March 6, 2008
Just for grins I put "Top Secret Project" in the Google search bar, above. Came up with 71 hits on the blog. We are finally going to publish a 24-page excerpt of the Mickey Free story in the June issue and in my editorial in the magazine I want to send readers to this site to follow the long, convoluted journey of this project. One of the amazing benefits of Google search is the ability to isolate all my entries related to the effort in 3.5 seconds. Just as an aside, I plan on salting, and, or goosing the mentions of The Top Secret Project until there are at least 100 entries by the time the magazine hits the streets in May. So if you catch me mentioning it a bit more often, like right now, you'll know why.

Top Secret Project Sketches #5,881 Thru 5,887


And, more campfire glow effects:



And speaking of the Top Secret Project, it was Daniel Harshberger, who in 1972, coined the word "magazomic," as the hybrid description of our efforts on The Razz Revue (our Arizona "humor magazine"). I intend to resurrect this zany moniker for the Mickey Free excerpt because, as the word suggests, my comic book is going to be blended with "magazine" layout, complete with cutlines and pullquotes, as opposed to a traditional graphic novel, which combines comix with a paperback book.

Just got off the phone with well know photographer Jay Dusard. We are going to run a popular image he took in 1981 of Julie Hagen, which is known as "The Mona Lisa of The Range." Great photo of a cowgirl standing in a doorway of a line shack. Charlie Waters bought me the print, way back in 1982, and had it signed by Jay and it hangs in our hallway at home. I thought the photo of Julie as the perfect place to start this new category in the magazine. Tracking down the scans and Julie even as you read this.

Kathy got me a new book Bill Mauldin: A Life Up Front by Todd DePastino. It's a great biography of the cartoonist who created "Willie And Joe" the original mud-faced WWII grunts. General Patton wanted to "throw his ass in jail," for depicting American soldiers as slobs. Bill was born in the Sacramento Mountains, not far from Cloudcroft and Lincoln, New Mexico. In fact, infamous the Oliver Lee took over their land. Bill and his brother left home, came to Arizona and attended Phoenix Union High School. Very interesting. When I was growing up I felt like no one I admired as a cartoonist, was from this area, and now that I have finished the Charles Schulz ("Peanuts") biography and found out about his Needles connection, I now find out about Mauldin with his Phoenix connection, I somehow feel more connected.

Gee, I wonder what Bill had to say about the secret to a good cartoon?

"If it's big, hit it."
—Bill Mauldin's motto