, and she’s pretty damn angry right now. She’s going in to deliver the check, and she says a few choice words for my Dad too. UGH.

It’s very odd that somewhere along the line, WE became the responsible ones and the parents seem to need our help now. We’ll be scolding them. She’ll be scolding him telling him not to surround himself with trash…. and it’s true! The whole situation just sounds incredibly trashy and Fayette-Nam to me. It’s embarrassing to hear, to write about… and I’m sure it’s embarrassing for my Dad to have to call me. It’s going to be doubly embarrassing if my wife does show up and school these two grown adults. Maybe that is what’s needed, someone to tell them the truth.

My opinion of my Dad is, he had a longgggg boring marriage with my stepmother. He was the old adventurer from the 60s who I wrote about in comics, and suddenly he was a kept man, contained… broken down. Sitting around waiting to die. — probably the BEST thing that ever happened to him was losing that dead weight of crazypot my stepmother was… — So I try not to judge my Dad at all. He raised me well and taught me right from wrong. He taught me the simple things about honor too, which still gets him in sticky situations like this one he’s in today. So I guess i kinda feel like, I’d rather have him out there LIVING than sitting around waiting to die and being miserable with regrets of the past.

On money... people around here think we have fucking money! It bugs me. I mean, we have enough to get by with, but we’re not rich or anything. We’ve built everything we have, and we work really hard to keep it all. And being sort of the freelance/consulting type income, sometimes the checks don’t always come exactly when you thought they would, and it can cause some stress. It gets amplified when someone calls and asks for a loan, or suggests we must be secretly stashing Hollywood money away or something…. after all, I travel all over now, I just came back from Los Angeles! — Boy that DOES sound fancy, doesn’t it? Believe me, downtown Los Angeles is nothing to write home about. I think when some people hear I went out there, they envision me camping out on the Hollywood sign, with a campfire using money logs to warm me. UGH. — I’m a cartoonist!!! — and anyway, that adds stress to my mind. The perception locally that we have a ton of money or something.

My wife and I laugh with the money we DO save though. We don’t smoke, we don’t really drink a lot either. It’s at least an extra 300 bucks between us that other couples would blow on cigarettes and beer. And thank god we don’t have drug habits. — we’re just RESPONSIBLE ADULTS. And man, that does feel GOOD and WEIRD at the same time. I’m pretty low maintenance, just put me in a room and let me draw comics all day, or do research on the internet.

While it would be silly to move away from here, I can now see why someday, it might be necessary to do so. Somewhere near the beach calls to us.

This is hilarious. The guy on Keyboards looks like Zefrank to me. Which reminds me I miss the show with Zefrank. I hate it when good things go away.

Easter weekend here… my wife’s birthday tomorrow. I couldn’t afford to take her to the ocean this year, so I got her the next best thing to that I think.

It’s snowing outside– suck.

My 9 year old son is bugging the beejezus out of me to download movies for PSP, so I’m trying to learn how to go about doing such a thing. God bless the pirate bay.

Friends are coming over this evening. Our old pal Dave and his wife. There will be food… probably some Wii. Only 3 months to go until he’ll be a POPPA! Poppa-Dave!

I have been summoned to carry groceries in from the driveway…. it’s snowing outside….

suck.

Yeah, today is likely to suck. Gotta go to my wife’s grandfather’s funeral around noon. I really hate to see her do down and hurt. It sucks.

I’ve rambled about death before, and maybe I’ve successfully numbed death away by using my imagination… just like many organized religions do! I kinda pretend like the people you loved or cared for, or who cared for you, now they’re like all encompasing energy or spirits that can zip around and help their loved ones by pulling strings and looking out for them. Or people who have done you wrong, they can have a chance to level their karma by doing good to those who they wronged, before they can be at peace or something. They give you little winks and nods and high fives from the great beyond. Beings of the All-Cosmic, now have the answers to all of the meaning of life! They have acquired what Jack Kirby said was the anti-life equation! It’s in all of us!

See? that’s totally more awesome than thinking we’re just “food for worms” like Ben Franklin believed.

When death comes around, it makes me happy to be alive. I thought about that while forcing myself to go longer on the elliptical machine today, and lifting more weight. It hurt… I thought I couldn’t go on. Your lazy brain says stop, relax… but the other part yells… you’re breathing! You’re alive!

Reading over Hugh McLeod’s latests posts from Texas, he mentions how he feels extremely fortunate. He’s got some rad pictures of Big Bend, I guess where “No Country For Old Men” was filmed. When I saw it in the theater I knew it would win awards. In that film, like Hugh’s photos, the cinematography was amazing. The feeling of, as Hugh says.. “being away from all the bullshit” - So open, and grand. We’re all just insignificant blips of life. Enjoy it while you can, surround yourself with people and places you love, and do something you love to do.