The Return of Stickman #693

You can learn more about the sad fate of Billie Ritchie through this and other web articles.

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

The Return of Stickman #962

I drink a lot of V-8 Juice and enjoy peeling off the labels. Someone saw me doing this one day and said, "Oh, you're collecting labels for schools?" and I said, "Yeah, um, sure, yeah."

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

The Comic Critic Reviews The Day the Earth Stood Still - 1951

The other day a young friend of mine confessed he had not seen The Day the Earth Stood Still. I was genuinely appalled. It has always remained in my head as a basic. It influenced not only other films, but American pop culture as well. When my friend heard “Klaatu berada nikto,” his only reference to it was a line from Armageddon. This most cherished film of my childhood, one I have seen so many times I’ve lost count, this icon which bravely embodied the average Joe’s hope against cold war stupidity, meant nothing to him (other than a quirky quote he didn’t “get” in another movie). I therefore call upon all members of The Cult to rise up and make this unique masterpiece a mandatory view for everyone.

The Return of Stickman #961

Special thanks to Kenneth Huey and his earlier comment talking about Flomax.

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

The Return of Stickman #960

I once was wearing a polyester shirt when it caught fire. That was the last polyester shirt I ever wore. And, yes, it was in the seventies.

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

The Return of Stickman #958

I was told the other day that American's only shampooed their hair four days of the week, and that when they did so they used too much shampoo and made their hair brittle.

The Annual Toonie Awards were held by Cartoonists Northwest a couple of weekends ago. I won in a couple of categories. The Return of Stickman won for best writing, and The Comic Critic won for best Web Comic. Woo Hoo!

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

The Return of Stickman #957

Okay, I might have smoked a little when I was a kid. And, the cat too, maybe.

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

The Return of Stickman #956

I believe that Mary Jane should be legalized, and then taxed just as heavily as cigarettes and beer. At the very least we'd be able to purchase cheap rope again as low grade hemp would again to be grown by farmers again. And, no, I don't smoke.

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

The Return of Stickman #955

I used to enjoy skiing at nighttime. But, I never did any cross country skiing at night. That just sounds insane to me.


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

The Return of Stickman #954

I actually wrote this strip on square root day. But, I'd already posted something that day.

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

The Return of Stickman #953

I don' send food back to the kitchen too often. When I do, I have to wonder just what is going on back there, and if I really want to know.

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

The Return of Stickman #952

There are other strips about the stain. They are are in the main site's archives. Somewhere.

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

The Return of Stickman #951

There is an argument that nobody really knows the words to Louie, Louie. I can guarantee you that nobody knows the words to Oh, Washington either, but they can at least hum Louie, Louie.

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

The Return of Stickman #950

And here I thought that Seattle had all the gray days.

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

The Comic Critic Reviews Watchmen, and The Return of Stickman #949

Whenever I think of movies adapted from books, I don’t think of Gone with the Wind, instead I think of The Egyptian. I can’t remember when I first saw The Egyptian but I know it had to be on television, a couple of decades after it’s theater release in 1954. Being a kid I had no knowledge, and didn’t care, that the movie was adapted from a novel. I loved the film because it a lot of cool stuff in it. There were pharos, lions, mummies, intrigue, and a one-eyed liar you just had to love. And even on the tiny television screen you could see that the film was epic in scope. I loved that too. When I was slightly older I was reading the credits and saw that it was based on a novel. That roused my curiosity and I began to investigate.

Originally a novel by Miki Waltari, The Egyptian was published in 1945, in Finland. Naomi Walford translated it into English in 1949. It then went to top the best seller list in the Unites States. Five years later it was adapted to a film by Philip Dunne and Casey Robinson. I use to wonder about how the Finn, Miki Waltari, felt about all this adaptation. Then I discovered that Waltari’s historical novel was itself based an Ancient Egyptian text The Story of Sinuhe, and I guessed he was okay with adaptation.

I didn’t actually lay my hands on a copy of the book until the late 80s. I don’t know if I found it in my mother’s library or if I picked it up in a used bookstore someplace. Regardless, my interest in the movie had me very excited to read the book. I expected there to be differences, and there were. The book gave me another cast of characters to add to those already in my mind. I could see where the writers had to trim to take into consideration the time and budget limitations of putting a story on film. But, in the end, they remained faithful to the intent of the story and kept its integrity.

Writing and drawing my short little cartoon reviews can be a real challenge. This time around I wanted to make the point that regardless of the wealth of great material that is often left out when a film adaptation is made, as long as the integrity of the story remain, you will have a good movie. And if the producers are capable of bringing to life just a portion of the spectacle the creator’s had in mind, all the better. In the case of Watchmen I hope a lot of young viewers out there will have their interest stirred up. I’d love to imagine their road of discovery to source of the story being just as much fun as mine was.


Just like Stickman, I too love pie.

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

The Return of Stickman #948

The bane of many a single man's existence: bachelor food. My own past favorite was mac and cheese with sliced up hot dogs. Second by a nice can of chili over split hot dogs with mustard, spread over toast and topped with sour cream. Hmm, I think I just wrote a future strip.

The Return of Stickman is a product of Monlux Illustration, “Home of the Creative

The Return of Stickman #947

Apparently this little goat characters has developed a small but loyal following. I think I will be bringing him back from time to time. Maybe he and the duck should meet. Hm, I haven't done a duck strip in a while.

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

The Return of Stickman #946

I guess there is no such thing as a desk job for police dogs. So, there is no gentle way to ease them into retirement when they get hip dysplasia. It must be very frustrating for them not to take a bite out of crime.

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

The Return of Stickman #945

If you haven't noticed, there is a theme behind the goat. Here are past strips #932 & #933.

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

The Return of Stickman #944

I have to worry about anyone who keeps twenty-two dogs in their car.

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

The Comic Critic Reviews 3:10 to Yuma and The Return of Stickman #943

The body count for this film goes much higher than seven. Much, much higher. Are you get bored with Westerns in which all the cowboys do is talk about their anguished feelings? Do you want a Western with enough lead flying around to make a couple of cannonballs? Then this well produced story about a bunch of men, some mean, some nasty, and all of them with hair triggers, might just be a couple of hours worth of entertainment that you need. It certainly hit the spot for me. And good luck with the body count.


You say potato and I say potato. And Dan Quail says, "Potatoe."

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