July 4, 2014
Got our first Monsoon last night. Lots of dust and wind and a six inch rain (one drop every six inches). Woke up to a muggy morning. Walked up Old Stage Road and when I got to the top of Morningstar, I spied this familiar ridge off to the west. Seems fake, doesn't it?
Geometric Ridge: If I saw this in a painting I would say the artist was exaggerating the geometric shapes (unless, of course, it was Ed Mell, and then I'd be positive he was exaggerating the shapes). But there you have it. Mother Nature poaching an Ed Mell painting.
Still cleaning in the garage. Found a batch of cartoons I did for the New Times in 1991.
Yes, that's Goldie Hawn, upper left, and I'm admonishing her to hurry up on the Honkytonk Sue movie or she would soon become too old to play the part. Sigh. And yes, that is a Billy On The Brain confession at bottom, left, proving I was plumb crazy about the Kid even before I published my first Billy book (1992). Upper right, is a Fourth of July cartoon attempting to honor our troops in Kuwait. I have Lady Liberty as Honkytonk Sue hoisting a beer to "the boys".
Lady Liberty Hoists A Cold One On The Fourth of July, 1991
For some strange reason I gave Ms. Liberty a Bohemia beer. I also found a full set of original Honkytonk Sue comics:
The four Honkytonk Sue comics: Vol. I (1978), Vol. II (1979), Vol. III (1979), Vol IV (1980)
I'm proud to say, these comics are worth hundreds of dollars. Okay, tens of dollars. Seeing them now in the light of a new day, I am struck at how mediocre they are. I took some chances, but not big enough. I needed to leap but I only hopped. I just read Peter Matthiessen's "The Snow Leopard" and THAT guy took some risks. How big?
"For fame, for craft, for our enlightenment, they do us the old-fashioned honor of risking their lives."
—Edward Hoagland, in a review of "The Snow Leopard"
