The Return of Stickman #1312

Here is the news story that inspired today's strip. I made up the bit about the wallet.

You might recall that I did the poster for the Ellensburg Film Festival. Well, they liked the poster so much that we decided to use elements from it for passes, tickets, and the like. You can see those designs on their festivals Facebook page. I finally got part of their movie list and am drawing up some reviews for shorts as well as full length features. I'm trying to decide whether or not to go with a single panel, or a three panel for my reviews of the shorts. Your thoughts?

The Return of Stickman #1311

Today's strip was inspired by this news story.

I want to thank the recent wave of new subscribers for following my blog, strips and cartoons. My goal each week is to have a freshly drawn movie review for you each Monday. Whether or not the movie is fresh is a different matter. Tuesday through Friday I post new Stickman strips. Sometimes I don't achieve this goal due to an increased work schedule, travel or sick day. Please forgive the lapses when they do occur. In the meantime, feel free to send in your movie review requests and interesting news stories that you run across as fodder for my strips. They are a big help.

The Comic Critic Reviews Captain America: The First Avenger

I’ve been dismally disappointed with previous Captain America movies. The 1990 version I referred to in the strip wasn’t even the worst of the lot. The 1979 made-for-TV version and the even more atrocious sequel, Captain America II: Death Too Soon, didn’t die quickly enough. That year, I was a foreign exchange student in Japan and might have forever been spared the agony of watching such hackneyed bilge. But some television programmer had the bright idea to use them for a double feature in 1980, and this little fan-boy was completely blindsided by the awful treatments. (Steve Rogers as a Commercial Artist? That’s just salt in the wound.) Thinking back on that evening still makes me a little nauseous. So, while I was excited to see what Marvel would come up with for this part of their carefully constructed Avengers franchise, my expectations were less than high, having received the scorched-earth treatment of disappointment once before. Thus, as I watched Captain America: The First Avenger, I felt grateful, pleasant relief. It’s a respectful treatment complete with top-of-the-line set designs, special effects, choreographed fight sequences, and Easter Eggs up the wazoo that will lure me back again and again to see what I missed.

The Return of Stickman #1310

I should have known that stress can cause amnesia. That would explain why I can never find my checkbook, wallet, keys, hat, shoes or file my taxes on time. I find short term memory loss very annoying. The thought of waking up and loosing a few decades is frightening. I think I should make a contribution to the Alzheimer's Association. Now were did I put my checkbook? My inspiration for this strip was this news story.

The Return of Stickman #1309

The mother was not mentioned in the new story, but I'm sure she made her presence felt. That's why I wanted to put her in the strip.

The Return of Stickman #1308

Today's strip is a continuation of one from last week. There are several news articles floating around about it. I thought one of them said this was a pet kangaroo that got out. Now I can't find that story.

The Comic Critic Reviews Rubber

My editor John and I get into arguments over the use of the words “film” and “movie.” I want to use the word film very liberally. He wants me to use it very literally. Sometimes I have a hard time following his arguments or logic. When I do I create simple rules for myself, their sole function is not to follow understandable logic, but just keep me in John’s good graces. Thus, I only use the word ”film” if the viewing material involved is shorter than 90 minutes or could be considered art-housey. I’m going to call Rubber, the story of a rubber tire going on a rampage in the Southwest, a film. If all of this sounds slightly confusing, just roll with it.