The Return of Stickman #1444

The last time I put on a costume for Halloween was 1984. I've worn costumes since then, just not for Halloween.

The Return of Stickman #1443

I promise this will be the last Justin Bieber laptop strip. At least for a while. I meant to include it in last week's theme and didn't get around to posting it until now. I've no idea of what I will post tomorrow as I let my buffer run out. My fans have been sending me in plenty of material. A lot of it involves stuff spilled on highways. But that might entail bringing back the buffalo and aliens again. Maybe I should do something Halloweenie.

The Comic Critic Reviews The Cider House Rules and attends the Little Con of Horrors in Spokane, WA.

I didn’t get around to watching The Cider House Rules until 2001, long after I had added it to my must-see list after Michael Caine (one of my favorite actors) won an Oscar. The Cider House Rules also won Best Adapted Screenplay, well deserved when you consider that writer John Irving removed two characters, various subplots, and shortened the time span of the novel by 15 years. Anyway, at the time I was in the process of getting three dental fillings replaced. I also had some $1 movie rental coupons that were soon to expire. A movie marathon was just the ticket for getting my mind off everything that was happening in my mouth. Now this is the part where I tie in everything I mentioned about the movie. The $1 movie rental coupons reflect the thrift-focused time period of the movie. My dental work reflects the fear of dated and risky medical procedures. The Oscar win for Michael Caine reflects that my love for his work is justified. And I mentioned when I saw the film because I feel bad that I didn’t see it sooner. The Cider House Rules is a great film that touches on morality, law, idealism, pragmatism, and how the human condition (its emotion and frailty, combined with those odd little turns life gives us) can make us question it all.

On Sunday, October 28th I had a tables at Spokane's first Little Con of Horrors. I had the pleasure of carpooling over with Matt Youngmark. His company made the long hours of the trip there and back go by quickly. Link to photos of sketches drawn at the event here.

The Return of Stickman #1442 and The Little Con of Horrors

This Sunday I will be in Spokane, WA attending the Little Con of Horrors. I'll be carpooling over with Matt Youngmark, creator and author of "Zombopacolypse Now." Matt and I often end up at several of the same book signings and comic book shows together. It only makes sense that we would carpool every now and then.

And now here is your next installment of the Justin Beiber Laptop saga.

The Return of Stickman #1441 & The Little King of Thrones

Last night was the CLAW's Open Swim. The theme of the evening was to reboot one of your favorite cancelled cartoon characters. I grew up with The Little King. I loved how he remained silent all the time and most of the humor were visual gags. Also loved the simplicity of the line and how the king was always in profile. The strip pretty much ended when the creator died in 1975. I was shocked that nobody else in the room even heard of him.

My fourth place prize was a boobing Jesus for the dashboard. The big winner of the event was Mark Bill with is Marvel spin-off character "Hoppy." Kudos for both obscurity and great reboot. And now back you your regular installment of stickman:

The Return of Stickman #1440

Last Saturday I was at the Bellingham Comic Con

. If you would like to see some photos I took at the event then click here.

The Comic Critic Reviews Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring

I remember going to see the 1979 version of The Lord of the Rings with my brothers. My oldest brother Randy was a huge fan of Tolkien, as was I. My brother Cliff gave me a box set of the books for Christmas one year. I still have them. And I thought the movie was great. Just like my brother Randy I had great hopes that in a year or two we would be seeing the next movie. We all knew, just knew, that there was no way that The Lord of the Rings could be captured in just one movie. But our hopes dwindled as each year passed. Then I heard that Peter Jackson, yes, the same guy how made Bad Taste, was going to do it. Deep inside me, an old ember of hope for a great Lord of the Rings franchise, one that I thought died out years ago, blazed forth like the faith-blind zealot. It was going to happen! I was going to see it! And it was going to be glorious! Later I learned that Peter Jackson was inspired by the 1979 version. How could he not? It was pretty cool.