Bumbershoot 2010 Day 1

You might be wondering, “Mark, where are all the cartoons?” Well, last week I had a business trip to Boston that kept me busy, and this Labor Day weekend the wife and I are attending Bumbershoot. For those of you who do not live in Seattle, or the music scene, Bumbershoot is music festival that takes over the entire Seattle Center (where the 1962 World’s Fair was held.) I’d planned on showing you the drawings I do at the performances, but I forgot a critical cable and so you will have to wait. But I can keep you updated on the wonderful groups we got a chance to listen to.

Plants & Animals – A mellow sound for Indie music. I could listen to them all day. I drew one of the band members as a Cactus, which he found funny when he signed the sketch.
Justin Townes Earle – Very bluesy and he’s very good with the crowd. I drew his shoes. The man had an odd way of standing.
Budas Band – Lots of funky brass and all sorts of drums and rattles made these guys a lot of fun to listen to. I drew a hip cat wearing a suit having a drink under a banana palm.
Visqueen – A local Seattle band who we loved listening to. Stringy and fluffy at the same time with a bit of barb wire.
The Raveonettes – Dark and mood music that I just loved. I’m going to have to add them to my dark and moody line up. Weird and crazy stuff with the guitars. I drew a great raven. Wait until you see it.
See Me River – We are definitely going to pick up this band’s CD before we leave. Hard to describe this music. A grungy version of Ted Leo, but more rocky.
Niko Case – Tacoma gal who has come a very long way
Edward Sharp – We tried to get over to the stage to see him but the brick mass of people already arrived before the show kept us from even getting close. They should have put him on the mainstage. Whine!
Bob Dylan – Bob Dillon’s voice was Bob Dillon’s voice squared.

The Return of Stickman #1203

It is no surprise that drug dealers have hidden farms of the chronic growing in our national forest. What is a surprise is the different ways they go about trying to protect that crop. You would think that guard bears would be a good idea.

The Return of Stickman #1202

Maybe if I cleaned my office I could then take over the world.

The Comic Critic reviews "Zombiez"

The movie Zombiez has all the fineness of a high school film project, minus the high school students. I was terribly disappointed. At first I thought the plastic weapons, repainted to look even more like metal, were a joke, but there is nothing funny in this project. Okay, the guy in the chicken suit is funny. But you die of old age before you get that far in the story. Wait, did I use the word real quote marks “story”? My apologies. No story here. And for the love of all that is gruesome, if you are going to produce a horror film, own up and invest in several gallons of stage blood and not cheap out and buy what I can only assume was a discounted off-brand bottle of ketchup. In a zombie movie, guts should fall “out” of people, not “off’” them. Hello! Prop Master? House keys don’t open handcuffs! You would think that all of these obvious low production disasters might bring a few laughs, but it’s just too boring. If you decide to pull this one off the bargain shelf good luck staying awake.

The Return of stickman #1201

The Return of Stickman #1199 & #1200

The Return of Stickman #1197 & #1198

After viewing this stickman, my good friend John Schmelzer could not resist in sending me a follow-up guest strip. Thanks, John! And for those of you who were about to ask... No. J.P. Schmelzer is not J.P. Patches, that is a different clown all together.