The Home of the Creative Mind

Welcome to PooBahSpiel, the online voice and home of the creative mind of Mark Monlux, Illustrator Extraordinaire. Prepare yourself for an endless regaling of art directly from the hand of this stellar artist. And brace yourself against his mighty wind of pontification. Updates are kinda weekly and show daily sketches, current projects, and other really nifty stuff.

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

The Return of Stickman #906


I love it when my friends, or even complete strangers, submit guest strips. If they follow the size and format I have always posted them. Sam Day is a long-time friend and most excellent cartoonists, illustrator, and fine artist. This is yet another one of his fine submissions. His blog is dedicated to wedding and event paintings which he does live.

The Return of Stickman is a product of Monlux Illustration, “Home of the Creative Mind!”™

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

The Return of Stickman #905


One of my friends used to chew. He still might. But, if he does, he doesn't advertise. Maybe his wife broke him of it. Or maybe he finally got tired of spitting into cups.

The Return of Stickman is a product of Monlux Illustration, “Home of the Creative Mind!”™

Monday, December 29, 2008

The Return of Stickman #904


My heart goes out to all those folks who attended parties only to end up driving the porcelain bus.

The Return of Stickman is a product of Monlux Illustration, “Home of the Creative Mind!”™

Friday, December 26, 2008

The Comic Critic Reviews Death at a Funeral and The Return of Stickman #903


I enjoy watching movies about funerals. I think that I’m attracted to wondering if the dead have a final surprise waiting for us. Maybe it’s a message left behind by plan or accident. Maybe it’s a long held secret finally revealed within the will. Or just the opening spill gates of raw emotion drenching everyone. Whatever the cause, for me a funeral movie is like a roadside accident, my curiosity of how bad the damage is always gets the better of me and I have to rubberneck. And if you rubberneck as well, you will see something more than a mere fender-bender as there is some heavy wreckage occurring. There might even be a fatality.


I bet the boys down at Soapy's are still talking about this.

The Comic Critic and The Return of Stickman is a product of Monlux Illustration, “Home of the Creative Mind!”™

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

The Return of Stickman #901


I still have an iZone camera with some unused film. Hm. I wonder if it would sell on eBay.

The Return of Stickman is a product of Monlux Illustration, “Home of the Creative Mind!”™

Monday, December 22, 2008

Sunday, December 21, 2008

The Return of Stickman #898


Just why else would anyone else demand an eggbeater? I mean, in an emergency a fork will do.

The Return of Stickman is a product of Monlux Illustration, “Home of the Creative Mind!”™

Saturday, December 20, 2008

The Return of Stickman #897


This is my annual Christmas Cartoon. I hope you all enjoy.


Now you all know why I love my Cracklin' Oat Bran.

The Return of Stickman is a product of Monlux Illustration, “Home of the Creative Mind!”™

Friday, December 19, 2008

The Comic Critic Reviews Silent Night Deadly Night and The Return of Stickman #896


Everyone has been aking me to do a Holdiay Movie. So I thought I would do a public service announcement about one holiday movie you might be tempted (out of sheer blissful ignorance) to give or watch this find holiday season. Let me by very clear: Do not watch this movie! Of all the blood dripping slasher films that were produced in the 80s this one disturbs and shocks more deeply than any other. Lunatic Santas running loose were not a new thing when this film came out. 1972's Tales of the Crypt had an axe-wielding Santa, and in 1980 another killer Santa was released in Christmas Evil (originally released as You Better Watch Out). But, there is something in SNDL that gave folks the jitters, started protests, and cause the distributor to withdraw it. What was that little something? Sheer exploitation of brutal violence. Some of those scenes remain unpleasantly seared into my mind. Maybe age has made this film campy, but it wasn't campy back in the day, and I'm not willing to watch it again to find out. So, why am I giving it an eight? Because it gave me, a veteran of many a gut splasher, the royal heebie-jeebies.


The idea for this strip kept running around my head.

The Comic Critic and The Return of Stickman is a product of Monlux Illustration, “Home of the Creative Mind!”™

Thursday, December 18, 2008

The Return of Stickman #985


Yup, you guessed it, another story straight from the news. But, in all honesty, when I was doing ride-alongs with the police I constantly was amazed at just how much low hanging fruit there was on the human tree of the gene-pool. Hmm, there are almost enough mixed metaphors there for another strip.

The Return of Stickman is a product of Monlux Illustration, “Home of the Creative Mind!”™

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

The Return of Stickman #894


Aren't there two sides to every story? And yes, I do love my pie.

The Return of Stickman is a product of Monlux Illustration, “Home of the Creative Mind!”™

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

The Return of Stickman #893


Here is a news story that caught my eye. Oh yeah, a lot of the stuff in this strip is from real life.

The Return of Stickman is a product of Monlux Illustration, “Home of the Creative Mind!”™

Monday, December 15, 2008

The Return of Stickman #982


My first vacation to Hawaii was in 1990. I've been back several times since then. But, can you guess which island I have yet to visit?

The Return of Stickman is a product of Monlux Illustration, “Home of the Creative Mind!”™

Sunday, December 14, 2008

The Return of Stickman #891


The rat in question was white and brown and apparently unhurt from the incident.

The Return of Stickman is a product of Monlux Illustration, “Home of the Creative Mind!”™

Friday, December 12, 2008

The Return of Stickman #890


I can't help but wonder if the tedium of hell won't be broken by the Bureaucracy.

The Return of Stickman is a product of Monlux Illustration, “Home of the Creative Mind!”™

Thursday, December 11, 2008

The Return of Stickman #889


I personally don't like to wear t-shirts, with or without slogans. I prefer Hawaiian shirts.

The Return of Stickman is a product of Monlux Illustration, “Home of the Creative Mind!”™

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

The Return of Stickman #888


Now you don't need to call in sick to work when you don't feel like getting out of bed. Instead, your lazy butt can be politically active and call in gay. Just don't get lulled into shopping at the mall. Show your support by getting involved in a civic activity. Or, if you are not a people person, or just know that you will be bad company, stow yourself quietly away under the covers and make everybody happy.

The Return of Stickman is a product of Monlux Illustration, “Home of the Creative Mind!”™

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

The Return of Stickman #887


I promise that this strip was not inspired by the cult classic film Day of the Triffids. It was inspired by poor choices on late night munchies.

The Return of Stickman is a product of Monlux Illustration, “Home of the Creative Mind!”™

Monday, December 8, 2008

The Return of Stickman #886


While I have found a lot of old discussion on this topic, I have yet to find anything concrete to prove that Las Vegas teachers are indeed allowed to carry guns in the classroom.

The Return of Stickman is a product of Monlux Illustration, “Home of the Creative Mind!”™

Sunday, December 7, 2008

The Return of Stickman #885


I'm wondering just how many readers out there will remember the classic commercial to which this strip refers.

The Return of Stickman is a product of Monlux Illustration, “Home of the Creative Mind!”™

Saturday, December 6, 2008

The Comic Critic Reviews King of California and The Return of Stickman #884


Silly pratfalls and slapstick have their place, but don't need to be in every comedy. Sometimes you want a thinking comedy. The laughs don't have to come from punch lines, pies to the face, or other obvious juvenile behavior. Sometimes you just want quirky, seasoned with a bit of sad and a whiff of aggravation. King of California delivers on those fronts. For a take-this-home impulse item from the library while I was in the midst of a Netflix lull, it proved to be a wonderful surprise.



The Comic Critic and The Return of Stickman is a product of Monlux Illustration, “Home of the Creative Mind!”™

Friday, December 5, 2008

The Return of Stickman #883


I'm putting together another list of reasons for folks going to the first circle of hell. If you have a suggestion, please let me know.

The Return of Stickman is a product of Monlux Illustration, “Home of the Creative Mind!”™

Thursday, December 4, 2008

The Return of Stickman #882


Most people's mistakes don't end up in orbit around the planet.

The Return of Stickman is a product of Monlux Illustration, “Home of the Creative Mind!”™

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

The Return of Stickman #881


Today my goal is to finish off another deadline for a client. Which is a good thing as I've promised my time to another project and I have to get busy with it. So, it's nose to the grindstone for me.

The Return of Stickman is a product of Monlux Illustration, “Home of the Creative Mind!”™

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

The Return of Stickman #880


I might have to do a follow strip to this one. I already have an idea for it. But, I have a few others in line already, so you might have to wait a couple of days.

The Return of Stickman is a product of Monlux Illustration, “Home of the Creative Mind!”™

Monday, December 1, 2008

The Return of Stickman #879


There is common sense logic and then there is real life logic. Which is more terrifying?

The Return of Stickman is a product of Monlux Illustration, “Home of the Creative Mind!”™